Prerna Payal Success Story: From Failures to RBI Assistant Job

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Published on 18 February 2026 by
Success Story of Prerna Payal

Prerna Payal, an engineering graduate from Noida, faced rejection in nearly 16 competitive exams before achieving multiple banking and insurance selections. Despite being an average student in school and having limited awareness about career options initially, she chose to shift from private sector aspirations to competitive exams. Through consistency, self-study, and regular mock practice, she secured selections in the IBPS Clerk, OICL AO, RBI Assistant, IBPS PO, and other major exams. She has worked with Union Bank of India and Canara Bank and later joined the Reserve Bank of India Lucknow office as an RBI Assistant.

Success Story of Prerna Payal

Read about Prerna’s journey below.

Question 1: How did your competitive exam journey begin?

Answer: You completed B.Tech without much awareness about diverse career options. After graduation, you explored private job opportunities but were not satisfied with job conditions. This motivated you to shift towards government sector exams like SSC CGL and Bank PO. In January 2016, you joined coaching but soon realized that self-study and mock analysis were more effective than depending entirely on classroom teaching.

Question 2: How did you handle repeated failures in almost 16 exams?

Answer: You faced multiple setbacks, including missing final cutoffs by narrow margins and failing in interviews. Instead of giving up, you treated every rejection as feedback to improve. You remained determined that you would not stop until you secured a job of your preference. This strong mindset helped you continue attempting exams with improved preparation each time.

Question 3: How did Oliveboard help in your preparation?

Answer: You regularly practiced from Oliveboard Mock Tests, which closely matched the actual exam difficulty level. You believed that merely attempting mocks was not enough, so you focused deeply on mock analysis, performance review, and sectional improvement. Oliveboard mocks helped you refine time management, improve weak sections, and build exam temperament.

Question 4: What was your strategy for reasoning?

Answer: You enjoyed solving puzzles, which became your strength in exams. You made it a habit to practice at least 2 puzzles daily from mock tests and online practice sets. Since there is no fixed formula for reasoning, you focused on learning multiple solving approaches and improving speed through regular practice. This consistent effort made reasoning one of your strongest sections.

Question 5: What approach did you follow for Quantitative Aptitude?

Answer: Quant required strong basics and continuous practice. You focused on concept clarity, speed practice, and mock-based question solving. Since time is limited in exams, you trained yourself to maintain accuracy in the first attempt itself. Regular timed practice improved both your calculation speed and confidence.

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Question 6: How did you prepare for English?

Answer: Your English preparation was largely based on mock tests and pattern analysis. After understanding exam trends, you developed your own attempt strategy. You preferred attempting fillers and sentence rearrangement first, while leaving comprehensive passages for later. You believed every aspirant should customize their strategy according to strengths and weaknesses.

Question 7: What was your preparation method for general awareness?

Answer: You followed daily GK updates from multiple sources and made regular notes. Around 4–5 months before exams and a few days prior to the exam, you revised using GK Capsules and Monthly Current Affairs Compilations. Consistent revision ensured better retention and improved performance in mains examinations.

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Question 8: Can you highlight some of your major achievements?

Answer: You secured selection in IBPS Clerk (Delhi Region) and joined Union Bank of India in May 2017. Later, you cleared the IBPS PO and were allotted Canara Bank. You also cleared OICL AO through the waiting list and finally achieved your goal by clearing RBI Assistant 2017 and joining the Reserve Bank of India Lucknow office in July 2019.

Question 9: What message would you like to give to aspirants?

Answer: You believe consistent practice and honest self-analysis are the keys to success. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so strategy should be personalized. Instead of overthinking about job conditions beforehand, focus on securing the job first. With patience, determination, and regular mock analysis, success is achievable.

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