The IBPS SO 2018 exam date has been announced. The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conduct the recruitment exam for selection of candidates for the different posts such as I.T. Officer (Scale-I), Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I), Law Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I), Marketing Officer (Scale I). IBPS will conduct the examination in two-tier i.e. Preliminary and Main. Candidates who will qualify in Online Preliminary Examination and shortlisted will have to appear for Online Main Examination and shortlisted candidates for the Main examination will subsequently be called for a Common Interview. To apply for IBPS SO 2018, the aspirants need to register online, upload images, fill in required details, and finally pay the application fee. Those who will successfully register for the exam will be issued admit card and can appear for Preliminary Examination. The Prelims exam is scheduled to be held on December 29 and 30, 2018 and the Main exam will be conducted on January 27, 2019. Candidates can check more details regarding the IBPS So 2018 in the article below.
IBPS SO 2018
Last year, the exam was conducted for approximately 1,315 Specialist Officers (SO)in various public sector banks and other participating organizations. The vacancies for IBPS SO Recruitment 2018 will only be confirmed once the official notification is released, Candidates can check the exam date and the expected schedule for IBPS SO 2018 in the table below.
| Events | Date |
| Application Form will be available from | 01st week of Nov 2018 |
| Last date to submit the online application | Last week of Nov 2018 |
| Download of call letters for Online examination Preliminary | A week or two before the examination |
| IBPS SO 2018 Prelims exam date | 29 and 30 Dec 2018 |
| Declaration of Preliminary Result | January 2019 |
| Issuance of Admit Card for the Main examination | January 2019 |
| IBPS SO 2018 Main exam date | 27 Jan 2019 |
| Declaration of Result Of Online Main Examination | February 2019 |
| Download of call letters for interview | February 2019 |
| The interview shall be conducted by | February 2019 |
| Provisional Allotment will be done from | April 2019 |
Participating Organizations
The list of participating organizations for IBPS SO Recruitment 2018 shall be as follows:
| Allahabad Bank | Canara Bank | Indian Bank | Syndicate Bank |
| Andhra Bank | Central Bank of India | Indian Overseas Bank | UCO Bank |
| Bank Of Baroda | Corporation Bank | Oriental Bank of Commerce | Union Bank of India |
| Bank of India | Dena Bank | Punjab National Bank | United Bank of India |
| Bank of Maharashtra | IDBI Bank | Punjab & Sind Bank | Vijaya Bank |
Eligibility Criteria
Interested aspirants who wish to apply for IBPS SO 2018, must ensure that they fulfill the eligibility conditions as laid down by IBPS. The eligibility criteria to apply for IBPS SO 2018 shall be as given below: Age Limit
- Minimum: 20 years
- Maximum: 30 years
What is the minimum Age Relaxation for Reserved Categories?
As per last year’s information, the candidates belonging to unreserved categories shall be given a benefit of Age Relaxation, which is given in the table below.
| Category | Age relaxation |
| Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe | 5 years |
| Other Backward Classes | 3 years |
| Persons With Disability | 10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen, Commissioned Officers including Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least 5 years military service and have been released on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from the last date of receipt of application) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency or physical disability attributable to military service or invalidment |
5 years |
| Persons ordinarily domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period January 01, 1980 to December 31, 1989 | 5 years |
| Persons affected by 1984 riots | 5 years |
Educational Qualification
The minimum educational qualification required for applying for the desired post is as follows:
| Name of the Post | Educational Qualifications |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) |
|
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | Should possess a Graduation in the related field. |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) |
|
| Law Officer (Scale I) | Should have a graduation degree in the related field and should be enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | Should be a Graduate and possess a Two Years Full-time Postgraduate degree or Two Years Full-time Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/ HR / HRD/ Social Work / Labour Law. |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | Should be a Graduate and possess a Two Years Full-time MMS (Marketing)/ Two Years Full-time MBA (Marketing)/ Two Years Full-time PGDBA / PGDBM/ PGPM/ PGDM with specialization in Marketing |
IBPS SO Application Form 2018
The registration process for IBPS So 2018 will be done through online mode only and there shall be a single registration for both Preliminary and Main examination, wherever applicable. The applicants need to register first, only then they will be able to complete the rest of the application process. After the registration is done, the applicants can proceed to fill in details, upload images and pay the application fee. The application fee shall be payable by online mode.
Application Fees
As per last year’s information, it is expected that the application fee to be paid by the candidate shall be as follows:
| Categories | Application Fee Charges |
| SC/ST/PWD | Rs. 100 |
| For all other categories | Rs. 600 |
IBPS SO Admit Card 2018
After the application process is over, those who will successfully register for the exam will be issued the admit card. The exam conducting body will release separate admit card for Prelims and Main. The IBPS SO Admit Card will be available for download in online mode. To download the admit card, the candidate needs to enter details such as Registration Number, Password, etc. It is important that he candidate should carry the admit card on the day of the examination. Also, along with the IBPS SO 2018 Admit Card, the candidate should bring along a valid Photo ID proof.
Exam Pattern for IBPS SO 2018
The exam pattern for IBPS SO 2018 for Prelims and Main shall be as follows:
Preliminary Exam
- For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration of the exam |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 02 hours |
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry |
50 | 50 | English and Hindi | |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
- For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration of the exam |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 02 hours |
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
Main Examination
- For the Post of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | English and Hindi | 45 minutes |
- For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 45 | 60 | English and Hindi | 30 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) | 02 | English and Hindi | 30 minutes |
IBPS SO 2018 Syllabus
The syllabus for IBPS SO 2018 for Prelims and Main shall be as follows:
IBPS SO Prelims Syllabus
| Logical Reasoning | English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | General Awareness |
| Seating Arrangements | Cloze Test | Number Series | Current Affairs |
| Puzzles Inequalities | Reading Comprehension | Data Interpretation | Banking Awareness |
| Syllogism | Spotting Errors | Simplification/Approximation | GK Updates |
| Input-Output | Sentence Improvement | Quadratic Equation | Currencies |
| Data Sufficiency | Sentence Correction | Data Sufficiency | Important Places |
| Blood Relations | Para Jumbles | Mensuration | Books and Authors |
| Order and Ranking | Fill in the Blanks | Average | Awards Headquarters |
| Alphanumeric Series | – | Profit and Loss | Prime Minister Schemes |
| Distance and Direction | – | Ratio and Proportion | Important Days |
| Verbal Reasoning | – | Work, Time and Energy | – |
| – | – | Time & Distance | – |
| – | – | Probability Relations | – |
| – | – | Simple and Compound Interest | – |
| – | – | Permutation and Combination | – |
IBPS SO Result 2018
Th result for IBPS SO 2018 will be released online at the official website of IBPS. The candidates To check the result, the candidate needs to enter details such as Registration Number/ Roll Number, Password etc. First, the result for Premis will be published, The qualifiers of Prelims will then appear for the Main examination. Further, the qualifiers of the Main examination will then be shortlisted for Interview and Document Verification. To qualify each Selection Process, the candidate needs to obtain minimum qualifying marks. The candidates who are selected after the interview will be getting provisional allotment in one of the participating organization based on that particular organization’s needs.
IBPS SO Cut-off 2018
Each candidate will have to obtain a minimum score in the test of Online Main examination and also obtain sufficiently high scores to be shortlisted for interview. Depending on the number of vacancies available, cut-offs will be decided and candidates will be shortlisted for interview. The cut off for 2018 is not yet available. However, the candidates can check the previous year cut off to get an idea of the level of the competition for the recruitment.
For 2017
IBPS SO 2018 Interview
Candidates who will be shortlisted in the Main examination for IBPS SO 2018 will be eligible to appear for an Interview. The Interview shall be of a total of 100 marks and will be conducted by the Participating Organisations. The candidates should bring along the relevant documents in proof of Date of Birth, Academic Background, Category, etc at the time of Interview.
Cut off marks for Interview
As per last year’s information, the candidate shall have to obtain the below mentioned cut off marks in order to qualify the Interview Round:
| Category | Cut off for Interview |
| SC/ST/OBC/PWD | 35% |
| Unreserved | 40% |
Provisional Allotment
On completion of the interview process, depending on the vacancies to be filled in during the financial year 2019-20 based on the business needs of the Participating Organisations and as reported to IBPS, candidates shortlisted will be provisionally allotted to one of the Participating Organisations, on the merit-cum-preference basis. In the event of two or more candidates having obtained the same score, merit order is decided as per date of birth (the candidate senior in age is placed before/ above the candidate junior in age), as per the prevailing practice.
How to Prepare for IBPS SO 2018
The best way to start IBPS SO 2018 preparation is by joining online training classes. IBPS SO exam is conducted in three phases, Prelims, Mains and Interviews. Hence, it is important for you to crack Prelims first. Online coaching classes will help and guide you in your preparation and will make you serious in your preparation. Here are some more pointers are given below to help you in your preparation for IBPS SO 2018:
- Plan your schedule: To prepare to plan your strategy and your study hour. How much you need to work on which topics. Find your weak topics in which you are lacking and prepare that more. Take a proper sleep so that this will help you to get rid of your laziness and you feel fresh every day.
- Know the complete Exam: The IBPS IT Officer Exam consists of Objective test which has 200 questions with 75 Questions based on what you have studied in your graduation.
- Reasoning: Most of the questions in the reasoning section focus on choice-making based on critical and scientific thinking. It is very important to practice as many questions as you can from reasoning section.
- English Language: You should focus on improving your Vocabulary and English grammar knowledge. must read Newspapers, articles etc and try to find out the meaning of the words which you don’t know.
- Quantitative Aptitude: Try to work on your calculation speed and get a good understanding of various concepts which you have studied from class 8th, 9th, and 10th. Solve NCERT Books.
Recommended Books for IBPS SO 2018
This is true to crack any exam you need to refer the top-notch study material and reference books. Given below are a list of books which will help in preparing for different sections of the IBPS SO Exam 2018:
Books for Reasoning:
- A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning Revised Edition By R. S. Aggarwal
- The Hand on Guide to Analytical Reasoning and Logical Reasoning By BS Sijwali, Indu Sijwal
- A New Approach to Reasoning Verbal and Non-Verbal 1st Edition By Peeyush Bhardwaj
Books for Quantitative Aptitude:
- Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations By R.S.Agarwal
- Magical Book on Quicker Maths By M Tyra
- Quantitative Aptitude Test By N.K.Singh
Books for English:
- Objective English for Competitive Examinations By Hari Mohan Prasad and Uma Rani Sinha
- Objective General English By R.S.Aggarwal and Vikas Aggarwal
- Objective English By Edgar Thorpe
To know more, read IBPS SO 2017 notification, click here.
In so far only the registration process, and the dates for the examination of IBPS SO 2018 has been released by the IBPS. Rest of the information on this page is as per the last year advertisement. As soon as the IBPS releases any notice regarding IBPS SO 2018 exam, details on this page will be updated.
