I have told you about my SBI PO journey in a nutshell in Part 1, provided a comprehensive guide in Part 2, dived into Prelims in Part 3 and expounded upon Mains in Part 4. Finally, we arrive at the final hurdle of this exam- The Group Discussion & Personal Interview Phase. The GD PI has a stark contrast to the previous phases. It is less a test of knowledge and more a test of your personality, pressure handling capability and team synergy. Your ability to take quick decisions, navigate a difficult situation and accept your failings all come to the fore in this part. You can never truly be prepared for a GD or PI. Your task is to increase the odds of your success and this is something that is quite easy to do.

Realizing that the Final Battle cannot be won alone

As I wrote in Part 4, I was over the moon on August 19, 2016- they day the Mains results were declared. The day passed with me being in a state of dazed euphoria. The next morning however, the adrenaline levels had stabilized and the stern realization dawned. I became really worried. I knew nothing about this phase! I had never thought in my wildest dreams that I could qualify for the interview and so I had no strategy, no roadmap and no prior experience to tackle it. Having taken the solo route I had no prep-friends as well. It had been years since I last sat for an interview. Could I achieve all this alone? The answer was a definite NO. I needed the help of other people. I needed a team. A study group. But how would I find this group? I took a shot in the dark. I fired up Gradeup.

You probably won’t believe what one post can achieve

I made a random post on Gradeup and quite incredibly dozens of people responded. I ended up creating a WhatsApp group of 30 people and after a long journey together 17 of us made it into SBI. We met over the course of our professional lives in SBI even though we were placed in different circles of the bank. Even today, most of us remain good friends. All because one fine morning I had a crazy idea and acted on it without inhibitions.

Aspirants, Assemble!

As soon as I made the group it became clear that all of us were in the same boat- we were all confused about how to prepare and what to prepare for the GD PI. Also, all of us got a bolt from the blue when we saw our roll numbers in the merit list – no one had expected to clear the extremely tough Mains paper. Its hard when you feel like you don’t know where to start, but it magically becomes less scary when you see many others in the same position- we rallied together and everyone started pitching in with preparation ideas, informative articles, videos and other material.

Creating a team out of Chaos

The initial period was a tumultuous one. Working in teams and that too with people you have just connected with can be a very daunting task. We would go off track and waste time in unproductive discussions quite a lot. Some of the group members took the initiative in keeping us on course and I’m eternally grateful to them. When you are competing, you must never lose focus of the bigger picture. It is easy to get lost when a hundred different voices talk at the same time but the group must always remember the overarching goal- Making it into the final list.

Crowdsourcing Interview Prep ideas

“Always remember the overarching goal- Making it into the final list.”

Back then there wasn’t a lot of quality free material in the market about Interview Prep. It seemed like every coaching centre was only making material to clear the objective exams but not for interviews. Some of the group members had enrolled into specialized Interview classes but those didn’t appear to help much. One of the few authentic sources were Mrunal’s 2014 SBI PO and General articles on IBPS Interview Prep which were quite specific. We pooled in all our ideas and made a 7-step structure that each of us followed for the Interview.

1. Background (Knowing Yourself)

This deals with your Introduction that you must practice to perfection and general information about where you live. Do you share a famous name/surname? Read up on that. Where were you born? What is that place known for? Why exactly do you want to work in SBI? If you are changing careers why are you choosing banking?

2. Subject Knowledge (Knowing your area, what you deal with)

This will be different for each of you reading this. If you are a fresh graduate you will be asked about your subject. For example, a Maths Honors student among us was asked about the Arabic influence in Maths, a History Honors was asked about World War 2 while an Engineer was questioned on motors. Nothing in depth, but you must have a grasp over your field of study. For working professionals be ready to explain to the Panel what it is you do exactly, how can that be applied to banking, to SBI? Why you want to work in SBI?

3. Current Affairs Knowledge (National and Global)

Read the newspaper daily. In 2016 they asked about recent Government Schemes, Mounting NPAs, American Elections etc. For 2018 you can be asked about the PSB Recapitalization, Recent Indian Judicial System problems, Facebook’s Election Meddling, Consequences of Kerala floods , Upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, Global Protectionism, Global Tariff Wars etc. Keep abreast of every burning news topic nationally and the world at large.

You’ll never realize what gems you can find in the Newspaper until you start reading

4. SBI-Centric Knowledge (Also : General Banking knowledge)

What apps did SBI launch recently? Any notable rejigs in the organization? New products? New Mission/Vision/Values? What was the reason of SBI’s loss in the last Financial Year (Annual Report)?  

5. Verbal Communication Skills (How you influence people)

You need to practice talking to yourself in the mirror. Record yourself and watch how you talk. Are your gestures ok? Are you too stiff? How do you put across your points? How do you use real world examples?

6. Non Verbal Communication Skills (Your Attitude and Presentation)

I wish we lived in a perfect world where outward appearance doesn’t matter. But we don’t. No matter how knowledgeable you are, if you don’t look the part you won’t be hired. You must dress well, shave your beard and look fresh in the interview. Get enough sleep and cut out junk food few days before to appear at your absolute best. 

7. Authenticity (Things Unique to YOU)

This is very important. The Panel will interview hundreds of candidates and sometimes you run the risk of just being another face in the crowd. You must have a uniqueness about yourself. The way you talk, the way you give examples, talk about your personal story all have a bearing on this. They are looking for individuals that can go on to become leaders in the bank and so you must allow them to see how special you are. Leave a lasting impression.

All of the above things helped. We kept sharing our notes and were slowly getting the direction we lacked in the beginning. But something was missing. We needed more. We needed to actually talk and interact with each other.

Skype Sessions

We brainstormed over which medium to choose to talk to each other. Tele-conference was considered but those suffered from many inherent limitations- there was a lot of echo and subpar call quality and the bigger problem was how to rejoin in case someone dropped out. IT people suggested audio conferencing but free dial-in numbers lacked the requisite quality. Finally, we settled on Skype. Though this was prior to Jio days (Imagine how much Jio has changed our lives!) it was our best bet. Not everyone could join us but our Skype Sessions were the most fun that we ever had while also simultaneously helping us in many ways: 1. We practiced on Skype each day in the evening (suitable for working professionals as well) and the daily talk helped us to be in the flow. We would conduct a mock GD by picking a topic and each of us would speak 2-3 minutes on it. We kept a track of how long each of us spoke so that over the long term we could improve. 2. We picked very contemporary topics and after every GD we would analyze which areas we could improve and discuss over the pros and cons of the topic. We also developed a habit of objectively scoring each other on a matrix format so that everyone spoke and was scored by every other person. Each person got a cumulative score at the end. It helped maintain the competitive spirit of the sessions and pushed everyone to get better. 3. We conducted long mock interview sessions on alternate days where each of us would be grilled by the others and we had to get comfortable by honing our views and explaining them properly. It boosted our confidence as we were talking every day and by the time our interviews rolled along we had increased the fluency of our talks. 4. We were free to talk in English without inhibitions, something that wasn’t always possible in our day to day lives. Of course we also had candidates who were going to give the interview in Hindi so that wasn’t any issue (in fact Hindi speakers were also selected in the final list so you mustn’t worry about language.) because our primary focus wasn’t on language but on the strength of our arguments. 2. Even if somebody couldn’t connect via Skype some of us daily made summaries of what we had discussed and posted it in the WhatsApp group. Not only did it help the others, but it allowed us to revise later on too.

GD PIs begin across the country

From 1st September, 2016 the GD PIs began across the country. They would continue till 11th September. We had an incredible advantage because our group had aspirants from all over the country and we had people giving the GD PI on each of the 11 days. Most of our members gave us highly detailed breakdowns of their experience which really helped people like me who had our interviews during a later stage.

I got a huge collection of GD topics asked by the Panel across the country thanks to all our members

A sudden twist 2 days before the interview

It was 7th September, 2016. My interview was scheduled in 2 days and I was mentally gearing for it. Late in the evening I was browsing through my mobile when suddenly out of blue I got the following SMS.

I had given the UBI interview a few weeks back and was a bit dejected at not being selected. I had forgotten about it and yet, here it was. Due to some of the selected candidates having rejected the job they had started to call the waitlisted candidates and I couldn’t believe that my name was on the list! I was suddenly put into a situation with the ultimate dichotomy. Do I go for this job that I have or do I go for the dream job that I wanted to have? I could only pick one as both were going to be on the same date- what a twisted game by Fate! I had to choose and choose fast. Many acquaintances told me to go for UBI because it was a bank headquartered in Kolkata and I could be sure of the job instead of chasing the dream of getting into SBI. I asked myself and logically maybe I should have chosen UBI but the heart said SBI. I told my parents and they were very supportive of my decision. Go big or go home. Get into SBI or remain jobless. No two ways about it. I went all in. Time to get into the interview frame of mind.

I made this list before the interview. No matter the outcome I wanted to be sure about my future direction.

Grooming for the Interview

Usually, an aspirant seriously preparing for competitive exams has hardly any inclination to keep oneself well groomed. However, an interview is as much about your attitude and knowledge as it is about your outward presentation. I shaved my beard (probably for the first time in over two years!) but decided to retain the moustache (your choice, I thought I looked more professional if I kept the stache as I had seen a few bankers do the same). I picked out my best shirt, trousers and tie. Don’t wear old worn out clothes but also do not wear brand new clothes. It’s imperative that the clothes you choose to wear for the interview are ones that you have used earlier as you don’t want the discomfort of brand new clothes to add to your woes. Don’t overdress- you do not need a coat. Ladies have much more leeway in what they can wear but please don’t wear a saree if that is not something you regularly wear. The idea is to be very comfortable in whatever you wear. Remember, a lot of eyes will be on you throughout the day so you shouldn’t wear anything that makes you self conscious. Most of the panel will comprise of old men and women so always choose the traditional over the extravagant. Also, get enough sleep for the few days leading upto the interview as nobody wants to hire a baggy eyed, shoddily dressed individual. Grooming is essential.

When you dress well, you’ll exude an infectious confidence

My GD PI

Almost 2 years have passed since this day and yet I can vividly recall even the smallest of details. Reporting time: 10AM. September 9th, 2016. Panel 1. The venue was the colossal SBI Kolkata Local Head Office by the name of Samriddhi Bhavan- one of the iconic buildings of Central Kolkata. We had to carry lots of documents to the centre so I double checked each one. SBI had given us an enclosure list (See the full Enclosure List for SBI Interview here) which helped to check off each doc. I reached the venue at 08:50 AM and remember being awed by the towering facade of the massive greyish brown building. I had never been inside the gates and the building looked even more massive as I walked towards it. There is a beautiful mural on the left side of the building (See high resolution picture here) that depicts stages of the evolution of money from the barter system to banking. It shows SBI’s origins at the Bank of Calcutta (1806) leading down all the way to the inTouch branches launched a few years back. The lawns were empty except for a few sweepers and I couldn’t resist clicking a few pictures as I headed into the lobby.

As I walked through the automated glass doors into the building, I could feel an amazing internal energy. I had made it so far! Even with so many hardships and so many moments when I almost gave up, I still managed to reach this point. There was no way I was going home without a job. That much I had decided. I was extremely eager to show the panel what I could do and kept a very positive mindset all throughout. When I reached the lobby I saw that even though I was so early 2 of the candidates had already arrived before me. We took our seats and got to know each other. I made a great friend that day by the name of Arijit. Both of us got selected as SBI POs. Arijit went on to join UIIC instead of SBI but he remains a close friend even today. More people filtered in as time passed and finally all 10 of us selected for the 10AM Panel 1 slot had arrived. We were led up to the 5th floor via a lift and as the elevator doors opened I assessed the battleground. This is a rough layout of the place, from memory.

I’m no Picasso but this is the rough sketch of the premises I made in my debrief notebook

The place was very large but incredibly well organized. We were made to sit in the conference room and served some tea and snacks. There were no pleasantries and the TCS folks arrived with their equipment and began the biometric verifications. There was a good vibe in the room as we got to know each other and we all loosened up and shared our stories. There was a guy from Allahabad Bank who had managed to get hold of an NOC for the interview at the absolute last hour because of his helpful BM who personally connected him with the AGM. I met a girl who was a newly minted uber confident Canara Bank PO, and many others who had achieved many more accolades. It was awkward being among the few “jobless” individuals but not as awkward as the few extremely nervous new graduates. A few others, like me, had left behind promising Private Sector jobs-having seen firsthand how ruthless corporate culture truly can become. My biometric completed without a hitch and I chatted with the guy conducting it and whom I’d met a few times in other exams. We smiled and talked about TCS. How weird it was for him to meet a recently resigned TCSer? I’ll never know. All of us cleared the verification (mine was the last name on the list) and we began to take heaps of selfies to pass the time.

My friends tell me I looked like the uncool retro guy. You decide.

Document Verification

Finally the document verification began. We were called up one by one to individual desks and had to present the requisite documents and certificates. It was conducted by SBI staff. A young Scale 2 Deputy Manager (in his early 30s) conducted mine and he was extremely polite and cordial. A few people had trivial issues with a few documents and were asked to sign undertakings to present the documents at a later stage. No one was disallowed and the whole process ended very smoothly. When I came back to the Conference Room I saw the 9AM slot candidates had just finished their GD and come back. They appeared to be in good spirits, and were talking excitedly about what went right and wrong and even sharing great banter – Almost as if they were long-time friends. Did they know each other or was it just the post GD effect? Will this happen for our group too after the GD? I wondered.

The Atmosphere in the Conference Room

The Dual GDs (A new feature of the 2016 exam)

There wasn’t much time to think further as just then a lady entered the conference room. “Your GD will begin now. Please follow me.” She ushered us into the second conference room. The room was very chilly with the AC cranked up high. Two older gentlemen dressed in suits guided us to the chairs that were arranged in semicircular fashion. They were seated right in front and we sat facing them. Pen and paper was provided to each one of us. I was seated at one of the ends of the semicircle – If possible, I would urge you to occupy one of those 2 corner seats as it’s easy to observe everyone from that angle and you are also much closer to the Panel so they can easily assess you and hear your points clearly. The two gentlemen (M1 and M2 from hereon) introduced themselves and congratulated us on having crossed the Mains hurdle. M1 laid down the ground rules and spoke about the two GDs that we had to participate in. They wished us good luck. I didn’t pay much attention to it. I was very confident by this point and the adrenaline probably made me a bit too complacent. GD PIs had started way back on September 1st and I had read tons of reviews about both the GDs from my WhatsApp friends across the country. I felt like I was very well prepared for it. Big mistake. You should never assume what the panel expects and always hear the instructions carefully. This GD was about to be very different from most others in the country.

Did SBI Kolkata miss the New GD Regulations memo?

You see, up until 2015 SBI had followed the “one-after-another” GD whereby every member was given 2 mins to speak and they moved from 1 person to the next in a linear order. If you have done GDs before, you’ll know this is not how a real GD is done. This is how extempores are done. So, from September 1, 2016 SBI had switched it up and all GDs across the country had been happening in a different way-the correct way: A Free-For-All GD. Anyone could begin and end and add points in between, but everyone had to speak and no one was allowed to cut someone off mid-sentence but had to enter the talk by seizing the correct moment. For some reason my panel hadn’t got this memo from the other parts of the country and they decided to conduct our GD in the same old 2015 format. If only I had paid attention to their words and controlled my emotions maybe I would have averted my disastrous GD.

My topsy-turvy First GD

The topic for GD 1 was “Private Participation in infrastructure is desirable- Discuss”. It was a really generic, broad-based topic. They gave us 5 minutes to jot down our points and allocated 20 minutes for the actual GD. As soon as the 5 minute countdown started we began to scribble ferociously on our writing pads. I had finished jotting down well before time and was waiting for the go ahead by the panel to start. “End of Time!”. Within a millisecond of that announcement I started speaking. To my utter surprise, the panel stopped me! “Wait a little”, they said. It was so disheartening. I had seized the moment and yet was not allowed to begin. “You may begin now” they said. This time, the others were ready to speak as well but I was the fastest yet again and successfully began the GD. I had a lot to say and peppered my talk with relevant recent news- I had recently read that Amit Mitra, the Bengal Finance Minister had mentioned a Rs 87,000 crore private capital expenditure for the Financial Year which I stated to emphasize its importance in state development goals. I touched upon complex roads and railways projects and their need of highly skilled private manpower. The Chief Minister had recently gone on a Europe tour and attempted to woo BMW to invest in Bengal which was another point that I raised.

Unintended Faux Pas

I talked for 3 minutes straight before wrapping up. The others followed. Some were very nervous, while others made great points. I had some more points to add so I carefully observed the members for another chance to talk. One girl abruptly ended her talk. Immediately, I began. Suddenly the panel members shouted at me- “Let her finish!”. I was dumbfounded, as the flow of her talk indicated that she was done. And sure enough, her next words were “I am done sir”. Another person began. I waited patiently for my chance and just as I seized another moment, the panel shouted at me yet again- “Let all finish speaking the first time!”. It was then that it hit me- I had not listened to the instructions, this was not a standard free-for-all GD that I was used to. I was angry at the panel now. How did they not know that this year the pattern had changed? I calmed myself. Relax Supriyo. Don’t lose your composure. There were numerous standard GD rules that the panel did not know, or chose not to follow. I had flashbacks to my soft skills classes back in college- “The panel should never interfere while the group converses”, “Seizing the talk at the right moment is imperative”, “Encourage the silent ones to participate”. I was red in the face and tensed. The panel stopped candidates mid-sentence and corrected them, something that the panel never ought to do in a GD.

The GD went on and some people made totally irrelevant points about FDI, Fiscal Deficit etc. A guy mentioned that FDI was “hot money”! I could not take it and protested. And yet again, the panel scolded me “You must not address personally!”. I backed down. It was hopeless. Now I felt like the panel somehow disliked me or had a grudge against me! It was utter lunacy and the panel was making my confidence disintegrate. Till this day I know that I was in the right, that this wasn’t how a GD should have been conducted. But being right doesn’t mean you have to prove others wrong– I wish I would have understood that. We got our chance to sum up and come to a consensus, everyone spoke the second time but no one concluded. I took the initiative to conclude and just before I was about to finish the GD ended. “Time Up!”, M1 motioned. M2 looked up over the rim of his spectacles and sternly said “You people didn’t reach a consensus”. We were aghast. We all spoke literally on the same lines! M1 looked at him and said “Sir, they all spoke for the motion”. M2: “Hmm”.

A Second GD to redeem myself

I had no time to feel bad about myself because GD 2 began immediately after the first ended. This was a totally different type. We were each handed a sheet of paper with a topic and 8 points.

Topic: Important Traits of a Winner

Determination
Focused Approach
Conviction
Dedication
Persistence
Intensity of Efforts
Enthusiasm
Self Discipline

Our objective was to arrange the points in the order that we believed to be correct from 1st to 8th . We were again allotted 5 minutes as before to arrange them and think about the justification for the arrangement. I thought of how to strategize the GD as the initial minutes ticked by. The panel spoke. “You may begin now”. I wanted to remove the negative spotlight from me so I did not try to begin this time. As the minutes flew by each of us got a chance to speak briefly about our 1st point and why we had considered it to be the 1st. We did not reach a consensus and arguments broke out. It was getting ugly so I took over and tried to bring back control. “Lets all reach the consensus”, I urged everyone, but no one was ready to back off. Precious time was ticking away and I had to try and change strategy. We had to reach a consensus, it was so important! 2 of the group members were at loggerheads so to ameliorate the situation I said “Guys, maybe this depends on what perspective you see it from”. I spoke to each person and said that both were correct even though it wasn’t the case. I looked at the others and they understood that I was trying to quell the bickering. Others backed me and we managed to control the flow of the GD this time and everyone finally agreed to settle on the 1st point: Determination. It wasn’t what I had picked but a compromise was necessary to get points and I managed to facilitate that by leaving aside my ego.

To Win the GD you must leave your Ego behind

After that it went a lot smoother and everyone targeted to reach a consensus to increase our collective marks. We could agree on point 2 as well: Focused Approach. We were about to agree on point 3 when the GD ended. M1 & M2 both smiled, the first time since the entirety of the GDs. M1 spoke- “It was a very good discussion”. “One of the best we saw this year”, M2 added. “We also reached the same consensus as you did” they said. What a relief! (Their opinion wasn’t something they should have revealed as the panel must always remain neutral, but by then the GD had ended anyway).  I was glad that it was over. We were asked to tear and throw away the sheets we had received. We strolled out, and went back to the 1st conference room. Sure enough, just like the previous group, it appeared that we had suddenly forged a much deeper connection and chatted much more freely now. There was no bad blood and even though we were competing for the job, it felt like we had become good friends. Maybe because the contest is over? I have no idea how it happens, but after the GDs, you’ll feel like you made a few good friends.

Next we were served lunch in packets – 1 Frooti, 1 sandwich, a fruit cake, 2 sweets and a packet of Haldiram’s Bhujia. Some circles had received full meals but we were quite happy with the light lunch because our interview was yet to start. None of us could eat a lot while we waited in anticipation of the looming interview.

Time for the final hurdle

The Interviews begin

After what seemed like an eternity they finally started calling us one at a time for the interview. I noticed that they were following the exact order of the biometric verification- so that meant my interview was going to be the last one! The interview room had a big red light outside which lit up and a buzzer sounded indicating that the panel was ready to call the next candidate. The tensions began to rise now, broken up by sporadic selfies that we took to remember the moment and calm our nerves. The first few interviews finished. It was past 3PM now.

The Panel can be very unpredictable indeed

As each candidate came out of the interview room, we accosted them for details about what was asked. It was very random and defied any set pattern. A fresh graduate was asked to name all the “country and currency” pairs she could list out. Another experienced candidate was asked why he had left his high paying private job. Each person was grilled, on average, for about 15 minutes. I kept waiting and waiting. Everyone finished and it was down to me and Arijit, the 9th man. He was called in. I sat down in the lobby just opposite to the interview room with the adrenaline rushing through me. It felt extremely chilly being alone in that big room. Finally Arijit exited the room. I went up to him and he said they had grilled him very hard on a lot of banking related terms (he had a financial background). He looked pale and visibly shaken. My nervousness multiplied as banking wasn’t actually my forte.

I kept staring at the indicator light beside the door. It was very late by now. I was hungry and wished I had eaten more. Suddenly the red light blinked and the buzzer sounded. Show time. I took a deep breath, went up to the door and opened it as confidently as I could.

“May I come in?”

Yes.

I entered the lair of the dragon. It was a beautiful and well decorated room with very bright lighting. The interview panel was much different from the GD panel. They looked very professional and spoke in perfect diction. Most of them were very senior fellows, with a gravitas that was reflected in the aura that surrounded them. I smiled and greeted them beginning with the lady. They smiled back and asked me to sit in the lone chair placed centrally in front of them. There was a very low tea table in front of them with a wide array of snacks and beverages that I tried not to look at. I smiled but at the same time I remember feeling a lot exposed- they could see my entire posture- my hands, legs & shoes- the table was intentionally kept far away from the chair. I was at an angle that I had to turn my head to face the left and right panel members. It felt a bit like being surrounded by carefully inspecting eyes.

The Interview Begins

After 9 candidates, the panel was probably very bored. There were no pleasantries and they didn’t ask me to introduce myself. They jumped right into it.

M1 : “So, Mr. Panda, why did you leave TCS?”
It was a question that I had already anticipated and was well prepared for.

“Sir, as you know engineers are a dime a dozen these days. The IT field is saturated and I felt like I didn’t have the requisite passion to excel in it in the long term. I was always interested to secure a job that required me to work for social welfare, and also grant me a certain respect and good status in society. While working in TCS I discovered that I had a passion for finance and I wanted to work for the nation while also enriching my skills in the financial domain. SBI is my dream job in that endeavour”.

They enquired how I found interest in finance while working in TCS and I mentioned that I had been working in a project with TCS’s client AIG. Upon hearing this M1 enquired whether it was THE AIG. I confirmed that it indeed was one of the biggest American insurers. He was unmoved so I couldn’t really gauge if that impressed him. Throughout the interview M1, the Panel’s Chairman, kept a poker face and it was very difficult to read him.

M2 : “Why banking? Why not insurance?”

It was a logical question since I had mentioned AIG.

“Sir, the insurance sector still hasn’t managed to reach the masses in every village but SBI, being the country’s largest bank with a social motive has penetrated into the heart of rural India. A bank is also more encompassing in that I can sell insurance while in a bank but cannot do banking in an insurance company. I’m passionate to work in banking and contribute to SBI which rules the roost in the financial world.”

M4 : “What can you contribute to SBI?”

It was a relatively easy follow-up question.  I took the digital revolution angle.
“Sir, the recent trends show that there is a digital revolution underway in India. IT will form the backbone of banks in the years to come. Since I have worked in India’s biggest IT company I will be able to help SBI navigate through this sea change that is about to happen.”

I added a few more points about a recent news I had read in the papers where an incorrect usage of Microsoft Excel’s “autocorrect” had caused a genetic research team to end up with unexpected data sets. I tried to assure the panel that my IT skills would accentuate my role as a PO. I had made my case pretty well and the flow of the interview seemed to be fully in my control. But M1, apparently, didn’t want me in the driving seat.

M1 (suddenly cutting me off) : “Supriyo, suppose you are a Chief Manager and I tell you to open a branch in a promising semi urban area. Tell me how you’ll plan to acquire business? Explain your action plan”

Yikes! That was a really unexpected bouncer! I was a little taken aback as I didn’t expect to get asked such a hypothetical scenario question. A CM in SBI is a Scale 4 Officer. Even in the most optimistic circumstances it would take 9 years for a PO to become a CM. I paused a while and answered.

“Sir, first I will create a team from my branch staff to canvass in the area and let our presence be known using banners and other ads. I will target the MSMEs in the area and offer loans at good rates and also find out the rural people in the area without bank accounts to try to reach the informal sector.” I spoke about offering good customer service and need based products, carefully using the words “customer centricity” and “customized offerings”. M2 and M4 went back and forth on a few of my points, dissecting it and trying to supplement what I said. They were genuinely interested in my ideas and it turned into more of a discussion than an interview at this point.

M1 offered : “You can try to give out MUDRA loans” (PMMY had been launched just a year back)

I caught on and went on to mention all that I knew about the Mudra scheme- Shishu, Kishor, Tarun, tailor-made loans as per need. I wanted the panel to know that I was conversant with these schemes.

We easily spent about 8 to 10 minutes on this hypothetical-CM scenario and they looked very satisfied with my response. (Since the Panel is on a time budget I highly recommend trying to spend more time on questions that you are most comfortable with. You can use it to show the panel that you are a person who cultivates deep knowledge on topics)

M4 : “What is targeted marketing? How is it done?”

This was a more management theory –centric question and I wasn’t sure about the answer. With a big smile I said,

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t know the term well”

M2 : “Try to guess”

Ugh.

“Sir, I think it has to do with how we can market products to customers by tailoring it to their personal needs?”

F1 : “What is surge pricing?”

This was a loose delivery and I was intent on hitting it out of the park. I comprehensively explained the concept that had become a hot topic in those months back in 2016.

M1 : “Do you think it should be legal?”

Opinion based questions are always a land mine. You never know whether the interviewer is for or against the topic so you need to juggle effectively. I tried to be diplomatic.

“Sir, as a user of these apps I would prefer to not have surge pricing but I think the Ola-Uber business model is dependent on these hikes. They offer deep discounts to capture the market and need a way to recoup their costs.”

M1 : “Don’t you think they use their monopoly position unethically in rampant surge prices?”

I was getting the drift that M1 was dead against the concept of surge pricing so I should not argue with him. However, I wanted to show him that my stand was justified all the same and I didn’t want to back down.

“Sir, the railways have also recently come up with their own surge pricing scheme” (It was very recent news and I had read about it in the morning newspaper. Always important to rifle through a newspaper before the interview!)

M1 : “How does it differ with the surge pricing used by private players?”

M1 kept nodding as I explained how the Railways were also a monopoly but were going to use surges to efficiently allocate berths and generate more revenue. He wasn’t fully convinced but I believe that I put up a compelling argument. He heard me out and then said, “You’re right, but…” He proceeded to give his own version on why there should be a proper regulation over surge pricing. (Sometimes the Panel will try to antagonize you, or try to make you retract what you just said. Don’t give in if you know your stand is correct. Justify yourself. It reflects on your character.)

M3 (first time he spoke) : “What is a teaser loan?”

This is a concept that all bankers would know since many banks used teaser loans in the late 90s and early 2000s to capture Home Loan customers with the incentive of lower initial interest rates. However, it was a foreign concept to me back in 2016. With my trademark smile I admitted,

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t know”.

F1 : “What is Start Up India and Stand Up India?”

I fumbled at Stand Up India since I had forgotten about the scheme but I spoke extensively on Start Up India, its focus on job creators over job seekers and even mentioned the 3 year tax holiday (had been announced in the recent Budget back then). M1 and F1 corrected me on a few points and were helpful, never chiding me for saying anything but just guiding me. The warmth from the whole panel and especially F1 was really amazing and even in that short time I felt like a real connection had been forged.

M1 & F1 : “Thank you, Supriyo”

“Thank you ma’am, Thank you sir”.

I stood up and one last time looked around the panel to say,

“Thank you everyone for giving me this wonderful opportunity, I am extremely grateful to be one of the few among lakhs of candidates to get the honour of interacting with you. I will cherish this experience.”

I spoke a few more words to thank them that I don’t remember anymore but I do remember that as I finished almost all of them smiled. I walked out and gently closed the door behind me.

Finally, a long voyage ends

As I exited the room, I heaved a sigh of relief. My interview lasted about 20 to 25 minutes, although it seemed to me like an hour had passed. I was a bit dazed and disoriented so it took a while to bring everything back into focus. A common occurrence when concentrating that hard. Everyone else from my group had left. I went into the conference room and saw a bunch of new faces who were there for the final slot of the day. After rummaging around for a while I found my bag and headed down the elevator. As I came out of the building the evening sun hit my face with the cool breeze of the riverside. I whipped out my mobile to check the time and saw 5 missed calls. The UBI office had called to ask whether I’d join. I didn’t bother calling them back. It was SBI or nothing. Simple as that. It was a quarter to five and I met a few people from my group outside. We took a few final selfies against the backdrop of the mammoth building, exchanged final well wishes and parted ways. The feeling of when it’s all over- that is something pretty hard to explain. After so many months of toiling and so many difficult hurdles to overcome when you finally get to the end, there is a strange emptiness inside. I felt totally spent and tired beyond measure but kinda missed the thrill of the chase. The toughest bank exam of 2016 had ended with me going all the way till the end. Now, I was finally going to hit the bed and get a good night’s sleep!

My thoughts as I headed back home

I thought I did OK. I was satisfied with myself. Could I do better? Sure. Did I do the best I could in the time that was available to me? Absolutely. I tried to show the panel the best version of myself. I did everything I could to sell myself within the stipulated time. I just prayed that they bought the version of me that I tried to sell. Anyway, it was all over now. The end of the part that I could control and the beginning of the part that I had no control over.

A Final Thank You to my WhatsApp mates

Although it hadn’t been even a month since we had formed the WhatsApp group, those of us who stuck together had become very close friends. We shared a unique journey together that not a lot of people get to experience with friends. I had been fortunate to have their company and wanted to thank them all. The night after all the interviews wrapped up, I posted the following message on the group. I want you, who are reading this blog, to also internalize this message if you are appearing for the interview this year. Even if you are not selected for the interview, please remember that you have what it takes. If you get a chance, do make some friends on your journey. Because, as Christopher McCandless said towards the end of Into the Wild, “Happiness is only real when shared”.

“Hello Friends!
Finally after 22 days we came to the end of the part of the journey that was within our control. From now onwards, it is in the hands of the Universe. We set off our respective ships on a one way trip to find land or to perish. Let me remind you that we are among the select 0.2% who crossed the finish line of this long, long race. 20 more days until the scoreboard lights up and displays whether we made the cut or not. What started as a silly spur of the moment post on Gradeup became something that, in whatever small way, connected us.

Honestly, none of us knows if we are going to be selected. But I hope that no matter what the result is, we can remain friends.
I have learnt a lot from all of you. Thanks a ton for responding to that silly post and helping me make so many wonderful friends. Hoping that all of us become SBI POs this year.

Hasta La Victoria Siempre”

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