In recent years banking has been emerged as a lucrative sector. Earlier bank used to considered as a boring place to work, but technology and private and international banks have changed the work culture in Indian banks. Now the banks offer better salary, ease at work and many other benefits to their employees. Job security is another key feature that attracts more youngsters to the banking sector. IBPS and SBI recruitment exams are the gateways for jobs in the banking sector. Banking aspirants are always curious about the different ways to enter banking sector, so here we have discussed different types of IBPS exams.
SBI recruitment exams are conducted to offer a job in the State Bank of India, the largest bank in the country. But most other public sector banks recruit through IBPS exams, so the chances of getting a job increases after qualifying for IBPS exam. All banks have different departments, so IBPS conducts different exams for different positions. Most of the banking aspirants know about IBPS PO and IBPS Clerk exams. But there are IBPS RRB and other exams that you might want to prepare for. So stay with us to know, the different types of IBPS exams.
Different Types of IBPS Exams
If you want to get a job in public banks, you have to appear in SBI and IBPS recruitment exams in India. SBI recruitment exam is for recruitment on State Bank of India. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is an autonomous body that conducts the recruitment exams for all the public banks (of course, SBI is not included in the list). Total 11 banks participate in the IBPS recruitment exam. The recruitment process through IBPS has been online since the late 2000s. Here are the different types of exams conducted by IBPS;
- IBPS PO Examination
- IBPS SO Examination
- IBPS Clerk Examination
- IBPS RRB Examination
IBPS PO Examination
So, let’s put first thing first and talk about the IBPS PO exam. IBPS conducts the PO examination to select the right talent for 11 public sector banks. The PO stands for Probationary Officer, and POs involve retail & business loans, NEFT, to authenticate transitions and other important activities.
IBPS PO Recruitment process starts with the release of the recruitment notification. IBPS released the notification with information on several available vacancies in 11 public sector banks, important dates related to application submission and exam, and other details. The aspirants can apply online for the exam. First, they have to appear in the prelim exam. On qualifying it, the selected candidates appear in the main exam followed by an interview.
The banks recruit the PO based on their rank in the IBPS examination. Selected POs are to be on probation for 2 years. After that, the banks assign them different work during the probation period. The POs work as the base stone for the banks. They can be promoted from branch manager to senior manager post, so they must know how the bank runs, its work culture, and work pressure. The Bank PO is a lucrative career option because the salary is high in this post. POs are involved in managerial tasks and supervise the clerical work in the bank. IBPS PO prelim exam is conducted once a year, usually in September or October. After one month of the prelim exam, IBPS conducts the PO Mains examination.
On qualifying for the PO Mains exam, the candidates will have to appear in the interview round for a maximum of 100 marks. The interview round will be conducted offline, and it will be face to face question-answer round. In this recruitment phase, the candidates’ confidence, body language, communication skills, and presence of mind are evaluated by experienced professionals. To qualify for the interview round, the aspirant must score a minimum of 40% marks. For candidates from the reserved category, the minimum mark to clear this last hurdle is 35%. Selected candidates get an allotment of the job based on merit and their preference.
IBPS SO Examination
IBPS SO exam is conducted to recruit several special scales I officer in the public sector banks in India. IBPS SO examination is conducted once a year in online mode. As the exam is for different posts, its pattern and syllabus differ. Check out the details of different posts for which the IBPS SO exam is conducted;
- Rajbhasha Adhikari and Law Officer
- IT Officer
- Agriculture Field Officer
- Personnel/HR Officer
- Marketing Officer
- Rajbhasha Adhikari
IBPS is the authorized body to conduct recruitment exams for special officers’ posts in a different department. The recruitment examination for the SOs’ posts has a different section. A maximum of 60 marks has been assigned to check the professional knowledge of the applicants. The eligibility criteria are also different for different posts. IBPS SO exam is a hard nut to crack, so it needs lots of practice and preparation to qualify. The candidates have to appear in one common written test. On qualifying for the written examination, the candidates will have to face an online face to face interview round. The minimum qualifying marks are 40% for candidates from the general category and 35% for the reserved category.
IBPS Clerk Examination
IBPS conducts a common exam against the vacancies for clerk posts in 11 public sector banks. IBPS Clerk exam is a common written exam, and its difficulty level is easy to moderate. The minimum educational eligibility to appear in the IBPS clerk exam is graduate. Therefore, the number of applications is highest for IBPS’s Clerk exam.
IBPS conducts the clerical exam once a year, generally in September month. The exam has two written tests; one is as prelim exam and the second is Mains examination. The candidate who gets selected for the clerk post and gets the appointment letter5 from the bank has to undergo a probation period of 6 months. On completion of the probation period, their performance is reviewed. Based on it, the candidate gets the permanent employee status in the bank.
If you want to become a banker, their clerk is the entry-level post. The exam for this post is comparatively easier than the IBPS PO recruitment exam. Clerks’ responsibilities in a bank include:
- Customer handling.
- Offering a solution to their queries.
- Involving day to day banking activities.
If you are interested in participating in the IBPS Clerk examination, you must check the bank wise vacancies. IBPS announced approx. 10,000 to 12,000 vacancies on clerk posts in different banks, but 2021 was an exception when IBPS released only 7858 vacancies on this post.
IBPS RRB Examination
So far, you know that IBPS conducts competitive recruitment examinations for Probation officers, clerks, different special officers in the 11 public sectors bank in all the states and UT’s. Along with this, IBPS also arranges the exam to find the best talent for Regional Rural Banks (RRB). The IBPS RRB exam is to fulfill the vacancies available in Regional rural banks. It’s also a common written exam conducted online by the authorities. Total 43 rural, regional banks participate in this exam to recruit talented individuals in their offices. To appear in the IBPS RRB exam, the aspirant must be a graduate.
IBPS RRB is the easiest banking exam to crack in all the competitive bank exams. The exam is conducted to fulfill the vacancies in the following posts in regional rural banks;
- Office Assistant
- Marketing Manager
- Treasury Manager
- Officer Scale – I
- Banking Officer Scale-II,
- Agriculture Officer (Grade – II)
- Law Officer (Grade – II)
- Law Officer (Grade – II)
- Chartered Accountant (Grade II)
- Officer (Grade III)
- and IT Officer (Grade II)
The Last Word
The banking sector is full of opportunities. India is a big country where still many people doesn’t have their accounts in the bank. The loan culture is spreading in India, so banking has a good future in the country. You may find some new names in the banking sector in the coming years. The government is working to make the banking system better and customer oriented. So, the sector will need more professionals in the near future.
If you find the money calculation interesting, you know that you can be a good banker. In that case, you must start preparing for the banking recruitment examination. The banks have scope not only for clerks and PO but in HR, IT, and other departments. If you have any questions about any IBPS exams, feel free to drop them here; we will reach out to you soon.
