PIQ : Importance and seven tips for improvement

This would be the probably the first form you get to fill once you are screened in after clearing the Day 1 at SSB/AFSB/PSB/FSB. This is the first and undoubtedly the most important form of your SSB and hence needs special preparation. PIQ stands for Personal Information Questionnaire. Its a 2 page form which reflects your personality and achievements across your life and would be the best source for information related to you, for the psychologist and the interviewer.

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There is no doubt to the fact that if PIQ is not filled properly the chances of getting rejected based on conflict of thought increases at SSB. The assessors at SSB always try to match personality profile formed by them through the data validation of sub conscious and unconscious parts of the mind with the conscious part. IF PIQ does not reflect correct set of information at appropriate places, then forming right image of the candidate will not be possible and hence there will be less match with the personality of the aspirant.

SSB is all about how you reveal your 15 OLQ's at the place. Everyone posses the OLQ, but to have it above the threshold, so that it becomes trainable and can be inculcated in a person during training is what is seen during the SSB. So its essential to reveal all and everything and be truthful every time, everywhere. PIQ is divided into many sections. Here are the tips to fill these sections carefully:

1. Always fill place of maximum residence, present address/ Correspondence address carefully as they help assessor determine your background, which later contributes in psychological assessments of the sheets. Also the population of that place can be checked online and filled, Inaccuracy of data can lead to wrong analysis. This might sound a small thing, but believe me, it matters a lot.
2. Academic qualifications along with achievements are important and needs to be filled at appropriate place. There is nothing like a small or a big achievement in life. Everything that has happened in your life has contributed to your personality and hiding anything might hide certain qualities. So don't do it.
3. Always understand the difference between hobby and interests and mention them at appropriate places. Don't hide things thinking that you need to answer question in interview based on hobby. You should think that if you don't mention there will be many things unanswered to psychologist, and remember, you never get an opportunity to meet him/ her.
4. Clearly differentiate between extra curricular, position of responsibility, sports achievements and academic achievements, as all of them needs to be mentioned in different sections of the PIQ. Mention them under appropriate headings, so that the assessor don't have the pain of searching it here and there. Less pain for them is always a gain for you.
5. NCC performance and details needs to be mentioned in a separate marked section and nowhere else.
6. Repeaters also need to mention specific details of last attempts. Be frank and mention every detail with honesty. Hiding one or two attempts will not make a difference but if you caught be sure of rejection.
7. Work experience and participation there also needs to be recorded. 

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Self introspection is the best technique for reviewing life and getting recommended for SSB. the preparation for SSB should start for an aspirant from this technique. This should be the first step. We have detailed the technique in many articles and we at SSB vision keep emphasizing for it. It involves study of your life in detail from birth till date. The full life is divided into segments and then a detailed study for each segment is done by asking numerous questions and extracting qualities our of it. remember to do self introspection with respect to OLQ's. By the end of this exercise we have set of strengths and weakness of our personality and then we try to work on weak areas for improvement. This is a traditional way to do it. We have many psychometric assessment sheets at SSSB Vision which help in doing this assessment for aspirants. They are available under mentorship program and can be taken by the aspirants from their home.

In short, life is what you see and make it. Make it beautiful with positive energy and perform honestly for your goal. Serving in defense is not at all easy and its also not an easy decision to make for leaving everything and getting ready to serve the nation.If you have taken this decision , follow it strictly. If you have any queries do write to me personally at jayendrapsingh@gmail.com and get it resolved instantly. 

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