Top 10 bank exams to prepare for in 2017

Want to work in a bank? Make a note of these top exams for recruitment.

 

Every year, lakhs of students appear for various entrance exams for recruitment in various roles in the banking sector.

The difficulty level of these examinations may vary from moderate to high. But what makes it challenging is the level of competition for limited number of posts.

Timely preparation and picking the right questions will help you crack these examinations and secure a job.

Here's a list of the important banking competitive recruitment examination for 2017.

1. NABARD Grade 'A' and 'B' Officer

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) conducts recruitment examination for its Grade-A and Grade-B officers.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: May

Exam pattern: Computer based objective type of Phase I and Phase II examinations followed by Interview.

Job profile: Grade A is for manager and Grade B is for assistant manager. In both roles, one has to manage the day to day activities of Rural Development Banking Services (RDBS)

Career growth: One can reach up to the level of deputy managing director depending upon the age and performance.

2. SBI PO

One of India's largest and oldest public sector banks, the State Bank of India conducts examination for its Probationary Officer posts every year.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: July

Exam pattern: Objective type preliminary examination followed by mains and personal interview.

Job profile: General banking and bank administration. 

Career growth: After completion of probationary period Bank POs will be promoted to assistant manager. There is also provision for a confirmation test and promotion immediately after two years.

3. SBI Clerk

The State Bank of India conducts competitive recruitment examination every year for filling its clerical vacancy to assist officers.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: August

Exam pattern: Objective type preliminary examination and objective type mains examination.

Job profile: This post usually of clerical grade with job responsibility of direct handling of customers and data entry.

Career growth: After six months of basic training, will be posted in a branch. Clerk may become officer by clearing the internal exams.

4. RBI Grade B Officer

The Reserve Bank of India is the most prestigious central banking institution and lakhs of aspirants looking to be the part of the team. It is an officer level post in the RBI offices spread over the country.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: September

Exam pattern: Objective type preliminary examination followed by mains and personal interview.

Job profile: Grade B officer post is an entry level managerial position.

Career growth: After completing minimum 2-4 years of probationary period based on the performance, there is a good opportunity to grow in the hierarchy with promotion. One can reach up to deputy governor level with their age and performance.

5. IBPS PO

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts recruitment examination for filling up the vacancies of probationary officers in all the public sector banks of India.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: October

Exam pattern: Objective type preliminary examination followed by mains and personal interview.

Job profile: General banking and bank administration, supervision of the clerical works and work towards increasing banks business.

Career growth: After joining as PO, will be in probationary period for at least 2 years. After successful completion of probationary period, may get assistant manager and manager in few years according to performance in the branch.

6. IBPS Clerk

Much like the SBI Clerk, IBPS also conducts competitive examination to fill up the clerical posts vacant in all the public sector banks.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: November

Exam pattern: Objective type of preliminary and mains examination.

Job profile: This post is usually of clerical grade with job responsibility of direct handling of customers and data entry.

Career growth: After 6 months of basic training, candidates will be posted in a certain branch. Clerks may become officers by clearing the internal exams in the respective banks.

7. IBPS RRB Officer Scale I

The IBPS conducts examination for recruiting the officers in Regional Rural Banks of the country.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: November

Exam pattern: Objective type of preliminary examination followed by mains and interview.

Job profile: As an Officer Scale I cadre in any RRB, one has to manage day to day operations of the branch, where he posted.

Career growth: As an officer, one can rise in the RRB cadre up to the level of manager, as senior posts are mostly filled by officers from the sponsoring banks.

8. IBPS RRB Office Assistant

The IBPS recruits office assistants, like IBPS and SBI clerk for Regional Rural Banks.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: November

Exam pattern: Objective type of preliminary and mains examination.

Job profile: The IBPS RRB office assistant would be the starting designation in the hierarchy of lower level management and would be a supporting hand in various functions of the bank.

Career growth: IBPS RRB office assistant is the starting point of job in Regional Rural Bank. There will be plenty of opportunities to get promoted to an officer cadre.

9. NABARD Development Assistant

Tentative month of preliminary examination: November

Exam pattern: The selection process will involve two phases -- Preliminary and Main exam.

Job profile: The job responsibilities are almost equal to that of a clerk.

Career growth: After completion of the probation period, one can reach the officer/managerial level based on performance.

10. RBI Office Assistant

To assist the Officer level posts in the offices of RBI, it recruits office assistants every year through recruitment tests.

Tentative month of preliminary examination: December

Exam pattern: Objective type preliminary examination followed by mains and personal interview.

Job profile: Clerical cadre dealing with the entry of inward and outward of mail and data entry.

Career growth: After joining as an assistant in the RBI and working for 3 years, an employee can opt for the departmental promotional examination to get the promotion to the level of assistant manager.

The author of this article, Vijaya Shetty is education consultant at Sarkari Jobs, a Bengaluru based online test preparation company for government/PSU jobs.