Preparing for IBPS Specialist Officer Exam

IBPS is a recruitment organization which has been authorized to conduct the recruitment Exams on the behalf of 20 Public Sector Banks in India. IBPS conducts Common Written Exams for PO, Clerks and Specialist Officers vacancies in 20 Public Sector Banks.

IBPS normally conducts Common Written Exams (CWE's) three time in a year, one each for Clerk, PO and Specialist Officers vacancies. The CWE for Specialist Officers is conducted online by IBPS once every year. The latest tentative date for this exam is 8th & 9th February, 2014. The IBPS Specialist Officer (SO) 2014 Entrance Exam will be conducted for Scale 1 and Scale 2 officers and following are the post included under scale 1 and scale 2. Specialist Officer Designations which fall under Scale 1 are:

• Agricultural Field Officer
• I.T Officer
• Law Officers
• Rajbhasha Officer
• HR/Personal Officer
• Marketing Officers

Specialist Officer Designations under Scale 2 are:

• Chartered Accountants
• Finance Executive
• I.T Officers
• Law Officers

EXAM STRUCTURE

1. Law Officer- Scale I & II & Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I

2.  IT Officer Scales I & II, Agriculture Field Officer Scale I, HR/ Personnel Officer Scale I, Marketing Officer Scale I, Chartered Accountants Scale-II & Manager Credit /Finance Executive Scale-II.

Quantitative Aptitude This section will test your general mathematical aptitude. You should purchase a good book (like RS Aggarwal) which covers all the major topics in mathematics and learn some tricks and easy ways to solve the quant questions. Most of the topics in the syllabus are from basic 10th Level NCERT mathematics syllabus, like Number System, HCF, LCM, Probability, Quadratic Equations, Average, Arithmetic Progressions, Geometry, Ratio and Proportions, Time and Distance, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest etc. Try to use the Elimination method: If an answer has 4 options out of which one is correct then start try figuring out which option cannot be the correct answer. Therefore you should try to eliminate the wrong answers to find out the correct one. Reasoning Reasoning tests your analytical and mental ability. This is a high scoring section but the questions often take time to get solved. Solving questions based on reasoning require quite lot of concentration, decision making and reasoning ability. This section usually includes questions on number series, assertion and reason, logical problems, blood relations, encoding-decoding etc. English Language This section will test your proficiency in English language, mainly reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary. You can improve your English language skills by reading novels, newspapers and watching English movies and news. Try to learn at least 10 new words every day along with their synonyms and antonyms. Watching English news daily will not only improve your English but will also enhance your knowledge about the current affairs. This section mostly contains question on reading comprehension, tenses, synonyms & antonyms, verb, error correction, para-jumbles, fill in the blanks with articles, vocabulary etc. General Awareness General Awareness (or General Knowledge) can only be improved by reading books, newspapers and watching news. Study the major aspects of history and geography of India. Be enthusiastic to know about each and every change happening around the world. This section will also contain questions related to banking. Study about the budget and the new budget changes made by the central government. This section mainly tests your knowledge about current affairs (both national and global), around the world, budget plans, books and authors, awards and honours, Sports, scientific inventions, common abbreviations, important days and dates. Professional Knowledge This section tests your domain specific knowledge, which is based on the post you have applied for ( like IT, Agriculture etc). Like if you’re from an IT background, this section might include questions related to databases, data structures, object oriented programming etc.

Quick Tips:

• Start preparing early so that you’re able to identify your strong and weak areas. You can then plan your preparation accordingly.
• Learn time management by solving sample or mock tests and tracking your progress.
• Beware of the negative marking so that you don’t attempt all questions (or the questions you can’t solve). Avoid any guess work.
• Don’t get stuck if you’re unable to solve a question. While overspending time on solving a question. Remember that you’re running out of time.
• Keep an eye on your watch so that you could wisely spend the time you’re left with.
•  Always try to implement the Elimination Rule while answering a multiple type choice question.
• Remember that there’s a sectional cut-off and you have to clear it in order to get through the test and receive interview calls.

BOOKS

• Arihant’s IBPS-CWE Specialist Officer Recruitment Exam: Success Master
• Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal
• Verbal and non verbal reasoning by RS Aggarwal (English)
• India 2013, by Govt of India ( General Awareness )
• Objective Computer Knowledge & Literacy (Professional IT knowledge)
• IBPS IT Officers: Online Mock Test, Scale - 1 and 2 (Professional IT Knowledge)
• Bank Agricultural Field Officer Common Written Exam (CWE) Guide ( Professional Agriculture Knowledge)
• IBPS-CWE Recruitment of Specialist Officers: 25 Practices Test Papers
• IBPS Bank Specialist Officers: Common Written Exam (CWE) Guide

If you’re preparing for the IBPS specialist officers exam, you can post your IBPS coaching requirement here.  You can also leave your feedback on this article in the comments below.