Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is the government agency responsible for the recruitment of bank personnel. It comes under the oversight and jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It plays a crucial part in placing young and talented undergraduates and postgraduates in government-owned banks across India. 

 

The IBPS Exams is one of India's most acclaimed and awaited exams due to the banking industry being so rewarding. On top of that, posts like that of a Probationary Officer bring along opportunities that can potentially lead to immense career growth that also commands societal respect and acknowledgment. 

 

This exam is rather on the tricky side, as the competition is enormous. But with the right sources of information, access to accurate study material, and verified tips and tricks at your disposal, you can reap the fruit of your rigorous preparation more efficiently. 

 

To start, one piece of advice you will hear all around is that the last month (30 days) shall be devoted to strenuous study. Having a clear sense of the syllabus is also a plus. Listed below are some of the most advisable tips and tricks to crack the IBPS exam. 

 

KNOW THE PATTERN OF THE IBPS EXAM 

 

With each exam comes its challenges. Every exam is different and has a unique pattern suited to bring out the best concerning the required aspects. We have extensive knowledge about the various constituents of the exam and the syllabus, like the sectional timings and cut-offs that are available, as well as information about the negative marking patterns, if any. Thoroughly verifying all the prerequisite information before appearing for the exam is crucial and goes a long way in simplifying it. 

 

1. THINK OUT OF THE BOOK!

 

Naturally, just like any other exam, the questions asked about quantitative aptitude, reasoning ability, and communication skills pertain to an average 10th-grade syllabus. It's not about how much you have studied but how you have studied it and how dynamically you can answer equally dynamic questions. 

 

The methods given in 10th-grade textbooks are there for simply making one aware of the facts necessary to write an exam. But for competitive exams, such primitive methods cannot be used. Focus on the quantity of the questions you can answer, even more so if there is no negative marking structure in place. You need to learn proper and effective time management as the time crunch also poses an unconventional pressure on the examinee. If you blindly follow textbook methods, you are more likely to get stuck while recalling what you read and memorized. It's simply time wasted. The time that could have been used productively otherwise. 

 

2. DON'T UNDERMINE PRACTICE

Nobody can deny that for an exam like IBPS, students often tend to start at the most basic level and shoot for the horizons without polishing skills. Of course, they end up failing. That is also time wasted. Instead of taking a chance of yourself and then inevitably losing precious time that can be used for the preparation, you must have a fair amount of practice in the competitive exam pattern. Do mock tests regularly and time yourself to see how much time it takes to do each question in each section. Then, divide time into sections according to their weightage in the overall grade through more practice. They don't lie when they say 'Practice makes a man perfect". Doing two mock tests in a day is sufficient. Use one to assess the correctness of answers and the other to rectify the time taken each day. 

 

3. THE GIFT OF READING

In all honesty, something that is common in most successful people's lives is the habit of reading. They read because the following is true- "A book is a dream that you hold in your hand." Not only reading helps you increase your vocabulary and constantly ameliorate your English skills, but it also keeps you in touch with general awareness and current affairs, economics, business, and banking, etc., so to say that reading is only a small part of the preparation would be an understatement. 

 

4. ONE AIM, TWO SHOTS

Keep your mind focused on preparing the IBPS exam as a whole and not as an exam that's broken into two parts. Due to only a 20-25 day preparation gap between the prelims and the mains, starting all over for the mains with only 3/4th a month for preparation is less than ideal. Start studying and revising a little bit every day for the mains alongside studying for the prelims. It will save you a lot of time and effort after your prelims can be spent more proactively. By doing this, you will avoid an incredible amount of stress too. 

 

5. FINALLY, IDENTIFY AND OPTIMISE YOUR WEAKNESSES

Any said candidate appearing for any said exam should be well aware of his or her weak suits. The sooner you identify where you are lacking, the sooner you start looking for ways to optimize them. Turning your weakness into your strengths should be your goal. Identify the areas that need constant improvement and list down how you can bring about that improvement. If introspection doesn't do the job, maybe some research online might just be what you need to find the desired solution. The easiest way to identify your weaknesses before any competitive exam is to take frequent mock tests. This will help you understand the particular topics you need to work on and the arenas you are already good at. Naturally, you would save a lot of time by mentally revising the type of questions you know the answers to. That time can be directed towards studying for the exam and questions that you haven't appeared for and attempted in the past. This time is crucial in helping you revise something you are not the most confident about. 

 

Now that you have read all 6 of these tips as mentioned above. Do continue to determine which one suits you best! GOOD LUCK!