Success Story of Praveen Kumar – Cleared ESIC SSO 2018 (AIR 1) & SEBI GRADE A 2018

Read the success story of Praveen Kumar who could not clear UPSC, NABARD & RBI in his first attempt. But these failures never let him down and his determination to join a prestigious organization helped him to clear SEBI GRADE A(2018) & ESIC SSO(2018) with AIR-1.

Thus Praveen rightly justifies this quote: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Success Story of Praveen Kumar

Small Introduction:

Hi all, I am Praveen, a 2014 graduate from IIT Madras and a UPSC aspirant. I have also given exams like NABARD, RBI, SEBI and ESIC. In 2018, I cleared ESIC SSO(AIR-1) and SEBI Grade A Officer.

Details on my journey & Preparation Strategy:

I have given 3 attempts at UPSC CSE. After my mains in 2017 Nov, I came to know about other prestigious exams like RBI Grade B, SEBI Grade A etc. I was determined to secure a job by the end of 2018 but things unfolded the other way. I couldn’t qualify NABARD Phase 1 and RBI Phase 2. Then, on October 8, (almost the closing date of applications) I came across this wonderful job of ESIC SSO. The job aligned with my goal of securing a job in a prestigious organization. Also, the exam pattern seemed to be similar to my earlier tests. So I decided to give it a try.

I am glad that Oliveboard gave me an opportunity to share my preparation strategy for ESIC SSO with everyone.

Phase 1:

It consists of Quant, Reasoning and English, and qualifying in nature. But the catch here is sectional time limit. I practiced by taking Oliveboard mocks. I could clear it with very narrow (cut off-71, mine-73.75) margin.

Lessons: More Practice. Time Management. Increase Accuracy.

Phase 2:

This is the main stage of exam as these marks are considered for final ranking. This consists of Quant, Reasoning, English, General and Insurance Awareness. I have been preparing for current affairs from Affairscloud modules, which helped me a lot for all exams. For Insurance, Affairscloud has a pdf on basics. Also, I covered ESIC scheme from its website. Oliveboard mocks came handy to practice Quant, Reasoning and English. They seem tough but that makes the real test seem a lot easier.

Tips: Practice with mocks to manage sectional time limits. One should attempt with accuracy. Revise from one source 10 times than reading from 10 modules for current Affairs.

Phase 3:

This is Qualifying in nature and consists of Computer Skill test and English descriptive test. A Sample paper is given beforehand by esic and practicing it helps to score well. Preparing few essay topics and letter formats will help us sail through the descriptive test freely. Finally, on Feb 20th, the results were out and seeing my name on top of the list was a moment to cherish forever for me.

Role Of Oliveboard

Oliveboard played a crucial role in my journey The mock tests provided by Oliveboard were very helpful and with par with the real exam. Moreover the analysis provided after every mock test proved extremely useful. Though I have written many mocks for various exams, I have hardly seen any repetition of questions. Also, it seemed affordable with combo packs.

Tips to Aspirants:

Always remember that if you are not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you are not doing anything very innovative. So never let failures in your path deviate you from your destination.

Read more success stories.