How to Prepare for Bank Exams for Jobs (Bank PO / Bank Clerk)?

Bank job is a very good career option but it is a very competitive exam and requires a very high degree of preparation to achieve it.

The first and the most important prerequisite for bank exam preparation is that you must know the syllabus for the exam.
Syllabus for Bank clerk exam OR Bank PO exam

To start preparing for your bank exam you must start from the basics. For this IX and X class books are very useful. Practice English and Maths from these books. Then start preparing reasoning. Reasoning can be made strong only by practicing so practice as much as you can. R S Agarwal's verbal and non verbal reasoning is a good book. And for quantitative also R S Agarwal's book is good. For English Hari Mohan Prasad is nice. Follow the magazine Bank Service Chronicle.

Other than those mentioned above, some other books which will help you are:

1.Ramesh Bank clerical practice workbook

2.Ramesh Bank clerical exam solved papers.(By RHP Editorials)

3.Upkar's bank recruitment tests.(By Khanna & Verma)

4.Upkar's new bank recruitment tests.(By LAl & Bhatnagar).

Books for Bank clerk exam OR Bank PO exam

Be thorough with current affairs, which is very important. For this follow one daily newspaper. The Hindu news paper is very good but I would recommend you any news paper of your interest because reading newspapers like The Hindu may be a bit boring and you may end up avoiding it so stick to a paper of your choice.
In Bank PO exam, there is also a descriptive paper which is to be qualified so be prepared for it.
How to prepare for Bank PO Descriptive Paper?

Getting good score in each section is very useful to be successful. So practice as many papers as possible. First try for accuracy, if you get it, then go for reducing your time to take the test. That is to solve the papers in a stipulated time. This is also called as speed test. This will teach you Time Management.
Time Management Technique with speed tests?

It has been seen that some people get nervous on the day of the exam, though they are well prepared, and could not do well in the exam. This is because they have not mentally prepared themselves for the actual exam and they have a fear of failure.
How to overcome nervousness and appear for Competitive Exams like Bank Exams and others?

If you are selected in written, then you will get a call for interview. In which they will ask general questions to know your general awareness and questions on current economics etc. Start preparing for this also.
How to prepare for Bank Interview?

Common Interview Questions

Before appearing for an interview you should be well prepared to answer all type of questions. To give you an idea some questions are being given here.

• Tell us something about yourself?

• What is your vision in life?

• Where do you find yourself after five years from now?

• Which would you prefer job or money?

• What is your opinion about working under pressure?

• Given a task, how would you like to complete it? Would you do it on your own or with the help of others?

(See - How to prepare for Interviews like Bank interviews and other competitive exam?)

Below are some other questions that may be asked in an interview. Some of these questions may sound foolish but they are given here just to tell you that you should be well prepared for any type of unexpected questions.

1. Tell me something about yourself/self introduction?

2. Tell me something about your family?

3. Why would you like to join us?

4. Why did you leave your last job?

5. What have you been doing since your last job?

6. Give me an example from your previous job where you have shown initiative.

7. What were your responsibilities in the last organization?

8. How does your previous experience relate to this position?

9. What have you learned from your last job?

10. What were your favorite classes/activities at school?

11. Do you plan to continue your education?

12. Tell me something about your school/schooling?

13. What are your hobbies?

14. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

15. Do you prefer to work by yourself or with others?

16. What is the importance of teamwork?

17. What are your career goals? / What are your future plans? /Where do you want to see yourself in coming five years?

18. What can you do for us that someone else can't do?

19. What new skill or capabilities have you developed recently?

20. Describe yourself in one sentence or one word. How have you been rewarded because of this quality?

21. What motivates you in your work?

22. What is the difference between job and career?

23. What is job satisfaction?

24. What type of position are you interested in?

25. How will this job fits in your career plans?

26. How will you evaluate yourself on a scale of 10?

27. Whom may we contact for reference?

28. Do you have a location preference?

29. What is your favorite color and why?

30. What turns you on?

31. What turns you off? What makes you angry?

32. What has been the biggest decision of your life?

33. Which is your happiest moment?

34. Which is your most embarrassing moment?

35. Your moment of achievement or rewarding?

36. Your moment of regret or failure?

37. Personal life / Professional life - Which is more important?

38. What are the qualities which you would look for in your would be life partner?

39. Your favorite actor/actress/sportsperson?

40. Influential Person/Role model in your life?

41. Your favorite book?

42. Importance of extracurricular activities?

43. What do friends say about you?

44. It was a dark and stormy night.........Complete the story.

45. I stood in front of the mirror and.....Complete the story.

46. Name your favorite city/country?

47. What is the importance of knowing current affairs?

48. What do you know about this company?

49. Tell me something which you have not mentioned in your C.V.

How to prepare for Interviews like Bank interviews and other competitive exam?

Generally the interview board will be friendly and they would try to decrease the candidate's tensions. (See - Point no 1 and 2 of How to overcome nervousness and appear for Competitive Exams like Bank Exams and others?)

So at first, they might ask some personal questions. Sometimes the interview might start with some casual questions so that the candidate is brought at ease.

It is a time when the candidate can display or mention his qualities and skills. The interviewer would require some special skills from their employees, so they would be looking for individuals with such skills.

The dressing should be neat and professional. Do not use casual wears. For ladies, avoid use of lot of ornaments. Simple and elegant dressing can give a good impression.

Always, listen to the question carefully before jumping into answers. Do not try to answer, if you do not know the answer. Be honest and tell the interviewer that you do not know it. Being honest is more important than bluffing anything.

Information to be collected

Try to collect details about the organization, such as when it was established, promoters, products and services offered, branches, career opportunities, employee benefits, location in your area etc.

Attitude

Your body language speaks for you. So try to be positive and confident. Sit erect and be comfortable. Have eye contact with the interviewer. Be honest. Never try to hide anything from the interviewer. Do not try to blame the previous employers.

Personal Questions

At first the interviewer would ask you about yourself. You can include your skills here, so that the interviewer would ask questions related to that. Often, the interviewer would ask questions connected to your answers. So give answers carefully. If there is any specialty about your village or town, you will be asked about it. There can be questions from your subject area. The interviewer need not be an expert in your subject area. So you can expect some general questions. There would definitely be a question about why you prefer this job? Be prepared to give an impressive answer. You should be having a vision in life. They may ask to relate your vision and the job which you have applied for. They may give a situation which you may face in this job and ask you how you would handle it. You have to thank the interview board, before leaving the room. You should be good in speaking English. For improving skills in English you can go through improve English. Try to conduct some mock interviews with friends or at home so that you get some experience about how to behave in an interview.

(See - Common Interview Questions)