The IBPS SO exam is conducted to recruit Specialist Officers at various posts in the participating Public Sector Banks under IBPS. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection is the conducting body for this exam.

It is an annually conducted examination and is mostly held towards the end of the year. As for the 2020 recruitment, the Specialist Officer Prelims exam is scheduled to be conducted on December 26th & 27th, 2020, and the mains is tentatively scheduled for January 30, 2021.

There are multiple posts for which the examination is conducted. Given below is the list of Officer Scale I posts under IBPS SO:

  1. Information Technology Officer
  2. Agriculture Officer
  3. Law Officer
  4. Rajbhasha Adhikari
  5. Human Resources/ Personnel Officer
  6. Marketing Officer

For any of the above-mentioned posts, the exam pattern is the same but the syllabus is slightly different. For each post, the Professional Knowledge section comprises questions from their field of specialization and the cut off for each post is also different. Candidates who wish to check the IBPS SO Cut Off from the previous year recruitments, can check the linked article.

It must be noted that the syllabus for the Specialist Officer exam is vast and the preparation is comprehensive. Thus, candidates need to follow a proper study schedule so as to ensure that all the topics included in the syllabus are prepared well.

Further below, we have discussed a few important tips which shall help candidates ace the upcoming Officer scale exam in IBPS.

Preparation Tips To Ace the IBPS SO Exam

  1. Analyse the Syllabus and Exam Pattern – To start off with the preparation, analyse the detailed section-wise bank exam syllabus and exam pattern. There are three stages in the examination: Prelims, Mains and Interview and any candidate who qualifies all these three stages and gets his/her document verification done successfully are finally shortlisted to get appointed at the various posts
  2. Make Proper Notes – Opting for Coaching and assistance can only help candidates understand the topic but to excel in it, self-study is the only key. Thus, having proper notes made out of your own understanding of the topic shall prove to be extremely helpful
  3. Referring to the Previous Year Question Papers – Analysing and reviewing the question papers from the past years will help candidates point out the important topics with respect to the examination, understanding the exact exam pattern and apprehending the level of exam
  4. Solve Mock Tests and Practise Papers – To revise the entire syllabus at once, solving the mock tests based on the latest exam pattern is one of the most recommended tips to ace the examination. The last-minute preparations can be aptly done by solving model papers or practise papers for the exam
  5. Learn Time Management – The Online Computer-based tests are all about time management, if a candidate does not work on his speed to answer the questions, he/she may lag behind and may also lose their chances of qualifying the exam. Thus, practise in a manner that each time you answer a question, a little less time is spent on solving it
  6. Refer to the Previous Year Cut Off Marks – Over the past few years, the cut off marks have been increasing for each phase of the examination. So, reviewing the trend change in the cut off will enable candidates to apprehend the expected cut off for that particular year

Candidates willing to learn more about the minimum qualifying marks and cut off for the SO exam can check the IBPS SO result page for more information.

Each year the number of candidates appearing for the Specialist Officer exam has seen a drastic increase, so candidates willing to apply for the upcoming recruitment may start their preparation now and ensure that emphasis is paid on each and every topic which is a part of the exam syllabus.