Today, banking is one of the most popular sectors in the country because it offers steady growth and comes with job stability, which is necessary, especially during these turbulent times. More and more candidates are choosing banking as their desired field, making it a competitive area to get into. That being said, with proper preparation, anyone can crack the exam with ease.
In banking, the SBI PO job is extremely popular because of the high salary and perks it offers. The bank PO exams are conducted annually for several public banks in the country. So, if you are a candidate who is preparing for the SBI exam, we bring you a complete guide to help you out. Keep reading to know all about it.
SBI PO Exam
Before we proceed to the preparation part, it is important to understand all the information related to the exam. Although it is a challenging exam, remember, with the right amount of preparation, it is doable. The exam is divided into three phases- SBI PO Prelims, SBI PO Mains, and Group Exercises & Interview.
SBI PO Prelims Syllabus
- English Language: It includes reading comprehension, para jumbles, improvement of sentences, spotting spelling errors, word replacement, vocabulary, and idioms & phrases.
- Quantitative Aptitude: It includes a number system, percentage, simplification, profit & loss, probability, simple interest & compound interest, quadratic equations, ratio & proportion, speed, time & distance, mensuration, and permutation & combination.
- Reasoning Ability: It includes logical reasoning, coding-decoding, syllogism, alpha-numeric series, puzzles, seating arrangement, and blood relations
You will have to answer a 100 mark paper where each question will carry 1 mark and you will have 1 hour to solve the entire paper. The wrong answer leads to a penalty of 0.25 marks.
SBI PO Mains Syllabus
- Computer Aptitude & Reasoning Ability: Here, your logical reasoning will be tested via puzzles, number series, coding, and more along with your computer knowledge based on binary, decimal, etc.
- Financial, General & Economic Awareness: Here, your general and current affairs knowledge is tested along with business and financial awareness.
- Data Analysis & Interpretation: You will be asked to solve probability-based problems, analyze graphs and charts, etc.
- English Language: The same syllabus as prelims is asked in mains.
During your mains, your question paper will contain 155 questions and you will get 3 hours to solve them. The exam is divided into two segments- Objective and Descriptive. The objective test is held online and comes with separate timings for each section while the descriptive test comes with 2 questions, each carrying 50 marks. If you get a question wrong, the penalty is 0.25 marks, but you will not lose marks if you leave the questions blank or unanswered. You can see more details if you need information on the syllabus, exam patterns, and mock tests.
How To Prepare For The SBI PO Exam?
Before you begin, calculate the time you have in hand. Let’s say, you only have four months to prepare for the exam, divide them into two parts.
Part I
During the first part of your preparation, make sure you follow the below steps of adding them as a part of your preparation for a systematic approach.
Study The Details
Before you jump into the preparations, read all information available and the details related to your exam, i.e., the date of the exam, the exam pattern, durations, and markings. Learning about the exam will help you prepare better.
Create A Time Table
Now, you know everything there is to do with the exam and you have gone through the syllabus. You know what you need to cover to crack the exam. The next step is to create a timetable. The trick to creating a productive timetable is to keep it realistic. Segregate your topics into weak and strong. Start with the strong ones and then proceed to the weak ones.
Give Equal Importance To Every Section
The SBI PO exam has a cut-off. So, you don’t have the luxury of including some topics and rejecting the others. You will have to give equal importance to every section.
Read Everything You Find
The English Language holds a lot of marks in this exam. Therefore, to enhance your hold on the language, read everything you find, especially the newspapers as they not only help you strengthen your vocabulary but will also improve your knowledge of current affairs.
Go Through Grammar Books
Grammar is what makes a language. Therefore, to ensure you frame the sentences properly and can answer all the English questions, go through your grammar books every day. You can also include the chapters in your timetable to make it easier for you.
Follow The News
General knowledge and current affairs are very important for you to crack the exam. Therefore, along with reading the newspaper, make sure you follow the news. And always make notes. That’s essential as it helps you look back and revise.
Part II
Practice And More Practice
This is the time to practice everything you have studied. Take SBI PO Free Mock Test, solve practice questions, and previous question papers to assess how well you have prepared.
Weak Subjects
After taking tests and solving unsolved papers, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. So, take up your weak subjects and revise again. Do it until you don’t see excellent scores.
Revise
Keep a week or 10 days for revision. Create a small timetable, which will tell you when to revise what. Include all the subjects and go through a thorough revision. However, when it comes to current affairs, keep following the latest news and read the newspaper regularly to stay informed.
Manage Time
Since you only get an hour during the first exam and three during your second, time management is essential. Therefore, practice solving the old question papers in the one-hour time frame and then three-hour time frame for the mains preparation.
On the day of your exam, relax and keep your calm as it will help you remember everything you have studied.
