How to Use the Books Effectively for IBPS PO preparation?

In order to crack, IBPS PO exams, a lot of hard work is required. There are range of books and study material available in the market. However, it is important to choose good books so that time is not wasted while preparation.

Good Books for Preparation

RS Agarwal is good book to prepare for quantitative aptitude and reasoning. So far as general knowledge is concerned, one has to read newspapers daily and watch news channels. In the recent exams, most of the questions are from recent news.

Notes from Coaching Institutes

I have seen that many students are preparing only from the notes or study material provided by their coaching institute. In my opinion, this approach is not good as there are many mistakes in these notes. For instance, when I checked the answers of Test Series provided by a renowned bank coaching institute, I found that they had provided many wrong choices as answers. Sometimes, there are printing mistakes in the study material which can result in development of wrong concepts among readers. I am not entirely against the study material of coaching institutes, but just want to say that one should not follow it blindly. This is why, standard books are recommended as chances of mistakes or misprints are very less with them.

Current Opportunities in Banking Industry in India

Exams Conducted by IBPS: Here are the exams conducted by IBPS:

A)IBPS PO Exam

This exam is conducted once in a year. First IBPS PO was held in the year 2011. Minimum qualification is graduation. Before the common bank exam, different banks used to have individual exams.

B)IBPS Clerk Exam

IBPS clerk exam is also conducted once in a year. Minimum qualification is graduation (earlier it was 12th).

C)IBPS Specialist Officer Exam

IBPS specialist officer exam is also conducted once in a year.

Other Exams in Banking Sector

A)Exams Conducted by RBI

RBI PO Exam

RBI Clerk Exam

B)Rural Bank Jobs

C)Private Bank Jobs

ICICI Bank PO

Axis Bank PO

HDFC Bank PO

D)Other Programmes

Bank of Baroda Manipal Banking

Is it compulsory to do coaching to crack Bank PO or Clerk Exams?

The answer to this question depends on a number of factors and thus I cannot answer it simply in either yes or no. I will like to share my own experience with the readers first. I started preparing for bank exams in August 2010. I came to Lucknow for bank preparation and thus enrolled in one of the reputed coaching institutes here. However, after attending the classes for about a week, something unexpected happened. One of my friends informed me about a vacancy in a private company in Lucknow. I went for the interview and was selected. I joined the company thinking that I will attend the classes after my job timings. Later, I found that I was not able to reach on time for the classes due to traffic jams on road while returning. As a result, I was not able to attend the classes further. I kept doing self preparation and kept appearing for exams from individual banks. At that time (Year 2010), there was no concept of IBPS. I failed in all those exams but after about 6 months of preparation, I did understand the basics.

Here is what happened thereafter:

IBPS PO 1(Yr 2011) : Qualified written with 153 score. I was not called for interview as score was less.

IBPS PO 2 (Yr 2012) : Failed to qualify written as I had 1 marks less in reasoning section. I qualified in all other sections.

IBPS PO 3 (Yr 2013): Qualified written with score of 69. Thereafter, I appeared for interview in January 2013.

The intention of sharing my experience with all of you is that if I can qualify the written exams with self preparation, you can do it too. However, if you want to learn shortcuts or have less age remaining as eligibility, you can consider joining coaching for bank PO and clerk exams. There are various other benefits of bank coaching institutes as well. Let us now discuss the benefits of coaching institutes and how to utilize them effectively.

How coaching institutes help in preparation of Bank PO and Clerk Exams?

There are lots of benefits of joining bank exam coaching.  Let us discuss them one by one:

1) Good environment for preparation: First benefit is that you get a good environment for preparation at the coaching institute.

2) Tricks to save time in exam: The teachers in coaching institutes teach special tricks so that the student can save time in online bank exam.

3) Practice tests for evaluation: The coaching institutes also provide practice tests for evaluation.

Exam Pattern Changed in 2015 for PO and Clerk Jobs 2015 by IBPS

If you are going to appear for IBPS exam of PO or clerk in 2015, IBPS has made a big announcement. From 2015 onwards, the exam for PO and clerk will be conducted in two stages. IBPS has also announced the dates for both the exams. This post explains in detail about the changes in exam pattern for IBPS PO and Clerk Jobs 2015.

Date of Exams for IBPS Exams in 2015

Date of Exams for IBPS Exams in 2015 is as follows:

IBPS PO: October 2015 (Pre and mains)

IBPS Clerk: December 2015, Jan 2016

Specialist Officer: January 2016

Changes in Exam Pattern

The main change in the exam pattern is that the exam will be conducted in two stages just like civil service exams. This step is taken seeing the increasing competition among bank aspirants. Lakh of students are applying for IBPS bank PO and clerk jobs every year. So far as the syllabus is concerned, the syllabus will be issued at the time notification for the exam is launched.

Number of vacancies in 2014-15

The exact number of vacancies of PO and clerk cannot be predicted at this time. However seeing the trends of last few years following number of vacancies are expected for different posts:

PO 2015: About 30000

Clerk 2015: 30000-35000

Specialist Officer 2015: 3000-5000

Books to prepare for IBPS PO Exam

IBPS conducts PO exam once in a year to select candidates for different public sector banks. The number of students appearing for these exams is increasing every year and thus the competition has increased manifolds. Here are the stats supporting the above statement:

Exam   Year   Number of Students Appeared

PO 1    2011   3-4 Lakh

PO2     2012   5 Lakh

PO3     2013  10 Lakh

Whether you are doing coaching for the Bank PO exam or doing self-preparation, it is important to have good books for preparation. This post provides detailed information about the best books required for preparation of IBPS PO exam. With every book, link has been provided as well so that you can buy the book online.

Books for Reasoning Section and Aptitude Section

R.S Agarwal is good book for reasoning and aptitude. It covers all the topics in detail. If you are not good in these subjects, you should practice easy parts like machine input output and syllogism in reasoning section.

Books for General Awareness Section

Lucent is more than enough for basic general knowledge. Topics to be covered include general science, history, geography, Indian constitution and banking Industry. Important thing to remember here is that banking aspect is very important in IBPS exam. Again, one has to remain updated about recent news so as to attempt more questions in exams. In recent exams (2013-14), most of the questions are from news of previous 3-4 months.

  

Books for English Section

No specific book is required for English section. One just has to practice as much as possible. This applies to all types of questions asked in bank exams like reading comprehension, error detection.

How to choose a good coaching institute for bank exam preparation?

Every year thousands of new vacancies are coming up in the banking sector. As a result, the competition has increased manifolds. Many coaching institutes have also popped up to teach the basics and special tricks to attempt questions asked in these bank exams. However, it is important to choose a good coaching institute so as to ensure that your money and time is not wasted. One of the most common parameters is previous year selection. However, most of the institutes fake it and thus one should enquire or research this data carefully. This post explains in detail regarding how to choose a good coaching institute for bank exam preparation.

Free Trial Classes and Faculty

In my opinion, it is always helpful to take free trial classes. One can judge the teaching methodology and efficiency of the teachers in these classes. Any good institute should not have a problem providing these free trial classes. Most important aspect to take care of in my opinion is always the faculty. If the faculty is experienced and well qualified, then only you can expect quality teaching.

Other Facilities

Before joining any institute one should also ensure that there are other facilities available as well like library, test series, online practice sessions and subscription to newspapers/ related magazines. Some institutes also provide problem solving sessions for the students. This helps the students to interact with the teachers and discuss their doubts. Very few coaching institutes offer this facility.

Fees

Fees may vary depending on a number of factors. For instance, one of the leading bank coaching institutes in Lucknow charges different fees for different centers. Thus, fees can vary as per the city. Again, some of the institutes also provide combined packages where you get classes for banking exam along with that of SSC/Railway.

How to maximize the benefits of coaching institutes?

If you are preparing for bank PO/ clerk exam, coaching institutes can help a lot. Coaching institutes provide good atmosphere to study and have experienced faculty. However, it is not possible to crack the highly competitive bank exam just by joining a coaching institute. This post contains some useful tips on how to maximize the benefits of coaching institutes.

Vacancy in Corporation Bank after IBPS PO result

I am coming up with a good news for the successful candidates who have cleared IBPS PO 2011 exam. About 25000 vacancies are expected to come this year in different participating banks. Thus if you prepare well for the interviews you might have a good chance at becoming a bank PO.

It is expected that Corporation Bank and Syndicate Bank can come with recruitment notice soon. The number of expected vacancies in both banks is 2000 in total. Only the candidates having the scorecard will be eligible to apply. However regarding the minimum cut off you will have to wait for the official notice to come out. You can keep checking the recruitment section of both websites to know about the vacancy. Or just stay tuned to my blog and I will update once we have an official notice on their websites.

If you have any doubt about Corporation bank and syndicate bank coming PO vacancy in 2012, you can post a comment below. I will reply asap.