Once an SSB aspirant, HR professional now guides youngsters to face …

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What makes 40-year-old Onkar Singh’s story an optimistic one is the fact that despite having not made it to the forces, he has been re-living his dream by helping others to face interviews for joining the three services.

As the HR manager of a leading IT firm in the city for two years now, he has imparted psychological training to eight SSB aspirants — five of whom have cleared and made it to the Army.

All this is hobby, says Singh as he does not charge a single penny for the training. “It gives me the satisfaction that though I could not join the Army, I am helping others to do so. I maintain an Army-like haircut, exercise daily and yes; horse riding is my hobby, very much like the officers I admire,” says Singh who has been pursuing MSc in applied psychology and a course in Certified Psychometric Testing to be able to effectively help more such candidates.

“I always wanted to be an Army officer and appeared for the SSB during 1992-93.

“The aspiration was sidelined when, despite repeated attempts, I could not make it to the Army. I then completed my engineering in computer science from Wadia college followed by a Masters in personnel management from NES Wadia.

“It is only about five years ago that the dream to associate with the Army has returned, this time with a different aim and that is to help others,” says Singh who dedicates two hours per day for studying psychology.

The aim of the SSB is to look for Officer-Like-Qualities (OLQs) in every candidate. “When I train aspirants, who come to me from across the country, through references given by people who are known to me or whom I have trained, I do not try to change them.

“The whole idea is to help them project themselves better. I tell them to be more creative and imaginative. I ask them to assess themselves and during the time they are with me I try to bring out their hidden abilities. Some trainees even stay at my house for a short duration,” he says.

Tej Thapa, 24, the most recent one to be guided by Singh will be joining Officers Training Academy (OTA) Chennai in April 2013. Thapa, an IT professional who appeared for the SSB on December 9 at Bhopal said, “I always wanted to join the Army. My father is a businessman and my mother is a housewife and they both are proud of the fact that I will be an officer. I was referred to Singh by a family friend and the training I received from him for about 15 days helped me project myself better.”Singh has bigger plans.

“I now want one of my daughters to become an officer in the Armed Forces. And given that they are too young, I should be able to guide them fully by the time they reach the age of taking the decision to join the forces,” he says.

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