This article was first published 14 years ago

Tips to ace the Bank PO exam

Last updated on: November 23, 2011 16:37 IST

The Indian Bank Personnel Selection common written examination for selection of candidates for clerical positions in 19 listed banks in the country is scheduled on November 27, 2011, Sunday.

In an online chat with readers, Aziz Manva, head, Testfunda.com addressed reader queries related to cracking the exam. For those who missed the live chat, here's the unedited transcript.

vikasb asked, sir, how can i prepare for the written examination? pls give some tips

Aziz Manva answers, at 2011-11-22 16:09:42For the written IBPS exam, you will need to work on verbal ability, basic maths and data interpretation, basic banking GK, reasoning and basics of computers...These are the 5 sections in this exam

nottyn asked, kindly share some strategies to crack basic banking related questions for those who are from non-commerce background

Aziz Manva answers, The questions that come in the GK section can more or less be classified into 4 areas - 1) Basic Banking Products - Savings accounts, fixed deposits, etc 2) Banking Current Affairs - Different schemes and offers of different banks 3) Basic Marketing Terms - what is call centre, customer support, etc 4) Overall Current Affairs SO, you need to prepare accordingly

vivek asked, plz suggest how 2 score more in analytical skiils

Aziz Manva answers, practice more of MHCET level analytical questions as well as past SBI PO papers...that will give u a lot of practice for the IBPS analytical sections

Purva asked, that is the average salary offered?

Aziz Manva answers, Cannot comment on the average salsy because this exam is valid for 19 nationalised banks apart from SBI...SO the salary offered will differ in each case

Purva asked, how does it vary from nationalised and co operative banks?

Aziz Manva answers, It should be higher than co-operative banks but cannot comment on the exact figures

prazan asked, Could you just shed some light on the evaluation process and what percentage of students get through?

Aziz Manva answers, Generally the written test consists of an objective paper and a subjective paper. If you have cleared all the sectional cutoffs in the objective test ur subjective paper gets evaluated. After that selected students are shortlisted for a GDPI round. Since the first IBPS written test was conducted in september it is difficult to say what proportion of students get in

Aakash asked, Hello sir, Could you please enlighten us as to what should be the preparation strategy?

Aziz Manva answers, THe bank exam requires extensive practice as the paper pattern does not change very often. Also, keep reading the newspapers for current affairs to help you clear GK. Be strong in your maths and english basics

prazan asked, Does high scores help the candidate in any way for example higher post, location. If yes what is post that he will be offered apart from a clerk.

Aziz Manva answers, At the initial stage, because all the people clearing the cutoff get a call for the GDPI round. But, after the GDPI, when all these scores are combined then obviously your high scores in the written test could help you get a better posting

Zero asked, Please mention the top banks participating in the xam. Please put some light on xpect cut-offs of these banks. Thanks....

Aziz Manva answers, Some of the major banks in this exam are BoB, BoI, PNB, Union Bank, Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank, Canara Bank etc. Most major nationalised banks apart from SBI are participating in this

nottyn asked, what is the minimum one needs to score in the exam to get a call from one of these banks? is it a centralised procedure?

Aziz Manva answers, Generally, it is ecpected that you should score more than 60% in the test to get a call...but this not formally declared...the exam is conducted centrally...after t6hat the recruitemtn of each bank is conducted separately

Illustrations:Uttam Ghosh

'Try to get data on basic banking products'

Slinga asked, which bank offers the highest salary?

Aziz Manva answers, Don't have too much idea on that, unfortunately

nottyn asked, also pls share a list of Dos and donts for the exam which will be useful

Aziz Manva answers, Sure...the paper generally has the same kind of questions repeating each year..so it makes sense to have a look at past SBI and other Bank PO papers. Also, because the questions style is more or less constant, practice as many questions as you can. For GK, keep yourself updated on current affairs and general customer related terms

JanardanJhakard asked, What kinda perks does one get while working at a bank?

Aziz Manva answers, If you work in a nationalised bank, your basic salary may not be too high, but you get very good PF, pension, HRA and DA. You also get petrol allowance beyond a certain level. Plus the number of casual leaves that you get, apart from the sick leaves is much higher

Racheal asked, Respected Sir/Ma'am my maths is relatively weak. I have avoided it in my five years of college education. Can you give me some tips that will be helpful for my maths preperation as well as building my confidence.

Aziz Manva answers, First of all, take any 8/9 or 11th standard maths textbook and go through the formulae or concepts given...solve as many questions as possible from there. That will help you revise the fudamentals of maths. After that have a look at the past few Bank PO papers to practice sample maths questions. That should also increase your confidence

1234565v asked, for GK of Current Affairs wht shud I read ?

Aziz Manva answers, For GK, firstly follow up on current affairs. Also, try to keep updated on recent products/shcemes/offers launched by nationalised banks. Also, try to get data on basic banking products such as savings and current accounts. Finally keep yourself updated on recent marketing terms and jargon

gurmeet asked, Sir,when will result for PO CWE wil announced

Aziz Manva answers, The result of PO CWE is expected any time now. It got stuck because of the supplementary exam. The latest should be around the first week of December

prazan asked, Can these exam scores be used as a stepping stone for other private bank interviews? Is it legally allowed or ethically right?

Aziz Manva answers, It can be used as a stepping stone to prepare for other bank interviews. But, I am not sure if private banks will accept this score. If they don't, then the legal or moral aspect won't come in the picture at all.

gurmeet asked, Is there any negative marking in CWE?

Aziz Manva answers, Yes, there is...generally 1/5th or 1/4th

1234565v asked, how do testfunda.com is going to help me for preparation ?

Aziz Manva answers, We have a complete theory material for this exam inmcluding separate books for GK as well as computers plus 10 tests based on the last IBPS exam.

KolaveriKolaveridi asked, Can you suggest good question banks?

Aziz Manva answers, R.S agarwal is generally a good question bank. You could also use our material to prepare

Zero asked, How to approach for GK. I m seriously ill in GK. Thanks...

Aziz Manva answers, For GK, firstly follow up on current affairs. Also, try to keep updated on recent products/shcemes/offers launched by nationalised banks. Also, try to get data on basic banking products such as savings and current accounts. Finally keep yourself updated on recent marketing terms and jargon

prazan asked, What are the options for MBA finance in the banking industry in India. How should a candidate pursue his career in securities markets/ secondary market?

Aziz Manva answers, There is a lot of scope for MBA Finance even in nationalised banks...YOu could get into corporate finance and lending, audit, risk management etc or you could get into the SPV based functions such as escrow and security trustee businesses

Racheal asked, sir what kind of questions are asked about banks in the GK section? DO we have to know a bank from its inception or is current data sufficient?

Aziz Manva answers, More or less you need to know the recent activities of the bank. For instance, you need to know what are the latest schemes launched by Bank of Baroda, etc

Zero asked, What r the xpected weight-age of the marks scored in the final selection.... Do profile play any role in the final selection.

Aziz Manva answers, The IBPS notficiation is completely quiet on this...so difficult to say at this stage

gurmeet asked, what is the method to complete paper with n given period of time?

Aziz Manva answers, Don't try to complete the entire paper withint the given time as that would be very difficult. Instead allocate around 40 minutes each to Verbal, Quant and Reasoning and the remaining half an hour to GK and Computer Awareness..That will help you split the attempts evenly between the sections

Vishal asked, What is the expected sectional cut-offs for IBPS exams?

Aziz Manva answers, The IBPS authorities have given a formula to determine the sectional cut-off i.e Average - 1/4th standard deviation for general category students and Average - 3/4th standard deviation for reserved category students....so cannot be predicted at this stage.

Aziz Manva says, Thanks for participating in this chat. Hope to see you again next time. Wish you all the very best!