Success Story of Shashank Parmar – Cleared IBPS PO, RRB PO 2018

Read the success story of Shashank Parmar, who even after failing for 21 times never lost hope and cleared IBPS RRB PO & IBPS PO in 2018. He refused to give up and proved that it’s important to keep going as when you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.

Success Story of Shashank Parmar – His Journey

“Hello Friends, I am Shashank Parmar from Varanasi, UP. Currently I am working as an Assistant Manager Officer Scale-1 in Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank (Posted in Ramna Branch, Varanasi) and soon going to be a part of Punjab National Bank. I have done my Graduation B.Sc. (Hons.) in Zoology from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi U.P. and then done my Post Graduation M.Sc. in Zoology from University of Allahabad, PRAYAGRAJ, U.P. in 2016.

After completing my PG, Straightaway I started preparing for the banking sector as my elder brother is also an Assistant Manager in Bank of India (got selected in 2014), so there was always a sense of familiarity with the banking sector and what I want to do in the future.

I started my serious preparation from August 2016, but I had given few exams before just to know what comes in the exam. My journey to this stage was not easy as I was from Bio background, who left MATHS in 10th, and had a maths phobia throughout his school life. But as Hrithik said in Defeat-Defeat, “Victory never comes in your comfort zone” and “Uncomfortable is my new friend”, So following these lines of Krrish, I kept going even after series of failures because I knew that one day all my hard work will pay off because hard work is like Lannisters, “They always pays their debts”.

Exams I have Given since 2016:

• SBI PO–2016 (PRE OUT)
• IBPS PO VI-2016 (PRE OUT Got 45.75, Gen CUTOFF 47.50)
• BOB PGDF-2016 ( NOT QUALIFIED FOR GD/PI)
• BOM PGDF-2016 ( NOT QUALIFIED FOR GD/PI)
• RRB PO V-2016 (PRE OUT)
• IPPB- 2016 (PRE OUT)
• NIACL AO– 2016(PRE OUT Got 55.50, Gnrl Cutoff- 65.50)
• IDBI PGDF-2016 ( NOT QUALIFIED FOR GD/PI, Got 70.50, Gnrl cutoff 75+)
• BOB PGDF- 2017 ( NOT QUALIFIED FOR GD/PI Got 80.50)
• RBI GRADE B–2017 (PRE OUT Got 64.5, Gnrl Cutoff- 78)
• RRB PO VI-2017 (PRE OUT)
• OICL AO-2017 (PRE OUT)
• SBI PO – 2017 (PRE QUALIFIED Got 61.75, Gnrl cutoff 52.50, Mains out)
• IBPS PO-2017 (Out in final Merit list after Interview Got 44.65, Gnrl Cutoff- 47.04)
• Syndicate Bank PGDF-2018 (NQ, GOT 105.75, Gnrl Cutoff 109.50)
• CANARA BANK PGDF – 2018 (NOT QUALIFIED FOR GD/PI)
• NABARD GRADE A-2018 (NOT QUALIFIED FOR PHASE 2 Got 108.25, Gnrl Cutoff- 116.50)
• RBI GRADE B-2018 (NOT QUALIFIED FOR PHASE 2 Got 104.25, CUTOFF 105.75)
• SBI PO-2018 (PRE QUALIFIED, OUT IN MAINS )
• BOB PGDF-2018 (Out in final merit list after interview, Got 175.56, Gnrl cutoff 174.88)
• ESIC SSO–2018 (OUT AFTER PHASE 3 IN FINAL MERIT LIST)
• RRB PO-VII 2018 (Qualified, Got Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank)
• IBPS PO-VIII 2018 (Qualified, Got PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK)

Preparation Strategy -:

As you can see I have given a lot of exams in last 2 years and when you prepare for so long and failed so many times, it’s obvious to get depressed and frustrated and this is the stage when many aspirants left preparation but all they have to do is keep going.

Quantitative Aptitude:

I was very weak in quant so first I cleared my basics by solving R.S.Agarwal and then I solved M.Tyra for shortcuts and speed. Solve DI as much as you can. Oliveboard’s mock tests have very high standard quant questions and very much similar to the latest pattern as compared to other sites .

Reasoning:

I was good in reasoning, especially in puzzle solving as it’s one of my favorite timepass, so I take it as fun rather than burden. Having said that I used to solve 1-2 puzzles whenever I got bored of studying other subjects. But for verbal reasoning I used Analytical reasoning by M.K. Pandey.

Computer:

OB’s computer BOLT helped me a lot in RRB PO mains as it’s based on MS OFFICE 10 and all the notes and books which you find will have MS OFFICE 3 or 7. So keep up with the latest version.

English:

I tried many times to solve errors by using grammar but I ended up making more mistakes, so then I decided to go just by my instinct and few basic must-know rules. I got 35/40 in RRB PO mains so I can say that it pretty much worked for me. You get better with practice, so take as many mock tests as you can. I also used Daily Editorial app for reading editorials for RC.

Current Affairs:

For this, I followed multiple sources; like for national, international and state-wise news, I followed affairscloud and gave quizzes and mcqs for last 6 months. Referring Oliveboard Bolt of every month helped me to keep myself updated with the latest happenings. Apart from this I also watched several current affairs videos on youtube.

Interview:

Since I got rejected so many times after interview round, I had quite a few experience of the interview which helped me a lot in the latter interviews which I gave. But one thing that I would like to advise to everyone is to stay focused more on your personal details such as your subjects, city, state, family background etc. Banking knowledge is secondary if it’s an interview of IBPS PO or RRB PO, but if it’s an interview of any PGDF then they will ask around banking topic, so keep that in mind and try to keep it real rather than faking it.

Role Of Oliveboard:

Oliveboard mock tests which were based on the latest pattern and syllabus helped me a lot to practice for the real exam accordingly. Initially I used to refer just the books but then I realized it is not the best way to proceed and thus I realized that focussing on giving mock tests were equally important.

Tips to Aspirants:

Shift to online mode of learning as fast as you can after completing your books because banking exams is all about time and speed, you have to be fast and giving mock will help you in that. I didn’t qualify any pre in 2016 because I was studying from books solving chapters one by one but it didn’t help, so I changed my strategy and just started giving mock tests (5-6 PRE st per day and their analysis or 1 Mains and 2 Pre mock tests per day with their thorough analysis). Trust me this helps a lot. Give as many mock tests as you can. And most importantly, never lose hope in yourself, you are the best version of you. Always have attitude “JAB TAK TODENGE NAHI,TAB TAK CHODENGE NAHI”. Lastly, I want to thank my Parents, Brother, Friends and Teachers for all of their support and guidance.”

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