Tell us About Yourself Decoded! Tips for Cracking Bank Interviews 

Once you have cleared your prelims and mains the next step is to prepare for interviews. The final step of the ladder will fetch you the dream job for which you have worked so hard. Countless hours of solving mocks, and previous year’s question papers can be really daunting but now none of that is needed.  

If you have been called for a bank interview then you should start to work on yourself. It is going to be a test of your character, knowledge, and much more. You will be put in difficult situations by your interviewer. It is their job to grill you but what they expect from you is to stand out.  

Here are some tips for you to follow while preparing for bank interviews:

Prepare your “Tell us About Yourself” Answer

This will probably be the very first interview question. It’s really a basic question but aspirants give it too much importance. Many have the notion that one has to give a magical answer to this question. Truth be told there is no such thing. Tell us about yourself is basically about your general introduction or a sum of brief things they should know about you, expression key phases of your life. This gives the interviewer cues about how they can proceed forward with the interview, types of questions that can be asked, etc. Now, what are these key phases? 

• District/State
• Educational background (Name of university, degree)
• Hobbies
• Work experience/Selection (if you have it)

Mention each phase in a single line. Don’t praise yourself while mentioning your degrees. Keep it normal. If you have too many degrees then no need to mention them all. Just mention the most relevant ones according to you. You can also mention any selections for any of the jobs/positions. 

List of things you shouldn’t mention at an interview: 

• Parents name
• Village name
• Date of birth
• Schooling history

You need to understand your interviewer is a busy person and anyway, all this information is hardly relevant. If you keep your answer precise and short it will leave a first good impression.  

During your introduction, you can focus or stress on particular information which you want them to know better so that questions can be asked based on them. It’s better to guide your interview yourself rather than the interviewer taking a roll on you.  

Be extremely thorough about your “tell us about yourself information”

This is not a repetition of the above but has a different context. If you say I have a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. They might ask you questions about the subject. They will also dive into your hobbies. If you are a specific type of painter then they can ask you about naming famous painters from the particular school of painting. So, whatever information you give you must have good awareness about it.  

Look for things which are not in your favour 

If somebody has a degree in finance and wants to work as SBI PO it does make sense but if you are an engineer, it will raise flags. You will have to prepare an answer for such a situation. You can counter them by saying that you have come very far by cracking prelims and mains which indicates your seriousness for banking.  

Focus on expected questions

One such question is “Why you want to work in the banking sector?” 

Don’t give romantic answers such as I want to change the financial world, I was born for this, etc. Focus on ordinary answers. Try to give acceptable answers with honesty. An acceptable answer can be the diversity & the learning banking sector offers in terms of the job role once you start to progress on the job.  

Other questions can be based on current affairs based upon your hobbies, areas of interest, banking sector, residing city/state, etc.  

Give Mock Interviews

It is best to test yourself in mock interviews. It gives you a real experience of how you will feel, the emotional experience, challenges, your flaws, things to work on, etc. Having such insights early on really pushes you to strive better. For starters, it can be frustrating as it will reveal your shortcomings but that’s the point of giving mock interviews. Recognize the gaps and fill them with substance.  

Dress-up Nicely

Look professional for a professional interview. Look out for a nice formal outfit. Grooming is also important. Doing such things will leave the interviewer with the thought of you taking all this seriously.  

Get to Know the Bank

If you are appearing for an SBI PO or RRB PO interview you should be aware of the bank thoroughly. All kinds of services they offer, etc. You should also be aware of the general banking information such as type of bank accounts, loans, securities, banks sell. Knowing about the banking business model is also crucial. It will sound really bad if you don’t even know how banks generate revenue, maintain profits, etc.  

Be Honest

It’s okay if you don’t know something. Tell the interviewer that you don’t know the answer. You are not being hired to be perfect. Simplicity, honesty, and empathy are characteristics such an organization looks for because at the end of the day you are in the business of public dealing.  

If you feel we missed something; do let us know in the comments and we will be happy to answer all of the queries.  

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