Public sector Banks plan common interview for jobs

KOLKATA: It may become a lot easier to get a job at nationalised banks. Banks are planning to have a common interview that could open up opportunities in one go in many banks for candidates, who now have to give multiple interviews for jobs in various banks. 

Public sector banks, which recruit about 30,000-40,000 people a year on an average, expect to save time and cost once this common interview becomes a reality. As many as 20 banks are expected to give the mandate toInstitute of Banking Personnel Selection, or IBPS, to conduct the common interview on their behalf. IBPS also conducts common written test for these banks. 

Senior bank executives said the governing body of IBPS had come up with the suggestion and the member banks gave their in-principle consent to the proposal at a meeting held on September 14. Banks are now required to get the respective board clearance before they give IBPS the final mandate. This looks a certainty as the selection body is run by senior bank executives with Bank of BarodaBSE 0.97 % chief MD Mallya being the chairman, while Punjab National BankBSE 1.84 % chairman KR Kamath, Canara Bank's S Raman and IDBI Bank's RM Malla are some of the members. 

The new system may be introduced as early as this year itself and candidates who took the common written exam on June 17 may be the first to attend the common interview. Over 7.5 lakh candidates took the exam for probationary officers and the result is expected in the first week of October. 

"Standardisation of the selection process will reduce the workload for banks," said a governing body member of IBPS. "The present system is not time and cost-effective." IBPS director AS Bhattacharya declined to comment. 

In the present system, a few top candidates appear for multiple interviews of different banks and they tend to get offer letters from most banks. The next lot gets the opportunity only when the first lot is absorbed, making the hiring process lengthy. 

Sources said that IBPS is planning to waive the fee for appearing in the common interview. At present, candidates need to shell out Rs 150-250 per interview, which banks recover from candidates as the cost for conducting interviews. 

State Bank of India will not be part of this common selection test, although its chairman Pratip Chaudhuri is a member of IBPS governing body. Reserve Bank of India executive director R Gandhi and financial servicesjoint secretary Umesh Kumar are also members. 

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com