How I Cracked AFSB Interview Twice

Joining Defence forces as an Officer is a foremost goal and my Childhood dream. Being a part of this Fauji Fraternity as a Brat has inculcated and imbibed a lot of values in me and moulded me so well. So, I appeared for AFCAT exam in February and July and cleared it both the times. This provided me with the golden opportunity to appear for AFSB (Air Force Service Selection Board) twice and I got recommended both the times; as a fresher and a repeater in both my attempts.

My Strategy for Preparation for SSB:

Physical Fitness:

• I started running 3–5 kms daily to build good stamina and to stay fit.
• I continued with my swimming schedule of 3 days a week (1 hour per day) in summers and cycling in winters.
• I learnt Rope climbing and monkey crawling in Shankar Vihar (New Delhi) Obstacle park and in Cantt area where ropes are easily available)
• I continued with regular workout sessions.

Psychology

• For Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PPDT) and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), I used to practice it with my friends (who were also appearing for SSBs) on Skype or video calls every day.
• On weekends, we all used to practice Group Discussion (GD) on call as mentioned above.
• For WAT, I practised it from YouTube videos with pre-set timers to increase my speed in attempting the maximum.
• For SRT, again setting a timer on phone and practising the sets available on SSBCrack website.
• I Improvised my fluency and narration by practising it with friends and asking them the areas to improve.

GTO Tasks

• I practiced latest Group Discussion (GD) topics on weekends with proper fluency and discussion with friends.
• I downloaded the Group Planning Exercise (GPE) sets taken from websites like SSBCrack and then found solutions to them in limited time constraints and discussing it with friends. Use simple logics to plan it in a better way with limited resources.
• I made a list of latest and probable Lecturette topics from internet (majorly from MBA schools’ sites), read in detail about the topics and practiced proper narration of 3 minutes.
• I learnt and revised how to make knots for GTO tasks. I was already aware of few.

Interview

• Self-introspection is the key. I spent time on myself, knowing in depth about myself, my interests & hobbies, my achievements & downfalls, my participation in sports and extracurricular activities ,my reaction and moods on situational moments in my life (best, worst, low, proud, happy, fearful, careless etc), my relationship with parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, siblings and people around me, my inclination towards defence, etc.
• I made a list of frequently asked and surely asked questions and then brainstorming over it, finding answers to all of them on my perspective.
• I read newspapers and articles regularly to keep myself updated with current affairs.
• I polished my General Awareness and General Knowledge more.
• I spent good time on Internet surfing to read about the important topics going around the World and keeping my clear views on it.
• Did SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of myself and discussed it with the people I know and worked more upon them.
• I read the experiences of previously appeared SSB candidates on Quora.
• I talked with my seniors on call who had been to SSBs before.

Areas I worked upon

• Increased my physical endurance and stamina by proper dedicated workout.
• Worked upon my GK and current affairs by reading newspapers and monthly magazines.
• Improved Group communication skills by regular discussions with buddies.
• Managing my time in psychology by practicing with strict time constraints (I was able to do 12 TAT, 60 WAT, 60 SRT and complete SD in required time in my both attempts).