Hey Friends,
This post is in continuation to my earlier post and gives a little more insight about the BankPO Post which will surely help individuals who have decided to make it their career.
About Job Profile of a Bank PO!
PO stands for Probationary Officer. A PO is an entry level officer in a bank and is appointed as Assistant Manager after the probation period which varies from bank to bank(at the max 2 years). During the Probation Period, a PO is made to train in almost every section of a bank and understands the various functions of the bank. A Bank PO is put to work in various departments starting from Passing of Loans, Treasury, Risk Management, Marketing etc so that he has a understanding of working of different sections of a bank.
Bank PO is a responsible job as single error in judgement can lead to NPA(Non Performing Asset) of a particular bank and thus a person has to be extra careful in taking decisions. Talking about the positive side of it, Bank PO being a responsible job, the Growth opportunity is tremendous and one can reach even to the level of a CMD with his performance & strong judgement abilities.
Transfers
One thing that a Bank PO aspirant must keep in mind before choosing it as his/her career is the TRANSFERS. A PO has to face regular transfers in his career. An entry level PO will surely get 2-4 transfers within 2years of his service so as to make him feel the working environment in different branches.
Location? Do We Get Our Homestate or NOT?
This is one of the most commonly asked question and it is very difficult to answer it. It all depends on the bank authorities and their policies. Usually, a Girl Candidate is given her home-state as the place of posting but it isn’t necessary. Guys rarely get posting in their hometown, though miracles do happen and i know 2-3 people who are posted in their Hometown. Metro cities are very hard to get as a bank gets numerous applications each year from bank employees(seniors) for the transfer because of better living conditions and hefty allowances. 😛
Promotions (Taken from Bank of Baroda Website)
When Should I Start Preparing?
Hahaha! Yes, People do ask such questions. I think its never too late to start and a quote will certainly make things clear:
“THE BEST TIME TO START DOING ANYTHING WAS 5 YEARS EARLIER , THE SECOND BEST TIME IS NOW”
Also, one can never say how many vacancies will be there in the upcoming year or how many recruitment notifications will be out this year. People only make speculations, so if you have decided then start preparing from today.
Which Forms To Fill? When will be the Recruitment Notifications Out?
There are 2 exams conducted by IBPS each year for the PO post namely,
- IBPS RRB
- IBPS PO
Apart from these, SBI do conduct its own exam according to its requirements as and when required, and we exactly cant tell when will it conduct its next exam. Though there are SPECULATIONS, that as SBI conducted its PO Exam last year in 2013, there will not be any recruitment from it. But, SBI may come out with its notification for filling up of PO posts in its Associates (SBI Associates), which are
- State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur
- State Bank of Hyderabad
- State Bank of Mysore
- State Bank of Patiala
- State Bank of Travancore
Though these are only speculations and there arent any concrete evidence to prove it.
Apart from these exams, recently Public Sector Banks like Bank of Baroda & Indian Overseas Bank have done a tie up with Manipal University and they do conduct their own exam. Candidates who qualify this exam do undergo a one year Post Graduate Diploma Course in Banking in Manipal School of Banking and they are required to pay a fees of Around 3 to 3.5 Lacs. Candidates have to sign a service bond of 5 years and this Fee money will be funded back to them after the period.
All in all in my personal view, Candidates who are preparing for PO exams should appear for this exam, though i am not saying that you should join this programme because there is a hefty sum of around Rs3.5Lacs and also a waiting of 1year as compared to Normal IBPS exam. Why i’m saying you should fill such forms is just because, the notification for the Bank of Baroda Manipal School of Banking PO recruitment programme was out by April. IBPS exam is usually held in the ending months of a year. These exams including IBPS RRB, IOBMSB and others are somewhat based on the pattern of IBPS and you’ll get a real feel of IBPS PO Exam by appearing in these exams. You’ll get to know where you stand in an All India Level competition and where to focus more.
Besides, These arent a bad choice either if you are dedicated in choosing Banking as your career. This programme will only enhance your banking knowledge and you’ll have faster promotion chances. Moreover, the sum will be returned after a specified period.
(Are You Confused? :D)
I will also suggest my readers to appear for the Private Bank Bank Exams for PO Post like ICICI Manipal Programme & Axis Bank Manipal Programme, for the same reason that you dont lose anything but gain experience. Moreover, these are free. 🙂
Personally, i wont suggest you to make your career in Private Bank Organisations like ICICI & Axis Bank as PO, though they are top banks. Reason being a private bank is a Private bank and you’ll need to do as per your BOSS (AND BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT & SUPREME! Remember?). Also, I dont have enough sources that tell me how is the working experience there. Being a private bank, there will always be targets for you and your work will determine your future growth or place in the company.
In the Next post, i’ll let you know the details of topics from individual sections and time dedication on these topics along with some tipsthat helped me & will surely help you guys too.
m really tnkful 2 u fo ur advice… tnx 🙂