The IBPS PO is a national-level exam that is conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for the recruitment of probationary officers in public sector banks. The banking sector recruits thousands of aspirants by the medium of the IBPS PO exam. Being a national-level prestigious exam, a huge amount of applications is registered for the exam every year that makes the exam more competitive.
There are three phases of the IBPS PO exam:
- Preliminary exam
- Main exam
- Interview
These are the three parts of the IBPS PO exam; each stage has its own set of rules and guidelines. Here is a detailed description of each stage of the IBPS PO exam
- IBPS PO Preliminary exam: The IBPS PO preliminary exam is a written exam of 100 marks including 100 questions with a time limit of 1 hour. The subjects of this exam include the English language, reasoning and quantitative aptitude. This exam also pertains to negative marking. For every one wrong answer, ¼ or 0.25 marks are deducted, and to qualify in this exam, the aspirants should clear the cut-offs of all three subjects individually. The marks of English language, quantitative aptitude, and reasoning are 30, 35, and 35 respectively.
- IBPS PO main exam: The IBPS PO main exam is also a written exam of 200 marks including 190 questions and the time duration of this exam is 2 hours 40 minutes. The subjects of this exam include the English language, quantitative ability, reasoning, and general awareness. Only the aspirants who clear the preliminary exam become eligible for the main exam. This exam also has negative marking, so for every wrong answer, 0.25 marks are deducted. It is necessary to clear the cut-offs of all the subjects individually to clear the exam. The marks of English language, quantitative aptitude, reasoning, and general awareness are 40, 50, 60, and 50 respectively.
- IBPS PO Interview: The IBPS PO interview also known as the language proficiency test is performed to test the communication skills and knowledge of the aspirant. Only the students who clear the preliminary exam followed by the main exam become eligible for the interview. The interview carries 100 marks from which the required score is 40% to clear the interview and the duration of this interview is 15-20 minutes. The total score of the aspirants in their IBPS PO exam is concluded by calculating, and combining the score of the main exam and interview in the ratio of 8:2
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Before starting the preparations of the IBPS PO exam, it is important to be aware of the details of the exam including the eligibility criteria, documents required, syllabus, exam pattern, marking scheme, growth, salary, and other important criteria.
Here are some of the important details that you should know before preparing for the IBPS PO exam
- Eligibility criteria: According to the conducting body, there are three major eligibility criteria:
- Age group- The age of the aspirant should be between 20-30 years.
- Education- The aspirant should at least have a bachelor’s degree, i.e., the aspirant should be graduated from a recognized university.
- Nationality- The nationality of the aspirant should be Indian.
- Documents required: Before registering for the IBPS PO exam, the candidate must ensure the documents such as a scanned copy of – class 10th mark sheet, class 12th mark sheet, a recent photograph of the candidate, thumb impression, signature, and a hand-written declaration. The registration fee of the exam for the general category is Rs.850 and for the SC/ST/OBC/PWD category is Rs.175.
- Exam pattern: The IBPS PO exams contain three stages that involve the prelims, mains and interview. The prelims and the mains exam are the written exams while the interview is a verbal exam. Prelims are the gateway for being eligible for the mains and interview. The final score of the IBPS PO exam is decided by computing and combining the marks of mains and interview in the ratio of 8:2
- Growth and salary: The major benefit of this job is that it offers multiple perks along with a good amount of salary. The perks of this job include allowances, promotions, and various growth opportunities within the organization.
- Marking scheme: The marking scheme of prelims is as follows: the English language subjects carry 30 marks, quantitative aptitude carries 35 marks, and reasoning carries 35 marks. The total marks that the prelims exam holds is 100 whereas the mains exam holds 200 marks comprising of 4 subjects that involve the English language of 40 marks, the quantitative aptitude of 50 marks, the reasoning of 60 marks, and general awareness of 50 marks. The third stage of the IBPS PO exam is the interview that holds 100 marks. The candidates are asked questions of general awareness, the banking sector, and some questions about themselves during the interview. The required score for clearing the interview is 40% and the overall score of the IBPS PO exam is concluded by combining the weightage of the mains exam and interview in a ratio of 8:3. The prelims and the mains exam also comprise of negative marking, i.e., for every wrong answer, 0.25 marks are deducted in the exam.
- Preparations: To prepare for the IBPS PO exam, the candidates should consider the syllabus first, and set up a strategic preparation plan. The most important and beneficial way to clear competitive exams is by practicing multiple previous year papers. Previous year’s papers can help them to get familiar with the pattern of the exam, along with that, practicing sample papers and solving IBPS PO mock test free can be equally beneficial. The candidates should also work on making proper notes and gather the required study material to prepare well for the exam.
- Previous year cut-offs: The candidates should be made aware in advance of the previous year’s cut-offs to understand the complexity and standard of the exam. The candidates should analyze the cut-offs of the past few years and understand the cut-offs trends to score better.
These are some of the criteria that you should be aware of being an IBPS PO aspirant. This exam is a national level exam and equally competitive as well, so you should practice well in order to clear the exam.
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