Institution of banking personnel PO is a very reputed post and many aspirants attempt this exam every year. It’s a highly competitive examination for which an aspirant requires a lot of hard work. Along with hard work, consistency also plays a major role through which one can ace the exam. IBPS PO is a prestigious post and the level of the exam is very difficult. Clearing it in the first attempt is a dream for every aspirant but if the correct strategy is followed then cracking the IBPS PO examination is possible, that too in just 6 months. Every year thousands of people prepare for this examination. Some prepare the whole year and some realize that they should prepare for the exam after getting information regarding the perks and facilities which are provided to IBPS officers. Every exam requires dedication and consistency and when you decide to prepare in 6 months, you need to put in extra effort but on the same hand, instead of hard work you have to do smart work. Smart work includes a preparation in which you can cover all the important topics from the perspective of this examination.
Let us discuss the pattern of this examination:
IBPS PO examination is divided into three parts i.e, prelims, mains, and interview. Each stage is important in itself, as clearing one stage will lead you to a further stage. So you have to prepare yourself for every aspect.
Prelims: It is divided into three sections, and the subjects which are included in this examination are:
-Quantitative aptitude
-Reasoning Ability
-English language
This examination carries 100 marks and the duration is 1 hour.
Mains: It is divided into two phases, i.e, objective and descriptive. The objective paper is divided into four sections i.e,
-Data analysis and interpretation
-Reasoning & Computer Aptitude
-English Language
-General/Economy/Banking Awareness
The descriptive paper consists of the English language in which letter writing or essay writing is asked. It consists of a total of 225 marks and the duration of this examination is 3 hours 30 minutes.
Interview: This stage carries a total of 100 marks. The cut-off percentage that is required to clear this round is 40% and 35% for SC, ST, OBC. Also, there is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. However, there is no negative marking for unattended questions.
Tips to prepare for the examination:
Prelims: –
Go through the previous year’s question papers: To crack IBPS PO in six months, you must go through all previous year’s question papers. This will help you in sorting out the important questions which are repeated every year. You will also get to know the pattern which is followed in this examination.
Understand the syllabus: To get selected in the examination, you should read your syllabus thoroughly. If you know your syllabus, you will easily remember from which topic the question is asked.
Attempt mock tests: Giving mock tests is important for you to crack this exam in six months. The more you will attempt the mocks, the more you will achieve accuracy in your preparation. There are several IBPS PO mock test free available on websites. This will help you in analyzing where you need to improve and what are your strong fields.
Revision is the key: The notes which you prepared the whole year are helpful at this stage, as revising the topics will help you retain the concepts which you studied in the beginning.
Make brief notes: You should make notes of everything you read and learn, as this will help you in retaining what you have learned in six months of preparation. Make pointers of general awareness questions and use tables to learn things that are difficult to remember.
Mains:
This is the second stage of IBPS PO. In this stage, you need to prepare more than the previous one as it carries more marks and the sections included in this stage are difficult. Concepts that were there in prelims require polishing, but the new concepts require smart work and consistency. You need to learn short tricks to solve the question in less time.
Section-wise preparation:
English – Since the time allotted to complete the examination is very little, you need to have fast reading skills so that you can attempt all the questions. Read books regularly and learn new words to improve vocabulary. You can develop reading habits by reading newspapers, editorials, etc. This is how you can improve your reading habits, as well as you will get daily updates in general knowledge. For improving your writing skills, you should practice writing essays, letters, etc. Also, don’t forget to start a timer when you write these articles, essays. This is how you will evaluate how much time you take to complete that exam.
Quantitative aptitude: For this section, you should practice questions from different sample papers, mock tests, previous year question papers, etc. For solving the questions quickly, you should find out short tricks through which you can solve those questions in seconds, and your time will not be wasted in solving one question.
Reasoning and computer aptitude: Reasoning requires you to practice questions of syllogisms, coding-decoding, blood relations, etc and computer aptitude requires you to have basic knowledge regarding hardware and software, internet connections, network, etc.
General awareness: Reading newspapers and magazines will help you in gaining general knowledge. You should be updated regarding the Indian economy, finance, sports, awards, etc.
This is how you should prepare for IBPS PO in six months. The perks and facilities provided by this job are numerous. So, if you are in doubt that you have started your preparation late and this will be a disadvantage, then keep this fact in mind that even the students who are preparing for years cannot crack this exam, as the duration for preparation is not important, studying with concentration is important. You can easily score good marks if you are true to your hard work and dedication to this examination.