Recommendation StoryStories

WOMEN ENTRY : RECOMMENDED IN 7TH ATTEMPT – SSBPSYCH

Hi Everyone, my name is Prinsa Kathait. I got recommended from 34 SSB Allahabad on 4 February 2022 for CDS entry. I am going to share my 5 days SSB experience and learnings here. In our batch- Reporting- 108, Screen in- 34, Recommended- 7

First test of the day was OIR ( Officers Intelligence Rating) test. There were 2 sets of OIR having 50 questions each which we needed to solve in 30 minutes each. Since I had practiced OIR beforehand, I was able to do 99/100. Next test was PP&DT (Picture Perception & Discussion Test). I perceived 4 boys (22-26 years old) and some sewing machines in the background in a room. I observed picture for 30 seconds and wrote down my story. After that we were divided into 6 groups (18 candidates in each group). I narrated my story confidently and in a crisp manner. In GD I was giving logical points, listening to others and contributing towards making a common story. Group nominated me to narrate the common story, I took the opportunity and gave conclusion on the behalf of our group. I was satisfied with my performance and hence the result was in my favour as well. I got screened in along with 33 other girls.

→ Learning points-

Practise OIR well, Observe picture carefully for 30 seconds, write story with an open mind, don’t try to fit in a preconceived story if it is not matching the picture, narrate story confidently within 1 minutes, contribute ( not just participate) in GD, listen to others points as well, Listen to the instructions carefully.

In psych, there are 4 tests- TAT( Thematic Apperception Test), WAT ( Word Association Test), SRT ( Situation Reaction Test) and SD( Self Description).  I completed all my TAT stories well on time as I knew how much lines I would be able to complete in 4 minutes on an A4 sheet. I did all 60 WAT. I associated words with my life during WAT. It would have given assessor insights about my personality. In SRTs, I wrote responses what I would actually do in those situations. I put myself in the situations and wrote logical and genuine responses. I did 37 SRT. I had prepared SD beforehand so I completed it in 15 minutes as well.

→ Learning points-

Observe the pictures carefully, write a practical story, don’t use adjectives to show OLQs of the main character instead show it by actions, end stories on positive note, WAT is not just a sentence making test so don’t write anything which you have heard but associate that word with your life and then make a sentence, write logical and genuine responses in SRT, imagine hidden resources( human and man made both) and use them to overcome the difficult situations, practice SD beforehand, write a genuine SD, introspect about your qualities, achievements, strengths, weaknesses etc.

I had my interview scheduled on 2nd day itself. I went in the interview room at 03:55 PM, greeted interviewing officer and started having conversation with sir. Sir asked me questions mostly from my PIQ and some from Indian Army. I am sharing few questions here as well- 1. Why I was not able to get selected earlier? 2. Good and  bad qualities about my parents 3. About my education, my opinion about a good college 4. About my time table, my hobbies, about 5-7 books, their writer and summary 5. About my job, things I learned from it 6. About my friends, what they are currently doing, their good qualities 7. About sports I played during school and college time 8. Why do I want to join Army, Corps of Indian Army and their roles, about weapons and equipment that they use 9. Some knowledge based questions- like how Radar work, bombs are made up of which chemicals etc.
I gave answers in a calm and confident manner. There were times when he was trying to put pressure on me but I was just smiling and giving my answers and when I was not sure of the answer I just said “ I don’t know.” I had done introspection about my life so I knew what to answer.

→ Learning points-

Confidence is the key in the interview, be calm and composed, introspect about your decisions, your personality, your family & friends etc beforehand, think interview as a formal conversation, give genuine answers, maintain eye contact

On 3rd day we completed 7/9 GTO tasks namely Group Discussion, GPE (Group Planning Exercise), Progressive Group Task (PGT),  Half Group Task (HGT), Snake Race, Lecturette and Individual Obstacles. Since I was in touch with current affairs( newspaper, youtube), I was able to give good points in GD. I was listening to others opinion as well and was receptive towards it. I was taking my chance and giving chance to others as well. In GPE, I again put myself into the situation and wrote my solution accordingly. I calculated time, distance and speed and completed the tasks. In GPE discussion, I put forward my points, agreed to others where I found the solution logical & time saving and did not agree to those where in my opinion, the solution was not practical. Our group came to a common solution within time. Since I have been playing different games & sports since my school time, I was able to do ground tasks easily and I enjoyed GTO the most. I focussed upon completion of tasks and taking our group forward so I gave ideas where I could and supported others’ ideas also. In Snake race, one of our group members came with the war cry- Bob the builder… Karke dikhayenge :D We all agreed and had fun with it. Even GTO laughed after we told him our war cry. Here also we all helped each other in crossing the obstacles and kept rules in mind. In Individual obstacles, I made plan in my mind about how to go about the all tasks and then executed it well. In lecturette, I chose “Political reforms” topic, gave solutions and reforms and delivered it confidently.

→ Learning points-

Remember GTO is mainly checking your ability to work in a team. So we should perform all GTO task with the intention of “ We not I”, get in touch with current affairs, be logical in your approach, work upon your fitness- it will give you edge in GTO, enjoy the tasks- take those tasks as games.

On 4th day, we had command task and FGT( Final Group Task). I had small informal conversation with GTO sir. I was given bomb task. I completed it in 2-3 minutes but sir kept changing the colour and even structures. I was able to find solutions each time. He even asked one of my subordinate to count back from 120 and told me to complete my task before she reach 0. I knew such things are done to pressurize us so I did only focused upon my task and not on counting. Fortunately, I was able to find solution that time as well. In FGT, our group completed the tasks in few minutes.

→ Learning points-

Enjoy the role of a commander and act as one, don’t succumbed to pressure, if GTO is increasing the difficulty level that means you have performed well, use basic logic and simple ideas to find solutions, follow rules.

I kept analysing my performance during those 5 days. When I was asked to rate my performance in conference, I gave rating and gave reasons behind my answers. I was asked a % percentage conversion maths question, a question which I did not answer in the interview as well. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous in the conference room as it was result day but I kept my calm and smile on the face.

→ I was very happy, emotional and proud when I heard chest no 17 in the list of Recommended candidates. That was one of the best moments of my life 🙂

→ At last I want to say that analyse your shortcomings, work upon them, keep improving yourself, make yourself worthy of getting recommended and earn that ‘+’ sign.

Thank you everyone( family, friends, mentors) who supported me in my journey!

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