As most of us know, SBI is one of the established banks in India. The State Bank of India is the public sector banking service. It is also a financial company owned by the Government. The headquarters of this bank is located in Mumbai.
Employees in SBI
State Bank of India holds the pride of being one of the largest employers in India. Yes, as the year ended March 2017, the bank had nearly 2 lakh and 10 thousand employees. Of this employee strength, nearly 23% are women. In addition, nearly 1.5% of them have some sort of physical disability. In the financial year 2016-2017 alone nearly 13,000 people joined the bank as employees.
Recruitment by SBI
Even though, SBI looks like the largest employer, getting into SBI is not easy. Yes, candidates will have to take up SBI Exams like SBI Clerk Exam and PO Exam to get an appointment for the respective positions. These two examinations are competitive examinations. A number of candidates apply for these tests and only a few are getting through the final selection process.
Facts about SBI Exams
Now, we know that taking the exam is the only way to get into SBI. Here are certain facts to know about the exams:
How many times a year?
As far as the PO is concerned, the test is conducted once a year. Otherwise, depending on the vacancies, the bank might conduct twice or thrice. Even, there are instances of the exam conducted once in two or three years. However, based on past trends, the test is conducted once a year. The same applies to the clerk exam as well.
Exams are conducted in two stages:
Both the SBI PO Exam and Clerk Exam are conducted in two stages. The first is called as the preliminary stage. Candidates clearing this stage will be called for the second stage called the main exam. In the case of the PO position, an interview is conducted as the final stage before selecting candidates. There is also a group exercise for this position along with the interview.
What is the educational qualification?
For the clerk exam, the minimum qualification is a higher secondary with at least 60%. This 60% mark is applicable to general category candidates and 55% is applicable for reserved category candidates. In the case of the PO exam, the minimum qualification is a degree from a recognized university in any discipline.
What is the pattern of the tests?
For preliminary exams for both positions, the pattern remains the same. The duration of the tests is one hour and the maximum mark is 100. For both positions, the test is objective type in nature. For both tests, the questions will be from three sections. The sections are reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude, and the English language.
In the case of the main examination, for the PO Position, there will be both objective and descriptive type questions. For Clerical positions, there will be objective type questions alone. The pattern differs for PO and Clerical positions.
For the Clerk exam, the sections will be
- General English
- General/financial awareness
- Quantitative aptitude
- Reasoning ability
- Computer aptitude.
For PO, there will be questions from:
- English language
- General awareness about banking and economy
- Data analysis and interpretation
- Reasoning and computer aptitude
For both positions, there will be 200 questions in total divided among appropriate sections.
Registering for the test
In general, the bank will issue the notification on its official website. Even, candidates can find the notification in employment newspapers. Once the notification is out, candidates should obtain the notification. Before applying, they should make sure that they meet the eligibility requirements mentioned.
They should apply for both positions through the official website of SBI. They should pay the appropriate examination and application fee. After applying, they can download the admit card from the website of the bank. This can be done from the date specified for downloading the admit card in the notification. They should appear for the test at the appropriate center and should take up the test.
With dedicated practice and hard work, candidates can easily get through the SBI recruitment.