Banking Interview Tips by Toppers

IBPS PO 2017 prelims and mains are over and candidates are expecting IBPS PO interview to be held around Jan or Feb 2018. Today, we bring to you banking interview tips shared by some of the toppers of previous years who cleared popular bank exams. These tips will help you well to prepare for interviews like IBPS PO, SBI PO, RBI Grade B and more. 

Ashutosh Sharma – IBPS PO

In his own words,

“Prepare for the below:

• Self-introduction
• Bank and Banking
• Common banking terms
• Tax exempted schemes
• Budget and current affairs

Tips for Interview:

You must have a basic banking knowledge and about current schemes and changes in banking sector

Do not try to fool them if you don’t know an answer. Just graciously accept that

Don’t force yourself to speak in English if you are not comfortable

Make eye contact with them

Prior to the interview, practice speaking in front of a mirror.”

Read his complete interview experience here.

Shilpi Kanchan – IPPB Scale I

In her own words,

• “Interviewers basically test your confidence, personality, communication skills etc. So, work on it.
• Speak in front of mirror or make a group of friends; prepare with them
• Keep an eye on current affairs and banking news
• You are expected to have a decent knowledge of your graduation subject especially when you are a fresher
• If you are doing any job, a decent knowledge of your sector and industry will help
• Be utterly honest with the panel as they will come to know if you are bluffing
• Choose the language wisely. Talking in English won’t help if you don’t speak sense.”

Read her complete interview experience here.

Govind Upadhyay – SBI PO

In his own words,

• “Prepare everything about yourself. Your birthplace, your name, your present place of residence, your hobbies and interests etc.
• Know your family background: The interviewer(s) can ask questions about the occupation of your parents.
• Your educational background: Most importantly the subjects of your graduation (or Post-graduation, if done). You need to prepare the basic concepts of the subjects you had studied during your graduation or post-graduation, as the interviewer(s) can ask you questions from there, you never know. This can also be the ground to the ‘infamous’ Question, “Why Banking, after B. Tech or Maths or Biology?”
• Your work experience, in any: Be prepared for questions related to your work profile. This can also lead to the follow up questions as to why you want to join Bank after working in IT or HR etc.
• Also important is Banking Awareness, which you would already have prepared during the Mains Examination
• Next is, General Awareness. This will include big news makers of the past month. Big news makers like Demonetization, the Union Budget, US Election etc; it will also include Flagship schemes of the Government, such as Beti Bachao, Bati Padhao, Make in India, etc.”

Pushkar Pahwa – RBI Grade B

In his own words,

• “Don’t be in a hurry to answer. Take your time before answering
• Be confident all the time – Saying a confident ‘No/ I don’t know’ is better than giving an under confident/ wrong answer
• Remember that no matter how much you prepare for the interview, there are high chances that the interview gets steered in an unknown territory. So, make sure you are mentally ready for that scenario. The key in such situation would be to retain your calm and confidently say ‘I don’t know’
• Don’t feel under confident by seeing the biodata/ profile of your fellow candidates. All of you have equal chance to get selected.
• Dress neatly – preferably suit for boys and saree for girls. Do not try a new hairstyle/ look before the interview. For example, being a bearded guy, I was very confused as to whether I should appear for the interview with a beard or clean shaven (which is the norm). I decided to go with beard as trying something new (clean shaven) would have made me conscious and less confident. And I scored good marks in the interview. So, the key is to be ‘you’ – both physically and mentally.”

Read his complete exam strategy here.

Hope these interview tips help. All the best!