Redefining Success - My Pandemic Pivot

It's been a while since I last wrote, so today, I write again.

This past year was an unfortunate one for the world. Whether infected by the global disease or not, almost everyone, including me, suffered their bit. It's mostly been a negative and depressing year that eventually made us realize that how we had taken so many things for granted.

Life is a mystery. It's everything but predictable. We do things randomly and we do things after so much of a thought process, eventually to see, it was not you in-charge, after-all.

Since I published my last blog, I've received several messages on my various social profiles asking what I'm upto now after SBI or whether I've found the satisfaction I've always been talking about and sorts like that. I thought about writing a detailed blog on it many times but priorities ! It's here, finally.

Firstly, let me reiterate what we all already know, Life mostly doesn't turn as we may like or think, and it never fails to surprise us in one way or the other! 

I'd left SBI for the lack of Job Satisfaction. I came home, jobless, in the month of June 2019.  There was not a single ounce of regret for leaving a 'Well Paid Govt Job'. Infact, I felt fresh, I felt free and I felt determined. I took a break from studies for just enough days. 

Bit of the background - I had realized only a few months after joining SBI, that I couldn't spend rest of my career working in that environment. I tried studying simultaneously with my job to get a better one but failed. I just couldn't go that extra mile after all that long day of exertion from work. So, after months of thought process and advisory, I finally quit. I quit out of confidence and determination but not ignorance. I never ignored the fact that I may not be able to fetch a better job, so as to steer clear of any disappointments and regrets in case i don't (literally !).

Now, It was time for me to get back on track, to gain back the momentum and to get back in the competition. Though my goal was to crack RBI Grade B exam, I applied for some other exams as well for something that we call a PLAN B - EPFO ASO 2019, NABARD DA 2019 and even LIC Assistant 2019. 

I started with regaining my grip on Current Affairs as when it comes to RBI Grade B, it is the deciding factor in clearing Phase 1. In the mean time, I appeared for EPFO ASO preliminary exam but failed to clear it, contrary to my expectations! I also appeared for NABARD DA prelim and then for RBI Grade B prelim exam, both of which I fortunately cleared but with very small margins. I realized, in all this, my priority had now shifted towards getting a so called 'back up' job first because I had no chance of cracking RBI Grade B that year not having studied even a single topic of Mains Exam. I, instead, focused on NABARD DA Mains exam which was only a few days before Grade B Mains exam as far as I remember. Even that didn't go well and so didn't the RBI Mains exam. I cleared none. What's funny is that, when I had applied for LIC Assistant, I said to myself, 'Ofcourse you will not have to join this'. But then, as I said, 'Life is a mystery and it certainly doesn't turn the way we want'. At last, it was LIC Assistant that I had to join because it was the only exam that i could clear that year.

But then, nothing is random afterall. My LIC Assistant Mains exam was on Dec 22, 2019 and RBI Assistant 2019 Notification came out on Dec 23, 2019. I'm a staunch believer of Signs. I thought RBI Assistant came out this late because I was now prepared for it and I could study exclusively for it. I usually take breaks after finishing with an exam, but not this time. It was THE RBI. I started the preparations right away. I had planned to study content till Jan 2020 and then just focus on mock tests all of the Feb till the exam. (Phase 1 was on 14th feb). What I hadn't planned for is the joining of LIC Assistant. LIC declared the result of Assistant exam somewhere around 14th-15th Jan and started the document verification and other formalities within a week of declaration of final result. All of my second half of Jan 2020 went in that as I had applied for the exam from Delhi region and I had to go to Delhi three times within 10 days and what's more ? We were asked to join on Feb 06, 2020 ! Let me show you the irony here, I had left SBI PO for RBI Grade B and there I was, i couldn't even gather the guts to not join LIC and focus solely on RBI Assistant as my confidence had come down to the level that I was not sure if I would be able to crack RBI Assistant exam. I went ahead with joining LIC and for me, it was the sacrifice of RBI Assistant exam.

I'm a very positive person, mostly! I truely believe that everything happens for a reason and that too, a good one. I had started to think that maybe, my destiny is to enter RBI as a Grade B Officer and not as an Assistant. I joined LIC with a very positive vibe. I couldn't study for RBI Assistant phase 1 as I was staying at my relatives in my initial days in Delhi. Somehow, I managed to give a mock or two before the exam. Though I thought that it was worthless to go for an exam that I was certain I won't clear, I, anyhow, went to appear for it because, The RBI. It didn't go well. Exam was easier than expected but my speed was hit hard due to the gap. I came back disappointed, I had lost even the last ray of hope of clearing it. Then, the miracle happened. I cleared Phase 1. I had given and cleared a number of exams before that but this was the most unexpected result of them all. I can never forget the day of that result - March 03, 2020. Though i had only around 25 days to prepare for the mains exam (including office hours, of-course), I was so damn positive and confident of clearing it because SIGNS! (I wouldn't have cleared Phase 1 in the first place if it were not for the mains). 

Again, the challenge was to regain grip on Current Affairs that I lost the day LIC started with the joining formalities. It was difficult but I was confident this time. Then, the unpredictable happened. The mains exam got postponed indefinitely due to the global pandemic. Though the reason was very unfortunate, it further bolstered my confidence of clearing the exam as now I had the time to regain the momentum not only for RBI Assistant but for RBI Grade B as well.

Lockdown was enforced. We were all confined to homes. There was an atmosphere of dismay. Suddenly, the world came to a still, Something, we only saw in movies.

Anyways, I came back home. I utilized that time to study for RBI Grade B, only this time for Mains Exam. I bought a course, started smoothly, went on slowly and steadily but then, offices reopened. I had to go back and everything got disturbed again. Nothing was the same when I went back. There was despair, negativity and uncertainty about everything.

I had always been a career oriented and ambitious person but this pandemic CHANGED me. I thought, What am i doing with my life which is so uncertain?  Changing jobs after job, shifting to new places year after year with nothing but unsatisfaction. I felt tired, I wanted to leave office without having to worry about finishing 'some' part of the syllabus after reaching home and I wanted to calm down. I gathered myself and decided to take one day at a time. I knew I didn't want to stay in LIC and I also knew, i had almost lost my will to study as hard as RBI Grade B demands, so I CHANGED MY GOAL. I decided to focus on RBI Assistant only because it was the only exam that I thought, was within my reach at the time. There were conflicting thoughts at first, but then I felt my burden lightened. I made peace with my decision.

As there wasn't any date announced for RBI Assistant mains exam and there didn't seem any possibility of it happening anytime soon, I started spending more time with friends and family. I was just  keeping up with the daily Current affairs and nothing else. In between, I applied for two other exams just for the sake of it - SEBI Grade 'A' and NHB Assistant Manager. 

The cities started to open up gradually. The dates were announced for NHB Assistant Manager. It's  syllabus was same as of RBI Assistant Mains. I gave some mock tests before the exam and appeared for it. It went OKish. I couldn't predict the result. It was declared only a day or two before the RBI Assistant Mains Exam. I cleared it. That little positivity came about great in that not so great month for me when I was going through a lot personally. I went to appear for RBI Assistant Mains Exam with a dim mood, with only positivity at the time being NHB result. I struggled with concentration, I couldn't give my best. I was highly disappointed with my performance. I was angry at myself for not making best out of that GOLDEN CHANCE. I still had a chance at NHB Assistant Manager, but that was never my goal. Next few days were hard. I wouldn't get out of the disappointment. I tried to stay positive but failed. I couldn't remember the last time I felt like that. But that's the good thing about time, it passes. 

Then came Dec 11, 2020, the day Mains result was announced. And bang, there was my roll number in the list. I hadn't felt so happy in a long time. A tear rolled down my eye, a tear of joy. I called my family. We were so happy. But that happiness didn't last long. I got to know that it was not the final merit list. There was one more phase pending after which around half of the people would get eliminated. I didn't know how to feel but I certainly got out of despair. I left RBI on fate. I decided to move on and focus on NHB Interview Phase whose dates were announced near the end of Dec 2020. The NHB Interview was a day after RBI Assistant LPT Phase. The interview didn't go that well as frequent job change was certainly a negative point in my profile, but I was content because I defended it well. 

I felt free now. I was ready for any kind of result - including both the extreme ones. I started feeling grateful for having LIC Assistant job at hand, that I didn't let my ego come my way while joining. That is why I recommend everybody who asks my opinion about leaving a job without a backup at hand- 'It should purely be one's personal decision because consequences would be purely personal'. No one was to blame but me, if would've failed to get another job. Fortunately, LIC proceeded with the joining process quite swiftly and many people, including me, were saved from staying jobless for God knows how much time due to the pandemic. 

D-Day - First came the NHB Assistant Manager result and I didn't make it in the final list. I felt bad but it was OK. I was, atleast, saved from the dilemma in case I would've cleared both the exams :P It was February. The office schedule was quite hectic due to year end closing. Thanks to that, I didn't get enough time to worry about the RBI Assistant final result. Meanwhile, I also appeared for RBI Grade B 2021 Phase 1 exam just for my satisfaction. This year, people who were actually preparing for it had a golden chance. There were double number of vacancies than usual and that's why I, too, managed to clear Phase 1 because cutoff went too low. Then came the day - March 26, 2021 - Final Merit list of RBI Assistant was declared and my roll number was right there in the first row. It had finally happened ! I was still in office, so I somehow contained my excitement. It was second time in my life that I felt so happy, first being when final result of SBI PO was declared. After a few days only, I appeared for RBI Grade B Mains exam and that was the most boring day of my life because I could still make guesses in Multiple Choice questions but what was I supposed to do in the subjective ones :P. Anyways, the result came and I obviously didn't clear it.

I finally joined The RBI on April 26, 2021 and I think, that was it for me. I have spent too many valuable years of my life switching jobs. But it's also true that I don't regret anything. Though sometimes, I do think that maybe If I had given importance to RBI in my early days of preparation, I would have been atleast a Grade A here if not Grade B. But the experience that I have gained, working in three different organisations at three different job profiles in three totally different cities, is worth a lot more than the years that I have lost. And specially in these last few months, I have realised more than ever, that there are worse things that could happen and that I have a lot to be grateful for. 

As far as Job satisfaction is concerned, I'll just say 'YOU CAN NEVER HAVE IT ALL'. You have to stop somewhere. And I guess, I'll stop here.

P.S. - Priorities Change with Time and That's OK. Just learn to OWN your decisions and Life would be much Easier.

Yes I Resigned... So What ?

Well..Yes.. You read that Right ! I'm not a Banker anymore.

I joined State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer in March 2018. This was the career and job that I always wanted. Then what happened ? Why did i leave my dream job ?

First of all, to clear any "obvious" perceptions - No, I didn't get any other job or I am not planning to study further or I'm not planning to join my family business (because we don't have any ! :P). The sole reason of me quitting this  so called "prestigious" job is the one that, though, most of us middle class people will call as trivial but actually, is so important to me that it made me take this "big" decision.  That trivial but yet so important reason is "Job Satisfaction".

The State Bank of India gave me everything that a middle class govt job aspirant wants - Money, Reputation, Job Security, Self identity etc  but it did not give me the satisfaction that I expected to get when I got my "Dream Job".  Before getting this job, getting this job was my only wish as well as priority. I was ready to adjust under any kind of work culture, work pressure and work environment. And then, I got this job and experienced the reality, which was not really aligning with my perceptions and expectations.

Now a days, getting a job , that too a govt job, is such a "huge" and "difficult" task that reaction of almost everybody who comes to know about my resignation is like "Are you kidding?" No man, I'm not kidding. I seriously quit my "well paid govt job" because money is not the only thing that matters, because my workplace is where I'm going to spend more than half of my life, because you don't always have to go by the perceptions and expectations of the society and because it's better to take a risk now than to regret later.

Most of the people will either call me crazy or overconfident for quitting a job without a backup in this competitive environment and it really doesn't matter to me because it is ONLY me who has to live with my decisions my whole life and I rather choose to live with a lesson than a regret.

I've not written this blog to justify my decision but to answer the questions that will be obvious from all the people who know or don't know me. I've written this blog because this is My blog and it should contain a reference to one of the important incidents of my life.

Note :  As I do not want to discourage anybody who's willing to take up a job in SBI or banking sector for that matter, please consider the following things:
1. What may bring job Satisfaction to me, may not be of any or trivial significance to a different person and that is why I've not detailed out my version of job satisfaction.
2. Many of my batchmates are doing just fine with this job and enjoying it as well.
3. There are ample growth opportunities in banking sector, SBI specifically, if you are willing to give your time and take the responsibilities.
4. Atlast, it's all about priorities.

From Being A Beginner to Becoming a Banker - My Journey and Strategy !!

Many people have been asking about my study strategy for cracking banking exams and from the day I've cleared SBI PO , the queries have raised exponentially. So, I'm penning down my study approach right from being a beginner to a Banker.

Note: This is going to be a long article as I'll explain everything in detail. I've also provided the  score cards of my various exams for reference. 

First of all, let me tell you my educational qualifications. I am a B-tech Graduate in the field of Computer Science and Engineering and as me being an engineering student, you can assume that I was good at maths from my school days. B.tech is a 4 year course  with each year comprising two semesters , i,e, total of eight semesters , last semester being the industrial training period in which students join companies or some institutions for getting PRACTICAL training. I completed my B.tech in June 2016.

Now, before starting any preparations, you need to be very clear about WHAT ARE YOU PREPARING FOR? or in other words, WHICH JOB DO YOU WANT ? I know many people reading this article would be like , "humein to bas job chahiye , koi bhi ho". Even if you are one of them, still choose one job and direct your preparations as per your choice. This is important because, I have seen many people simultaneously preparing for SSC, State jobs, Bank jobs, Insurance jobs and even UPSC ! The syllabus for all of these exams is very much different from each other and when you try to study something of everything, you end up with just "some" marks in every exam and not enough marks in any exam.

If we go by my example, I had made up my mind that i want to become a PO in SBI, while I was in my 7th semester. During the holiday period between my 7th and 8th semester, I made up all the strategy for my preparations and decided to join coaching for banking exams alongwith my 8th semester B.tech training.

In the mean time, i searched for the syllabuses of various banking exams (clerical and PO ) and found that all of them have more or less the same syllabus. So, i decided to give both clerical and PO exams . After that, it was the time to analyse my strong and weak areas. I was good at Maths and Reasoning. Having been studied in CBSE, English was also not that big a problem and  i had a professional degree in Computers. So, for me, the weakest area was General Awareness (GA). Till that day, neither had I ever read a newspaper in my life nor cared to watch news .  My only source of  WORLDLY knowledge was facebook  😜.  My general knowledge was of the level that i didn't even clearly know the difference between a PM and a CM. So, I realized that this was going to be the biggest challenge for me. And Before telling, how I overcame this weakness, let me just remind you that like GA  was my weakest point, yours may be a different subject or even subjects. Identify it and work to Overcome it.

Here's what I did to improve my General Awareness: 

GA in Banking includes Current Affairs and Static Awareness (about Banking, Polity etc). As I said, I never read newspaper in my life, so i couldn't just start reading newspapers overnight to improve my GA. I googled the alternatives and found that there are so many mobile apps for daily news through which you can read news anywhere and anytime you want . So after some research, I found an app, then named " News in Shorts" (now called " In shorts" ), which i felt was most suitable for me. I downloaded it and started reading news from it whenever i got time. And fortunately, it suited me more than expected. Slowly and steadily, I became regular as well as habitual of reading news from the app itself and thus my knowledge about current affairs started improving.

In Jan 2016, I joined an institute for my B.tech training as well as  started taking coaching for banking from AAA Bright Academy , Sector 34, Chandigarh.  But because I was doing my b.tech training alongside my banking coaching, I couldn't give much time to banking preparations but I managed to do the daily homework, so that i don't miss out any basics.
And it worked good enough for me. By the end of my coaching as well as training (duration of both was 4-5 months), I could feel that both went  productive for me. After completion of my final semester ( project submission and vivas ) and with this, completion of my  b.tech ( nearly a month after my coaching was over ), I was ready to study on my own.

Here's how I benefited from the coaching: 

1. It helped me clear my basics of Maths, Reasoning and English.
2. I became aware of different types of questions of every subject that may be asked in the exam.
3. My  Static Awareness improved the most as we had separate classes for Banking Awareness, Polity and even Current affairs.
4. They had their own books and study material ( almost all the good institutes provide their own study and practice material), so I didn't need to search for any extra study material to start my preparations.
5. Studying alongside other bank aspirants, gives you an idea of level of competition.
6. Mental Satisfaction that is missing when you start preparing on your own without taking guidance.
7. I got to learn many shortcuts and tricks (but I rarely use them).

SBI Clerk 2016 (Prelims):

First exam that I attempted was SBI Clerk 2016. My coaching for banking had finished in April 2016 and all of May 2016 passed in b.tech final year project completion and submission and vivas .  I still remember, I had my final viva on June 3 2016, and my SBI exam was on June 4, 2016. I gave it purely on my coaching basis that too without seeing a book for more than a month. And following is my scorecard for my very first bank exam: SBI Clerk 2016 prelim .

Yes, I missed clearing prelims of SBI Clerk 2016 with just 2 marks. But I wasn't really disappointed as I had attempted 69 questions and got 65.50 marks ( I couldn't be perfect :P ). I analysed my performance and tried to improve the shortcomings in the next exam, which was that of SBI PO 2016. 

SBI PO 2016 (Prelims):

I nearly had a month for preparation of SBI PO 2016 prelims which was in first week of july. Without any second thoughts about where to start from , I started solving RS Aggarwal for Quantative Aptitude, to restore my grip on basics of  Quant.  It took me nearly 15 days for the same . It proved out to be very a wise decision as I covered almost all the formulas while solving it.  After completing RS aggarwal, I now had to prepare for reasoning. I didn't had any book for reasoning nor did i had time to search for "good books" to refer to. Thus, I decided to prepare online for it. I searched for good sites for banking preparations and found that bankers adda was the most widely recommended site. They also have their mobile app. I searched for reasoning quizzes on it and found plenty of them. I practiced nearly 10-15 quizzes of reasoning and same number for english. And just few days before the exam, I took a mock test for the same which proved out to be very  helpful to plan the time management strategy for the actual exam . I felt quite ready for the prelims. 

Now it was the day of exam, As i said, i had only practiced basics, the actual exam seemed quite tough. I remember I attempted only 54 questions with 100% surety  in both Reasoning and Quant and nearly 100% surety in English (believe me,  you can never be 100% sure in English) .  Frankly speaking, I was disappointed with my performance as I was expecting to attempt atleast 60 questions.

I wasn't very positive about the result and didn't really study for mains until the result of prelims was announced. And fortunately, I cleared prelims with 52.25 marks and here's my scorecard: 

 It was now time to study for mains and I had only around 15 days for the same as Mains was on 31st July and i had literally wasted nearly two weeks after prelims, doing nothing.

SBI PO 2016 (Mains): 

So, I had about 2 week to prepare for mains. I knew this time wasn't enough for me as I could still prepare for English , Quant and reasoning but I could never prepare for General Awareness in such a short span of time. One of my seniors who was also preparing for the same advised me to download Current Affairs capsule from bankers adda which covers all the general awareness part necessary for cracking the exam. So , I did the same. The capsule is generally of 60-70 pages. 

I started reading the capsule as I had no other option but it wouldn't have been of any considerable help, had I not been reading news on the news app that i mentioned previously!  The capsule contained a lot of  news headlines and lot of static GK part and I couldn't just "mug it up" in just one reading but because i was regular on "News In Shorts", i could retain many things that were being repeated. All in all, it was like something was better than nothing.  

I prepared for English, Maths and Reasoning by attempting quizzes on various sites like Bankers adda, Testbook , GovJobAdda etc.  I wanted to attempt atleast 5 mocktests before the actual exam but i didn't get time for the same. I could attempt only 1 mock test but that was not enough. Finally, it was the day of exam. Every year, SBI comes with new surprises and so did this time. The whole pattern of English was changed. Level of every section was much higher than everyone's expectations. Keeping in mind the high level of exam , my Exam went far better than my expectations but not well enough to clear the exam. Here's my scorecard for the same :

You can see, I got relatively good marks in all the other subjects but General Awareness failed me. I couldn't even clear the sectional cutoff for it . Had i got even 17-18  marks in GA, i would have cleared my SBI Mains exams in my very first attempt. But once again, i wasn't disappointed as I knew i didn't deserve as per my preparations. Now, i was looking forward to IBPS PO and IBPS Clerk 2016. As both of these exams are conducted in second half of  October or after that, I had plenty of time to prepare for them. 

IBPS PO 2016:

My this exam was in second half of october. After giving, SBI mains, I didn't study for atleast a week because i needed a break as last few days had been quite hectic. Gradually, I started preparing for IBPS PO. By then, i had realised one thing:

Accuracy is of utmost importance in these exams. Cutoffs don't go much high but negative marking affects our score and we fail to clear even the low cutoffs. So, you can attempt less and still clear an exam.  ATTEMPT IT RIGHT OR DON'T ATTEMPT AT ALL. You might not clear an exam by attempting less but you will surely not clear the exam by attempting wrong. 

Now, I knew I can clear Quant , Reasoning and English Section by attempting only those questions on which i had a strong hold. 

These were my strong areas :

Quant- Percentage, Ratio, Profit and Loss, Quadratic, DI, Simplification/Approximation .

Reasoning-  Inequalities, Syllogism, Blood Relation, Directions and Ranking . 

English-  Any type of Error detection/ Sentence improvement/ Sentence completion . (In recent exams, level has raised  the most in  English). 

Notice that, these all are some basic topics which almost all the bank aspirants find easy.  But what i've experienced is that, students, rather than making their hold in their strong areas , try to master all the topics and due to lack of sufficient practice, they fail to score even in their strong areas. I'm not saying that one should not practice any other topics but your focus should be on your strengths.  

After analyzing my strengths and weaknesses, I made the proper study strategy. This time, I studied keeping in mind the mains and not prelims because i was confident  that I'll crack the prelims. Moreover, I had nearly 2 months in prelims, so obviously, i wouldn't have wasted them just preparing for prelims. 

This was my study strategy of  2 months  for IBPS PO 2016:

1. I Spent nearly one week each , solving quizzes of Quant, Reasoining and English, to get familiar with as much type of questions as I could.

2. IBPS PO Mains had one dedicated section of Computers also. As I'm a graduate in the field of computers, so i didn't really referred any study material for Computers. I just solved all the Computer quizzes of Banker's adda. I did it in the 4th week.( Those who don't have any such qualification in computers or are weak in it, I'll suggest referring dedicated books for the same).

3. During all this time, I was regular in reading news on "In Shorts" app . Additionally, I daily attempted Banker adda's Daily Current Affair quiz alongwith some previous Monthly Current Affair Quizzes . 

4. Now, I had one month left in the Prelims. I had practiced all the subjects individually. So, now I planned to attempt Mock tests. I attempted mock test series on GovJobAdda , Testbook and Banker's Adda. I attempted almost 10-15 mock tests in as many days. I used to attempt one test daily and analyse it properly.  I attempted the tests just as i would attempt the real exam. I solved all the questions that i couldn't solve during the test. I analysed my mistakes and improved them in the next test. On rest of the days, my focus used to be on improving my GA.

Please Note that, all this time, I never missed a day studying for GA because I couldn't compromise another exam due to it. I was aiming to just clear cutoffs for it while improving my strong subjects. 

IBPS PO 2016 (Prelims):

It was now the day of the exam. I felt pretty confident. I attempted 60+ questions with nearly 100% accuracy. By then, i'd become experienced regarding the level of cutoffs. I knew 60+ questions were more than enough for me. And I was right. Here is my scorecard :

IBPS PO 2016 (Mains):

I was very confident about clearing prelims, So i right away started preparing for Mains for which i had nearly 1 month. I only attempted Mock tests for mains mostly from the above mentioned sites . I attempted one test a day and analysed it. Sometime, It took two  days. I was preparing very smoothly, without any burden, I was studying maximum 5 hours a day. The only other thing that i was doing besides attempting mock tests was reading news from  "In shorts". Nearly two weeks before the exam, bankers adda released their GA Capsule. I took out the printout and gave nearly one proper week to it. In last 3-4 days before exam, I attempted 1-2 more mock tests and was feeling ready for the exam. It was now the exam day. It was somewhere in November. I was not satisfied with my performance but i had hope that I'll clear it due to my accuracy. And Fortunately, I cleared it. I don't have the scorecard but I remember, The cutoff of general was around 53 and I got somewhere around 63 marks. 

IBPS PO 2016 (Interview):

My interview was in first week of Feb. I've been preparing for interview since the declaration of mains exam. I saw several expert videos on YouTube on how to prepare for interview. From there, I got to know that , Interview demands:

1. Proper Dress Up

2. Proper Body Language

3. Confidence

4. Good Communication Skills

5. General Awareness

I needed to work the most on 2nd and 5th point. 

From my experience, I can  tell you that you can never prepare for Interview alone. Its a group exercise. You can never analyse yourself from the interview point of view. You need someone to tell you about your strengths and weakness.  My institute, from where i took coaching for banking, conducts special classes for interview preparation. I joined the same. The biggest benefit of those special classes was that , we were all preparing for interview. We made groups and started taking each others interview and that was the most productive part. We improved our body language, worked on our weaknesses and identified our strengths, We also improved our General Awareness by discussing various current issues.

Finally, It was my interview day. My interview was on first number on that day. It was a good experience. I was feeling confident. I was asked questions from banking , current affairs and my educational background. I failed to answer some questions from general awareness but the overall feeling was positive. But I couldn't get selected as interview only had a little weightage  in the final result and my marks in written exam were not up to the mark. But it was a very good experience. I was disappointed but not for long because my aim had always been SBI PO. So I took my failure in a positive way as If i would've got selected, I might not have been able to prepare for SBI PO 2017.

IBPS Clerk 2016 (Prelims) :

While i was busy preparing for IBPS PO mains, I had exam of IBPS Clerk prelims in first week of Novemeber. Frankly Speaking, I didn't bothered about it even for once. Only one day before exam, I gave 2-3 mock tests for Prelims. I knew I was preparing for the mains of PO exam , so i could easily clear Prelims of Clerical . And I was right. I found prelims of IBPS Clerk 2016 as child's play. I attempted 96 questions out of 100 !! The 4 questions that i didn't attempt were of english. Here's my scorecard for the IBPS Clerk Prelims in which I scored 92.25 marks  :

IBPS Clerk 2016 (Mains):

My Main exam of IBPS Clerk was on 1st Jan, 2017. I'd already cleared IBPS PO mains, so I was not worried about IBPS Clerk Mains. Infact, my whole attention was towards preparing for IBPS PO Interview. Few days before IBPS Clerk Mains exams, I started attempting mock tests. I attempted nearly 5-8 mock tests with proper analysis. It was now the day of the exam. The level of exam was higher than expected. I went ahead with my same strategy : Attempt Right or Don't Attempt . 
As soon as I was done with IBPS Clerk mains exam, I restarted my IBPS PO Interview preparation.

IBPS released final results of both IBPS Clerk 2016 and IBPS PO 2016 on 1st April, 2017. As i already told, I couldn't clear the IBPS PO  but I cleared IBPS Clerk 2016 and got selected in Canara Bank. Here's my final scorecard of IBPS Clerk :

SBI PO 2017:

Now, I had a job in hand. There was a sort of mental satisfaction. There was no any kind of burden. Now i could more calmly prepare for SBI PO 2017. After my IBPS PO interview in Feb 2017, I was free to prepare for SBI PO 2017. I took break from studies for the rest of the February except the GA part. I was still regular in reading news on "In Shorts" because i couldn't take any chance when it comes to GA.

SBI PO 2017 (Prelims):

I started studying for SBI PO in March 2017. I bought test series on Testbook . Along with preparing for GA , I started attempting mock tests for SBI PO Prelims.  It was SBI PO Prelims, and I couldn't take any chance. I attempted around 15 mock test on Testbook and around 10 mock tests on  GovJobAdda . (They provide Free Mock test Series) .  My exam was in the last week of April 2017. It went well. I attempted 61 question and here's my scorecard :

Here, you can see that I attempted 61 question but i got 61.75 marks. How is this possible ?  This is possible because of the process called normalization where extra marks are given on the basis of difficulty level of the same exam which is conducted in various slots. Some people also say that extra marks are awarded for Accuracy but I don't think so.

SBI PO 2017 (Mains):

As soon as I was done with SBI PO Prelims, I started preparing for SBI PO Mains exam. My strategy remained the Same. I attempted 10-15 mock tests of Mains Exam from the sites that I've been mentioning through out . I used to attempt One mock test a day -  3 Hrs of Mock test + 2-3 Hours of Analysis.

2 weeks before the exam, Banker's Adda released there GA Capsule. I took out the printout. By now, I had developed confidence in GA as It had been more than one year that i was constantly reading News on "In Shorts" app. This time, It took me relatively less time to complete the Capsule as I was already aware of Most of the News headlines. I read the capsule twice so that i could retain most of the things. With this experience, I can say that, Banker's adda or any other site's GA capsules are effective, only if you are in touch with daily news. Otherwise, You can''t just cram 70 pages in 2 weeks and clear the exam !!  

Two days before the SBI  PO Mains Exam, I attempted two more Mock tests. It was now June 4, 2017, the day of the exam. This time too, SBI raised the level of exam as expected, especially that of  English. It seemed like the English paper was set for someone with PHD in english 😠. I attempted a total of 76 questions, far less than my expectations. I could attempt 3 more questions but due to my wrong judgement, I started solving the wrong questions. I thought, SBI PO 2017 had gone from my hands  due to my stupidness but i was still hopeful because if level of exam was difficult for me, so  was for everyone else.  And that's what happened. I cleared SBI PO Mains Exam. And It was now the time to prepare for Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GDPI )Phase.

SBI PO 2017 (Group Discussion and Personal Interview):

Again, GDPI was not something for which you can prepare alone. Its a group exercise. Again, my institute conducted special classes for the same. There again, we made groups and started practicing Group discussions on various topics. We identified our Strengths and improved our weekness. And that's the only way to prepare for GDPI, BY PRACTICING. 

Meanwhile, I got joining letter from Canara Bank. My joining date was 28th Aug, 2017. Seconf half of August went in preparing required documents, Medical etc. And once, I joined Canara Bank, I didn't get time to prepare for GDPI which was on 13th Sept, 2017.

My Group Discussion went good. Interview also went average. I was mostly asked questions about my work profile in Canara Bank.  I was neutral about the result. I couldn't predict the result. Again, I was just hopeful. And then came the judgement day, 24th October, 2017.

I just can't express that feeling when I saw my Roll Number in the final list !! That was a " Khushi ke Aansu " waali feeling. It was a "Dream come true" feeling.  It was the divine feeling of making your parents proud.  It was a feeling which comes when your hard work finally pays off.

Here's My final Scorecard:

IBPS PO 2017 (Prelims):

I wasn't sure about selection in SBI PO. So I also appeared for IBPS PO Prelims but without any preparation because after getting into job, I totally disconnected from studies . Fortunately, I cleared it too. Here's my Scorecard :

IBPS PO 2017 (Mains):

My mains exam was on 26th Nov, 2017. I had no plan to appear for it as I literally didn't study a bit for it. But as it was on Sunday, I made up my mind to appear for it just on the previous night, i.e, Saturday. I appeared for the Mains. Contrary to my expectations, I didn't find any considerable difficulty in attempting it ,considering my zero preparation , except in General awareness section.
I was neutral about the result. But again, I managed to clear this exam too.

Now, Some people may call it my "luck" as I cleared it without any preparation. But people, you are wrong here. It's not my luck only. It's the result of my right strategy while I was preparing for banking exams and my understanding of the concepts.  Cutting-off from studies may slow down my speed but it can't take away what  I've "learned" and "understood". 

CONCLUSION:

My Mantra of success is - ATTEMPT, ANALYSE  AND IMPROVE 

Due to this approach only , I progressed with every exam I appeared for, which you can see here : 

My Journey in Nutshell

Important tips from My Experience :

• Know What You Are Preparing for.
• Know Your Strengths and Weakness.
• You don't need to Master Everything.
• Always Study with a Strategy in Mind.
• Analyse Your Performance after every test.
• Stay Focused. Don't try riding in two boats at a time.
• Accuracy is the key to unlock your success.
• Don't underestimate yourself. If anyone else can do it, so can you.
• Take the Break whenever you need it.
• Don't study under Stress. It only reduces your Efficiency as well as interest.
• FAILURE IS THE PART OF YOUR PREPARATION.

P.S. 
Many People have asked me that how much time did i use to study daily. The answer is, I was never  restricted to the study hours. I studied as per my comfort.I used to plan that how much work do I have to do in a certain period. On Some days, i would study for 6-7 hours while  on other days i would only study for 2 hours. So, it is purely up-to you that how much time can you study with 100% concentration. Studying with full concentration for 3 hours may prove to be more productive than Studying for 10 hours without proper concentration .

Also, only you have to decide that how much time you should give to every subject as per your hold on different subjects. Everyone's grasping power is different. So, Never ask anyone about the hours they spend on a particular subject. It might not suit you and affect your performance.

I HOPE , THIS ARTICLE WOULD BE OF SOME SORT OF HELP TO BANK JOB ASPIRANTS. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS IF ANY OF YOUR QUERY IS LEFT UNANSWERED. 

Made It Without RESERVATION !!

Suspensive Title,eh ?

Yeah..We'll come to that. Firstly, let me tell you that why so "arrogant" title. Well, It's not actually an arrogant title , it's a proud title. Proud of achieving something, all because of your own HARD WORK (and luck, well yes, Luck also does matters ). 

As I've mentioned in one of my previous blog-posts that I'd been preparing for and giving competitive exams for banking from last year. And Fortunately, I progressed with every exam I attempted (will soon be writing on that too). No doubt, I've been lucky enough to get paid off for my hard-work within one year (climax is on the way) which is not the case with everybody.

As a govt job aspirant, I came across so many job seekers just like me. Some started preparing with me while some were preparing for 1 or 2 or 3 or even more years.

So where lies the difference ? I'm penning it down from my experience:

1. Focus

2. Commitment

3. Labor

4. Strategy

5. QUOTA (Should've put it in the first place 😑)

6. Luck

While most people would agree with me on all the other factors listed above but difference of opinions may be there on QUOTA factor.

So, Here I'll be providing my opinion and will use my own scorecard for reasoning.

Well..Yes.. this is what the suspense was all about. I got selected as a PO in SBI which was my dream job since i started preparing for banking exams.

So now, have a look at the cutoffs for various categories.  To qualify for the Interview stage, there is a clear cut difference of 27 marks between a general candidate and a SC/ST candidate. (I'm not mentioning the OBC category here because there is a concept of creamy layer in that, though that's also been ruined now).

27 fucking marks !! Only a bank job aspirant truly knows the value of every single mark in banking exams , especially in SBI exam and that too for  the post of PO. I have a friend who got 88.75 marks in the main examination (in which 89.25 is the cutoff), but she didn't get selected for Interview (do i need to mention that she's from general category ?) but guess why a candidate with 62.5 marks would have been called for interview ?

Ok.. So this all didn't end at mains examination. Now See the difference between the final cutoffs. Before that, let me just tell you, that 250 marks from the mains examination + 50 marks from the group excercise and interview  , which make up a total of 300 marks are converted to 100 marks by a process called normalisation (you can google it ) . So, 1 mark after normalisation  has a hell lot of value !! After this normalisation process, difference between cutoffs for a general candidate and that of a SC and ST candidate is 7 marks and 17 marks respectively !! Again, only a bank job aspirant can truly understand the value of these marks . I don't need to mention that a candidate from general category with 46 marks would not have been selected for this job but a candidate from reserved category with probably 32 or 40 marks would have been !

This was all about the selection process. But this all didn't stop here as well. 

So What next ? Next is the allotment of circles (u can say posting areas) which is also done on merit basis and when i say merit , it automatically includes category !! Here, I can cite my own example. I got 47.33 marks (lucky enough to get selected) which weren't enough for me to get a circle of my choice  ,i.e,  chandigarh (SBI has 16 circles across India) but a fellow friend from OBC category got 41 marks and got Chandigarh circle !! I really don't have words to express my frustration in this case.

Though, there is surely some dissatisfaction regarding allotment of circles ,but at the end, all that matters to me is that I've got my dream job and i was never more happy than I am now.  My hard work has paid off . And above everything, NOBODY can tell me that he/she got more marks than me but didn't get selected and that he/she deserved this job more than I do !! 

And that's why I'm proud to say that I MADE IT WITHOUT RESERVATION !!

" I should've been a Politician or a Journalist "

"You Should Join Politics"

It's a phrase that i'm getting to hear very frequently from past few months.

Though there's  this another "advice" also that I get to hear a lot  that- "Journalist ban ja" or "Reporter ban ja", but the reason behind that is very much understandable to me and that is,  I keep posting various news on my facebook timeline.

But i never cared enough to understand the reason behind that politics thing and always took it lightly because it was always said to me in a light manner only. Just some days back, I had one of those days when you "think a lot about anything and everything". And this time my "thought process" was based on the psychology  (heavy word it is 😉) behind people asking me to join politics merely based on some of my facebook posts. 

Now, let me put into words, the inference that i drew from that very long "Thought process" .

I frequently keep posting my views on various steps being taken by the govt, and most of the times those are critical in nature or should I say I only post views on those steps taken by the govt that I find against the interests of a common man, in best of my knowledge.

But many people think that by posting those "deprecatory" views , I'm doing something uncommon and peculiar ! Perhaps Something that is not expected from me, a common woman and Something that is expected only from politicians and journalists ! Yes. Knowingly or unknowingly, many people have this perception.

Personally, I don't feel that there's anything "out of the ordinary"in expressing your dissent. We all do this in our daily lives and govt policies directly or indirectly affect our daily lives ! Right ? Then why expressing dissent towards them is hyped ? Why can't questioning the policy makers be a normal thing ? Why I have to be a Journalist or a politician only,  merely to say what i feel ?

I say it very frequently and would like to say that again that We are living in the World's largest democracy and this is something that's not so Common !! And let me again remind you that, Govt is answerable to people in a Democratic country and questioning it is our Right (rather Duty according to me). 

P.S. - Neither I want to be a Politician nor a Journalist, because I'm very satisfied being a common citizen of this , so far,  Democratic country !!