Preparing for bank exam? Here's five valuable tips

If you have decided to take up a banking exam, chances are that you would be surrounded by a lot of questions, doubts and anxieties. Who wouldn’t want a job at a reputed bank known for its brand value and services? In a country where population majorly comprises youth, banking jobs in public and private sectors are highly sought-after. The question is how to prepare for such exams at ease? Keep in mind that these exams differ from school or university exams. Therefore, you must show utmost sincerity toward your goal. Before the tips, let’s look at the general pattern of bank exams. Exams happen at clerical and Probationary Office (PO) levels.

 
The Clerk exam has Reasoning (40 Marks), Numerical Ability (40 Marks), English Language (40 Marks), General Awareness (40 Marks) and Computer Knowledge (40 Marks) totaling 200 marks for the duration of 2 hours. The Probationary Office (PO) exam has Reasoning (50 Marks), Quantitative Aptitude (50 Marks), English Language (40 Marks), General Awareness (40 Marks) and Computer Knowledge (20 Marks), totaling 200 marks for the duration of 2 hours. There is a penalty or negative marking of 0.25 on each wrong answer. It means one mark will be deducted for four wrong answers.
 
Following are the five tips that would be of greater assistance to you:

 

Tip No. 1: Make a schedule for practicing a fixed set of questions daily. It is essential to get organized first. Make it a daily habit to solve questions. Initially you may start with one test or a question paper depending on your capacity. One should be able to practice 2-4 full length question sets in the last month before the exam. You may have a stop watch to measure your performance while practicing.
 
Tip No. 2: Ensure that there are no distractions around. Bank exams demand one-pointed attention when it comes to practice. It makes sense to have a group study with your friends preparing for the same. A group study would help you gain new insights or techniques to solve the problems quickly. However, if you are not comfortable with group study, you may practice alone and meet your friends once in a week for guidance.

 
Tip No. 3: The best way to evaluate your ability to solve and performance is taking Mock Tests conducted by coaching institutes for competitive exams. A Mock test is an examination which serves practice for future exams. Or you can take Mock test by yourself. Never take these tests lightly. One should be doing minimum two to three tests daily. Keep in mind that subjects like Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) can be excelled in through time management. Regular practice would sharpen your skills in solving the questions related to Reasoning and QA. The best part of Mock test is that it prompts you to gradually increase your problem solving speed.

 
Tip No. 4:  When it comes to your question set, never get overcome by anxiety or nervousness. These psychological barriers do impact your performance. Time management is the key. Once you get your Mock question set, go through the section and see all the questions if possible. Select the problems thoughtfully. It is not compulsory to solve each and every question of all the sections. Choose General Awareness section and Computer or English first. It may help you save time for Reasoning and QA. Solve easier questions first and mark the tough ones. Once you are done with the easy ones, start at once the marked ones. And most important, never ever get hooked up to one single question. It is a huge risk. If you are not able to solve it in one minute, leave for the next.

 
Tip No. 5: Last but not the least, if some concepts are not clear, please discuss with your friends or teacher well in advance. If you start looking for help few days before the exam, your friends or even best friend who is also preparing for the same will not be able to help you!
 
These are general tips anyone can follow. It is best to follow what suits you. Different candidates have different methods or approach to problem solving. The final aim is to score maximum and get ready for personal interviews!