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Now that you have cleared your written, you should put all your efforts in the preparation for the interview. The personal interview should not be taken lightly as it can be the deciding factor in your selection or allotment of the bank. Some general misconceptions that usually de-motivate candidates are:

“I have scored low in written so I will not be selected”

“I have scored very high so I will definitely get selected”

“Weightage of interview is lower than written”

“Anything can be asked in the interview so why prepare anything at all”

“I know everything about myself so I will have no problem answering questions about my life and personality”.
"Interviewers will not know anything from by educational background or my previous job sector"

Rather one should focus totally on the preparation about one’s personality, banking terms, current affairs etc.

A few points before the interview:

Visit the interview venue one day before the interview to decrease nervousness.
Organize all your documents in the file/folder properly, with the latest documents first and the oldest documents in the last.

DRESSING:
—MALES:
No jeans, no sport-shoes, no dark coloured shirt, no strong smelling perfume.
Haircut proper a few days before the interview, cut nails, no gel, clean-shave (if you keep beard and moustache, keep it neat and trimmed) , formal shoes, same coloured socks, dark trousers, light shirt, no coins, mobile, keys in pocket, tie-blazer according to comfort.

—FEMALES:
No high heels, no dangling jewellery, no open hair, no big purses, no bright nail paints.
Shirt-trouser/ salwar kameez/ sari, no bright & shiny colours, preferably pastel + light colours.
— —

Non verbal communication is very important. So keep these points in mind:

Keep your walk straight and casual. Do not get too caucious or too careless while walking.
Manners & and a gentle smile is always necessary.
Posture should be straight but not exactly 90 degrees – Slightly bent forward signalling you are really interested in what is being asked.
Hands in control on the lap.
Feet flat on ground.
Rotating eye movement always, irrespective of who is asking the question.
Pauses can be taken while answering but very short ones.
Language – always formal. Avoid words such as 'mom', 'dad', 'yeah', 'yup' etc.
Voice well modulated & audible. Neither too soft nor too loud.

 A bank interview lasts for 10-12 minutes on an average. I can be a little longer than that or sometimes a little shorter than that. The length of an interview does not give any indication about your success or failure. A long interview does not certainly mean you did well or vice-versa.

A typical bank interview usually covers the following areas:

·         Personal details

·         Academics

·         Work experience (if any)

·         Banking terms

·         Current affairs

The first question usually is:

Tell us something about yourself?

A lot of thought, home-work and practice should go into this question as it is going to make the first impression. There are many things you should include in this answer and there are many things that must not be included at all. There is no “one solution fits all” for this question. It depends upon your achievements, work experience etc. For example if you have a lot many achievements to tell then there is no need to include your hobbies in this answer.

The things which should be included and preferably in the same order are:

                                 i.            Name, place/ hometown

                               ii.            Family background

                              iii.            Academics

                             iv.            Work experience (if any)

                               v.            Strengths/ achievements (if any)

                             vi.            Hobbies

Here is a specimen of the answer but you are advised to modify this format according to your profile:

“My name is Neha Sharma and I am from Chandigarh. My father works in a private company as an accountant and my mother is a home maker. I have one younger brother. I have done B.Com from S.D. College and because of my innate interest in accounts I topped the college with 87% marks. I am a quick learner with positive attitude in all situations. I like to travel and learn about different people, and it amazes me how cultures and dialects change every few kilometres.”

The key points to be kept in mind for answering this basic question about yourself are:

         i.            Don’t make it sound like reading your resume. That makes it very boring. It should seem as an interesting paragraph. For example, rather than saying “my strengths are” one should say “I am good at/ I can be etc”. Similarly instead of saying “my hobbies are” one should say “I am interested in/ I utilize my free time in etc”.

       ii.             The answer to this question should be short and crisp. The interviewers have a large number of candidates to be interviews in one day, so their time is important. They may not let you complete your answer if you get too much into details of anything. So try to give most details about yourself which are relevant”

      iii.            When stating your strengths and achievements, sound humble and modest. Any kind of egoism and arrogance should be avoided. We use the passive voice of language instead of the active one. For example, Rather than saying “I got a prize/ I lead the team etc” it is better to say “I was awarded the prize/ I was chosen to lead”.

     iv.            Overall your answer should be relevant or should be modified to be relevant to the banking job.

       v.            Only strengths should be mentioned in this answer. Weaknesses should not be added, in fact weaknesses should not mentioned until and unless specifically asked.

Next question mostly comes from this answer only so think about all the questions that can arise from this answer of yours. Prepare for those questions and the questions that can arise further. A candidate must plan about the questions by thinking on the following lines:

         i.            Name:

a.       Meaning of  the name

b.      Famous namesake if any whether in politics, film industry, sports etc.

c.       Importance of your name in mythology

d.      Qualities that your name depicts

e.      Your personality depicted by your name

       ii.            Hometown/ Place of stay/ State:

a.       Famous industry

b.      Tourist attractions

c.       Culture and history

d.      Lifestyle

e.      Cuisine

f.        Language

g.       Population and other demographics

h.      Famous political leaders of the place

      iii.            Family background:

a.       Occupation of parents, siblings and spouse in detail

b.      About the company they work for

c.       About family business (if any)

     iv.            Academics:

a.       Justification of gap years if any

b.      Favourite subjects/ major subjects – questions from those subjects

c.       Reasons for any drastic fluctuations in the marks throughout your education

d.      How can your education help in banking

       v.            Work experience (if any)

a.       Your roles and responsibilities

b.      Achievements in job

c.       Justification for frequent job-hopping (if any)

d.      Products and services offered by your company

e.      How your boss/ team think about you

     vi.            Strengths/ Achievements:

a.       How will your strength complement in banking sector

b.      Real life incident in life to prove your strength

    vii.            Hobbies:

a.       If your hobby is listening to music/watching movies etc then about type of music/ movies, favourite singer/ actor etc.

b.      If your hobbies include any sport then about your favourite player/team, rules, records, world cup winners, venues etc.

c.       If your hobbies are reading then about type of books you read, favourite book/ last read book, favourite author, about the books mentioned, about the author mentioned.

d.      If your hobby is travelling or trekking then about places travelled, dream place to visit.

Let us discuss a variety of questions that can be asked in the interview.

What should we ask you?

This question should be asked without making out anything humorous about it. Which means it should not be taken as a funny question, rather should be answered with the same confident smile which you have to anyway maintain throughout the interview. The best answer is “Please ask anything from my profile, banking terms and general awareness”. You should avoid saying “Please ask any question” because the interviewers may actually ask questions from topics totally unrelated to you just to grill you.

Did you ask the previous candidates about the questions to them?

 One should answer with a confident “No Sir/ Madam. As all candidates are different in profile and attitude, different questions are asked from everyone.”

Who is your role model?

You can have any role model from any field. It can be a sports star, an actor, a businessman or even someone from your family such as your father or your mother. You should avoid saying any controversial figures such as a politician accused of a scam even if you actually admire the person. You should know about the life your role model and also prepare the further related questions “why is he/she your role model”, “what qualities do you like in that person” and “are you inculcating those qualities in yourself”.

Why banking?

This is one of the most asked, most important and most grilled upon questions in a typical banking interview. Candidates from commerce or MBA backgrounds may not find this question very difficult to answer. But the candidates from other unrelated academic and work backgrounds might find themselves in a very uncomfortable situation to answer this question. Some might even consider it to be an elimination question. This misconception has to be taken out of your mind. Here are a few points which you should understand and which should boost your confidence while answering this question:

        i.             There are two important questions the interviewers want answered:

a.       “Will you stay in banking or will you leave with first opportunity you get somewhere else?”

b.      “How will perform in the banking job?”

      ii.            You are not the only one from a unrelated background. There are thousands of candidates like you. From our vast experience we know that candidates from every background have an equal likelihood of getting selected. You too must have noticed this fact seeing or reading about the candidates who have been selected around you.

Once you understand the above mentioned facts, you can frame the answer from the points that we will discuss now. As we know that this question can be very grilling, you are advised to include as many points you can. This will minimize the related questions that can be very difficult to answer. Following are the points that you should frame in your answer:

        i.            Banking sector is fast growing sector with a lot of potential as financial inclusion still has a lot of scope.  The Indian banking sector has been unaffected by the economic slowdowns.

      ii.            Job security is a very important aspect for all of us.

    iii.            Personal growth of a person in government banks is also very good. One can start as a PO or clerk and with hard work and experience climb up the ladder in the organization.

     iv.            Banking is the heart of any economy and its importance in the overall economic growth really fascinates me a lot and therefore I very much want to be a part of it.

       v.            I have an immense interest in the working of the banking sector.

     vi.            I can enhance my knowledge about not just the banking sector but also the financial markets, Indian economy and all the other sectors which are clients of the bank.

   vii.            How your qualification, courses, work experience and strengths will be helpful to make an excellent banker.

By combining around 4 to 5 points from these you can eliminate cross questioning such as: “why don’t you seek a secure government job in your field or in teaching”, “if you are so much interested in banking why don’t you get into reputed private banks” etc.

Do you have any questions for us?

This question is usually asked at the end of the interview. If you really have no questions it is best to say “No sir/ madam, thank you”. There is absolutely no harm in answering it like that. But if you want to add an impression, you can answer by asking: “Sir/ Madam, from your vast experience what are the practical challenges one should be prepared for when entering government banking”. Another question can be asked if you are sure that a question was asked from you during the interview that was too difficult or that was totally not expected to be answered by you.

What is/ are your weakness/ weaknesses?

Weakness is something which should not be mentioned in any other question’s answer. It has to be stated only when particularly asked. One should never answer this question by saying “I have no weakness”. Always give only one weakness until and unless insisted too much to tell more weaknesses. The key is the give a weakness which does not interfere with the job you are applying for and can be followed by a course of action you are undertaking to overcome it. Examples of weaknesses which one can say are:

·         I try to do everything with perfection and sometimes get disappointed if I do not attain it.

·         I am a workaholic person

·         I am a miser or a spendthrift

·         I push my colleagues too hard at times and they are not always at the same frequency

·         My hand writing is not very good.

If you are not adding the course of action to improve in the same answer, you should be prepared to answer the question “how are you trying to overcome your weakness?” Sometimes you can be asked “will you become a perfect person if you completely overcome this weakness?” The answer obviously is “No Sir, no one is really perfect”. Be prepared to add another weakness if further asked “why”.

Why should we select you?

To answer this question, you should combine your strengths, academics and work experience (if any) and relate them completely with banking sector. The interviewers want to know your fit in the required job profile. So your answer should end with how you are the best candidate to bring customer satisfaction and thus growth of the bank.

Questions on consent of family, in-laws, husband; and responsibility of children (if any).

A confidence has to be instilled in the minds of the interviewer about the full consent and support of your family for such a prestigious and stable job.

Are you ready to be posted anywhere in India?

A firm “yes’ is needed in this answer as banks are looking for flexible employees.

Where do you see yourself after 5 years from now?

A perfect balance of specific and vague answer has to be made in this one. It is not advisable say “I see myself in the position of a senior manager” as it becomes too specific. It is also not advisable to say “I see myself working very hard and it is not in my hands where I reach in this time” as it is too vague. A nice and balanced answer is “I see myself in the middle management of the same bank contributing my best to the growth of my organization.” If in case you are told to be very specific about the middle management, you can then say scale III starting from PO and scale II starting as a clerk.

Why did you leave previous job or why do you keep job-hopping (in case you do)?

Never bad mouth your previous job, industry, boss or colleagues. Also never show any lack of performances, demotion or any negative past. Best is to say that you were looking for stable and better opportunities.