Top 10 Tips And Tricks To Crack Banking Exams In Your First Attempt

A job at a PSU (Public Sector Undertaking), especially bank, is all the rage in the present scenario. No matter the graduation stream, more and more candidates are approaching the various banking exams conducted every year to grab a chair at one of the government banks.

Every year, various banking exams such as SBI PO, IBPS PO, IBPS RRB Officer Scale I/II/III, SBI Clerk, IBPS Clerk, IBPS RRB Office Assistant, RBI Grade B, RBI Assistant, and others take place for the recruitment of young, smart, and capable candidates for the posts of assistant manager and clerk.

Also Read: 7 Tips To Crack IBPS PO Exam

With that said and understood, it won't be any wrong to say that the competition for these seats is just as fierce as it can get as lakhs of candidates try to prove their mettle after preparation of months, or even years in some cases. Still, a lot of candidates manage to crack these banking exams in the first attempt and clench onto their dream job.

So, since you've already come this far in this article, we bet you are also one of the lakhs of candidates aspiring for a government bank job. And, in case you have been assuming it's almost impossible to make it through in the first attempt, check out our top 10 tips and tricks to just that and prove yourself as well as others wrong and find yourself working at a government bank.

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1. Know what you’re up against
While almost all banking exams like SBI PO, IBPS PO, IBPS RRB PO, RBI Grade B, IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk, and others have a similar syllabus, the difficulty level, however, varies depending on the kind of post. Thus, the test for the SBI PO will surely be more complicated than that of the SBI Clerk. Moreover, different banking exams have distinct exam patterns and diverse time limits.

Hence, the first step while starting to prepare for banking exams should be to familiarise yourself with the syllabus, exam pattern, time limit, and the marking scheme. Follow it with picking the right job and it exam for you, be it SBI PO, SBI Clerk, IBPS PO, RBI Grade, or any other. Besides, since the syllabus for all these tests is more or less the same, foolproof preparation for one exam will help you in attempting other banking exams as well.

2. Coaching vs Self-Study
Some may argue that joining a coaching centre to prepare for banking exams is a must. However, with the amount of study material, video lessons, test papers, and other related data available on the internet, it isn't so at all.

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Additionally, a good number of candidates are individuals with a full-time or part-time job, which only makes it challenging for them to find the time to attend coaching classes. So, while it is not necessary to enrol yourself at a coaching centre, you can always do that too, especially if you are a non-working candidate and find it easier to understand concepts when taught by someone right in front of your eye.

Joining a coaching centre also gives you the benefit of not only requesting solutions to your queries then and there but also forming a group of individuals who can motivate and help each other in tackling various obstacles. However, with the availability of live online classes, you have similar advantages with self-study as well. Thus, the answer to the question of coaching vs self-study depends on your preference.

3. Resources
Once you're familiar with the syllabus, exam pattern, and other related aspects of the exam that you're preparing for, the next move should be to find the best study material, video lessons, live online lessons, and test series that cater to your needs the best.

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4. Topic Tests - Sectional Tests - Mocks Tests
Never jump directly on full-length mock tests. As soon as you finish a topic, start taking topic tests, which are quizzes with questions from a particular topic, say number series. This will help you hone each topic and analyse your performance in the same.

Once you have finished the syllabus and taken all topic tests, move on to sectional tests, which are mini-tests comprising of questions from a section of the full-length mock test. Take separate sectional tests for English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and General Knowledge for mastering each section at a time.

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Lastly, following the completion of topic tests and sectional tests, it's time to take on the full-length mock tests. By this time, you will be better prepared and full-on confidence to tackle the full-length tests.

5. Previous Year Papers & Cut-Offs
In order to have a better idea of what you will be facing at the real examination and how much is a safe score to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment, solve the previous year question papers multiple times and examine the cut-off trend.

With a clear picture of how much you need to score for securing a place in the next round, the stress level will come down and boost your confidence based on your preparation.

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6. Old-School Notes
Irrespective of the fact that you're taking online classes, taking online mock tests, and the real examination will also be computer-based, making traditional notes won't harm at all. Accessing a particular video or finding a solution in an eBook may become troublesome at times, and that's when the old-notes will come handy. Hence, take notes of all the crucial topics and problems that you find challenging at first. It will help while taking mock tests as well as in last-minute revision.

7. Combining Hard Work & Smart Work
Every topic of the syllabus is crucial and plays a vital role in getting you through to the next stage of the recruitment. Therefore, it is essential to cover the whole syllabus and work hard on mastering the weak areas of yours. However, giving too much time to topics that carry a minimal weightage doesn't always pay off.

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And, that's where smart work comes in. If there's a topic that's troubling you, yet not more than one question will feature in the examination from the same, it is sensible to leave it and move on to other significant topics that carry more weightage and a higher number of questions in the examination.

8. Speed & Accuracy
With sharp overall, and sometimes sectional time limits, it is vital to have a higher problem-solving speed. Moreover, along with solving a good number of questions in a limited amount of time, you also need to have high accuracy to surpass other candidates and achieve the required cut-off marks for advancing to the next stage of the recruitment.

For this, there's just one uncomplicated mantra, take as many full-length mock tests as possible, nothing else will help better. If a particular section or topic is stopping you from scoring marks more than the previous year cut-offs, go back to it, master it, and start re-taking full-length mock tests, again.

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9. Time Management
While taking topic tests, sectional tests, mock tests, or even the real exam, managing time is the key. If you spend too much time solving a complex problem, you are eating your own time that could've helped you solve a higher number of much easier problems. Only start solving the questions that you're sure about, and once you complete all of them, give the remaining time (if any) to the complicated and time-consuming problems.

If there is no sectional time limit, move on to other sections and attempt their questions before going after the complex and doubtful problems. As a whole, give the most amount of time to the questions that you're confident of answering and take on the dubious puzzles only once you complete the rest of the test.

10. Guessing?
Since it is your career and months, or maybe years of hard work on the line, guessing the answers to uncertain problems in the test is the last thing you should do. Attempt the problems confidently and rely on your hard work, not your luck.

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Though, in case you manage to attempt a far lower number of questions than you should have to secure a score good enough to outdo the cut-off, trying your luck isn't a bad option, either.