My name is Chandrakant Mani, I am from a small village called Pandeypura situated at Chatra district of Jharkhand. I never thought of becoming a banker or you can say my ambitions were different. I wanted to become a cricket player because that is the thing I love the most, also I was not so good in academics.
In 2004 my after my father’s death my mom struggled a lot so that we could complete our secondary education. She took all the responsibility to run the family and worked hard for us. In 2010 my big brother got a job in SAIL and by then I completed my BA in history. Then after graduation my brother asked me about my future plans and assured me that he’ll be supportive with my decision.
At that time I had two options either I could go to Delhi for higher studies or to Bangalore to play cricket. I decided to pursue my dream and went to Bangalore for playing cricket. I played there for four years. I played 1st division level cricket but I was not selected for Ranji trophy or State level. So I decided to come back to Ranchi where I lived earlier, and continued playing cricket but I was not getting any success.
In Feburary2014 my brother told me to join any coaching institute and prepare for bank exams. I joined a coaching institute but I was not serious about studies. After not being selected in any state level team I finally decided not to play cricket anymore. In July 2014 I started preparing for bank exams with dedication.
Following was my transition from failure to success:
Ist Exam SBI PO 2014 score-56 not selected
IInd Exam SBI CLERK score-105 not selected
IIIrd Exam RBI CLERK score-130 not selected
IVth Exam RBI PO score-140 not called for interview
Vth Exam RRB CLERK score- 146 not called for interview
VIth Exam IBPS PO score-91 passed called for interview (was in waiting list)
VIIth Exam IBPS CLERK score-146 again I was not selected
VIIIth Exam SBI PO unable to secure cut off for pre
IXth Exam IBPS PO selected in ALLAHABAD BANK as PO
I was really frustrated after my VIIIth exam but I didn’t give up. I started studying at home for about 8 to 10 hours and gave online tests daily. I remember as the exam approached near I took 2-3 online test every day. My hard work finally paid off as I cleared IBPS PO 2015 and got selected in ALLAHABAD BANK as PO in reserve list.
Strategy for preparation
First of all you should know that bank exams can be tricky and you need to study smartly. It’s not totally about your knowledge test but mainly about time management skills.
If you are preparing for IBPS PO Mains, there are 200 questions and for qualifying you have to score 80 to 100 marks. And out of 200 questions 120 questions are easy or of moderate level, you have to choose wisely. Average student can easily clear the cut off mark in particular sections but they get struck or are unable to do so because they do not have a proper strategy. So it is important to have a strategic approach to crack bank exams.
My section wise strategy was that for quantitative aptitude I focused on calculation and solved 20 questions daily, good speedy calculation can be your life saver in quant. I was weak in English language and it was a challenge for me to score well in it. To improve my language skills I started reading newspaper, watching videos or English news channels along with taking an English Language mock test daily. And for reasoning I felt, good concentration is the key. Reasoning requires focus and with basic concepts you can score well in reasoning.
Last but not the least for G.A. and Computer Section I just did two things regularly, followed Bankers Adda’s quizzes and G.K Update and PIB News. I am a silent reader of B.A. and B.A. has helped me a lot.
I wish you all luck and thank you Bankers Adda.
Regards,
Chandrakant Mani
