Secure, high-paying and respectable jobs – these three things make banking career most lucrative among job seekers. However, your dream isn’t everything to get success – to secure a banking job, you need to crack the written exam as well as the interview. And this interview is where most candidates fail badly.
The problem is most of the banking students put their 90% effort in cracking the banking exam. Even the coaching centres keep you busy in this, while the real elimination happens during the interview round. Why? Mostly they blame their luck, while the fact is far away than it.
Banks Want “Job-Ready” Candidates
During those times when banks were known for their slow work pattern, dark heritage buildings, and elderly employees, joining a bank was matter of choice. But, now a days, it’s one of the most glamorous industries where bank employees need to handle different types of educated customers with highest level of professionalism.
So, hardly any candidate gets that chance to ‘learn on the go’. And that’s the point when bankers prefer job-ready candidates.
For example, if an interviewer asks, “How will you handle an angry customer whose transaction failed?” most candidates become clueless and either surrender or try to impress the interviewer with ultra-ideal — and of course impractical — solutions. So, just knowing the theory isn’t enough to crack modern banking interviews. You have to understand their work life, experience their daily challenges, and know how to handle such situations — even if you can’t solve them like a pro yet.
No need to explain, that if you, as a banking career aspirant, don’t have practical knowledge of such questions, you won’t be preferred by the interview board.
Communication Skills Matter More Than Marks
Have you come across those viral memes on social media like ‘go to next window’, ‘it’s lunch hour’ or so? If yes, you must know that modern banks, especially the private ones, don’t fit such memes in any way. The ultra-professional employees, the customer-oriented work pattern, the promptness, and the caring attitude instantly impress customers.
Well, problems haven’t vanished. They are still there. But the way banks handle those problems and calmly manage customers has completely transformed the overall banking experience. And that’s simply the magic of communication skill.
Yes the chances of securing a banking job in modern days matters more on your overall communication skill than your rank or marks. What type of communication skill?
- Communication skills
- Customer handling ability
- Confidence level
- Problem-solving approach
- Professional behavior
- Basic banking operations knowledge
The way you explain things confidently, handles questions, provides practical solutions, manage complicated situations are part of your communication skill. It’s exceptionally important – both for your interview and your career.
Practical Banking Training Changes Everything
So, next question comes is how to master these skills? Yes, it’s a real problem that most banking job coaching centres doesn’t focus much or completely skip this part. Those who provide training on these, just beat around the bush with some ideal theories – not practical examples from a typical banking day. It is similar to learning swimming only from books without jumping into the water.
Candidates who receive real banking training or live branch exposure understand:
- customer interaction,
- account opening process,
- cash handling basics,
- KYC verification,
- banking software workflow,
- and branch operations.
It will be exaggerated to say that these candidates would perform far better than those who haven’t ever faced such questions earlier.
Just for an example, if an interviewer asks, “What is the difference between NEFT and RTGS, and when will you suggest each to customers?”, a candidate without real banking training will get blank immediately. Because, the answer is beyond what you learnt in theory.
The Banking Industry Needs Practical Professionals
But, here’s one catch. A good teacher isn’t enough to create such dummy scenarios or educate on practical situations. Only a bank employee can mimic it perfectly. So, it’s highly important that the trainer is an active or ex bank employee.
So, if you truly want to build a successful career in banking, just getting admission at any top rated coaching centre isn’t enough; you must need to know their curriculum – what they include in the syllabus, who will be teaching you, how’s their success rate in interview.
