SSC CGL Strategy by Toppers, 7 Life Changing Tips

SSC CGL Strategy by Toppers

Every year lakhs of candidates appear for the SSC CGL Exam. However, the total number of vacancies available is in mere thousands. This results in a very high level of cut-throat competition. In spite of these unfavorable odds, there are some candidates who manage to score the highest marks and secure the top spot. The candidates who wish to perform similarly in the upcoming SSC CGL 2024 should be aware of the strategy that the toppers follow in order to succeed.

The Toppers Mentality

All the candidates who enter into the fiercely competitive world of SSC CGL have the aim to secure their dream government job that will provide them with a long career and a secure future. These candidates, however, can be classified into two categories i.e. those who wish to clear the cutoff and those who wish to outclass the competition. In today’s era of rising competition, the topper mentality is the only way that will help the candidates secure the result they desire.

The Rising Competition

If we observe and analyze the category-wise cutoff levels of the recently held CGL exams, we can see that the overall level of cutoff for each category has risen driving the competition upwards. With these changed scenarios, the preparation strategies should be updated according to the latest exam pattern. And to make sure that they clear the cutoff of the required posts, the candidates should prepare like toppers and score maximum marks, way ahead of the cutoff mark.

Persistence is the Key

The entire process of the SSC CGL recruitment is a time-consuming endeavor and the candidates willing to go through with it should be aware that it is almost one year long. However, sometimes when candidates are not able to crack it in their first attempt, it takes more time and patience. So, the most important quality to inculcate for this preparation is that of Persistence. This means that not only making a strategy but also sticking to it for a long time is required to clear the different stages of the SSC CGL Exam.

SSC CGL Preparation Tips by Toppers

Whenever an aspirant wishes to prepare for a government exam, he/she needs to go through the basic details of the recruitment process, the pattern & syllabus of the exam and a sound strategy to crack the exam. For the candidates who have prepared for competitive exams before, it is easy to assess the level of the exam and make a strategy suited to them.

However, if a candidate is preparing for the SSC CGL Exam for the first time, he/she will need some guidance in crafting a winning strategy to face the high competition. In the points below, let us go through some of the common practices followed by the toppers that will help the candidates for the upcoming SSC CGL 2024 and beyond.

Topper Tip # 1

Know the Exam Pattern and Syllabus by Heart: For the candidates preparing for the upcoming SSC CGL exams, it is necessary to know the ‘What’ before looking for the answer to the ‘How’. In the interviews of the toppers of the previous years, one can see that almost all of them know every minute detail of the subject-wise pattern and syllabus. So, it is advised that the candidates should have all these points at their fingertips to manage their preparation better.

Topper Tip # 2

Test your level on Day 1: Many toppers also suggest that if you are preparing for the upcoming SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam, you should try to solve the question paper of the recently held CGL exam to know where you stand in terms of the level of the exam. It will help you in making a preparation strategy tailored to your strengths and weaknesses.

Topper Tip # 3

Make a Long-term and a Short-term Plan: As discussed above, the preparation for the SSC CGL exam is a long process. So the candidates preparing for the exam should have a preparation plan for the entire time available before the exam is conducted and they should divide it into smaller targets. Let’s assume that the SSC CGL Exam is 6 months away, there should be a strategy for the entire 6 month period as well as a month-wise plan to finish all the necessary steps during these months.

Topper Tip # 4

Prepare for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Exams in an integrated manner: Since, the changes in the exam pattern in 2022, the patterns of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 exams have almost aligned. The candidates have to prepare for the same four subjects i.e. General Intelligence & Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension in both stages.

So, they have an opportunity to cover all the basic concepts and practice questions according to the Prelims and Mains levels from the early phases of the preparation process. Doing this will have an immense impact on their performance in both stages of the selection process.

Topper Tip # 5

Make the Previous Year’s Papers your primary resource: The candidates preparing for the SSC CGL exam need a lot of sources through which they can cover all the concepts on which questions will be asked in the upcoming paper. However, across all the toppers, one thing is common: they give the utmost importance to the questions asked in previous years.

Practicing these questions helps the candidates get accustomed to the latest question levels and also prepares them for the various concepts that are repeated in the exam every year. Doing this also helps them craft the best strategy for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 exams.

Topper Tip # 6

Focus on Revision and Testing: Learning different concepts and practicing questions is done by almost all aspirants but the thing that sets some of them apart is the amount of revision and testing they put themselves through before the exam. The advantages of doing this are listed below:

• It helps the candidates retain all the concepts learned and recall them instantaneously in the exam hall.
• Attempting sectional and full-length mock tests prepares the candidates for the latest pattern of the question paper and helps manage the time better in the actual exam.

Topper Tip # 7

Consult your handwritten notes and ‘Mistakes Book’: It is a common practice among successful SSC candidates to make handwritten notes for each of the subjects mentioned in the exam pattern. In addition to that, they also maintain a notebook to record the mistakes they commit while solving questions and attempting mocks. Revising these notes and pointers will help the candidates avoid similar mistakes and minimize their negative marks in the exam.

The points mentioned above are some of the most common practices followed by the toppers of the SSC CGL exams. The candidates who have their upcoming exams in the next month can integrate these into their preparation strategies to maximize their chances of getting selected in their dream government jobs.