SBI PO
1. What is SBI PO?
State Bank of India (SBI) every year conducts SBI PO exam to select eligible candidates for the post of Probationary Officer. A large number of candidates apply for the exam, out of which only a few are selected depending on the number of vacancies. SBI PO is considered as the most sought after banking exams in the country. Successful candidates are posted as Probationary Officers in the various branches of the bank.
The State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services company. SBI features amongst the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016. It is also one of the biggest employers of the country with about 2.1 lakh employees as on 31 March 2017. The SBI conducts recruitment for both officer and clerk level posts through the SBI PO and SBI Clerk examinations respectively.
The SBI PO is by far the most prestigious banking sector examination in the country as it provides it the gateway to building a rewarding career with one of the most coveted banks of the nation. The SBI PO exam, as the name suggests, is conducted for the recruitment of Probationary Officers, which is the highest entry level officer cadre post.
2. Why SBI PO?
Best in Industry Salary
Among other things that SBI is popular for is the best in class pay. The salary provided here is higher than any other public sector banks. In the beginning, the basic pay would be 27,620/- & the Gross salary reaches around 55k. This salary factor also includes the additional benefits and the advantages that are given along with the salary. Taking the added benefits into consideration the monthly salary goes around 60K
Job Security
One of the major highlights when working with the SBI is Job Security. Since the SBI is a government organization, the job security provided here is unmatched. Candidates once inducted into the system can be sure of being part of the system till the time they willingly want to leave the organization.
Work Culture:
A healthy focus on the work culture is given at the SBI premises. The State Bank of India pays special heed to the team bondings and learnings. Team activities, intra-bank events, group interactions, and more are a part of the social interaction of the bank employees.
Unity in Diversity
Around 24% of the workforce in SBI comprises women. They lay a huge emphasis on gender diversity in the premise. Special attention is provided to the women in the SBI. It is the only bank in the market that provides 2 years of sabbatical. This period can be used for self-growth, education, child care, etc. Policy on sexual harassment is very strict in the premise.
Make Your Own Career Path
In the initial days of the SBI postings, they train every individual as an all-rounder. After the initial training, the candidates are free to choose the field of expertise or interest. This makes the growth at the SBI all the more prominent and fruitful. 3-4 years down the line candidates are more probable to come out as industry leaders.
Growth Based on Merit
The growth of an employee is completely based on the merit of the individual. There is no upper limit to the growth possibility at SBI. This trait helps the employee become more focused & dedicated. Performance evaluations are transparent inside the SBI premise. The top-performing employees are groomed for further opportunities and global banking training programs.
Work-Life Balance
The work-life balance provided in the SBI is one of the most desired qualities that aspirants look for these days. Also, a healthy work-life balance has proved effective in increasing the efficiency of an employee. With 5 days of the work in a week, enough focus on a healthy mind, and the soul is given.
3. How to prepare?
- Know the details: The initial step is to get very well acquainted with the details of the exam i.e. with the SBI PO syllabus and exam pattern, important dates and the duration of the tests.
- Strategise the preparation: After knowing the syllabus and pattern, start the initial differentiation of the weak and strong topics and create a timetable for one month covering the entire syllabus.
- Prioritize every section and topic: As the exam has a sectional and overall cut off, it is very important to prepare every section properly and every topic should be covered completely, if possible.
- Start Reading: This is the best way to enhance the English language prowess by improving vocabulary, grammar and comprehension skills. It is advisable for candidates to read English newspapers, magazines, journals and follow a standard grammar book.
- Follow news: This will ensure that you should have a proper SBI PO preparation plan for attempting the General Awareness section of the SBI PO Mains exam. Candidates should watch news channels and read newspapers regularly to get well versed with the recent happenings.
- Make notes: This is also a very important habit as by making notes, the memory retention will also improve and the same notes can be used at the time of revision.
- Practice: This is the time to practice questions from all those topics which have been covered during preparation. So practice different types of questions along with solving various sample and previous years question papers to get well versed with the level of questions.
- Take Mock Tests: Mock tests serve an excellent purpose by acquainting the candidates with the real exam scenario and helps to solve important questions which aid in preparation.
- Revise: Take the notes made earlier and start revising the topics. Analyse the preparation and check if everything prepared is properly retained.
- Keep following latest news: It is very important to know the recent affairs, especially the issues involving banking and financial matters
4. Important materials:
Syllabus:
SBI PO Syllabus for Preliminary Exam
| Reasoning | Quantitative Aptitude | English Language |
| Logical Reasoning | Simplification | Reading Comprehension |
| Alphanumeric Series | Profit & Loss | Cloze Test |
| Ranking/Direction/Alphabet Test | Mixtures & Alligations | Para jumbles |
| Data Sufficiency | Simple Interest & Compound Interest & Surds & Indices | Miscellaneous |
| Coded Inequalities | Work & Time | Fill in the blanks |
| Seating Arrangement | Time & Distance | Multiple Meaning /Error Spotting |
| Puzzle | Mensuration – Cylinder, Cone, Sphere | Paragraph Completion |
| Tabulation | Data Interpretation | – |
| Syllogism | Ratio & Proportion, Percentage | – |
| Blood Relations | Number Systems | – |
| Input Output | Sequence & Series | – |
| Coding Decoding | Permutation, Combination Probability | – |
SBI PO Syllabus for Mains Exam
| Data Analysis & Interpretation | Reasoning | English Language | General/Economy/ Banking Awareness | Computer Aptitude |
| Tabular Graph | Verbal Reasoning | Reading Comprehension | Financial Awareness | Internet |
| Line Graph | Syllogism | Grammar | Current Affairs | Memory |
| Pie Chart | Circular Seating Arrangement | Vocabulary | General Knowledge | Keyboard Shortcuts |
| Bar Graph | Linear Seating Arrangement | Verbal Ability | Static Awareness | Computer Abbreviation |
| Radar Graph Caselet | Double Lineup | Word Association | Banking and Financial Awareness | Microsoft Office |
| Missing Case DI | Scheduling | Sentence Improvement | – | Computer Hardware |
| Let it Case DI | Input Output | Para Jumbles | – | Computer Software |
| Data Sufficiency | Blood Relations | Cloze Test | – | Computer Fundamentals /Terminologies |
| Probability | Directions and Distances | Error Spotting | – | Networking |
| Permutation and Combination | Ordering and Ranking | Fill in the blanks | – | Number System |
| – | Data Sufficiency | – | – | Operating System |
| – | Coding and Decoding | – | – | Basic of Logic Gates |
| – | Code Inequalities | – | – | |
| – | Course of Action | – | – | |
| – | Critical Reasoning | – | – | |
| – | Analytical and Decision Making | – | – |
a. E-books:
SBI PO Best Books for Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, and Analysis:
- Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar Verma
- How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
- Magical Book on Quicker Maths by M Tyra
- Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by RS Aggarwal
SBI PO Best Books for Reasoning Ability:
- A New Approach to Reasoning Verbal and Non-Verbal by B.S. Sijwali and Indu Sijwali
- Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey (For the chapters required for analytical reasoning)
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal
SBI PO Best Books for Computer Awareness:
- Objective Computer Awareness for General Competitive Exams by Arihant Publications
SBI PO Best Books for the English
- Objective General English by SP Bakshi
- Descriptive General English by SP Bakshi and Richa Sharma
- High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- The Hindu or The Economic Times (Newspaper)
SBI PO Best Books for General Awareness and Banking Awareness:
- Banking Awareness by Arihant Publications
- Economic Survey by Government of India Ministry of Finance
- Static General Knowledge by Arihant Publications
- Current Affairs can be prepared from the monthly magazines such as Banking Services Chronicle (BSC Publications), Newspapers.
b. Videos:
SBI PO preparation:
How to prepare for SBI PO English:
Preparation strategy of SBI PO:
How to prepare for SBI PO exam:
SBI PO Syllabus:
Everything about SBI PO:
Things to be known about SBI PO:
5. Previous year question papers with answers:
SBI PO Prelims 2019 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2020/4/english_part_30_84.pdf
SBI PO Mains 2019 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2020/4/english_part_31_84.pdf
SBI PO Prelims 2018 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2019/4/sbi-po-prelims-question-paper-2018.pdf-65.pdf
SBI PO Mains 2018 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2019/4/sbi-po-mains-question-paper-2018.pdf-92.pdf
SBI PO Prelims 2017 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2019/3/SBI_PO_Prelims_2017_English.pdf-36.pdf
SBI PO Mains 2017 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2018/4/SBI_PO_Mains_2017_English.pdf-42.pdf
SBI PO Prelims 2016 question paper:
SBI PO Mains 2016 question paper:
https://gradeup.co/liveData/f/2018/4/SBI%20PO%20Mains%202016%20English%20Question%20Paper.pdf-47.pdf
SBI PO Prelims 2015 question paper:
6. Important tips:
- Know SBI PO syllabus and exam pattern
- Check the previous years’ question papers
- Brush up the basic skills
- Revise through short video tutorials
- Build a section-wise strategy to attempt the exam
- Analyse mock test and identify weak areas
- Read newspaper daily to increase your General Knowledge skills
- Practice regularly the Numerical Ability and Problem Solving Skills
- Do not do guesswork to avoid negative marking
- SBI PO Exam Analysis will help the candidates in understanding the difficulty level and the types of questions asked. Aspiring candidates must refer to it for their preparation.
- In this post, we will discuss various preparation Tips, strategies, and unheard tricks to help you clear the SBI PO exam.
- Before you start your preparation, you must know the Pattern well. Learn complete pattern through our dedicated post on SBI PO Exam Pattern.
- Once you are well versed with the exam pattern, you must know SBI PO Syllabus accurately to stage your preparation the right way.
- SBI PO Online Coaching is also available for you prepared by the experts for your convenience