How to Prepare for PO Exam

The job of Probationary Officer (PO) is the entry level managerial position in any bank.

The job profile of PO involves General Banking, administration work and any other work assigned by the bank management from time to time.

The selection for the posts is usually done through a written test and an interview.

The notification for the post is published in the leading dailies in India and in the Employment News weekly.

The candidates who have an eye on the posts are advised to regularly read the weekly or visit our site.

As said earlier the candidates are selected on the basis of written test & interview. Almost every bank has same pattern of written test. It consists of objective test & descriptive test.

The Objective Test generally carries about 200 – 250 marks the duration of 2 – 3 hrs.

The question paper consists of the questions from Reasoning Aptitude, General Awareness, English Language & Quantitative Aptitude. There will be negative marking for each wrong answer.

The Descriptive Test is of 1hr duration and generally the questions are of essay type and there will also be a test on English comprehension.

Candidates who want to appear for the examination have to keep in mind the following points.

1. Reasoning Aptitude : In this section, questions are basically of diagrams, analysis, statements etc. You should show presence of mind & carefully attempt the questions by using your sense of logic and reasoning capacities. You can brush through and solve previous years question papers to get a hang of the format.
2. General Awareness : For preparing this section, the best is to read the newspaper daily & find out the current affairs in banking sectors, global business, money markets and also other general knowledge subjects like politics, sports etc.
3. English language : This section covers questions on English grammar. Vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms etc. The simple grammar book is sufficient for preparation.
4. Quantitative Aptitude :In this paper, the questions on some mathematical problems of Xth Std will be asked from the topics like algebra, profit and loss, percentage etc. Being thorugh with Class Xth maths book will help to get good marks in the paper.

Books for Indian Banks PO Exam Preparation:

1. R. S. Agarwal series on arithmetic, reasoning and Basic English.
2. BSC series of reasoning and English.
3. Bank PO Exam Preparation by Aditya Publications.
4. Quantitative Aptitude for competitive exams from Abhijit Guha.
5. High School English Grammar and Composition – Wren and Martin.
6. Banking Service Chronicle Monthly.
7. Pratiyogitha Kiran Monthly.