SSB

Day 1 of the SSB interview is a devoted screening procedure; hundreds of candidates arrive at day 1 of the SSB interview, out of which only 40 to 50 candidates are screened.

Screening Test consists of:

• Officer’s Intelligence Rating Test (OIR) – Verbal and Nonverbal
• Picture Perception and Description Test (PPDT)– picture story writing, individual picture story brief
• description and group discussion on the Story
• What is Officer’s Intelligence Rating Test (OIR)

After entering the SSB premises on day 1, candidates have to attempt to go through the OIR test. The Intelligence Test comprises two tests — Verbal and Non-verbal tests. These tests have 54-55 questions and determine the candidate’s Ocer Intelligence Rating (OIR). They consist of simple linguistic, logical, analytical, and mathematical questions to test basic common sense.

The verbal section of the OIR test consists of questions based on topics such as Relationships, Jumbled words, Coding/Decoding, Multiple choice question, Antonym and synonym, reconstruction of the sentence, one-word substitution, Odd one out, common sense and alphabet tests, Arithmetic questions.

The non-verbal section in the OIR test consists of questions based on topics such as: Which figure is different from the other, Completion of series, Locate the concealed figure, Fill in the correct figure.

What is Picture Perception and Description Test (PPDT)

After writing the OIR test, candidates must simultaneously attempt the PPDT test. In this test, a picture will be shown for about 30 seconds to candidates, and one minute is given to determine the age, sex, and mood of the person and to write the action. The next 4 minutes are given to writing a story on the same. After that, a group of aspirants is made to sit in front of the assessors for the discussion test, the second part of the PPDT.

Group Discussion in SSB Interview:-

In group communication, a discussion meets traits like disagreement, conflicts, dissatisfaction, disapproval, and emotional disorder. In these cases, a skilled person knows how to react to such contradictions. In the group discussion, the plot of interest for the assessors is everyone’s competitive mood. Are you able to be emotionally stable? Or are you able to maintain a degree of patient listening?

Differences are bound to happen, and one should have the emotional stability to resolve emotional disturbances and disorders.

Tips on Group discussion:

• Tame your words, tone, and gestures when in the discussion.
• TakConsideringhers’ interests and reciprocating in a very acceptable manner / humble disagreement show the skill of manmanagingntradiction.
• Positive body language is required. It shows the mental acuity and intentions of the person, aggression.
• Without hard facts and impressive words will cause harmful effects.
• The Story should be presented with an example of courage, brain (strategies and tactics), and humanity; no need to show that you know it all. Imposing your smartness over others makes a bad impression on the assessors.

Only thing is make a simple nice story – articulate it well – listen to others – present your point nicely with nice gestures to everybody – don’t let discussion distract from the topic – be good team player

What is SSB interview Psychological Test:-

Candidates who have cleared the day screening test are thus forward formed in to groups of 8 to 10, generally one SSB interview batch consist of 5-6 groups each group having 8 to 10 candidates.

SSB interview Psychological Test:-

Psychological Tests are conducted to check the candidates’ response to the usual conditions they face daily. It helps recognize the candidate’s various emotional and behavioral reactions to different degrees.

1. Psychological Test:-1. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):-T.A.T. consists of a set of ambiguous pictures that will be shown to the candidate; while looking at these pictures, candidates must create a theme like a story which requires a hero and a challenge, how the hero will overcome the crisis and succeed. In T.A.T., a candidate will be asked to write a story based on the images shown. A candidate shouldn’t just use his memory blocks and start preparing a story; they need to see that in every third or fourth line, different meanings are coming, try interpretation, and analyze those meanings in the third person because that meaning shows the candidate’s state of mind.

2. Word Association Test W.A.T.:- Simply put, this test observes the candidate’s imagination and evaluates their qualities of individual ideas. In this test, candidates will be shown a word and are required to form a meaningful sentence using that word. On seeing a word, there might be different ideas in the candidate’s mind related to that word, but he/they must write the 1st spontaneous reaction in your answer sheet.

3. Situation Reaction Test (S.R.T.):- Situation Reaction Test (S.R.T.) is another test at Service Selection Boards in the Psychologist series; this is a test of the candidate’s common sense; they will be given some situations that occur in daily life, and their answer will help the Psychologist to judge candidate’s mentality candidates will be given a booklet containing 60 situations which they have to answer in 30 minutes, this time limit has been intentionally shortened as to ensure that the candidate gives the first reaction which comes to his mind without thinking much over it The answer to the S.R.T. will therefore reflect the aspirant’s power of understanding, practical ability, initiative, temperament, imagination, resoluteness, social behavior, consistency, stability under stress in varying conditions. The Psychologist is mainly interested in observing whether the aspirant reveals a cooperative attitude or negative or obstructive behavior, whether he places the group before self-interest. Carefully ensure that choices are made and the answer reveals the candidate’s attitude.

4. Self-Description Test (SD):-S.D. is the last test in the Psychologist test series at Service Selection Boards. It may be the last test but as important as the first one; this test is the finding of a Psychologist about a particular candidate, which he makes by the previous tests like T.A.T., W.A.T., and S.R.T. This test gives an idea to the Psychologist regarding how deep the candidate knows about him, whether he knows his Qualities and Shortcomings or not. In this test, the candidate is required to write 5 paragraphs on What his Parents, Teacher/Employer, Classmates/Friends, Candidate’s own opinion about himself, and what qualities he would like to develop for the future

Group Task (GTO)

G.T.O. Tasks are the second set of tasks conducted after the psychological tests. The G.T.O. Tasks are designed to test the social speaking skills of a candidate. An officer has to perform his duties along with his colleagues.

The GTO Tasks are designed to test the sociability speaking skills of a candidate. An officer has to perform his duties along with his colleagues

Domains of GTO:

Group discussion: In G.D., there are usually two rounds of discussion. In the first round, the G.T.O. announces three sets of topics, and the candidates can select one from among them. This test is designed to check the general speaking skills of a candidate.

Group lecture: The candidates are made to sit in a circle, and every candidate is given a topic, and they have to speak on it. The time allotted is three minutes.

Progressive Group Task P.G.T:-

P.G.T. is about a set of obstacles in the ground in a specified area in that team members should cross each obstacle defined by a set of rules. To conquer those obstacles, some helping materials are given by the G.T.O., i.e., Balli (wooden log), Plank, and rope to tie these. The task’s difficulty increases from one obstacle to another in a progressive manner. So it is named as Progressive Group Task. 

Half Group Task H.G.T:-

HGT is similar to P.G.T., but the difference is that the group is divided into two sets. Like this, the G.T.O. will see the performance of the candidates closely. The rules are the same for this, like P.G.T. 

Command Task (C.T.):-

The candidates are allowed to choose two members from the group. The candidate should have to cross an obstacle with the allotted men and the resources available within the allotted time.

SSB Personal Interview:-

Personal Interview is one of the observational techniques used in the selection procedure at the S.S.B. Briefly, the interview technique consists of establishing an effective two-way communication process between the interviewer and interviewee for the transfer of information. In this situation, the two people interact freely and establish contact or ‘rapport.’ The interviewee is encouraged to take a progressively larger part and has to do the maximum of the talking process. The Interviewing Officer tries to estimate the individual’s planning and organizing ability, his ability to communicate ideas, his ability to work with others in a group, his level of emotional stability to tolerate stressful situations, and finally, his potential growth mainly through careful probing into his past development history. During the Interview, the Interviewing Officer (I.O) keeps a close watch on the individual’s facial expressions and body language, which provides critical supplementary information to assess a personality and evaluate his suitability for the job.

Conference Round:-

At the conference, all assessors, like the Psychologist, G.T.O., the Interviewing Officer, and the President of the Board, will sit together and discuss the candidate’s performance over the last 5 days and take a vote on whether to recommend them for Medicals or not.

General Question in SSB Conference:

1. What did you learn from S.S.B. this time?
2. Where did you go?
3. How do you rate your performance?
4. Rate your performance out of 10.
5. How did you improve this time?
6. Who is the best candidate in your group?
7. How was the stay?
8. How was the food?
9. Any suggestion for improvement of S.S.B.
10. Some SRTs or other questions if you are a border line case.

Points that are noticed by assessors in conferences about candidates:

1. Officer like qualities
2. Personality traits
3. Leadership qualities
4. Moral integrity
5. Social adaptability
6. Social effectiveness
7. Dynamism
8. Gentlemen behavior