Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts annual Specialist Officer (SO) Examination for recruitment to public sector banks. Specialist Officers are recruited particularly for specialist posts such as Law/IT/Marketing Officers [usually of Scale – I]. IBPS conducts the examination as a 3-tier process – Prelim, Mains and Interview.

Registrations for IBPS PO 2018-19 is open till 26th November and IBPS SO Prelim exam is scheduled for the 29th and 30th of December 2018. IBPS SO Mains examination is scheduled to be conducted on 27th January 2019. This is the 8th exam in the SO recruitment series and is officially mentioned as IBPS CRP SPL-VIII.

IBPS SO Vacancies 2018-19

IBPS SO vacancies are limited in number due to the skill specialisation required for these posts. This year there are vacancies for HR/Language Official/Law/Marketing and IT. The vacancies are as listed below:

IBPS SO Important Dates

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has in its notification released the tentative examination process schedule and dates of examinations. Registrations for the exam began on 6th of November and will be open till 26th of November 2018. The exam is scheduled to take place on the 29th and 30th of December, 2018 and the Mains will take place on the 27th of January 2019. The result and interviews are anticipated in February. Provisional allotment of candidates will be declared in April 2019.

Educational Qualification

Graduation Degree as well as Full Time Post Graduate Degree or Full time Diploma in Personnel Management/ Industrial Relation/ HR/ HRD/ Social Work/ Labour Law

Marketing Officer (Scale I) Eligibility Criteria

Age Qualification

Lower Age Limit – 20 years | Upper Age Limit – 30 years

Educational Qualification

Graduate Degree and Full Time MMS (Marketing)/ MBA (Marketing)/Full time PGDBA/ PGDBM with specialisation in Marketing/MBA (Marketing)/Full time PGDBA/PGDBM with specialisation in Marketing.

Age Relaxation

Certain categories of candidates are granted relaxation in upper age limit as per GoI guidelines. Below are the categories and the number of years relaxation to be granted when candidates of these categories are applying to IBPS SO Posts.

IBPS SO Application

Applications for IBPS SO can be made only in ONLINE mode from the official IBPS website – https://ibps.in/. Alternatively the direct application link is mentioned below. Applications for IBPS SO were opened on 6th November 2018 and will be available till 26th November. Candidates who wish to attempt the IBPS CRP SPL-VIII must apply within the deadline.

Step-by-Step IBPS SO Registration

Step 1: Once you are on the IBPS SO VIII Application Page (link above), click on the “Click here for New Registration Button” on the top most right corner of the page.

Step 2: In the first part of application form, IBPS will require you to enter basic details such as name, contact number, email id, address etc. Once you have filled in required information, click on submit to continue.

Step 3: The next step is document upload. Candidate must upload their photograph and signature in the prescribed format as mentioned below.

Step 4: Once this done, the candidate is required to fill academic qualifications and professional experience details.

Step 5: Preview the application form and cross-check for any errors as changing details on Application Form after submission is not permitted. Once verified, save and submit the form.

Step 6: After submitting the details and form, candidate must pay the Application Fee for the form to be processed. The candidate must use the Online Payment Option, i.e. through Credit Card/Debit Card/Net Banking. Application fee varies depending on category of candidate applying, below is the scheme of application fees:

Step 7: Click on Final Submit Button.Once the application form is submitted successfully, you will be sent an email and text message with IBPS registration ID and password for future login reference. Note this down as it may be required to view other necessary documents like Admit Card/Results etc.

IBPS SO Exam Pattern

IBPS SO 2018-19 Exam is to be conducted in three stages – Preliminary Exam, Mains Exam and Interview Process. Candidate must clear every stage to finally be recruited as SO to one of the participating Public Sector Banks. Preliminary Exam is open to all eligible candidates.

IBPS has introduced some changes in the Exam Pattern for IBPS SO 2018-19. Below are the highlights of the pattern:

• The exam will be conducted in 3-stage process: Preliminary, Mains and Interview 
• For Rajbhasha Adhikari and Law Officer, scheme of Prelim will vary as given below in the table.
• Newly introduced separate sectional timing for each section in prelims exam. In Preliminary exam, 40 mintues will be allotted for each sections.
• Candidates qualifying Prelims will appear for Mains.
• Prelim Exam score is qualifying that means it will not be taken towards score computation during Final Allotment. Mains and Interview score will be combined for this purpose.
• The Mains Examination will be testing candidates on the Professional Knowledge Subjects.

IBPS SO 2018 Preliminary Exam Pattern

For Law Officer and Rajsabha Adhikari Posts (Scale- I)