Do You want to Crack SBI PO 2023, Get to Know Tips, Strategy and Dos & Don'ts during Preparation

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By Smartkeeda
25 Apr 2020
Are you a banking aspirant and wants to crack India’s one of the top bank exams SBI PO 2023? If yes! Then you are at right place!
 
Hi Aspirants!
 
In this article we will discuss tips and strategies to crack SBI PO 2023.

About SBI PO 2023 exam

SBI conducts examination for the recruitment of Probationary Officers each year. The exam is held in three phases namely Preliminary (Pre), Mains, and then Group Discussion followed by an interview, all within a period of three to four months.
 
Each year in the month of April-May the SBI releases the notification for the examination. This year, due to lock down, the notification maybe delayed for a few weeks.
Anyway, whenever the notification will come, you will have a time of 2-3 months to prepare for the Preliminary exam and one more month to prepare for the Mains exam.
Aspirants who qualify in the Pre exam are called for the Mains, and those who qualify the Mains are called for the GD/Interview for final selection.
 
All the three phases require well planned and dedicated efforts to qualify. In the article we discuss the strategies and important information for Pre and Mains, which are biggest hurdles.
 
If you are not familiar with the pattern of the examination, read more here:  

How to prepare for SBI PO Pre 2023?

If you are not familiar with the syllabus and the level of examination that comes in the pre, means if you have never appeared for this exam, first acknowledge yourself with it through the free mock test provided here:

 
Take Free Mock Test for SBI PO 2023
 
 
Give your time and analyse how much prepared are you.
 
Most of the aspirants who have been preparing for a while know well about the kind of situation they will face. The information provided here will help all kinds of aspirants.

crack sbi po, strategy, plan
 

Dos and Don’ts for the SBI PO Pre 2023

Dos

1. Analyse the syllabus: Solve 3 – 4 mocks of the pre and select what is at you are weak and strong. Make a list of the two. 

2. Make a time table. Allot more time to your weak areas and less time to strong areas. You can give 60-80% time on weak areas for a few weeks until you become relatively strong in it.

3. Features of the time table:
  • Pre exam asks three subjects together. We will recommend you study the three subjects each day. You should divide time of a day on the basis of your biological clock. (For instance, when you feel energetic you should put time for the topics in which you are weak.)
  • Make at least half an hour for physical exercise. Yes! You read that right! Exercise will keep you active and fresh. Most of the time during such preparations we forget that this is just an exam and we are human beings. Life is beyond exam also. Don’t make yourself a robot and do all the things a human should do.
  • Your diet should also be balanced. Your diet should have raw veggies, fruits and sprouts. Drink water time to time.
  • Take a 5-10 minute walk after studying for 50 minutes. This will keep your body’s blood circulation active and you will not feel tired and sleepy.
  • Make a time slot for discussions. You can make a telegram /whatsapp / FB group also to discuss what you learnt in a day. Share multiple ways of solving a problem. Write a short paragraph on current economic/political situations and post and let other also do the same. This will increase understanding of topic and will also prepare you for GD/Interview. This will also make study a fun.
 
4. Study Notes: The syllabus for pre is quite easy and most people just study, give exam and then forget. But we will recommend you to make chapter/topic wise notes of what you study. This will help you prepare for the Mains exam also.
 
5. Revision: Study notes are also beneficial for the revision. Revision is a key to score better than others. Most aspirants don’t give time to revisions but a good revisions during the preparations make you feel confident during exams.
 
6. Mock Tests: When you are working well on the above described things, you need a good mock test then.
    
Quality of a good mock test:
  • It must be of the level of the actual exam. Most mocks give exam level very high that demotivate aspirants. Avoid such mocks and save your time and money.
  • It should give a good analysis of your performance in the mock. Here you can see how TestZone mocks provide after test analysis.
  • It should have ‘retake’ option. Most mocks do not give such options. Most of the time we want to solve the mock again to judge our progress. If a mock doesn’t give such option, you will have to buy a new mock. Anyway, if you choose TestZone then you don’t need to worry for this feature.
  • Questions of the mock should be based on new pattern with detailed solutions. This ensures that you are preparing for what the examination demands from you. SBI PO exam keeps changing each year and you must be aware with the current pattern. A good mock must have this quality.
  • It should have a resembling interface. Many mocks do not provide features that the actual exam provides. Avoid such mocks as you will refrain yourself from the feeling of actual exam. You can check the interface of TestZone here:
 
Start with solving one mock a day for a few days. Analyse your progress. Identify your weak areas. Then start solving 2-3 mocks a day. A good quality mock test will give you a good progress soon.

Don’ts

  • The time table should be practical and easy to follow. Means, you have to study for what your brain can bear. The time table should not be made looking the time table of your friends and competitors. Everyone is unique in their own way. Choose what is best for you. 
  • Don’t eat sugar based product including rice, snacks, tea/coffee/coketoo much.
  •  Avoid watching meaningless debates/shows on news channels, instead watch RSTV debates to improve your vocabs and understanding of financial/political knowledge for GD/Interview.
  •  It is good to follow multiple sources for study but not too many sources. First identify which are the genuine and fresh sources and then follow 2-3 select one. Too many sources will waste your time and you will be unable to complete the syllabus.
  • For Hindi Medium Aspirants: SBI PO 2023 asks all the subjects except English in bilingual, that is, in Hindi and English both. But we recommend you to prepare all the subjects in English. This will boost your preparation for English and save your time during exam as you will not have to navigate English to Hindi and vice versa to understand a question.
  • Don’t give more than 6-7 hours a day to studies. Our brain has a limit to understand and retain new things. Consistency is more important than number of hours. Try study daily for 2-3 hours and 3-4 hours practice. But these 6-7 hours must be in complete silence and with full efficiency.

(Don’t forget to take a 5-10 minute walk and a glass of water after each 50 minute study/practice)

Dos and Don’ts for the SBI PO Mains 2023

One thing keep in mind that you should start preparing for Mains as soon you complete the syllabus for the pre. You will not have enough time after the pre examination. Though we write the strategies for Mains after pre, but you have to follow it along with the preparations for pre.

The Mains exam will have two more subjects namely General/Banking Awareness and Essay/Letter Writing. Preparation for the Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and English you will have to do along with the preparations for pre because the three subjects are common. But the level of the three in Mains is high. So, as soon you start getting good ranks in Pre Mocks, start solving Mains level Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and English.

Dos

  • Get a good mock test relevant to the Mains. Unfortunately there are very less good mocks for the Mains. Choose wisely. TestZone is one of the best Mocks as our subject matter experts use to give Mains exam to understand the pattern and level of each year.
  • Keep solving problems of Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning after the pre as you were doing for pre but more advance problems this time to meet the level of Mains.
  • When you start preparations for pre, give at least half an hour daily to the general/banking awareness. After your pre exam is over, increase time for this subject. Don’t forget to revise this subject multiple times in a week.
  • You should also prepare for Letter and Essay writing. You have to type them on keyboard. Try practice it also.

Don’ts

  • Don’t wait for the pre result. If you have dedicated all the time for your preparations, means you are not doing a job or something, don’t wait for the result of pre to come. Start your preparations just after your pre exam is over.
  • Don’t be over excited if you qualify pre and start celebrating the result. Mains exam is not very far away, keep patience and let it over. Celebrating pre result will waste your precious time.
  • Don’t forget 30 minutes physical exercise and good food habits during the Mains preparations. This is one month when you need your body function at its best.
 
 
That’s it!
 
Keep the above points in mind to make your studies consistent and on the right track. Study smartly and add as much discipline as you can, and that is how Smartkeeda always guides you. All the tips above will make your attitude and behaviour fit for the exam. Always remember:
 
            "We don't have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined than the rest."  --- Warren Buffett.
 
 
Best of Luck for the SBI PO 2023.
 
 
Regards,
Team Smartkeeda