17 Apr

SBI PO exam for the year 2015 has been announced. The exam is scheduled to happen in the month of June. SBI pays a highly attractive remuneration to its probationary officers, which makes the competition for the exam extremely stiff. Moreover, unlike IBPS PO exam even those in the final year or final semester of graduation are also eligible for SBI PO. This increases the number of candidates even further. According to an estimate by Vidya Guru, the institute for best bank PO coaching in Delhi, more than 30 lakh candidates is expected to fill the online application form this time.

However, this year the State Bank of India has modified the selection process for PO recruitment. The selection process has become much more competitive as compared to the past and to emerge successful you must have complete clarity about it. Your success or failure depends on how well you understand the demands of this process and how effectively you meet them. It will become much easier for you to meet these demands, when you go through the analysis of the selection process discussed over here.

The selection process comprises three stages: Preliminary Exam, Main Exam and Group Discussion & Interview.

Stage-I: Preliminary Exam

The candidates will have to first go through an online preliminary exam. The exam will be of one hour duration comprising three sections as given below:

Stage 1- SBI PO Exam Pattern

Noteworthy Points (Preliminary Exam): 

  • Each of the 3 sections has to be cleared separately; SBI will set a sectional cut-off for each of them.
  • Through the preliminary exam candidates, around 20 times the total number of seats will be shortlisted for the main exam.
  • Quantitative Aptitude (Math), which was not a part of SBI PO exams earlier, has been introduced this time. So, you need to thoroughly cover class 10th level quant syllabus.
  • The preliminary exam does not have a section on General Awareness or Computer Knowledge.

Stage-II: Main Exam

Once shortlisted, you will have to appear for the main exam. The main exam will have two components: Objective Exam & Descriptive Test.

(I) Objective Exam– There will be a 2 Hour objective exam having the following sections:

Stage 2- SBI PO Exam Pattern

Noteworthy Points (Main Exam):(II) Descriptive Test– The descriptive test will be of 1 hour duration. The test will carry a weight age of 50 marks. It will assess your ability to structure and express your ideas in English language. The test will consist of Essay and Letter writing.

  • There has been no change in the pattern of objective exam as compared to last year.
  • The descriptive test, which was to be attempted on pen/paper till last year, has also become computer based. You will have to attempt it by typing on the computer itself.
  • Earlier the descriptive test had essay, précis, letter writing and comprehension. However, now it will have only essay and letter writing.
  • Your descriptive test will be checked only if you have scored pass marks in the objective exam and are placed sufficiently high in the competition as per total marks in the objective exam.

Stage-III: Group Discussion & Personal Interview

Total marks of all candidates who have qualified both objective exam and descriptive test will be arranged in descending order. The bank will then call sufficient number of candidates for group discussion and personal interview.

Noteworthy Points (GD & PI):

  • This stage carries a total weight age of 50 Marks. Group discussion and personal interview carry 20 marks and 30 marks respectively.
  • During group discussion the bank will try to assess your interpersonal skills and evaluate how effectively you work in a group.
  • Through the interview the bank will ascertain whether you have the personality traits required to become a responsible public sector banker.

Final Selection

Your performance in Stage-I (preliminary exam) will not be accounted for at the time of preparation of final merit list. The final merit list will be prepared only on the basis of the marks you have scored in the main exam and group discussion & personal interview.

Noteworthy Points (Final Selection):

  • Both the stages (stage-II & stage-III) have to be qualified separately.
  • The marks you have scored in stage-II (out of 250 marks) will be converted to marks scored out of 75.
  • The marks you have scored in stage-III (out of 50 marks) will be converted to marks scored out of 25.
  • The final list will be prepared (out of 100 marks) on the basis of adding the converted marks you have scored in stage-II & stage-III.
  • The candidates who emerge on top in their respective categories will get selected.

Finally, you must ensure that you download the “acquaint yourself” booklet from SBI’s website and go through its contents carefully. In no circumstance, whatsoever, should these contents be overlooked.

Summary:

SBI PO recruitment process is undoubtedly structured in such a way as to select only the best candidates. In order to survive such a rigorous process you require not only hard work, but also quality guidance from the experts at the centre for best bank coaching in Delhi.

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