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IBPS PO Interview Preparation

IBPS PO / SO / RRB Officer — Interview

The final round for probationary officers, specialist officers and RRB officers in India's public-sector banks. A board of senior bankers tests banking awareness, your own degree applied to a bank, how you would handle a branch, and whether you will really go where the bank posts you.

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, on behalf of participating public-sector banks and Regional Rural Banks 3 posts 3 languages 4 AI interviewers Official site

From our research

What this interview looks like

The IBPS common interview is a 100-mark board of three to five senior bankers, usually a retired or serving General Manager as chair, an HR officer and one or two other officers, one often from the nodal bank or state. It runs 15 to 20 minutes in English, Hindi or a mix, and the final merit list counts the main exam and the interview in an 80 to 20 ratio with a qualifying minimum of 40 percent in the interview, relaxed to 35 percent for reserved categories. The board opens on your background and reason for banking, moves to banking and financial awareness and a question from your own degree or specialisation, then puts one or two branch situations to you, and ends on rural posting, transfers and long-term intent. For RRB officers the board also expects comfort in the local language and knowledge of the district's agriculture and economy. ExamPilot compresses this into a 15-minute mock with the same four stages, a banking-awareness bank matched to your background, and a score on the four things the real board marks.

BankingPanelBank POSpecialist OfficerRRBCurrent affairs

Choose your post

3 posts available

Each post has its own panel, rounds and subject list.

What to expect

4 rounds, one after another

An IBPS or SBI style board of senior bankers compressed into 15 minutes: introduction and background with the HR member, banking and financial awareness with a senior banker who also probes the candidate's own degree or specialisation, two branch situations on customers, fraud and targets, and a closing on mobility and long-term intent. The real board sits three to five members for 15 to 20 minutes, mixes Hindi and English freely, and scores out of 100 with a qualifying minimum.

  1. Round 1

    Introduction & background

    · 3:00

    Put the candidate at ease, understand their education, work and any gaps, and hear a credible reason for choosing banking after their degree.

    Smt. Sunita Raghavan
    2–3 questionsup to 1 follow-up each
  2. Round 2

    Banking & finance awareness

    · 5:00

    Test working knowledge of banking and current financial developments, and connect the candidate's own degree or specialisation to the work of a bank.

    Shri Harish Chandra Pandey
    3–4 questionsup to 1 follow-up each
  3. Round 3

    Branch situations

    · 4:00

    Assess customer handling, ethics under target pressure, and judgement on fraud and compliance in a branch setting.

    Shri Harish Chandra Pandey
    2–2 questionsup to 1 follow-up each
  4. Round 4

    Motivation & closing

    · 3:00

    Check willingness for rural posting and transfers, long-term intent in banking, and close politely without revealing any assessment.

    Smt. Sunita Raghavan
    2–2 questions

Meet the panel

Your AI interviewers

Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this interview.

Smt. Sunita Raghavan

Chair

HR member

Deputy General Manager (Human Resources), public-sector bank

Warm, observant, practical about postings and family, firm on honesty.

Female voice · 4 languages

Shri Harish Chandra Pandey

Hiring manager

Retired General Manager, public-sector bank; IBPS interview board member

Unhurried, sharp on fundamentals, kind to nervous candidates, intolerant of bluffing.

Male voice · 3 languages

Mr. Vikram Malhotra

Hiring manager

Engineering manager / Regional manager (hiring manager)

Direct, outcome-focused, fair but demanding.

Male voice · 2 languages

Ms. Neha Kulkarni

HR member

HR business partner, IT services

Friendly, efficient, detail-checking.

Female voice · 4 languages

Languages

Answer in the language you think in

Interviewers speak and understand each language natively. Switch mid-answer if you like.

  • English
  • हिंदीHindi
  • Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish

How scoring works

A report you can act on

  1. Every round is scored on the rubric

    Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.

  2. Only what you actually said counts

    Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.

  3. Communication is always measured

    Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.

  4. Pass mark, then a plan

    You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.

Scored on

  • Banking & financial awareness30%

    RBI and monetary policy tools, deposit and credit products, NPA and provisioning basics, priority sector, digital banking and payments, recent developments described accurately; for SO, depth in the specialisation applied to a bank.

  • Customer & branch situational judgement25%

    Handles an angry customer, a suspected fraud or mule account, target pressure and mis-selling temptation with the right sequence: safety and compliance first, customer dignity, escalation to the branch manager, no shortcuts.

  • Communication & presence25%

    Clear, courteous and concise in English or Hindi; explains a banking idea in plain language a customer would follow; does not bluff when unsure.

  • Fit, motivation & mobility20%

    Credible reason for banking after this degree, honest about gaps and other attempts, genuinely willing for rural and semi-urban postings and transfers, realistic picture of a probationary officer's first two years.

Pass mark 60 / 100 · Bank PO / SO / RRB officer interview panel

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