Bank PO Exam

What is the full form of Bank PO?

The full form of Bank PO is “Bank Probationary Officer”. It is one of the most reputed and highly prestigious jobs in the banking sector. Those candidates who wish to start a career in the banking sector must know every small detail about the Probationary Officer (PO) exam as it is one of the most important exams for direct recruitment in various PSU banks.

What is a BANK PO?

The Bank PO is a post under the Officer cadre of the Banking sector. PO or Probationary Officer is a post where candidates are directly recruited as Officers in major Banks of the country.

Various public sector banks conduct the bank PO exam for recruiting Probationary Officers Candidates preparing for the upcoming Bank PO exam 2021/2022 must keep a regular check on the notifications and important dates for the recruitment process for various Banks. Some of the popular PO exams are given below:-

• SBI PO
• IBPS PO
• IBPS RRB PO

Apart from the above-mentioned exams, Banks from different states of the country and RBI also conduct recruitment to appoint Officers or Bank PO.

In this article, we shall discuss in detail the educational qualifications, salary, exam pattern, eligibility, and other information for a Bank PO.

Table of Contents:

1. Bank PO Recruitment
2. Bank PO Eligibility Criteria
3. Bank PO Exam Pattern
4. Bank PO Syllabus
5. Bank PO Job Profile
6. Bank PO Career Growth
7. Bank PO Salary
8. Bank PO Preparation

1. Bank PO Recruitment:

The post of a Probationary Officer is one which every aspirant looking for a job in the banking sector endeavor to achieve. It is one of the highest entry-level job profiles for which examination is conducted nationwide. Candidates who are looking forward to appearing for the upcoming Bank PO exam shall get all the required information related to the Probationary Officers post and the responsibilities and worth aspects of an employee appointed at this post.

2. Bank PO Eligibility Criteria:

Candidates, intending to apply for the PO exam should ensure that they fulfill the minimum eligibility criteria. Given below are the Bank PO eligibility criteria:

• Nationality: The candidate must be a citizen of India
• Age limit: The general age limit to apply for a bank PO exam is between 20 and 30 years. However, different banks avail for different age limit eligibility. For selected categories, age limit relaxations are also provided in terms of bank PO eligibility.
• Educational-Qualification: Educational qualifications are another crucial aspect of bank PO eligibility. The candidate must at least have a Bachelor’s degree from a government-recognized University to fulfill the bank PO eligibility.

3. Bank PO Exam Pattern:

The conducting body sets the bank PO exam pattern for respective bank exams. The exam pattern is subject to change and the conducting body reserves the right to change the Bank PO exam pattern as per its convenience. The standard exam pattern that is followed by most banks for Bank PO recruitment involves the following steps:

• Preliminary Examination
• Mains Examination
• Interview
• Group Discussion (only SBI PO)

The preliminary exam in most Bank PO exams is only qualifying and the marks secured in the mains examination are counted to calculate the merit, along with the interview marks. Given below is the brief Bank PO exam pattern for the IBPS, SBI & IBPS RRB PO exam:

4. Bank PO Exam Syllabus:

Since the Bank PO exam is held in 2 stages – preliminary (prelims) and mains, the syllabus for the Bank PO exam can be summed up as follows:

Syllabus for Preliminary Exam: English language, reasoning ability, and numerical ability

Syllabus for Mains Exam: General reasoning, computer aptitude, English language, general economy, banking awareness, and data analysis and interpretation.

PO Mains Exam Syllabus: The mains exam is the important phase of the PO exam. Maximum weightage is given to the score obtained by the candidate in the PO Mains Exam in the final selection to the post of Probationary Officer. The Mains Examination of PO exam consists of 4 + 1 sections: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, English Language, Quantitative, Aptitude & General Awareness. Just like SBI PO, IBPS has introduced a descriptive paper in its mains exam for the selection of candidates for the post of Probationary Officer.

5. Bank PO Job Profile:

The post of a Probationary Officer in any Public Sector Bank comes along with a lot of responsibilities. Candidates must know the Bank PO job profile and responsibilities related to it, well in advance.

Given below is the Bank PO job profile:

• A Probationary Officer is usually introduced to all the work types of a bank when hired and hence has the benefit of enjoying a lot of diversity in their job profile. He/she is trained in different functions of a bank such as finances, accounting, customer relationship management, investment handling, and billing, etc.
• A Bank PO has to work as a Public Relations Officer (PRO), handle customer complaints, and address various customer-related issues.
• It also includes managerial work such as supervising the employees under the Clerical cadre as managing clerical tasks and dealing with matters such as discrepancies in accounts, cross-checking the cash balance, issuing cheque books and ATM cards, demand drafts, etc.
• Managing cash flow, loans, mortgages, and finances.
• Take care of loan-related documents as and when required
• This not only gives a candidate practical knowledge but also helps in evaluating what the PO is most suited for, while on probation.

 6. Bank PO Career Growth:

• Once a candidate enters the banking sector at the post of Probationary Officer, multiple opportunities come in the way, where the employee can opt for promotion either through the internal examinations conducted or by giving Interviews and qualifying them.
• Being a Probationary Officer the chance of working on new challenges and interesting task come in the way at every day.
• The job improves communication skills as the PO is involved in more interaction with the clients.
• Bank PO is more secure and stable as compared to other jobs.
• Bank PO will be liable to claim compensations and other corporate benefits fairly more than other firms and industries.
• The post will help to gain knowledge of different kinds of works involved in the banking sector. More variety of works will be exposed which will help in professional growth.
• The best part of a PO profile is the number of holidays as compared to any other private organization. This, in a way, helps in maintaining the work-life balance.
• A Bank PO can easily get promoted to the post of Managers, Assistant Manager, Assistant General Manager, and so on. The Bank PO job is transferable and with every promotion, the employee is likely to get transferred from their current job location.

7. Bank PO Salary:

Given below is the Bank PO salary in brief for the reference of candidates:

Bank PO Salary
Bank	Bank PO Salary (Basic Pay)
IBPS PO Salary	Rs. 23,700
SBI PO Salary	Rs. 27,620
RBI Grade B Officer Salary	Rs. 35,150

Note: The above-mentioned Bank PO salary details are exclusive of the increments, perks, and other benefits that are provided to a Bank PO employee.

8. Bank PO Preparation:

The bank PO syllabus is vast, the demand for candidates willing to join the banking sector is very high, and the level of exam is very tough. So the Bank PO preparation must be done in a refined and thorough manner.

Candidates willing to apply for the upcoming Bank PO exams 2021, can refer to the below-mentioned list of bank PO preparation tips:

1. Make a systematic and strategic study plan and prepare accordingly. Having a proper plan is imperative as it ensures that no time is wasted

2. Another important thing is to practice as much as possible. The more one will practice the better one will get at solving the questions. One can try solving the questions from mock tests by setting a specific time. Doing this will ensure to keep a track of time and answer as many questions as possible during the exam.

3. While preparing for the exam, one has to ensure time management that is kept at preference. Time management plays a vital role in the Bank PO exams and no extra time is spent on any question while solving the paper cover maximum sections.

4. Candidates must have sound knowledge about the exam pattern & syllabus before starting the bank PO preparation. Cover the entire syllabus when preparing for the exam.

5. Once the above tips are done, revise the entire syllabus thoroughly. Do not take it easy and keep working hard on each section.

At last, I want to finish the article with my warm wishes to all the aspirants who are preparing for the upcoming PO bank exams.

 

This article is written by;

Mr. Abhishek Chaturvedi

B.Pharma & MBA

(Former Production Officer – Lupin)

Email: [email protected]