5 Critical Warning Signs that could cost you your RBI Grade B dream

For RBI Grade B | 16th January 2023 – 7 mins read 

“The purpose of this blog is to shed light on the critical signs that say that you are not following the right way for studying for the RBI Grade B examination and to alarm you, to watch out for these red flags so you make sure you can strategize and excel in the RBI Grade B examination.”

– Anuj Jindal

This blog post for RBI Grade B Aspirants might be a hard pill to swallow, but just know that my intention here is to not demotivate you but to make sure that you have the time and impetus to rectify your mistakes before the RBI Grade B examination.  

This checklist of mistakes is what I usually give my students and I’m glad that they follow it diligently and avoid the price these mistakes could cost you.  

But I know there are a lot of aspirants out there that may be unaware of these basic elements of the RBI Grade B study plan and so today we will go through the 5 critical warning signs that could cost you your RBI Grade B preparation.  

So, what are these signs? 

1. The first sign is Revision

Now ‘Revision’ itself is an incomplete word. That is because revision itself will not help you clear the exam.  

Especially when we just have 3-4 months in our hands and time is of essence.  

Since our childhood, we all have been taught how to revise and we tend to think that we know the nooks and corners of revising but unfortunately, we have not been taught how to revise the correct way.  

The complete word is ‘Active Revision’. You see, we take months to try and retain just a part of our syllabus. What happens in Active Revision is that we actively complete a part of the syllabus and then revise it, part by part every day. This makes sure that we are able to retain at least 80-90% of our syllabus.  

Watch this video to give you a good glimpse of what exactly is Active Revision.  

To sum it up, just revision is not sufficient, no revision is pointless and the only and complete way is Active Revision.  

2. The second sign is Weekly Tests

If you are not testing yourself weekly, your preparation is vain.  

If you are not taking weekly tests, you are in the dark because you would not know what is your position in the RBI Grade B examination.  

Firstly, you would not know your strengths and your weaknesses so there would be no room for growth or proper allocation of time to the weak spots.  

Secondly, you’d not understand the tone and pattern of questions that will be asked. If you are studying for 6 days, take our 1 day for tests.  

Remember that it’s not a race to complete the syllabus, you need to be tactical and taking tests is the tactic that will make sure that you get selected for the RBI Grade B.  

3. The third sign is, confusion over sources

There is a very strong information overload that is happening in the world right now including in RBI Grade B. Since information is so easily accessible and, in our fingertips, right now, it’s a marketplace.  

So, don’t overthink so much.  

Instead of obsessing and getting stuck on the 5-10% of the syllabus which is difficult and incomprehensible, try strengthening the 90-95% of the syllabus which is doable.  

Whatever information you are consuming, just be diligently following and replicating it in the RBI Grade B examination, and that will make sure that you get selected.  

The problem is not about the sources or information, you should not be insecure about the completeness of the study material. Just focus on completing it.  

Don’t juggle sources, use one source and actively revise it.  

4. The fourth sign is that you don’t have any writing practice

In the phase two of the RBI Grade B exam, 100 marks is allocated to English, 50 marks finance and management is based upon writing, 50 marks ESI based on writing. Objective questions are 100 marks. So, you see out of 300 marks, 200 marks is based on writing. 

I have mentioned more about the RBI Grade B examination exam pattern in this blog.

With knowledge, you can master the objective questions but only writing will assure your selection. The point is to master writing skills and not just be average, therefore you will need to start early.  

A month or two before the exam is not enough to master a skill. If you are not allotting at least one day a week practicing writing then that is a big red flag. The same day you take tests, is a good day to practice writing entirely as well. 

To polish your skills, find RBI Grade B Mock tests.

5. The fifth sign is the balance between current affairs and the syllabus

This is something UPSC students struggle with too, and when RBI Grade B aspirants follow the same vicious cycle of the UPSC aspirants, they pick up this toxic habit too.  

If you are studying for 5 days a week, allocating 1 day for tests.  

Then your time should be divided in such a way that you are allotting at least 2-3 days on each. What I’d advise is, divide the day into 3 slots. So, in the first slot, you can complete your syllabus since you will be fresh. The second slot, you devote to current affairs.  

If you are working, you can do current affairs or listen to current affairs at work. In the third slot, again continue with completing your syllabus.  

This makes sure that you are not going to burn out or get bored with just one aspect and also create that balance between current affairs and your syllabus.  

You can get a comprehensive and organized view on Current Affairs here.

To Sum Up,

These 5 elements will dictate if you will make it or break it in the RBI Grade B examination.

The most important aspect is that you have to start right now. There is no point wasting your time and energy if there are red flags that can hinder your selection.  

Imagine when you are learning how to drive a car, you will need to spend 2-3 months with an expert to make sure that you master your skill.

If you don’t take it seriously, you may risk your life or waste your money.

Therefore, starting right now and with complete devotion is the key to acing the RBI grade B examination.