Thousands of students prepare and participate in banking job interview every year. But, only a very little percentage get selected. In most of the cases they even crack the written exam and get stuck in the interview. The reason isn’t always they weren’t prepared; but the actual reason is, they were prepared the wrong way.
Simply, the reason is these candidates are trained to crack the written exams with their theoretical knowledge – not to handle the real banking situations. And every banker wants candidates who has practical, ready-to-work industry knowledge, if not experience.
First of all you have to come out of the concept those old day bank models, where banking only meant cash deposit, cash withdrawal, cheque clearance and passbook update. Modern banks hand a wide range of financial products which includes various types of accounts, credit cards, insurance, DMAT accounts and many more – that too with a combination of technology and highly professional direct interaction.
In fact, modern banking is more customer focused, and for that solving some aptitude questions isn’t enough. You need soft skills like interpersonal skill, communication skill, customer handling skills, sales skills and above all practical knowledge of modern banking products.
Unfortunately, no banking coaching centre trains you about these practical hands-on skills on a real scenario.
The Biggest Problem: Theoretical Knowledge Without Practical Exposure
Most of the banking institutes and coaching centres design their course for theoretical training. They neither have infrastructure nor enough tie-ups with banks to provide training on real-life scenarios.
Students learn definitions of KYC, savings accounts, NEFT, RTGS, loans, and insurance products from books or PDFs. But the bitter truth is, many of these students even haven’t seen a demand draft in their practical life. It is almost like teaching someone how to swim by only explaining the theory – without ever putting them into the swimming pool.
No need to explain that these students get overwhelmed when they are introduced to a question from a real life scenario during the interview sessions.
- “How will you handle an angry customer?”
- “What is the process of opening a savings account?”
- “What things to check while taking a cash deposit slip?”
- “How would you explain a loan product to a customer?”
- “What would you do if cash doesn’t match with your collection at the end of the day?”
Most candidates go blank and get nervous to handle these questions. While these would be their daily life problems. That’s why banking interview preparation based only on theory mostly fails and candidates end up just wasting their time, effort and money.
Why Real Banking Training Matters
To be frank, it’s not just banking job, every employer prefers industry-ready employees. And when it comes to one of the most competitive industries, banks, you can feel the difference. A candidate with lower rank in written exam can outperform in interview, if he or she has knowledge of the practical banking issues. Employers don’t care about your qualification or marks as long as you meet the minimum eligibility criteria. They need someone who is readily employable.
Candidates who receive practical banking exposure become far more confident during interviews because they are familiar with:
- Customer interaction
- Banking software basics
- Account opening procedures
- KYC documentation
- Cash handling processes
- Cross-selling banking products
- Professional communication
- Real branch workflow
A candidate, who have already practiced these skills several times with real life scenarios will easily defeat a candidate trained at a costly coaching centre with zero practical skill. It’s hard to accept, but true.
Explaining text-book steps learnt by heart can sound more compact and to the point; but in real banking hours things go beyond your theory and you need to know how to manage and handle a situation professionally, tactfully. That makes a big difference.
That practical difference often decides who gets selected.
Banking Interviews Are About Confidence and Practical Understanding
A banking job interview is not just a knowledge test. You knowledge won’t bring any value to the banker, unless it’s useful in practical scenario. So, most interviewers observe:
- Communication skills
- Confidence level
- Customer handling ability
- Professional behaviour
- Practical understanding of banking operations
If you don’t have these skills, of if you aren’t well confident, employer may not prefer you as their employee. It’s straightforward and clear strategy. Candidates with real banking training naturally perform better because they are mentally prepared for real workplace situations.
So, it doesn’t matter what you know; rather it’s more important ‘what you can do’.
