Bank Exams (PO & Clerk) - How to crack it From Expert D K Tiwari CFA & Mr.Tapan Edited by C.

Rajakannan

Question paper pattern

Questions Qualifying Attempt Standard Time 1 Test of General Awareness..........50...............22.................40+.................20 2 Test of Quantitative Aptitude.......50...............22.................40+.................40 3 Test of Reasoning Ability...............75...............25................60+.................50 4 Test of English Language.............50...............22.................30-35..............25

+ 5 Test on Specialised Subject............50................22........................45+....................20

BOOKS " A MIRROR OF COMMON ERRORS" by Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh ENGLISH Math: 1. Quicker Maths, M.TYRA (for Bascics) 2. Math Hyrarld Publication.

................ A Text book on Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning by Arun Sharma.

Reasoning: Analytical Reasoning, MK Pandey

Preparation tips: For a good preparation you should go through the daily Hindu + Economic times newspapers (3 month) + Executive Maker+Bsc+PD.

General suggestions

Just Buy Executive Maker & BSC (BSC Stands for: BANKING SERVICES CHRONICLE ) Practice Set (it absolutely different from Previous practice set) papers where you find very good questions for practice...........just do it & get prepare for upcoming exams. English: English is big problem for cracking the exam. Try to make it easy. Be easy in while attempting the questions. Please refer the Book A Mirror of Common Errors by Ashok Kumar Singh . It is good book to refer. Try to Read Hindu News paper Editorial Page and write the meanings of unknown words in a note book. Keep remind these every day when u get get time. Important Points while attempting in Exam.. ----Dont attempt Reading Comprehension at first--------Sentence arrangement also can be given lower preference-------Dont spend more than 20 Mins in English---Manage it within the time frame ..

Math There is no easy way to attempt Math.. 1. Do it from starting it self.. 2. During Your Practice try to attempt all. Generally SI and CI question takes time. But try to know the shortcuts and attempt those also. 3. Series -- Practice 5-6 series daily. By heart Cube upto 30, Square upto - 20 and Table upto 35. It helps a lot wihle attempting questions. 4. Daily practice one set of math from Previous Paper BSC. dont go for quantity but give stress on quality. Try to solve the Math paper within 45 Mins only. After finish try to find out the unattempted questions and shortcuts. Give time for correction and analysis. Be cool while attempting the questions. 5. Practice atleast 3 DIs daily. We will find different types od DIs and Different types of formulas. Keep on thinking wat are the various ways and how these questions can be solved. 6. Do not go for blindly practicing "A magic of quicker Math". Keep it as a reference Book. Practice

from Previous Paper from BSC publications and refer the book when u stuck up at any formula. 7. There are specific questions from Permutations and Combinations, Probability, come in Exam so dont get scared at these question. Practice it during ur practice session.

Try to finish ur paper in 45 Mins only.

Reasoning: Same stretegy. Now I think, Pattern has been revised. But still from my experience I am telling some thing.. 15 Questions from Common Sense Reasoning must be in a position to be solved.Due to anxiety some error occurs. Single error matters a lot. It consume both time and marks due to carelessness. Try to keep these questions under your control. Norn aVerbal Reasoing Practice it from RS Aggrawal. It is very easy once u get familliarise with it. Do nt leave it in Exam hall. Max of candidates leave it. SO if u wish to crack the exam u ve to attempt Non Verbal Reasoning (Picture Reasoning) Assumptions, course of action, Inference- While practice session give time to understand the thme of the logic. You can refer RS Aggrawal or Analytical Reasoning by BSC Publication. I dont know Sylogism is aske or not now a days.. These questions can give you confirmed Marks Try to finish it within 45 Minutes Interview: Preparing for Interview is nothing but making your mind fit towards Banking within a short period of time. Read Newspaper of atleast a week before u appear interview. You should be aware of all economic terms. Try practising yourself about the talk between you and the interviewer in front of the mirror or alone in a ground in the evening in a ground.. Take some common questions.. Like Why you want to join Banking? Why Banking?

How your education can be useful for Banking? Wat are your strengths? 10 Years from now wat u aim to be? Wat is your Hobby? wethr u leave our Bank if get a job with more salary? Importance of your State? Current events ? Changes in banking, like imprtant announcement by RBI or Govt?

For every answer you should have some perfect explanations. Please download from net some TOp HR Questions & Answers. And try practising regularly. When U appear interview you will find yourself much better while facing the Interviewer. If you have a microphone with you, record your answers and try to listen it carefully. If any improvement is required you will come to know automatically.

Some Tips... Interview is not to test your knowledge. It is for your personality Check. SO please concentrate more on HR Questions. Take three deep breath while entering the Interview hall.. Try to practice in Mock Interview. Arrange 2-3 of your friend who are from Bnking Background who can take Mock Interview. Dont take Mock interview before 3 days of appearing interview

Reasoning:

Picture Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasonong is very interesting once u start practising it. Just try to watch and understand. Make a routine so that U can do atleast 10 daily. It will make ur concept more clear. Dont try to go for quantity and try to understand the logic of movements. Generally Seres and Analogy is simple. If u get 5 diagram and 6 diagram reasoning leave it. Better to concentrate on other questions. Points... Practice only series and Analogy (Two Pictures and one in Question Marks)

Practice 10-20 series daily, but understand concept completely. Most of the students leave during exam but those who work on it , Success chance remains higher. Follow RS Aggrawal Reasoning Book and practice the series. There are 600-700 questions are there on series . Practice 10-20 daily. Automatically u will increase the number when interest is created. During practice session try to solve it.. Dont leave. There is no direct shortcut for this. When u will practice more u get more logic

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (UR STRENGTH)

POSITIVE ATTITUDE WITH HARDWORK PANCTUAL AND DETAEMINED SELF CONFIDENCE ABILITY TO FACE THE FAILURES AND RECOVER WITH CONFIDENCE LEARN FROM MISTAKES QUICK LEARNER FULL COMMITMENT TOWARDS WORK HIGHLY ENERGETIC WILLING TO LEARN NEW THINGS GOOD INTERPERSONAL SKILLS GOOD ORGANISER AND MANAGER GOOD HELPING HAND TEAM PLAYER COMMUNICATION SKILLS PROBLEM SOLVING ATTITUDE

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (UR WEAKNESS)

LITTLE BIT MORE TALKITIVE VERY COOL NATURE WORK GORGOROUS PERSON MORE PANCTUAL

EXTRA HELPFUL/HELPING OTHERS EASILY BELIEVE IN OTHERS

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (IMPORTANT POINTS)

PRESENTATION HUMBLENESS/POLITENESS CHEERFLNESS

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (IMPORTANT PTS TO REM)

AVOID HAND MOVEMENT AVOID LOOK UP AND DOWN DO NOT BANG ON THE DOOR AVOID HIDING EYES IT SHOWS LACK OF CONFIDENCE DO NOT FORGET TO WISH THE BOARD DO NOT SIT UNTILL THE BORD ASK YOU TO DO SO NEVER PUT YOUR FILE OR HAND ON THE TABLE DONT IRRITATE WHILE THE BOARD QUESTIONING DO NOT TRY TO DEFEND YOURSELF IN WRONG ANSWWERS DO NOT MAKE NOISE WHILE SEATING AND LEAVING THE CHAIR NEVER SHAKE HANDS WITH THE BOARD EVEN THE BORD OFFERS YOU TO DO SO NEVER ASK QUESTION WITH BOARD DO NOT BE NERVOUS

What you must do to minimize negative marks ? # Analyze the Question paper in advance by referring previous question papers.This helps to get a clear picture of the type of questions in each section.For this, previous question papers or question paper blueprints would help in knowing the pattern # Practice is the only key.Since most bank exams expect you to complete 120-150 questions in 3 hours,its necessary for the candidates to figure out short-cut methods,easy problem solving skills so that precious time could be saved. # Try attending mock tests using sample bank exam question papers,which will help to decide on the amount of time needed to answer each question.Time Management is the most needed skill to answer all the questions in time. # Prepare short notes of your preparations,formulas,important theorems etc.,so you can refer to it during the last minute preparation rather than reading the books. # Be cool & calm while writing the exam.Getting tensed on an unknown question or hurrying to complete the exam soon, contribute to negative marks largely. # Answer the questions that you are confident of being correct ,rather than getting stuck with a question & wasting time trying to answer it. # Do not guess until you are very sure of the answer.Guessing can drastically reduce the marks without your knowing. # Do not erase or overwrite frequently.Since the OMR sheets are read by computers,any improper erasing marks will be calculated as wrong answers,leading to negative marks. In an attempt to avoid negative marks,don't skip all the unknown questions.Take calculated risks & think of the nearest answer,since there is no success without risks.

*****HOW TO CLEAR PO EXAMS********

First of all clearing PO is not a big deal in present time, with all banks hiring in such bulk. So this is the right time to crack the PO. Now PO exam consists of following sections1) reasoning 2) maths 3) English 4) general awareness 5) computer aptitude 6) marketing The ideal strategy to clear a PO is to score 70%(at least) in each section to get interv call . but many times if paper is tuff then cutt offs may drop like in case SBI PO, as SBI sets some higher standards. Regarding time management just follow the principle create time 4 ur weaker sections .like in my case my weaker section is maths. What I do is I do around 65-70 quest of res in 40-45 min, Then 40 quest of eng in 20 min . then 40-45 quest of GA in 20 min and at last I create around 50 min 4 maths so I solve around 40 questions of maths in 50 min. And always bear in mind that to get interv call u need to at least get 70% marks in each sec. Now coming to respective sections-:

For beginners: Attempt In serial wise... Total Try to Correct Attempt 1. Rearrangement........5..................................2....(Easily got the 1st and last) 2. Cloze Test.................10................................4....(You do it) 3. Grammatical Error......10................................4....(general questions) 4. Suitable Phrase..........5.................................4....(make combination of both) 5. Misc (May be Similar Words.. etc.)..5..............2... 6. Passage......................15................................8...(Special focus on Ant & Syn). (don't attempt Theme or Heading of the Passage).

For Experts: Try to attempt all the questions Except Comprehension.

***********ENGLISH***********
For beginners: Attempt In serial wise... Total Try to Correct Attempt 1. Rearrangement........5..................................2....(Easily got the 1st and last) 2. Cloze Test.................10................................4....(You do it) 3. Grammatical Error......10................................4....(general questions) 4. Suitable Phrase..........5.................................4....(make combination of both) 5. Misc (May be Similar Words.. etc.)..5..............2... 6. Passage......................15................................8...(Special focus on Ant & Syn). (don't attempt Theme or Heading of the Passage).

For Experts: Try to attempt all the questions Except Comprehension. I refer Two books " A MIRROR OF COMMON ERRORS" by Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh or " Common Error by Santosh Chandra Phenix"

**********General Awareness*******
General Awareness:You should prepare through the daily Hindu + Economic times newspapers (3 month) + Executive Maker+Bsc+PD. For Previous Papers Go through the My related Thread........ Link is here. http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#CommMsgs?cmm=57371402&tid=5550287499885812586 &start=1

**********MATHS************
MATHS-for maths just follow M Tyra. The best book to increase speed . all tricks given in the book r useful if someone remembers. Fpr PO no need to read whole book. Just read chapters addition,sub, multiplication, division, ages, time and distance, work , probability, permutation combinations,pipes and cisterns. For advanced Short tricks you can Go through "Math frm Herald Publication"

*************REASONING************
REASONING- this is the most easy and scoring part. This section makes the rank. So for reasoning just learn some tricks and try to get 100% accuracy whatever u solve. In topics like input output, syllo, coding decoding, non verbal, blood relations, equation questions u can get 100% accuracy. Many people r afraid of non verbals , they say that they just leave non verbal uqestions as it isand mind u non verbals makes the difference b/w selection and failure. So practice non verbals from RS agarawal. Statement assumption, syllo, machine input from BSC book analytical reasoning. These 2 r best books on reasoning. For advanced problems, i suggest you to go through BSC Practice Sets (different from BSC Previous Practice set.) Here you find bit advance problems.

*******Computer*********
I suggest a very nice book "Computer An Introduction" Publication Pariksha Manthan. On the my point of view it is a best book..... Apart from it..... For practice you can buy BSC's book.

***********Marketing*************
There are various books Available in the market for Marketing. But i refer Upkar Publication & BSC Publication. Both are very Good.

Website:

Basic Marketing Concepts/Terms http://currentaffairsbankpo.blogspot.com/2010/05/marketing-concepts-for-bank-exams2010.html

Questions cum Material 1.http://currentaffairsbankpo.blogspot.com/2010/05/quiz-on-marketing-aptitude-for-bank.html 2.http://currentaffairsbankpo.blogspot.com/2010/05/marketing-aptitude-quiz-ii-2010.html 3.http://currentaffairsbankpo.blogspot.com/2010/05/marketing-aptitude-quiz-2010-iii.html

ALL BANKING BOOKS, TIPS, TRICKS & MAGAZINES http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#CommMsgs?cmm=57371402&tid=5491680703846620612&start=1

Reasoning: Although Picture reasoning is very easy but it is very difficult to describe it on this post. But i bit guide............through this post. #Follow the odd man out method. #Try to understand the logic of movement. #You can take help of Reasoning Book RS Aggrawal & Start practice. Definitely after 5 set you got the confidence & you have to do it.

AEIOU is a method to solve syllogism........for detail i refers to Book Name ' Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey, BSC Publication" (page no 301).

24 hrs preparation schedule (full time PO aspirants) For full day...... 0700 - 0930 - Set Practice.... Take rest for 15 Minutes... 1000- 1200 - Math evaluation.. -> Please give sufficient time to think... the different way how a questions can be solved... Rest for 15 Minutes... Try to recollect Tables upto 30, Cube up to 20 , Squares upto - 40 Really it helps a lot... Prepare this in a large post it Pad and paste on the wall .. Practice daily.. Lunch at 1300 hrs.. take rest for 1 hour .. get ready to you table at 3 PM... 1500-1700 Then solve Reasoning... Try with the different methods... 30 minutes rest... Then go to Nonverbal and practice 20 daily... ... 1900- 2000 English...... Prepare synonyms, Antonyms and error detection...

If you are from Delhi... Plsease tune 106.4 FM for World News... Make a note of important events... Then at 2100 English News... ..(Prasar Bharti) 2115 - News analysis... Some important weekly current affairs are coming at 2130 we can hear also..

2200 - News Paper reading... Editorial Page.. try to collect the terms and mantain in a register.. 2300 - Discuss GK in group if possible (becoz this time generally felt sleepy.. So try to utilise in

Group) . 0000- Gd nt..

> General Awareness: Can be divide in two part 1. Current Affairs 2. Bank economics. > Need to do........... 1. General Studies INDIAN ECONOMY PD Exam Series. 2. Regular The Hindu & The Economic Times News Paper and make note. 3. Daily News from.......DD News or what ever resource you have. 4. Have to clear basics. Like GDP, GNP, Money Measure Concepts, Different Rates etc. 5. Go through 4 Month BSC and PD. 6. Use Executive Maker for GA Practice.

Interview: INTERVIEW : 100 Marks divided into following sections :

>Intelligence and Clarity of Thoughts : 10 Marks >Motivation : 10 Marks >Leadership qualities and Team Spirit : 10 Marks >Communication Skills : 10 Marks >Empathy and concern for the less privileged : 10 Marks >Initiative & Innovativeness : 10 Marks >Analytical Ability : 10 Marks

>Interpersonal relationship :10 Marks >General demeanour and Attitude :10 Marks

I have already the basic necessities of the Bank interview in my earlier posts in this thread only. Please refer.. Regarding Specialist subject... Please refer a good book to get the basic knowledge.. Keep a fresh preparation for your work experience. You should be able to present your work experience in a systematic and logical manner.. So please keep practicing the HR questions inside you in ground in the evening... If possible take please tell ur friends who are officers in Banking Sector, to take 2-3 Mock Interviews .. It will help a lot to correct basic body languages and speaking style.. # Atleast update urslef with ur Home State, District and Town... # Current Affairs of around last 15 days... # Questions and Answer to Basic HR Questions.. # Specialist Questions from ur specialisation.. # Good and logical Presentation ur thoughts...

D K TIWARI CFA ~MODERATOR~ SBI+ALL BANK PO ASPIRANTS COMMUNITY