How can you prepare for SBI PO at home without any coaching ?

First of all hello to all the people out their who are preparation for SBI PO or some other banking examinations, Keep pushing yourself until you reach your goal.

Now coming to the point how i achieved to crack SBI PO without any coaching and relying on self study.

I came from a Science background done my BTech in Electronics and communication back in 2016. Back then their was no much of placements at our college , so I thought of switching to government exams.

So at the end of 2016 I started my preparation for almost all government exams like IBPS , RRB, SSC, SBI, JE , State level exams too. But i can't achieve any success in any of these exams and failed in every exam. I was too desperate to have a job that i started to study for multiple exams at once and it's just created chaos. At the end of 2017 after one year i had given almost 20 government exams and still haven't achieved anything which I can be proud of.

Not achieving anything after trying for long time makes you depressed and i too thought about joining some private financial companies. But deep down I know i want a Government job and make my family proud. Because having a government job feels good.

So in November 2017 after IBPS PO result came and still not selected, I was starting to analyse myself what i must have done wrong?

Then I made up my mind that I will surely crack SBI PO 2018 no matter what and started preparing for it.

Learning for my mistakes that i have done in the past exams in which i can't even clear the First phase.

Now the strategy that i followed to achieve my target. First look at the examination pattern how many stages are their, Like in SBI PO you have to pass three stages Preliminary exam , MAINS and descriptive, Group Discussion and Interview.

1) Preliminary exam consists of three sections Reasoning, Quant and English.

So i started gathering syllabus for these sections and marking in which topics i am weak at and which topic i am stronger. So I can improve myself for the weak ones.

In reasoning try to solve as many puzzles, seating arrangements as you can as it increases your speed and gives you a technique on how to approach a puzzle in online exam. Focus on simple topics also in which you can score full as with 100% accuracy such as syllogism, Blood relation, series.

In quantitative aptitude solve as much questions as you can and try to be innovative reaching the solution that how can you get the answer in shortest time. Create your own methods to reach the solution. You should learn some concepts of Vedic maths which help in easy calculation in shortest time. Practice different topics on regular interval so you can be master each topic. You should also memorize squares, cubes, multiplication method by heart which will surely help in increasing your speed.

For English part, first of all get good knowledge of grammar that how grammar works, how a sentence is grammatically made, how tenses are used. Read English newspaper and articles because it gives you a basic idea of current affairs and you get a flow of how sentences are written. It will even help you in preparing for GD and interview.

Now Preliminary exam is of 1 hour duration so you should be well focused on how to attack each section and utilising the time given. Don't stuck on one question out of your ego that i should solve it. If you think you can solve this then only give it a shot as negative marking will make your score even less.

Passing the preliminary exam is the first hurdle in which many of us fails because it requires sheer dedication.

I managed to score 66.75 out of 100 in preliminary. The cutoff for my category was 54.25. So yeah i made it through first level.

Their is only one month gap between pre result announcement and mains exam, So your main focus should be mains exam keeping in mind that you have to clear pre exam too to reach to mains.

2) Mains exam consists of four sections, three of them same as preliminary exam with addition of General/ Current affairs/ banking awareness.

The level of mains exam is tough in comparison to pre as questions asked are of high-level thinking and reaching to solution is quite tough and time consuming. Practising daily and solving various questions regularly will make you strong enough to surviving the mains. Mains exam consists of 200 marks which we have to complete in 2 hours

General/ banking awareness section is also added in which banking realted questions and current affairs are asked. It consists of 40 marks and you can be benefited from it if you do well in this section.

You need to go through past 6 months of current affairs and banking awareness, you can easily find the pdf of CA/BA on Google or some websites. Try to be updated to every policy government is making and what's happening in the world. This section is very important as it can increase your chances of selection.

I got 20/40 in this section which is a very decent score. My total score for mains was 69.68/200.

So you can see that how GA/CA helped me in clearing the next level.

As of descriptive test it consists of 50 marks in which you have to write a letter and a essay online in 30 mins and as you should prepare for English you should try to write letter and essay so you can excel this test. This test is of easy nature and one should try to score 30+ marks in this.

My score for descriptive was 33/50.

3) Group discussion & interview consists of a through process of Group exercise, group discussion and then interview. Remember you will only be told that you have passed the mains exam but scores will not be made public. So you will have to score a decent marks in this phase.

Now this phase consists of 50 marks in which interview will be of 30 marks and GD being at 20 marks. Group exercise is basically they will make a group and give you some current topic and you have to work in a group to reach a collective answer.

In group discussion English language is preferred so make yourself comfortable speaking in English in front of group. You should behave well to others in GD, be supportive and remain calm and composed in every situation.

Now comes the main and last process of this exam that is The Interview. I remember going for my interview their were five persons waiting for me to be interviewed. One of them was CGM (Chief General Manager) of jaipur circle, that means the Highest authority of whole Rajasthan region. Out of the five persons, one was just for psychometric evaluation that how a person reacts to questions and evaluates our body language and composure.

My interview went good they asked about my hobbies and my past experiences. Their were some questions about banking also. Always keep a positive approach towards things because that gives a good impression on the interviewer.

My score for this phase was 36/50. Yeah it was a good score but some of my friends even scored 46+ so you can always do better.

Try to stay positive at all the time starting from the preparation phases to at the very end upto interview process. Keep yourself healthy, meditation is a good exercise which will keep you Focus on your goal.

Make schedule for daily study and keep track of your progress. I used to study for 8 hour's daily for a period of 3 months and for those three months i was away from all kind of social media platforms and every leverage which will keep me away from studies. Because i knew after success i can enjoy these materialistic things afterwards. So keep focusing on what you want to achieve.

Practice more, take helps from different channels present on YouTube and many more websites which provide you materials regarding exams. Practice online test daily because it increases your speed.

Now some point which i like to highlight again : -

Go with a Plan: Candidates should go with proper plan – as in which section to attempt first and which section to attempt last and how much time should one devote on each section. It is very important that candidate stick to their plan (time wise) i.e. if you had decided that you will give 25 minutes to Reasoning section, you should stick to it. Reason for the same is – sometimes a particular section may be very difficult, and while attempting the same you may get carried away by devoting more time on that, it will mean that you will compromise on some other section as you will have lesser time for it. You need to remember that there is a sectional cut-off in the exam and if a particular section is tough, it will be tough for everyone and hence cut-off for that section will be low.

Keep in mind the Marks Allocated to each section: Quantitative Aptitude & Reasoning section will have 35 questions each, English sections will have 30 questions each (each question having one mark) in the preliminary exam. This marks distribution should be kept in mind to maximize your score.

Attempt Paper in 2 rounds: You should attempt the question paper in two rounds. While attempting each section -first do the questions, for which you are sure and which can be done in less than a minute. Leave tougher questions for the second round. This way, you will not miss any easy question in the paper and will be able to optimise the score.

Be careful about sectional cut-off: In SBI PO PO , you have to score a minimum qualifying marks in each section and qualify overall score also. So, be careful that you do not miss on a section and try to maintain a balance across all sections.

Be careful about negative marking: In SBI PO , each correct answer will fetch you 1 mark, while each wrong answer will attract penalty of ¼ marks. There is no negative marking for unattempted questions. So, if you are not sure about a question, it is better to leave that question rather than attempting it wrong.

Start with easier section: Suppose, you are more comfortable in a particular section, attempt it first. It will give you the confidence and set the pace for the exam. Attempt most difficult part in the end.

Do not get stuck on a question: Never get touchy about any question and hence do not waste time if you are not able to crack it within 1-2 mins. We have seen, many candidates get stuck with questions like seating arrangement/puzzles in reasoning part and waste precious time on these. Never do that. If you feel that you might get stuck, leave it for second round.

Never give up during exam: Competitions like this are the tests of your nerves. You should go with a positive frame of mind to the exam hall and maintain the same throughout the exam. Many times, when candidates get stuck or find a particular section difficult, they give up. Never ever give up. Paper is not going to be easy for anyone and winner will be one who will hold the nerves till the end.

Practice Online Tests: It is very important for you to be familiar with the online testing environment. You should join Online Practice tests from Study 24×7 and do regular practice. This will make you comfortable with the online testing platform and also help you prepare your strategy for the exam.

ASHISH YADAV

PO 2018

JAIPUR CIRCLE