These days’ stating hobbies are an integral part of an interview and competition that is based on personality assessment of the candidate. A candidate may be seeking armed forces as a career or going for a job in the private sector, besides academics, the interviewer is keen to know how you make use of your spare time. Candidates are generally asked questions related to the hobbies during the SSB interviews. You should have very productive hobbies which automatically develop your personality day by day.

The hobbies mentioned in PIQ forms give an idea about the candidate’s personality or what sort of person he/she is. The IO can ask many questions related to hobbies and sometimes it takes a while to answer them too. Through the responses given by the candidates, he can make out the personality of the candidate in a very delicate manner. So, it’s very important to have a hobby not from only SSBs point of view, but from our own personality’s point of view. A hobby develops our character and personality and gives depth to our understanding of things. The creativity, passion, dedication involved in a hobby tell others about us. The hobbies can be categorized into two categories and they are indoor and outdoor hobbies.

Now, many of you must be thinking that what exactly the need of a Hobby is:
• A hobby is not to be only for impressing the interview board, but for one’s own benefit to sustain it for a long time.

• A hobby is the appropriate use of one’s psycho-physical energy. A good hobby should make use of both head and hand potentials i.e. mental as well as physical.

• A humble beginning in a hobby may be converted into a full-fledged profession. With the advent of the internet revolution, you can do countless things for the masses out there.

• A hobby is not only refreshing, creative and fulfilling but also rejuvenating and recharging to meet challenges in life. It gives the satisfaction of doing something other than routine jobs.

• A good hobby is a lifelong friend, as, towards the retired life or elderly years, one always finds it difficult to keep one busy as a lot of time is available with them.

• A hobby combined with some monetary returns in the later years. It can certainly be very rewarding.

Do try to choose a variety of activities. This will show that you are flexible enough to be comfortable in a lot of different situations and that you are relatable to a range of different people. Also, be honest. Stay away from using examples of hobbies for a resume that aren’t true to you. It is one thing to be unique, but be careful not to cross the line, which may turn out to be something weird and unwanted.

Let’s have a look at the guidelines for choosing and developing a hobby if you want to truly change your persona.

• A hobby preferably is based on one’s talent. For example, some people have a natural flair for writing, singing, dancing. They should encash on it and make it a lifelong friend. A hobby should be financially viable and affordable. All you need to do is to recognize your potential by continuously trying new things and ultimately validating and narrowing down one or more activities.

• One may start as a humble beginner. But once you gain some positive result, motivation to do better will develop it to a higher level. You may try your hands on 2-3 hobbies as a beginner. Then see where you can perform better and achieve a good result.

• Remain in touch with other people involved in that particular hobby. Know about various activities being organized for that particular hobby. You can use internet facility such as google meet to conduct frequent virtual meets with people of the same hobby.

• Always know about the historical background or beginner of a hobby. You will find very inspiring as a beginner. Know about famous personalities who have contributed to this hobby.

• Parents/teachers should help the students to pick up the hobby at an early age, as a student is keen to learn new things with interests and pleasure. A hobby should give sufficient exercise to mind if not both mind and body. Schools are a very great place to lay the foundation for this thing as children tend to learn and execute activities that they have done with their peers.

To conclude, hobby is very important. It not only develops your personality but it gives an edge to your thoughts and views. It shapes your personality. Thinking and choosing a hobby is very important taking into considerations all the points mentioned above. Over that, a person has to be serious with it. Mere doing it for the sake of anything shouldn’t be done.

So choose wisely and develop it with your passion, dedication and creativity. It is not unusual to see many candidates start pondering over the column ‘hobby’ when preparing for the SSB. It is better to leave the space blank rather than entering something that you have never done in your life.

Many candidates think that they can prepare the theoretical part of their ‘hobby’ well and answer any related queries in the interview. But they forget that the IO sitting in the interview hall is not stupid. One can easily discern which answer is borne out of the experience and which just a made-up answer is. Candidates who have real hobbies – the interests they have been regularly pursuing, should be very confident about their interview. Those who have entered fake hobbies should be careful as their bluff will ultimately be caught.

You can prepare for SSB interview and defence entrance exams such as NDA, AFCAT, INET, and CDS by taking Written Online courses as they will not only give you access to full-length quality lectures but will also provide the facility to take standardized mock tests for better study and strategic growth in the exam. You can take multiple quizzes after each lesson to ensure the full understanding of the subject along with creating your customized lesson plans. You can check out the course content along with other important specifics at SSBCrack exams.

You can also access them through the SSBCrack Exams app available in the google play store.

Jai Hind