Any government job comes with a natural sense of respect in the society; an unconditional feeling of security coupled with the benefits offered for long-run stability. It is the primary reason that many aspirants prepare for the SBI PO ( STATE BANK OF INDIA PROBATIONARY OFFICER) Examination every year. Every sector has its pros and cons. A common misconception among aspirants is that banking examinations will require long hours of continuous preparation every day. While consistency is mandatory to clear any exam, the exams related to the banking sector such as SBI PO, IBPS Clerk etc. demand a full-fledged preparation for four to five months. These four to five months of persistent preparation are more than enough for comprehensive groundwork for your exam. If you want to give the SBI PO examination your best shot, this article will be helpful. You will find the most favourable methods to adopt while preparing for this examination. There are many questions that you’ll seek an answer to, some of them are discussed below:
How Should You Begin with the Preparation?
It is the most obvious question that crosses every aspirant’s mind. How should you initiate the process of preparation? What should be your strategy? To begin with, you must understand the structure of the exam you’ve chosen to attempt. It means that you have to gain sufficient knowledge intricately so that you are in a position to gauge what you have signed up for. Spend the initial two days interpreting the information about the exam categorically. It is not a thumb rule that you must devote two successive days to this task, the idea is to say that you must give specific attention to the crucial details about the exam. You must check the SBI PO Eligibility for the corresponding year of your preparation, the necessary particulars about the structure of the question paper such as details about the different sections of the exam. You should also check the syllabus for the exam and have extensive knowledge about the various topics you should cover thoroughly.
Once you are done with the basic details about the exam, you must figure out the time you are most mentally active. It is important to cover those sections of the syllabus during the time your mind is most effective. You’ll need to recollect the Current affairs and fundamental rules of Grammar. Choosing such a time during the day or night will enable successful recollection of crucial information that has to be retained for a longer time. Every person has a distinct way of understanding and comprehending information. Some are early risers and prefer to study with a fresh mind in the morning whereas some like to burn the midnight oil and choose to study late at night. You must choose the time slot that aligns with your schedule. There is no need to change your daily routine and regressively try to study at a time when you don’t feel comfortable. Preparation should be smooth and complacent to promote better retention of topics.
Preparation for any exam is a continuous and demanding process. Therefore, it is likely that you may feel exhausted after continuous sessions of studying and reading. It is normal to feel tired because your body and mind will need sufficient rest to recover and start working again. You must take frequent breaks between long stretches of studying to ensure stability during the whole preparation process. You need to certify that the idle hours are also utilized in such a manner that your mind is relaxed and some revision takes place within the recreational hours. The idea is to promote the efficient utilization of idle hours.
Will any Specific Schedule Work in my Favour?
No strategy has a fundamental nature and applicability. Everyone has to personalize the general factors according to their convenience and capacity to turn the odds in their favour. It is important to note that your schedule must include at least 8 to 10 hours of dedicated preparation consistently for a period of 4 to 5 months. Grasping the logic and understanding the concepts intensively will require a decent amount of time. Therefore, it is advisable that you must start your preparation at least 4 to 5 months in advance so that the deficit of time does not affect your productivity. One thing that you should focus upon is to adopt an inclusive study plan. Such a plan will help you cover the preparation for all the stages of the exam- PRE; MAINS and Personality Test together. The preparation for these three stages is different. Due to the abundance of time, you can easily dedicate the necessary effort towards each stage separately.
Should I Prepare Separately for PRE, MAINS and the Personality Test?
In the first stage i.e. PRE, there are 100 questions divided into three sections and you’ll have a period of 1 hour to solve those questions. Nowadays, you have a sectional time limit of 20 minutes to complete a section. Therefore, increasing the speed and accuracy while solving questions is the basic requirement for clearing this stage. Even if your concepts are ambiguous and you are not thorough with the basics, you still stand a chance of getting through this stage due to the speed and accuracy. You must practice quality questions selectively from the material or books you are using for reference.
The preparation for MAINS will require a thorough understanding of the concepts and better retention of the fundamentals. This stage will test your knowledge about the concepts and the time-efficient shortcuts that prove successful in the first stage are more likely to render ineffective. So, it becomes crucial that you develop a crystal clear understanding of logical reasoning and grasp the current affairs meaningfully. Practising the questions related to logical reasoning, puzzles and quizzes regularly will be profitable as far as conceptual clarity is concerned.
The last stage of the exam is the Personality test and you just need to be thorough with the current affairs related to the financial world, both national as well as international. A significant knowledge about the crucial financial developments in the country will be fruitful. It is essential to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation to elevate your chances of clearing the exam. Good command of English is a must to clear any stage of the SBI PO examination.
These were the tips you should follow to aggravate the chances of clearing this prestigious exam, live the life you’ve aspired and struggled too hard for! All the Best!!!
