SBI Associate Bank Clerk Exam: Tips and Strategy

The State Bank of India has invited applicants to apply for clerical positions in the Associate SBI banks throughout the nation and is thus conducting an online examination to choose candidates suitable for the job. The selection procedure is twofold which involves written examination and personal interview. The marks are equally distributed in these two phases of selection and the candidates first need to clear the written test to get qualified for the interview round. Upon selection in the interview round the candidates are finally sent for medical examination and they get their banks allotted. The written examination consists of five papers and carries 200 marks in total. In order to solve the questions the candidates get 2 hour 15 minutes time and there are negative markings for every wrong evaluation in part of the candidates at the written examination. Each paper in the examination contains 40 marks and it is necessary to pass individually in each paper to get through to the next round.

The five papers namely, General English, General Awareness, Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude and Marketing Aptitude/Computer Knowledge are the major yardsticks for successfully getting through with the examination.

General Awareness

The General Awareness paper among these papers is one such paper which can be handled if prepared carefully. It is very important to keep track of the recent ongoing in the world economics, politics and culture. Thus it is a relatively vast filed which needs constant monitoring in part of the candidates. The paper could turn out to be easy or tough depending upon the preparation and awareness level of the candidates. It is thus important to develop a sense of understanding and awareness to score well in this paper and learn things by heart.

Tips and Strategies

• Keep track of the recent ongoing:It is very important to keep track of all the recent and important event which is happening worldwide and contain relevance and importance in some manner or the other. It is very helpful to take help of the internet to acquire such information as the candidates can get abreast of the latest facts and figures quickly and easily through this medium. It is also suggested to go through magazines, journals, newspapers, books and general knowledge capsules to enhance the storage of information in part of the candidates.
• Follow the pattern well:It is very important to keep track of previous year questions and the set norm of questions that are asked before. This gives an idea to sort important topics out from the heap of information and articles that we gather from the world of digital, print and audio-visual media from our day to day lives. It is thus important to sort things out in a proper manner and helps scoring well in the examinations.
• Keep an eye over an Indian context:It is nearly impossible to remember each and every information and news that is occurring worldwide in the last 6 months before the examination to remember by heart. Hence it is important to channelize information in a proper way and then remember them sequentially. Because, the examination is held in India, the context of India and its achievements in the worldwide forum becomes important while preparing for politics, sports, international affairs, awards and honors and other related beats of news.
• Attempt the paper in the beginning:This is one of the papers in the examination which takes comparatively less time to get solved and could provide the adequate confidence needed in the beginning while the candidates are starting their examination, by solving them correctly. It could save considerable amount of time for the candidates, which they can invest in the other time consuming papers like quantitative aptitude and reasoning ability.

 English

Among these papers the General English paper is quite a scoring paper for the candidates who have their basics clear in the language. It is a must for the candidates to go through the basic tense and sentence structure of the language to score well in the paper. This is very important in part of the candidates to go through the previous year question papers of the paper to understand the structure of the question pattern and prepare accordingly. The question paper sets allow the candidates to dig further into the challenges and understand the problem areas to work upon. There are sections in the paper which some of the candidates might find difficult because of their preferences and choices. Hence it becomes important to understand your strong and weak areas and work on them to improve your score.

Tips and Strategies

• Strengthen your vocabulary: It is very important to strengthen you vocabulary in order to answer the paper effectively. A strong vocabulary helps you to solve the problems in the paper with perfection. You can strengthen your vocabulary through regular reading of newspapers, magazines, internet articles, journals and any printed material that draws your interest. It allows you to go through newer words and make your word stock improved. You should also write regularly to improve your confidence as well as your sentence formation capabilities.
• Make your basics right:The candidates need to understand that this paper depends mostly on the Basic English skills. It is thus important for the candidates to go through elementary English practices and go through practice sets to understand the paragraph tests, cloze tests, active and passive sentences and sentence formations.
• Keep practicing and Read regularly:It is very important to practice this paper so that the candidates can learn by heart different rules and tactics to solve the questions. There are problems related to antonyms, synonyms, syllogisms and fill in the blanks which work according to certain set norms. In order to perform better it is very important to practice these questions through question sets and papers. You must always keep tab on your reading skills and improve it as well to undergo the paragraph and passage section of the paper without any problems.
• Manage your time wisely:This is a paper which could get solved in lesser time compared to that of the other papers in the examination, and thus it becomes important for the candidates to manage it wisely. If they can solve the paper in time and save some from this paper they could take it through in solving other time consuming papers like quantitative aptitude and reasoning ability, and score well in the overall examination to get through to the next round of selection.

 Marketing Aptitude/ Computer Knowledge

The Marketing Aptitude and Computer Knowledge paper is relatively an easier paper to solve and is there to check the elementary knowledge about marketing and computer of the candidates. In the fast changing digital world it is very important for the candidates to be aware of the elementary computer knowledge and thus this test defines whether the candidate is suitable in operating computers for future requirements. This paper also checks the basic marketing knowledge like the concepts of 5Ps of marketing and 7S of marketing, product life cycle, segmentation, positioning and targeting etc. The paper also helps the candidates to know more about the two branches of the paper which are poles apart from each other.

Tips and Strategies

• Follow the Syllabus for the Examination: The paper contains basic computer terminologies, questions related to internet, software, hardware and history of computers to name a few. It is thus important for the candidates to follow the syllabus and prepare themselves accordingly. This goes same with the marketing aptitude paper as well in which the candidates need to learn basic marketing and banking policies, concepts and various other developing stage of organization.
• Go through journals and magazines:There are hundreds of journals and magazines that get published which deals with computers and new technology and also in the marketing world. The candidates need to follow at least one or two among them to know what is new in both the fields, from which questions could appear in the written examination. The candidates could also take help from internet and search various innovations in the fields that are taking place.
• Make use of the time:This section of the examination provides ample opportunities for the candidates to save enough amount of time to invest the same to other papers in the examination. Because of the fact that this paper doesn’t need any formulaic step by step treatment in solving, it can save enormous time for the candidates which they can use for their benefit.
• Make your area of knowledge wider:This paper demands a positive approach in part of the candidates. If someone is not so comfortable with the computers, they should undergo a short term course to learn more about the mechanism. Likewise they should have an open mind to understand various marketing techniques and ideas and should not resist to any of them just because they don’t fall in the domain of their academics. It is very important in part of the candidates to register an overall development of their minds to convince the selecting body that they are capable of taking up the responsibility.

Quantitative Aptitude

The Quantitative Aptitude paper among the five papers is another one which is quite time consuming and requires skills to solve, like the reasoning ability paper. This paper contains formulas and ideas that needs to get branch out from the candidates for proper solving of the questions. There are elementary mathematic questions and formulas which are to be kept in mind while solving this paper. This paper requires immense practice and also involves the knowledge of basic mathematical ideas and clear conception of the various mathematical theories and ideas. This paper alone could take the score to a different level for the candidates and take them one step closer to the interview round. The paper also helps the candidates to gain the necessary confidence if the answers could be got out perfectly by the candidates after solving the questions systematically and provides a psychological advantage to the candidates.

Tips and Strategies

• Practice and device new techniques: To solve the paper it is a must to device new techniques and methods. You can complete the paper on time only if you have taken adequate measures while you are at your preparatory stage. This helps immensely at the time of examination as you can quickly apply your branched out formulas for certain questions and get to the results even quicker. You can take help from the available books and competitive guides to look for ideas and techniques to solve the questions as well.
• Focus on weak spots: By constant practicing you could eventually find your weaker areas and work them out to make you chances grow even further in the overall examination. By knowing your weak areas you can discuss the same to your guides or teachers under whom you are preparing or self help yourself by solving more and more such questions which pose threat for you.
• Mend your basics strongly: There are many candidates who remain afraid from the paper due to the fact that is deals with mathematics, which they didn’t like ever in their academic career. For these candidates it is a must to undergo mathematics basics and work upon them, as the paper contains questions mostly dealing with elementary mathematical practices and formulas. Hence it is very important to grapple basic mathematics by heart in order to perform well in the paper.

Believe in yourself: To succeed in any of the examination it is needed to develop a belief in yourself. Once you can achieve the same half the battle would be won and you can get going through any of the difficulties that might arise during the journey. You should be clear at your side that you would get through to the other end whatever the consequences might be and fight till the very last minute.

Reasoning Ability

The Reasoning ability paper among the five papers is a tricky one to crack and needs immense practice and devotion to get solved. This is one paper which contains questions which are tricky and could be solved only if the candidates apply the formulas necessary. Thus it becomes important for the candidates to give ample amount of time to prepare for these questions and solve sets and model question papers with a stopwatch beside them to keep track of the time as well. The paper alone could make or break your chances of getting through to the examination as they can trick the candidates and waste a lot of their time over some question or the other. Hence it is advisable to move along to the other questions if someone is stuck with certain question and get through in the paper.

Tips and Strategies

• Constant Practice: The main mantra for the paper is constant practice and there is no shortcut for it. The candidates willing to clear the written examination need to constantly practice and go through various new patterns and questions through solving different sets and model question papers. This allows the candidates to become confident while solving the questions in the examination and provides them the adequate vigor to go forward solving other papers.
• Keep track of the time:If you have to succeed in the paper you need to keep track of the ticking clock. There are almost 40 questions that this paper contains and the time allotted to solve each of the questions remains very less. Thus the candidates have to practice in such a way that they can manage to solve all the questions in allotted time and that could only be done if they keep an eye in the stopwatch while preparing.
• Invent your ideas and formulas:It is very important to use tricks and formulas in this paper to become successful as general approach for solving the paper could never allow the candidate to score well in the paper. Thus it is important to branch out your own ideas on solving a certain question or a type of question along with keeping the set norms in mind. This helps in solving tough and typical questions in a more subtle and easier way, which saves a lot of time in part of the candidate.
• Be patient and Confident:While solving the paper the candidates need to be very focused and confident, as a single mistake in the process of solving an answer could lead to a devastating result to the candidate. Hence, it is very important to keep your concentration completely on the question that is being handled at a time.