Entry Level High Profile Jobs in India: 1. Probationary Officer (PO) in a Bank

As per a report, nearly 45000 people were hired as Probationary Officers by the banking sector in their recruitment drive during the year 2009. Most exciting career options in banking sector belong to jobs designed for probationary officers. There is no end of opportunities for people recruited as PO. However, people joining as Probationary Officers should make them familiar with job requirements. Probationary Officers not only have to acquaint themselves with routine banking activities but also work for the increasing volume of new banking activities such as online banking, insurance, asset management, corporate banking, securities and investments to grab a bigger market share for their respective banks. There are lots of promotional avenues for people opting career of a PO. After joining, one has to go through a one-year probation period during which he has to make familiar with the working of various departments, including general banking, loans processing, cash handling, routine bank work such as bill collection, cheque clearances and loan processing etc. Their performance during probation period is a deciding factor for their designation after completion of probation period. They have possibilities of being promoted for the posts of Manager, Senior Manager, Assistant General Manager (AGM), Deputy General Manager (DGM) and even the General Manager (GM) in a public sector bank. After serving for four years, they become eligible for the post of manager i.e. a scale II post. However, qualifying departmental examinations or examinations conducted by an approved agency such as Certified Associates of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) may help them get promoted at the earliest possible date.

Job Profile:

A person selected for the post of Probationary Officer may be assigned any or all of the activities listed below.

General banking: Cheques collection and clearance,  issue of drafts, accepting term deposits, loan processing,  issuing debt securities, and several other banking activities associated with maintenance of customer’s current and saving accounts.

House keeping & Supervisory functions: Assigning duties to sub-ordinate bank staff for smooth running of bank’s routine activities

Any other work assigned by the Bank from time to time: Bank management can assign any other work to a PO related with banking activity.

Eligibilities:

Age of a candidate should not be more than 30 years and less than 21 years on a date prescribed as a reference date by the bank.Usually relaxation of 3 years in the upper age limit in the case of OBC candidates and 5 years in the case of SC/ST/Ex-servicemen is given but this may differ from bank to bank.

 A graduate or post graduate candidate belonging to general category having 55% or more marks in graduation/post graduation and 60 % or more marks in class XII is eligible for registering online as a candidate. A candidate belonging to SC/ST category is given a relaxation of 5% marks for both graduation as well as Class XII marks. Some banks require that eligible candidates must have a basic knowledge of computer applications (certificate from a Government recognized Training Institute) while others allow candidates to appear in test with just a working knowledge of computer applications (without certificates).

Scale of pay

Probationary officers are placed initially in JMG scale I (Rs 10,000 – 18240) and approx. total emoluments, after inclusion of DA, CCA, HRA, in the beginning in a Metro city comes to be Rs 16,300. After serving for a period of four years in the JMG Scale I, they become eligible to be placed in the JMG II scale II (Rs 13830 -19920). Total emoluments in JMG Scale II in a Metro city come approximately to be Rs 22,320.

Selection procedure

A. Written examination (combined objective and descriptive type tests)

Objective test – 200 marks, 2 hours duration

This test will consist of –

(i) English language (grammar, vocabulary, comprehension etc.)

(ii) General awareness, marketing and computers

(iii) Data analysis and interpretation

(iv) Reasoning (high level),

Descriptive type test - 50 marks, 1 hour duration,

Candidates who has achieved high percentile ranking in each of all the four sections of objective test and scored aggregate 40% or above in case of general category and 35% or above for reserve category, will be evaluated in descriptive test. This test will test candidate’s knowledge of English language and consist of four sections namely, comprehension, short precise, letter writing and essay. Merit list will be prepared based on the aggregates of marks in both objective and descriptive test and include only those candidates who have secured aggregate 40% and 35% marks in case of general and reserve category, respectively.

B. Group discussion and interview:

Maximum marks – 50 (Group discussion =20, Interview = 30)

Candidates qualifying in both the written examinations (objective & descriptive) will be called for group discussion and interview depending upon the vacancies. I

How to prepare to succeed?

Questions asked in written tests are not of difficult nature but plenty in number. Applicants need to manage time and attempt as much as questions as they can to achieve high marks in the prescribed time.

Understand the pattern of questions being asked in previous examinations. Look for the question banks having similar type of questions. Click to download BANK PO's 2008 solved question papers.

Business Compass is a good magazine for preparing general awareness and business section (marketing). There are several newspapers (The Hindu, The Hindustan Times, Times of India, Business Line, etc.) which help you improve your English language as well as your IQ.

You should have good logical and reasoning abilities and try to practice as much exercises as possible from different practice books.

Numerical ability and quantitative aptitude tests are being replaced by many banks with reasoning ability of high level. This change in policy is due to increasing use of core banking solutions and computers that makes expertise in numerical ability less relevant.