SSB Interview

SSB INTERVIEW PROCEDURE

Selection Process of officers by Service Selection Board Interviews are conducted at various SSB centers all over India.

SSB Interview is the five days process. This is one of the Toughest Interview Process in India. The candidate must psychologically fit to clear this interview process. 

Reception:

On the day of arrival you have to report to the Movement Control Office(MCO) at the railaway station. Here, a representative of Selection Center manning the reception will receive you and direct you to a bus that will take you to the Selection Center. Those arriving late or by road should proceed directly to the Selection Center. After reporting you will get sufficient time to settle down. Normally the afternoons are free(Except your interview day). You can make use of this opportunity to visit places of interest, shop and have fun.

OPENING ADDRESS AND FORM FILLING  

The duty officer gives an introductory talk, explaining matters of administrative details, DOs and DONTs and  code of conduct at Selection Center. You are also required to complete documentation including verification of required certificates for age/educational qualifications. All candidates are allotted chest number for further testing. It is important to remember that you are not competing with other candidates. All of you will be assessed against a common standard of suitability and it is possible for everyone in the group to be recommended/Not recommended.

          Other than the day of arrival/reporting, the SSBs have a five days testing schedule. With these tests we aren’t looking at your physical fitness. The tests are also geared to let us know more about various shades of your personality. The exact schedule of tests may be varied depending on the No of candidates to be tested, and GTO Tests may be done in a single day, if warranted. Details of testing are as under

DAY  1:

Stage one selection system includes the following

• Intelligence Test (verbal and non verbal)

• Picture Perception and Description Test: 

Picture is flashed for 30 seconds. The candidates have to broadly note down seven basic parameters viz number of characters, age, sex, mood, action relating to past, present and future for each character in one

 Discussion of the picture – 30 Minutes

In this phase group is divided into different groups.  Strength of group is around 15 candidates.  Each candidate narrates his individual written story verbatim.  Subsequently, in Part-II all the candidates have to  discuss amongst themselves and achieve a common consensus about the characters and theme of the story. 

The next day normally starts at 6.30 A.M. You need to get ready and have breakfast and gather at the assembly point. The test normally starts at 7A.M. The test includes basic set of questions that will check your aptitude that is required for an Officer. It includes reasoning, quant, verbal ability etc. There are 2 tests of approximately half n hour each. These are called verbal and non-verbal tests.

                                 Details of the same I’ll provide you in my subsequent articles. After these tests finish, you undergo PPDT. PPDT is Picture Perception and Description Test. In this test, you are shown a hazy black and white picture for 30 seconds and then in 4 minutes, you need to write a story about that picture. After this, you go and have lunch and those who are eligible for TA get that. After the lunch, the result is announced, those who make it, remain in the selection center for further testing for 4 days and those who do not make it, are dropped to the railway station

DAY 2:

Psychological Tests include the following

  Thematic Apperception Test:

 12 Pictures including one blank are shown.  Candidates are asked to write a story around what led to the situation? what is going on and what would be the outcome ?.  Each  Picture is shown for 30 seconds and  candidates are asked to write it in 4 minutes.  In the blank slide, they have to think a picture of their own choice and write a story around that.

Word Association Test:

   In this test, a series of 60 words are shown to the candidates one after another for 15 seconds each. The candidate is required to write down the first thought or idea that comes to his mind.

Situation Reaction Test:

This test consists of 60 routine life situations regarding day to day activities.  The situations are printed in a booklet and the candidate is asked to write his reactions by completing the sentences, as to how they would feel, think and act in these situations.

Self Description Test:

  Candidate is asked to write five separate paragraphs on each context about the opinion of his parents/guardian, friends, teachers/superiors

The next day starts like the previous day. During this day, you undergo psychological tests. These are as follows:

• Thematic Appreciation Test
• Word Association Test
• Situation Reaction Test
• Self Description Test

                             The interviews are lined up for some candidates so they are not allowed to leave the premises. The other candidates are allowed to visit the city

 

DAY 3:

GTO – Day 1  

This includes the following