Career as Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Career as bank PO requires performing multiple tasks.  A bank PO is required to assist theirbbranch manager in each and every financial system and domain. This may include administrative jobs, managing duties such as branch manager in the absence of branch manager, routine functions, and some other activities such as raising the bank portfolio in credit and advancements, recovery management, settlement of claims. There are several other departments in the banking industry, such as foreign exchange, treasury, clearing, risk management from which one might have to function more according to their priority. General banking and bank administration are common opportunities for a career as a bank PO; additionally, bank probation officers are required to have outstanding interpersonal knowledge and the ability to resolve differences in a calm and professional approach.

Handling of cash

It has become essentially important for the probationary officers to manage the cash section in the banks too, due to the excessive burden and the obligations on the clerks as a result of multiple government initiatives being associated with the banks in the country. The bank PO also has to open a temporary counter within the bank premises to distribute cash deposits and withdrawals because of the large number of customers in the branches. Several other banks even assign the duty of probationary officers for maintaining the ATMs in a specific region.

Customer service

The clerical officers in a bank primarily manage the appointments, with customer care, the probation officers also have to manage the client and seek to provide all the details and care which the bank has ordered. Avenues such as creating a new account, working with new and existing customers' ATM cards, managing withdrawals and loans, providing cheque books are some of the customer service duties which the bank probationary officer could regularly have to do.

Reporting and verification

The bank probationary officers have to create a new account appropriately on a regular basis and close this every day that meets the everyday banking operation. Utilising the information, bank po have to register into their database, print out documents, physically confirm each transaction and report whether any discrepancy is identified. The implementation of core banking requires the bank probationary officers to submit and check the financial documents to the national and zonal offices on a continuous basis.

Promoting business

This is the obligation of the bank probationary officers to ensure that the different products and programmes provided to its customers by the bank are implemented. Probationary officers may also need to meet customers and organizations to promote deals as the public banking industry generally does not have any advertising or marketing departments to boost the bank's profits.

Payment clearance

 Even though the bank clerks are allowed for most money transactions and payments but in circumstance of a certain value on the cheque, demand draft, national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) / real-time gross settlement  (RTGS) and other payment methods, they will also have to take bank po’s approval and permission. Often, they solve bank clerks' difficulties during some transactions if it is required.

There are several other sub-disciplines of a career as a bank PO. Individuals who aspire to establish a career in the banking or finance industry can opt for alternative jobs to a career as a bank PO. We have mentioned below such job roles. 

Account Clerk: Account clerks are responsible for activities like entering and filing records, updating and checking accounts using computers, ledgers, and software for accounting. Many employers use their own software which requires training of the accounting clerk, while others use common generic software. It is one of the major sun-disciplines of a career as a bank PO. 

Administrative Assistant: Most administrative assistant roles relate to handling and transmitting information within an office. It usually involves answering telephones, taking notes, and keeping financial documents in the bank. Administrative assistants might be able to send correspondence, and also for addressing customers.

Bank Clerk:  A bank clerk is considered an entry-level role in the banking sector.  He or she is responsible for processing customer transactions and answering visitor questions. A bank clerk directs customer to bank personnel and verifies personal and and financial data of people having a bank account or applied for opening a bank account in the certain branch. His or her role requires to support cash management activities. 

Insurance Analyst:  A career as an insurance analyst is one of the finest job in the banking sector. An insurance analyst hold several responsibilities such as conducting assessment on various insurance policies, determine associated risks for both insurance company and policy holders. A career as a Bank PO requires to get a proper training on each aspect of the banking, insurance is one of them. An insurance analyst reviews insurance applications and ensures that all the essential information is provided by the client for processing a policy. 

Cashier: The primary function of a cashier will be to help customers in the process of in-store check-out. Primary responsibilities include ringing up transactions, unloading goods, applying for pricing information, accepting discounts, receiving payments, and making necessary adjustments. A career as a bank PO also involves to perform the role of a cashier. 

Credit manager: Credit manager, commonly regarded as loan officers, help individuals in managing the process of obtaining loans from a financial company. They also focus on finding a payment scheme for borrowers who have experienced difficult times. 

Insurance Officer: Insurance claims are reviewed by the insurance officers to decide whether or not they could be compensated and also how much they are worthy. They usually operate for a number of insurance firms, starting from car insurance to medical insurance. 

Related article - Career as a bank clerk

A career as a bank PO is a desk job. It mainly involves performing managerial tasks such as looking after public relations, controlling and overseeing branch operations and tasks, resolving customer related concerns and complaints, authorising and tracking daily branch and customer transactions. A bank PO issues cheque books, ATM cards, pass books, demand draft and manages loan processing. Workplaces of the bank probationary officers requires to have a formal code of dress. There is no work from the home scenario for a bank PO. Sometimes workloads are more in metro cities, head offices, regional offices than rural banks. It is a rewarding career with progressions and promotions in banking sector. There are various opportunities of career growth in banking sector. 

Does Bank Probationary Officer (PO) require travelling?

Not Likely

A career as a bank PO requires to handle customer complaints and queries, issue ATM cards, demand drafts and cheque books. He or she is required to do managerial tasks.  A career as a bank PO does not involve traveling for work purposes.

Employment Shifts

Full Time

In a career as a bank PO, working hours are fixed for all banks. It is from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., although at the end of the financial year working hours may vary. A bank PO is a full-time job and there is no option for work from home in this profession.

Employment Nature

Permanent

There is only permanent job role in the career as a bank PO. Individuals work in a branch of a bank as a bank PO as permanent employee who further gets promoted for senior roles.

Work Place

Bank, Branch of Bank, Regional Bank, State Bank, Cooperative Bank, Central Bank, Corporate Bank, Private Bank

A bank PO works in a branch of a bank. He or she performs desk job and interacts with clients. His or her work requires managing financial data, assisting bank manager, providing support to clients and handling other related tasks. 

Presence in Geographical Area

Rural, Semi-urban, Urban

A career as a bank PO is least likely to get affected due to geographical aspects of human population. A bank branch is located almost all areas of human civilisations, except several tribal areas. A bank PO can be appointed in any of banks located in urban, rural and semi-urban areas. Work can be very tiring in the career as a bank PO who are posted in metro cities, head offices, regional offices. In these branches, the workload is more than other banks. But this is not the case for everyone, they will find it hard and rewarding both if you love your job and really enjoy working at a bank. Sometimes they need to visit rural branches or they might get transferred to branches far from home.

Time Pressure

Likely

In the career as a bank PO, time pressure increases during the end of tax months or financial years. In situations like this, bank probationary officers are required to work overtime. Generally, when the work pressure is low, the bank PO works according to his or her scheduled time. But the time pressure increases during the end of tax months or a specific project deadline.

Overtime Details

A career as a bank PO is a typical 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. job. The work pressure in the job is considered a little higher than the average. However, it also depends on one’s job role and responsibilities assigned. Sometimes, bank probationary Officers are required to work for long hours depending on the deadlines and such requirements. Apart from this, they generally work under their scheduled time itself.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 35 Hours

In ideal situation, the working hours in a career as a bank PO are from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. (seven hours), which are normal hours of banking in India. Lunch hours vary across divisions. The regular lunch break is from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Though these hours can be extended in case of the increased workload at the end of the financial year.

There are several skillsets required to establish a career as a bank PO. These skills are crucial for progressing after PO role. You can get promoted to Probation Officer's role to Assistant Bank Manager if you fulfill the minimum eligibility requirements. We have mentioned below the Probationary Officer skillsets to work efficiently in the banking sector.  

Commercial Awareness: A career as a bank PO requires he ability to understand worldwide financial patterns and potential market developments seems to be what defines an effective banker from an unsuccessful banker. And besides, this might be necessary to predict where economic trends are going to arise to either enhance or protect a specific region in the bank's business. It's also important to recognize how companies function in the corporate world and what influences them, specifically if a probationary officer works directly with them. For example, if a probationary officer interacts with a customer in a specific industry, then the probationary officer needs to understand much more about this industry's environment, challenges, and contributing factors for change.

Determination: Corporate banking is an excessively harsh and demanding climate, in which probationary officers might have to resolve a lot of challenges on their path from a good student to an experienced probationary officer. As a consequence, probationary officers will have to be intensely determined to excel, though it means working extra hours and making compromises in their individual lives.

Work Ethics: Investment banking is not just for the unmotivated or the unproductive ones. The shifts can sometimes be long and exhausting, but due to concerns regarding the current company's lack of employment-life balance, there is very little motivation in the banks to remove this extreme culture. In the career as a Bank PO, one is expected to drive themselves to the limits in order to be successful, specifically in the very first five years of their careers. If probationary officers don't have that minimum of a good work ethic, then perhaps they need to definitely find an alternative occupation.

Technical Skills: Businesses in the modern age requires a huge majority of transactions that probationary officers make on the basis of statistical analysis. Hence, in order to have access and analyse the information, communicate with several other investors, find out more information, and conduct virtually almost every activity that individuals in a career as Bank PO might need in a regular working day, they also need to be tech-savvy. Bankers work with a number of advanced software, therefore, take every opportunity they can get to experience with almost as much as they can throughout internships.

Communication Skills: Communication is a fundamental professional strength and the banking industry is no exception. If it's communicating to non-financial clients complicated financial concepts or processes, composing and preparing reports or practicing to connect effectively at management level can have such a huge effect on the development in your profession. When probationary officers enter the banking sector, they must also make sure that their interaction skills have improved and up to the mark and that they can clearly and confidently demonstrate the instructions.

Attention to Detail: Another requirement for the banking sector is a keen eye for observation, whether to observe unique patterns or operations that no one else has or generates detailed financial documents for higher management. However, many financial positions require the ability to recognise oddities or, more importantly, errors.

Also read - Skills required to become an investment banker

Bank PO exams provide applicants one of the most desirable employment opportunities. The minimum requirement of bank PO qualification is successful completion of a bachelor's degree programme. A career as a bank PO is most sought after career choice for candidates seeking to enter the esteemed organisation of government. Several banking exams are conducted to select candidates for the role of bank PO in public sector banks, namely IBPS PO,  NABARD, IBPS SO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, KarurVyas, SBI SO, SBI Clerk, PO, Dena bank PO. To qualify these exams an individual needs to plan systematically with the appropriate strategy and detailed exam objectives. A career as a bank PO is a highly competitive job role. One can not acquire it without clearing the bank PO exams. After becoming a probationary officer, one finds numerous opportunities for career growth in banking sector. 

A career as a Bank PO is a trainee level job. One gets numerous promotions in this career with experiences and clearing examinations to show progression level. The career hierarchy of a Bank PO is as follows:

Bank PO-Assistant Manager-Branch Manager-Chief Manager-Assistant General Manager-Deputy General Manager-Chief General Manager-General Manager

Bank Probationary Officer: A probationary officer works on probation for two years. After successful completion of the probation period, he or she becomes an assistant manager. 

Assistant Bank Manager: An assistant bank manager helps the manager in the smooth functioning of the bank and ensures everything gets done on time. 

Bank Branch Manager: A branch manager is responsible for coordinating and directing the operational functions of financial institutions such as banks, building societies or credit unions. They oversee front-office operations, provide high levels of customer service and direct regular team meetings and training sessions.

Chief Manager: A chief manager is responsible for relationship management within the department and with cross-functional teams. He conveys sales meetings and actively participates in driving companies’ goals and objectives. 

Assistant General Bank Manager: An assistant general manager assists the DGM in all his activities and takes care of instructing the juniors in the absence of the DGM. The reports of daily work are taken by the AGM and submitted to the seniors to convey the progress to them.

Deputy General Manager: A deputy general manager manages the actual employees of the company and looks after the Execution of the orders given by his seniors. In case if anything goes wrong in the functioning of the company, the DGM handles it initially. 

Chief General Manager: A chief general manager oversees the functions of all the branches within a state. 

General Manager: A general manager (GM) is responsible for the company's operations, including generating revenue and controlling costs. A general manager sits in the headquarters of the banking company. He/she is a part of senior management. 

After learning the banking industry excellently, probationary officers could rise to the post of Assistant Manager or Manager in the next few years of time span. There seems to be no straightforward way to be a manager in a bank and so aspiring candidates who are interested in making everything to the heights in the industry will have to successfully qualify bank PO exams. Individuals in a career as a Bank PO are required to apply for institutional promotional examinations after acquiring an experience of minimum two years for career progression. 

Also read - Career as an investment banker

How to become a bank PO? What is a bank PO exam? What is the bank PO syllabus? Such questions must have emerged in your mind after knowing numerous benefits and opportunities of career growth in banking sector.

A bank probationary officer's work is highly secure in nature, as the work is controlled by Indian Banks' Association (IBA) rules and regulations. In banking institutions, the rental agreement facility is also quite alluring, that also appears to help probationary officers a great deal as the bank carries the financial burden of their apartment rent. Also, the renting facility for probationary officers at State Bank of India is incredibly attractive. A bank probationary officer or bank officer seems to have the privilege to get home loans, auto loans, personal loans that eventually saves a significant amount of money for the employee. 

A bank PO spends significantly lower monthly payment with respect to the loan compared to the general population. A bank probationary officer's career path seems to be much smoother as compared to several other government employment. A bank officer's career path is also much quicker as compared to other government jobs. On average in every three to four years a  bank probationary officer becomes prepared for promotion and therefore has a relatively quick career progression. They might be conscious that almost all public sector bank chairman have initiated their professions as a probationary officer. A bank probationary officer or a bank manager often enjoys a great reputation in the organisation. Bank employees are labelled a respectable professionals and that is something that many people recognise.

The banking sector is considered one of the Indian economy's fastest-growing industries. The current government focuses on providing every village and city of India with all the banking facilities and banking advantages. And for that to happen, in every part of the country, more and more banks are being inaugurated. More workforce will also be required to meet this need quickly enhancing the industry. Bank probationary officer or bank PO is one such significant rank in the banking sector. It is a management position in the bank, and an applicant is promoted to the post of assistant manager (AM) or deputy manager (DM) after one to two years of training. A large number of students are struggling to just get job opportunities in the banking sector. Aspiring individuals can prepare from previous year bank PO exam such as SBI PO 2019 syllabus is recommended for preparations of bank PO exam 2020. 

There is enormous growth in the career of bank PO. A bank PO can become a general manager after years of experience and clearing the exams for promotion on each level. The working hours of a bank PO are lesser than any other profession. A bank PO gets off on each Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays. The working hours of working Saturdays are less compared to usual working days. They get off on all the public holidays. They also get 12 bank holidays, state holidays. 

Leave for Probationary officer: A career as a bank PO provides flexible working weekly schedule. A bank PO is liable to 12 casual leaves in a year. Once a bank PO completes 11 months in job, he or she becomes liable for 12 privilege leave including casual leave in a year. There is also a provision for sick leave with the maximum pay of 30 days in case you are hospitalised. A probationary officer can also avail 12-day sick leave without a medical certificate.

Besides the basic pay, the probationary officers are eligible for Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), CITY Compensatory Allowance (CCA), special allowance and other allowances. 

The salary of bank PO vary depending on the financial organisations. The bank PO salary in SBI is Rs 27,620 per month (basic pay)+ dearness allowance and other benefits.