How to Crack IBPS SO in the First Attempt

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How to Crack IBPS SO in the First Attempt

Candidates can crack IBPS SO exam in their first attempt itself by using the right strategy

Thursday April 11, 2019 1:04 PM, ummid.com News Network

IBSO SO

IBPS Specialist Officer (SO) Posts, as the name suggests, are special posts within the bank to look after special departments apart from core banking tasks. Specialist Officers are hired in IT or Marketing departments and they need to look after the smooth functioning of those departments.

IBPS SO Recruitment takes place every year but the number of vacancies is usually less in compared to Clerk or PO recruitment due to which the competition level is very high.

Candidates can crack IBPS SO exam in their first attempt itself by using the right strategy. To plan a good exam preparation strategy, we first need to understand the exam pattern and other important details related to the exam. For the current year, the IBPS SO official notification 2019 is yet to be released. Hence we will go with the tentative dates for now.

IBPS SO Important Dates

Event	Date
Starting date of Online application form	06-11-2018
Last date of submission	26-11-2018
Download of Call letters for Pre – Exam training	Dec 2018
Conduct of Pre -Exam Training	Dec 2018
Download of Call letters – Prelims	Dec 2018
Online Examination – Prelims	29-12-2018 & 30-12-2018
Result of Online Exam – Prelims	Jan 2019
Download of call letter – Main Exam	Jan 2019
Online Examination – Main	27-01-2019
Announcement of Result – Main	Feb 2019
Download of Call Letters-Interview	Feb 2019
Conduct of Interview	Feb 2019
Provisional Allotment	April 2019

IBPS SO Exam Structure

The IBPS SO Exam is conducted in three different levels. A candidate has to qualify all the levels in order to be appointed as an IBPS SO. These levels are:

1. Preliminary Round
2. Main Round
3. Personal Interview

IBPS SO Exam Pattern

The IBPS SO exam pattern varies for different posts. The exam pattern for Prelims and Mains for the post of Law officer & Rajbhasha Adhikari is different from all other SO Posts. The details about them are provided in the tables below:

Prelims (Law officer & Rajbhasha Adhikari)

Subject	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
General Awareness with special reference to Banking industry	50	50	40 mins
Reasoning	50	50	40 mins
English Language	50	25	40 mins
Total	150	125	120 mins

Mains (Rajbhasha Adhikari)

Section	No of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Professional Knowledge (Objective)	45	60	30 mins
Professional Knowledge (descriptive)	2	60	30 mins

Prelims (Marketing officer (Scale I), IT officer, Agriculture Field officer and HR/Personnel officer)

Subject	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Quantitative Aptitude	50	50	40 mins
Reasoning Ability	50	50	40 mins
English Language	50	25	40 mins
Total	150	125	120 mins

Mains (IT officer, Law officer, HR/Personnel officer, Marketing officer & Agriculture field officer)

Section	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
Professional Knowledge	60	60	45 mins

IBPS SO Preparation Strategy

For the posts of Law Officer, you only need to write the prelims exam while For Rajbhasha Adhikari post, both prelims and main rounds are mandatory. Candidates will be tested on their English, Reasoning and Banking Awareness skills. So candidates should start implementing these habits in their preparation.

For all other posts, the Prelims and Main rounds include similar sections. In addition, there is a Quant section as well, which means candidates applying for posts other than Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari need to brush up their Mathematical skills as well. Regarding the preparation strategy, here’s how candidates can proceed:

1. Read English newspapers daily with special reference to the finance page

2. Learn new English words with their meaning to improve your vocabulary

3. Learn basic grammar rules and practice writing articles and essays in English

4. Also, develop the habit to speak in English loudly to yourself when you are alone at home, this will improve your pronunciation problems

5. For the reasoning section, try to think logically and analyze each question before answering

6. Practice as many mock tests as possible

7. Avoid confusion and learn how to solve reasoning problems in minimum time possible

8. For banking awareness, get a good book on banking

9. Understand the working of various banking departments

10. Stay up to date with bank rules, regulations and policies

11. For Quant section, practice is the key to perfection

12. Focus mainly on confusing sections like SI & CI, Time/Distance sums, etc.

13. Ensure that you know all the formulas and tables very clearly