Group Planning Exercise (GPE) in SSB Interviews – Explained

by Girish Singh on June 18, 2014

group planning exerciseWelcome back, this is the fifth article in the series. Till the last articles, we nearly discussed the proceedings till the start of the first day of the group testing. The next test that is immediately after group discussions is group planning exercise, or GPE.

The first thing about GPE – It is not rocket science. There is a lot of stuff in books that are available in the market and over the internet about how to approach it, how to write down the proper solution and how to approach GPE’s GD. Yes, there is again a group discussion in end of GPE. So guys, this article is not the same one like the others available everywhere. We will start with a brief introduction and then I will try to explain the actual things that I realized while sitting there in the SSB’s I appeared for. Let’s start with a basic understanding of what group planning is.

Group planning is nothing but reaching a common solution, the best solution in a group to any given situation. To plan the things coherently, in a logical and practical manner. To see the details carefully, and take into account every possible prospect that can affect the projected solution.

How GPE is Conducted

This test is designed to check the decision making capabilities of aspirants in a situation where time is constrained. The Group testing officer, hereafter referred as GTO, explains the situation on a map painted on a wooden board. The map shows different roads, rivers, train tracks, temple and practically anything that can occur in the real map. Beauty of the GPE lies in the fact that there are too many details, and GTO tells them all. It’s up to you that how many you remember. For example, he may show you a dispensary, marked by a little house on the map, but being focused so much on the other areas, you may end up totally missing it! So, sit with all your senses at their highest levels. Try to remember, if not all, as many details as you can. [click to continue…]

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SSB Day 1 Group Testing – Group Discussions

by Girish Singh on June 13, 2014

Welcome Back! In the last article, we discussed the psychological tests. This article brings you the just next thing after psychological tests. The Day 1 Group Testing. As there are a lot of things that that happen in day one – we will limit the discussion in this article to the first test of Day 1 Group Testing – Group Discussions

Business People Working In a Conference Room

Group Discussions are nowadays extensively used by HR Recruiting teams to make selection among various candidates. They are also used in premier institutions like Indian Institutes Of Technology, Indian Institute Of Management and many other institutions who need to shortlist a few students among many.

This article does not limit the discussion to the Group Discussions of Service Selection Boards. I will try to explain the things in general.

First of all, let’s familiarize ourselves with what Group Discussion actually is. Group Discussions, or GD’s, is a fully formal occasion in which 8-15 people sit down, facing each other, to discuss on an issue. They discuss the various aspects of the topic and finally reach to a conclusion. [click to continue…]

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SSB Psychological Tests – My Experience and Advice

by Girish Singh on June 8, 2014

testWelcome Back.

In the last article, we discussed how variant the SSB screening could be. Next in the line is the Psychological tests or the psych tests.

Results were declared, and we screened in candidates were asked to go inside the hall and wait. Screened out candidates were sent back home from there. A little hope sparked in every one that we were one step close.

While we were waiting in the hall, the tested JCO sir came, and provided us with PIQ forms.

Let’s see what this PIQ is in brief. PIQ, or Personal Information Questionnaire, is a sheet of paper, carrying various questions, and having spaces in between them. Questions are very simple- Your Hobbies, Interests, Achievements, Sports which you play, and other things among it. Thing is, everyone can write the answers, it’s basic “What kind of person you are” questionnaire. Remember the one they show in the Roadies? Kinda like that, but obviously much better than it.

Piece of advice- Don’t exaggerate, and be honest. The questions in the interview may be directly related to what you wrote in PIQ. You don’t want to explain to interviewer how you have love collecting coins without knowing what this hobby is actually called. Do you?

Also, never ever, falsify an information. Even about the things that are remotely related to you. Trust me, they’ll know. They are professionally trained to do that, to detect liars, exaggerators, and superficial people.

So, once the PIQ is filled (they give you enough time for that), it is taken back. You won’t see it again.

Next we were given instructions to report the next morning at 0700 hours at the testing hall in crisp formals. Yes, you have to maintain the looks. Each and every time. Bring nice formals with you. [click to continue…]

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How to Approach Screening in SSB Interviews (My Experience and Tips)

by Girish Singh on June 4, 2014

ssb-screening testWelcome back, This is the second article in the series which I will be contributing on NavalJourney. A lot of aspirants know about the defense services, they prepare hard for the service selection boards and still have the single biggest confusion – HOW TO APPROACH SCREENING?

This article includes my screening experience of UES NAVY. I faced two screenings, one in the campus round, and one on the actual SSB, Day 1. We will restrict the discussion to the screening at SSB.

Let’s start from the beginning.

It was a rainy day of June. I reported to the Bhopal Jn. Railway station as directed on my call up letter. I waited there for half an hour after which a NCO, took us all to Sultania Infantry Bhopal. It was around 2 PM. After we put our luggage in, an officer came to address us. He briefed us about the various rules, code of conduct and various other things, that we will see in next few days. He also briefed us about the selection procedure for next few days.

The day passed in document verification and distribution of TA. We had dinner and slept like babies. Yes, we were tired.

The next day was the day one. THE SCREENING.

As soon as the clock struck 5, FM started playing in all our rooms. Or was it 4? I don’t remember.

We bathed, had breakfast and went to the hall where we were expected to report at 6. After a while, we were administered the two OIR tests. Everybody do well in these tests as they are very easy. The only catch of these tests is proper management of time.

After the OIR tests, the PPDT commenced. By, PPDT, one means picture perception discussion test. [click to continue…]

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Why Choose Defense as a Career Option – And a Welcome Message from Girish

by Guest Author on May 31, 2014

My name is Girish Singh Thakur and this is the first article in the series of many about Indian Defense Services, The Service Selection Boards and Defense as a career option. We will be meeting regularly here, on navaljourney.com, a one stop destination for those who wish to pursue a career in arms.

indian-navy-defense

My brief introduction, I am a two week old computer engineer and have been recommended by two service selection boards, one for the Indian Army, and another one for the Indian Navy.

As I am a fresh graduate from one of the premier engineering colleges in Madhya Pradesh, IET DAVV Indore, I am well aware of nearly all the career options that are available for the young engineering graduates. This is what I will try to explain in the next few paragraphs, that how defense services are to take as a career option.

Let’s start with an example. I went for my first SSB when I was in pre final year of my engineering. It was Navy University Entry Scheme. I will share my SSB experience in articles to follow, so look for that. Back to the talk, I was recommended and I came back to college. The placement season was about to start. We, recommended candidates were given the advice to secure another job too as the merit list was still to be declared.

So, I came back and prepared hard for my placements. The first company came. It is one of the US based multinational company which is a big name in the area in which they work. In their pre placement talk itself, they said something which stunned me from deep within.

“The guys who cannot work for undefined number of hours, on undefined hours, can leave the hall now”

Obviously, nobody left. Because job was at stake. I faced the interview with all my confidence (As being recommended a month back, I was brimming with it) and nailed it. They offered me the letter of Intent the very same day.

To the contrary, when I went for the SSB for UES NAVY (33 SSB Bhopal), an officer came to talk to us, on our opening address, and said

“An officer is an officer, 24*7*365 days a year. Nobody tells him to be so, it’s in his heart that he is so”

That being said, I hope my point is clear. There is a huge difference in between being commanded and being ruled.

Command is integral part of the discipline, whereas being ruled by your boss in an MNC, is something which nobody can sustain for a period longer than a few months or years.

The most common question, that the relatives ask you, when you guys get placed is, “Beta, kitne ka package hai?” or in English- “What’s your package”

But trust me on that, when you return recommended, they just wish to know at what rank will you be commissioned on. That is the aura of the uniform.

Stay tuned for next article. Subscribe navaljourney.com to get the links straight in your inbox. Your feedback is valued and much appreciated.

Take Care. Jai Hind. 🙂

– Girish Singh Thakur

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Download: SSB Interview Tips Free eBook – A Preparation Guide

by Uday Kumar on May 29, 2014

Dear defence aspirants and future officers of the Indian Armed Officers, this e-book is made to give you an insight into the Services Selection Board (SSB) and the various nuances involved in order to succeed in them. This ebook acts as a guide and is in downloadable PDF format.

ssb-free-ebook

Click Here to Go to the Download Page.

Total Downloads: 7,223

I have compiled this e-book in a generic yet methodological manner to help you broadly dissect the process of SSB.

It has been deliberately designed in that way so that you get to understand the rules of interview involved.

Responses for this eBook!

Testimonial 1: “Respected Kumar Sir, I have been selected for UES entry-Electrical Branch (General Service) & have to report to the academy on 23rd June. Thanks a lot for all the great support & guidance!” – Nishank Gupta

Testimonial 2: “Definitely the study materials did help, they gave me an overall idea of how the process will be, And with a lot of examples for each task it puts you in ease. And also the guidance part on how to face the interviews was very helpful, Thanks a lot!” – Bhuvan Kumar

Click Here to Download the eBook.

An interview gives the interviewer an opportunity to select that candidate who meets all his QRs for the job involved. In the case of SSB the QRs are the OLQ (Officer Like Qualities).

Interviews have become a very important and essential part any selection process for a job. The interview process has taken its roots so deep in our system that even a 3 year old is not spared, who is expected to perform well in the interview in order to join a play school.

Today selectors have numerous candidates to select from and an interview becomes the means of differentiating one candidate from the other.

We would naturally like to, put our best foot forward in an interview. But what perhaps prevents us from achieving our goal/ mission in spite of our best efforts is the pressure combined with lack of knowledge against seemingly heavy odds.

Suddenly, the goal that we have been striving for becomes unattractive and impossible. Our uncertainties and nervousness make us wonder what is going to happen in the interview. We look for somebody or some book that will answer the question that crowds our mind.

This e-book may not be the complete guide to excellence at the SSB but it is one of the steps towards success.  (Visit http://www.SSBStudy.com for our advanced SSB Training Material.)

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An SSB Interview in My Dream

by Guest Author on May 28, 2014

dare-to-dream-just-do-it-seize-the-day1The day I woke up till the day I will sleep I think about one thing and that’s being interviewed by an army officer at SSB.

  • An army officer on which soldiers are ready to put their life on risk.
  • An army officer on which a whole country is proud of.
  • An army officer on which I am ready to put my career on line.

Despite of having so much other important work to do, he is about to interview me.

I was very excited and yet nervous about this event.

What should I do, how am I going to face him, what if I make a fool out of me and many more questions running into my mind.

So I took a deep breath  and said to myself “jo hoga dekh lengay” and moved further into my dream.

As I expected every one was looking  attractive, charming and full of confidence. On the other hand I being lame. Shooo!!! Not get overwhelmed by others, cover up your ground and act confident. I said to myself..

As I entered the interview hall,  I felt a very warm life force which boosted my soul.

I greeted the officer and then was asked to be seated and relax. That went smoothly. [click to continue…]

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We are Looking for Authors, Contributors, Writers and Journalists for NavalJourney.com

by Uday Kumar on May 28, 2014

writerAre you interested in writing about:

  • Armed forces of India
  • SSB Interview Experience
  • Joining procedures in the Indian Army, Navy or Airforce
  • Life in the Indian armed forces
  • How serving the country is better than working in MNCs
  • Or Any topic related to Indian Armed Forces

If you are interested, you should join us. Your articles will be published on this blog. You can contribute the articles for free like many people do, or you can get a financial compensation for every article you write.

Please send an email to: [email protected] and he will take care of it. Payments will be sent every week via NEFT to your Bank account. Payment will be done only when the articles are of good quality and gets published in the website. Earnings for each article ranges from Rs.200 to Rs.1000 depending on the quality of information.

I am finding it difficult to get time to write articles and it would be of great help if you can contribute to this blog and help out our readers with more information.

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General Tips for Any Interview Apart from SSB Interview

by Uday Kumar on May 27, 2014

interview-tipsI have given a lot of SSB Interview tips in this blog. But I have not talked much about interview tips in general. If you are good at any interviews at all, you will be able to get any dream job you want. Being generally good at interviews will also help you to shine in the SSB interview. Even if SSB interview is your only target, you can apply for other companies and attend interviews just to gain some experience in doing interviews well.

The Oxford Dictionary defines an interview as a face to face meeting, especially for the purpose of obtaining a statement or for assessing the qualities of a candidate. ‘Interview’ is derived from the French word entrevoir which means ‘glimpse’. This, therefore, indicates a physical meeting of people with two possible objectives:

  • To obtain a statement or opinion
  • To assess a person for selection.

Preparation Before Interview

One of the most fundamental factors that contribute to the success of an interview is the time and quality of preparation made by you. The degree of preparedness before an interview helps reduce the uncertainty and anxiety prior to the interview. The amount of effort you wish to put into preparation is directly proportional to the importance of the interview. Simply put, if the reason for giving the interview is important enough the more would be the effort required. Let us consider some of the things you must do to prepare yourself for an interview. It is prudent to say that a person applying for a job in the Armed Forces better know the nature of the job. [click to continue…]

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Law Enforcement Agencies of India

by Sachin Kumar on March 24, 2014

In this article, we will talk about the various law enforcement agencies of India who work altogether to ensure the safety and integrity of the country. While the external security of the nation is on the defence forces of India. There are various other agencies who ensures the smooth running of law, rules and regulations within the country.

law

Defence Forces

Defence Forces are those who directly fight any enemy aggression or threat at Air, Sea and Land.

Organization Established Motto Ministry
Indian Air Force 1932 Touch The Sky With Glory Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Indian Navy 1947 May the Lord of the Oceans be auspicious unto us MoD
Indian Army 1947 Service Before Self MoD
Territorial Army 1948 MoD
Indian Coast Guards 1978 We Protect MoD

 

Central Armed Police Forces

Central Armed Police Forces are the police forces who work for smooth law enforcement within the country. [click to continue…]

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