Psychometric tests are becoming an integral part of the current banking examinations. After being introduced in the IBPS examination, it is now a part of the BOB Manipal School of Banking’s recruitment test. Before going ahead with the tips on clearing this test, it is important to understand this test and the logic behind including this test by IBPS.

Understanding a Psychometric test?

Psychometric tests are both standard and scientific method by which an individual’s mental competences and behavioural style can be measured. These tests are designed to quantify candidate’s aptness for the job role based on the vital personality traits and/or on his cognitive abilities. Employers often make use of the information collected via these tests to uncover the hidden aspects of candidates that are otherwise difficult to judge through a personal interview.

What is the right approach to a Psychometric test

a) Be yourself – This is the first and foremost thing you should do while you are appearing for a psychometric test. Also, this is the purpose of the test, the test is being conducted to know you as a person. Hence, be as realistic as possible, be yourself and answer the questions without thinking too much about the impression it will have on the examiners.

b) Do not overthink – Spontaneity and honesty is the key to success and this is especially true when you are appearing for a test like this. Maintaining this attitude will ensure great scores. Don’t try to be politically correct, portrait what you are and not somebody else.

c) 100% attempt is important – Make sure you attempt all the questions. Also, it is important to familiarize yourself with the content and format of the test, which is possible if you enrol yourself in an online preparation for IBPS exam. Familiarity with the type of questions will get the candidate to a competitive edge.

d) Practice test online – Prepare and practice the test as you would do for other parts of the IBPS. The test is administered online, hence it is important that you train for your psychometric test using the same medium, which is online.

e) Pay attention to your English vocabulary – Start preparing for the test by reading the newspaper and other material provided by the IBPS Online Coaching classes. This will ensure that your English vocabulary is up-to-date and will help in grasping the verbal aptitude test questions quicker, faster answering and thus improved score.

f) Get yourself in good physical and mental shape – Don’t be too hard on yourself. It is important to feel good and at your best to produce a good result. Make sure you are not tired and have rested well before the test.

As intimidating as Psychometric Tests often appear, the path to success and attaining a top score is preparation and practice. It’s a new phenomenon, being introduced as an experimental test by IBPS in various bank recruitment examinations. It is becoming increasingly popular and hence there are chances that we might get more of it happening in the near future. Though now it is just a qualifying test, in future, the marks scored by a candidate might be added to the final score as well.Hence, for now, it is important to appear for the test. Not much preparation is needed, just speak your heart out and you will pass with flying colours.

Employment in the Banking sector has always been the first choice among the youth of the country. The most important reason behind this attraction is – professional stability, handsome salary and lucrative perks. IBPS conducts recruitment exams for Public sector banks, RBI, SBI, NABARD and many other leading banks in the country for their Assistants and officer’s posts.

As mentioned above that youth of our country is attracted towards banking sector jobs, following the same path, are you too one of those aspirants, hopeful for a banking job? Have you gone through the prerequisites or the eligibility criteria? If not, then please go through them in detail before you start your bank exam preparations.

Before you begin your preparation and enrol at either offline or online classes for bank PO, we bring to you this article to guide you and many more aspirants like you to know the best age for bank recruitment exam preparation.

Age criteria for different Bank recruitment exams

Every bank has its predefined set of eligibility criteria and for candidates, it is important and mandatory to adhere to these criteria to evade invalidation of their application. Recruitment exams directed by IBPS hold the most important position across India. These exams cover the 4 major domains, which include:

• Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Common Written Examination (CWE) for vacancies in RRBs (Officer Scale-I & Office Assistants)
• Probationary Officer CWE for the posts of PO
• Clerk CWE for Clerical staff
• SO CWE for Specialist Officer positions

The age limit for various posts that fall under these 4 domains is:

• IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I: 18-30 years
• IBPS RRB Office Assistant: 18-28 years
• IBPS Clerk: 20-28 years
• IBPS SO Scale-I: 20-30 years
• IBPS SO Scale-II: 20-35 years
• IBPS PO: 20-30 years

The State Bank of India conducts exams for Clerk, PO and other Specialist Officers for its own branches and also for its Associate banks across India. The age limits for posts under SBI include:

• SBI Clerk: 20-28 years
• SBI PO: 21-30 years
• SBI SO: 21-30 years (depending upon the posts)

But then, there is definite relaxation to age criteria for some categories, which include

These were the age limits set for various posts and various categories, we hope this information will be useful to sort out most of your doubts. Now let’s move ahead with further discussion on the ideal age to start your preparation for the bank exams.

It is quite evident with the above information that the major age range for almost every bank post is 20 to 30 years, hence following the famous quote “it is better to start early then finish late”, we are giving you some tips on what is the best age to flag off your bank exam preparations:

1. For candidates who begin their preparations in their early twenties have an extra benefit, which is more number of attempts to crack the exam. If their hard work and destiny work hand in hand and if they qualify the exam in either first or second attempt, then they have a long and prosperous future in the banking sector. Entering early in banking sector means the candidate can reach to the highest positions of General Manager or Executive Director.
2. Now, if you start preparing for these recruitment exams after 25 years of age, first of all, you will be under a lot of pressure and secondly, starting a professional career in the early 30s won’t give you a lot of chances of promotions.

Take it as a suggestion – start preparation now, as it is never too late to fight for your dreams.

This was just the age criteria, there are many other eligibility criteria and prerequisites associated with the bank exam, for information on these and for fruitful bank exam preparation, enrol for bank PO video classes at http://online.vidyaguru.in/bank-coaching/

Coming straight to the point, reading newspaper is must if you are thinking of appearing in a competitive exam, which also means that if you want to crack any bank recruitment exam then you as a general rule must include reading newspaper as part of your practice sessions. But students often enquire, which newspaper they should read (as not all newspapers have the calibre to offer its readers with much needed information), hence in this post we will be discussing a few informative and updated newspapers along with information like: how and what to read in the newspaper and of course the best newspapers to read that will help the candidates in keeping their knowledge updated before appearing for their Bank PO exams.

The Hindu

This newspaper enjoys the reputation of one of the most popular newspapers in the country. What makes it so popular? Its popularity is because of its editorial standards, which covers current events of both national and international levels. The information provided is up-to-date, this helps the reader to make his own point of view on the topic and thus improves one’s analytical skills and interest in the currents events. Such skills when developed without much efforts help in solving current affairs and reading sections for the competitive exams. The language used in the newspaper is easy and simple to understand.

The Economics Times

The Economic Times is world’s second largest and India’s one of the largest financial daily. The basic coverage of this newspaper includes – the Indian Economy, Business news, International finance, etc. When you are preparing for a banking PO exam, then it is must for you to read this newspaper daily, as the newspaper offers a lot of information about the world of banking and finance. The newspaper not only provides information on what is currently happening in the business world but also helps the aspirants to achieve a better understanding of the everyday operations of the banking industry and financial markets. Talking about the language used in the newspaper, it is at par with the language used in the reading comprehension section of the banking examinations. Hence, reading and understanding the same language standards will boost one’s capabilities and confidence altogether.

The Indian Express

For those who want nothing but real news, the Indian Express is what you should include in your daily routine. Indian Express editorials are par excellence. It helps the candidates or even general readers in developing right approach and perspective towards a field called life, while still improving the vocabulary and knowledge necessary for appearing at the Bank recruitment examination. Another main advantage with the Indian express is its availability to all parts of the country.

These were the three main newspapers that are important for cracking a competitive exam. However, let’s focus on other aspects of newspaper reading:

What to read in the newspaper?

On the word of the industry leaders offering best online bank PO coaching, depending upon the type of questions asked in Bank PO exam, we can divide the newspaper reading into different sections, like:

1. National News – It is important for the aspirants to never bunk off reading the national news in any of the above-mentioned newspapers. Because the bank exams have a separate section for General Awareness. It does not matter whether you are staying a metro city or in a small city, you should be aware of the things happening not only in your city but in your country as a whole. Being aware of what’s currently happening in your country would boost confidence while preparing and appearing for GD/PI, the final round in any Bank recruitment exam.
2. Editorial – Editorial sections hold more than just coverage of any news or event. The section offers its readers (who happens to be aspirants for Bank jobs as well) with a complete understanding of the topic or the event, thus helping them to improve their critical thinking skills, again crucial for GD/PI round.
3. International News – Again keeping the exam motive first, reading international news is important as well. Such sections include first-hand information on what is happening in almost every part of the world, which is crucial if you are preparing for the Bank PO examinations.
4. Economy and Banking News – It is common sense that if you want to get a hand on information on banking and economy, it is important that you spare daily time reading economy and banking news. It is advised to read RBI and financial market news on daily basis.
5. Sports – Last but not the least is the sports section, again if you are a sports enthusiast then keeping track of information about the sports world is not new to you, for others it is important to read about this daily because last few years have seen 2-3 questions from sports in Bank PO exam.

There can be endless tips and tricks available online on how to crack such important exams and these tips and tricks work well as well, however, what is important is the thorough preparation, which is possible by enrolling at a reputed coaching centre like http://online.vidyaguru.in/bank-coaching/ and accessing their video lectures for bank PO.

Are you a banking job aspirant who feels confused over the multiple recruitment exams for banking conducted by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)? Don’t take too much of stress, just focus on your preparations through online classes for IBPS and leave all other tensions on us. We are here to cater to your needs and thus here in this article will list out all the important exams conducted by IBPS.

For those who aspire for a job in banking sector, be it Nationalized banks or Public-sector banks, for them taking up IBPS recruitment exams is absolutely mandatory. Before penning down the important exams, let us understand about this conducting body – the IBRS.

Institute of Banking & Personnel Selection- IBPS

IBPS is a self-governing Indian agency envisioned as autonomous academic and research institute with a goal to boost human resource development by means of personnel assessment. Registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 and Societies Registration Act 1860, as a public trust, IBPS support organizations in fields like- personnel selection, recruitment and placements. The agency designs and develops the required assessment tools and tests and runs exam related services “ON REQUEST”. Being the member of Indian Bank Association (IBA), IBPS provide all these services to Reserve Bank of India, State Bank of India, Associate Banks of SBI, all Public-Sector Banks, few Cooperative Banks, NABARD and this never-ending list also includes the insurance companies like LIC. Besides these well-known organizations, there are various public-sector undertakings, government departments, Regional rural banks and state-owned corporations that avail the services from IBPS.

Important Bank Exams Conducted By IBPS

• IBPS PO – IBPS conducts IBPS PO/MT exam every year at the national level. The exam aims at selecting candidates for the post of the Probationary officer and Management Trainee. The exam has two phases: Preliminary Examination and Main Examination. Both the exams are computer-based exams i.e. taken online. The basic eligibility criteria for this exam include:

1. Applicant must have a graduation degree (any discipline) from a recognized university.
2. The age limit is 20-30 years.

• IBPS SO – The exam conducted by IBPS is for the post of Specialist Officers, like: Law Officer (Scale 1), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale 1), HR/ Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale 1), IT. Officer and Agriculture Field Officer. The exam has two phases: written exam and PI. The eligibility criteria for this exam are-

1. Applicant must have a graduation or a post graduate degree (any discipline) from a recognized university.
2. The age limit is 20-30 years.

• IBPS Clerk – The CWE (Common Written Examination) for the recruitment of aspirants in Clerical Cadre is another important IBPS recruitment exam. A national level exam, the selection process of IBPS Clerk exam has two modules: Preliminary and Mains, again a computer-based or an online exam. The different parameters of eligibility criteria are:

1. Applicant must have a graduation degree (any discipline) from a recognized university.
2. The age limit is 20-28 years.
3. It is important that the candidate is computer-savvy.

• IBPS RRB – The exam is conducted for the staffing of Group “A”-Officers (Scale-I, II & III) and Group “B”-Office Assistants. For both the groups, IBPS conducts a Common Recruitment Process, which is an online examination with a name IBPS RRB Exam. The exam has three modules for the Scale I officers– Preliminary, Mains and Interview. For Scale II and III officers, candidates have to undertake only two modules – Single level examination and PI. Eligibility criteria include:

1. For Scale I, the age limit is 18-30 years, for Scale II, the age limit is 21 to 32 years and for Scale III, the age limit is 21-31years and for the office assistant, the age limit is 18-28 years.
2. Educational qualification: For office assistant – Graduation in any discipline from a recognized university with a proficiency in computer and local language is a must. For Scale I, II and III officers – Applicant must have a graduation degree (any discipline) from a recognized university. In addition to this, the scale II and III officers must have one or two years and 5 years of relevant experience respectively.

Consistently, each year a great many aspirants appear for these exams, however, only a few makeups to their dreams. Competition is tough and without an ingenious strategy, getting through the examination process is not possible. To prepare well, all you need to do is enrol for IBPS PO video lectures at http://online.vidyaguru.in/ibps-coaching/

Students make a number of grammatical mistakes in the English language. Here in this blog, we are discussing a few common mistakes that will help you improve your grammar and language skills.

English language section of various competitive exams like SSC/SBI PO troubles students across India because the language is not native to our students and is taught only when they enter the school. However, with globalization reaching every aspect of the life we need students having a good command over spoken English and written English for a lot many purposes.

Let’s start with a few common grammatical mistakes that students make more than often:

Tenses:

Most students lack grip on the tenses and so end up using wrong forms of the verb and eventually lose marks. Following is the simple method to understand the basic tense chart. Following the chart and making regular reading your habit should help you fix this problem to a great extent.

Subject-Verb Disagreement

It is important to learn that in a sentence; the subject and its associated verb should agree with each other. It means, the student needs to pay close attention to the subject and if it is singular it should have a singular verb and vice versa.

For instance:

Incorrect: The efforts of the dog to reach the meat bowl was in vain.

Correct: The efforts of the dog to reach the meat bowl were in vain.

Explanation: The subject seems to be the ‘Dog” but in actual the subject is the ‘efforts’, which is plural. That means the verb here should be plural, hence ‘were’ instead of ‘was’.

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices:

The two very common grammatical errors that go hand in hand are the run-on sentences and comma splices. When you are connecting two or more independent clauses, you need a coordinating conjunction like – for, but, yet, and, so, nor, etc. but if you miss on the connecting punctuation like a comma, it is called the run-on sentence. Similarly, when you use a punctuation to join two or more independent clauses but miss a coordinating conjunction, it becomes a comma splice.

Example:

Incorrect: I love pottery and I have enough time to devote but the exhibition deadline is keeping me stressed.

This example has 3 independent clauses:

• I love pottery
• I have enough time to devote
• The exhibition deadline is keeping me stressed

For correcting this incorrect sentence, we need to put commas as shown here:

Correct: I love pottery, and I have enough time to devote, but the exhibition deadline is keeping me stressed.

Comma Misuse

Comma, a varied punctuation mark of all, has multiple uses i.e. there is ‘N’ number of ways they can be used, hence call for more number of mistakes. One out-of-place comma can change the meaning of the sentence.

Example:

Incorrect: Let’s go, Delphi.

Correct: Let’s go Delphi.

Spelling Mistakes

We often pay utmost attention to spellings in writing but still, these are frequently occurring mistakes, the reason being – Digitization. We spend a lot of time on laptops, smartphones that have auto-text features for checking and suggesting the spellings and the words. Hence, these days we put very little effort in remembering and typing correct spellings. That’s why we don’t know correct spellings of the words if we are to write without the help of these electronic gadgets.

Also, these gadgets use U.S. English and our education system is based on U.K. English and both these variations of English have slightly different spellings for some words.

Example:

U.S English – Organization

U.K English – Organisation

Redundant words

Redundant words are not really a grammatical error; however, these can make your writing look amateurish and less polished. In order to fill up their sheets, students in India often write more words than necessary. Answers should be to-the-point and crisp, which can happen when they stop using redundant words and practice using single words for longer phrases as well as stio repeating the same point in different words.

Example:

Add up – ‘up’ here is a redundant word, adding nothing to the meaning.

Advance planning/warning/reservation – Using ‘advance’ is superfluous.

Correct English is important to score well in exams and extremely important if you are appearing for competitive exams like SBI PO, SSC, etc. Hence, for polishing your grammar skills enrol for online SBI PO/SSC coaching today. Joining online courses saves your time also. For details, visit http://online.vidyaguru.in/sbi-coaching/.

There are numerous challenges students face while preparing for competitive exams; these numerous challenges may range from – trying to make sense of a heap of notes, trying to decrease internal and external distractions and finally trying hard to overcome the anxiety on the exam day. This blog identifies some simple to follow strategies to overcome these challenges:

So, let’s get started:

Divide Big Tasks into Multiple Small Ones                     

The biggest challenge during preparation for a competitive exam is where to start from. We all know that syllabus for any competitive exam is extremely vast and this makes things too large in your mind. A five-minute trick works well to fight this large thing. Cut up the task in to small chunks that can be done in short periods of time. You can start with the first few tasks of five-minute duration. After completing the first task of 5 minutes, take a break. This will train your brain that you are in a study mode and eventually you will be able to concentrate for long durations. Repeat this until you are well on your way to completing the whole syllabus.

Motivation Is Important – Try With Positive Results

If you do not have enough motivation, try reminding yourself about the benefits and positive outcomes you will get if you do your preparation well and finally clear the exam with flying colours. Build up these positive results in your mind. You can even try rewarding yourself for putting extra efforts into study.

Some people instead of trying positive things, look at the consequences of not doing the preparation well. This might work well for a few but can lead to depression for others. So, our suggestion is that you must look for positive outcomes and stay motivated.

Build Up Self-Belief

The belief you stick to regulate your actions, which mean if you think you are not good – you end up not practicing enough. It is important to break this cycle and for this you must follow these steps, which is dividing a big task into chunks and develop a positive outlook.

Use Distraction as Reward

Being distracted easily is the most common challenge that students face during exam preparation. In a conscious state, your brain is trained to do one thing at a time, which means your attention can flick from one task to other going around you very easily and this is frustrating when you have an important task to do, which obviously during the exam is PREPARATION.

Another inbuild training that your brain has is – motivated towards pleasure, and study being a tedious task, makes your brain look around for pleasurable activities. So, here is the trick- make a list of things you love the most, with most pleasurable on top and coming down to the least pleasurable, but obviously that you love to do. Now use these listed distractions as a reward for your efforts. This will help you keep your brain focussed to the job you need to do as you know finishing the same will get you to your favourite distraction.

Reduce your use of electronic gadgets

People often complain about poor concentration level and they even know the reason as well, which is lack of proper sleep. And trust us, they even know the reason behind their sleep problems – bright light from laptop screens, phones and tablets that they tend to use before going to bed.

There is science behind this whole problem – let’s explore the fact – ‘sleep’ comes with pineal gland releasing a chemical named melatonin (it’s a night process), so when a person is engaged with his laptop or phone, the bright light from these gadgets prevent this release and disturbs the whole process (it takes long time for the brain to recognize that it is dark and it is time to sleep). This reduces the number of hours you get for your sleep and you feel tired and exhausted the next day. So, the best way is to keep these gadgets away from you at least an hour before going to bed and see the difference.

Share Burden with Time-Saving Technology

Students across the globe are utilizing new ways to learn and the best in the list are video lectures, for instance – if you are preparing for a Bank PO exam, video lectures for Bank PO would be a great medium to help you understand and memorize the content.

Get a Mentor

There are specialized coaching centres which help students overcome the common exam preparation challenges. Online classes for Bank PO and other competitive exams are really helpful for many competitive exams. These courses are quite affordable as well.