How to Crack IBPS PO Exam in First Attempt: Tips & Tricks

How to Crack IBPS PO in First Attempt: Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) announces the IBPS PO exam dates on its official website. The IBPS PO Prelims exam will be held in October and the mains will be held on November, 2025. Every bank aspirant desires to crack the IBPS PO exam, but with rising competition, the degree of hard work required has also increased. Candidates should read the complete article to understand how to crack IBPS PO 2025 on the first attempt.

Attempt All IBPS PO Prelims Exam Questions with Hints & Solutions Here!

**Steps to practice CDS Chapters are mentioned below

The IBPS PO 2025 Exam will be administered to recruit qualified candidates for the position of Probationary Officer (PO) in various public sector banks across India. IBPS serves all public-sector banks (PNB, BOB, and so on), SBI, RBI, NABARD, SIDBI, LIC & Insurance businesses, and other banks that are regular members of the IBPS society. Read this article to have the best preparation tips & tricks to crack the IBPS PO exam 2025.

IBPS PO Exam Overview 2025

Before getting into the details, let us have a look at the overview of the IBPS PO exam mentioned below:

Practice Subject Wise Chapters 2025 from IBPS PO Prelims

Candidates can follow the steps below to take the Practice:

• 1st Step: Visit Embibe’s official website, i.e., embibe.com.
• 2nd Step: Login/Sign-up through your mobile number/email.
• 3rd Step: Then select your Goal as ‘Banking’ under getting a government job section then Next and now select your exam name as ‘IBPS PO Prelims‘.
• 4th Step: Click Next and select your preferred language as English/Hindi.
• 5th Step: Once Done, click on the below-mentioned Subject links to Start the Practice.

Best Books for IBPS PO Prelims 2025

How to Crack IBPS PO in First Attempt?

Candidates need to be prepared for each topic under the IBPS PO Syllabus to qualify for the exam on the first attempt. Without having a clear knowledge of the selection procedure of IBPS PO, you cannot plan your preparation.

IBPS PO has three stages:

• Stage-1: IBPS PO Prelims,
• Stage-2: IBPS PO Mains, and
• Stage-3: IBPS PO Personal Interview.

Top 10 Tips & Tricks to Crack IBPS PO Exam in First Attempt

Let us now look at how to crack IBPS PO in the first attempt:

1. Know the IBPS PO Syllabus

Go through the detailed IBPS PO syllabus. Know what all topics are included under each of the sections or subjects. Once you understand the vast syllabus, planning your preparation and allocating time for each section will become easier. Also, for each section, list the topics you think are easy and the ones you have never studied before or find difficult.

2. Create A Timetable

This is very important. Once you are thorough with the IBPS PO syllabus and have listed down the easy and difficult topics for each section, you have to create a realistic timetable that you can follow. Allocate separate time slots for each of the sections as well as for reading/learning new concepts, solving practice questions and revision.

At this point, focus more on the three sections of Prelims. If possible, allocate an hour and a half days for the extra sections of the Mains exam, like to read newspapers, improve your General Awareness and Computer Knowledge and develop your writing skills. Keep in mind your daily routine, needs, convenience, strengths and weaknesses while creating the timetable. Spend more time on your weak sections/topics.

3. Develop Reading Habits

Reading plays a very crucial role in your preparation for IBPS PO for both Prelims and Mains. Reading helps understand the theory behind every concept of the Quantitative Aptitude section and Logical Reasoning section. Reading is necessary to clearly understand the grammatical rules and their usage for the English Language section. General Awareness, Computer Aptitude and English Language Descriptive Test sections need an immense reading of a wide range of topics regularly as you have to memorize a lot of information to score well in these sections.

So, allocate some time every day for reading. Read newspapers, magazines of current affairs, English Grammar books, English novels, theories for Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude sections. Improve your reading speed and make sure you understand what you read. Also, make notes of / highlight important points as you read – formulas, steps to solve questions, important rules, facts, and other important points.

4. Clear Your Concepts

Have your basics clear for every concept. For example, while the General Awareness, Computer Aptitude and English Language sections are about memorizing various important facts, details, and rules, the Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability sections need one to dive deep and understand the underlying meaning of the various topics. Without this, you won’t be able even to identify the concepts tested in a particular question.

5. Memorize Important Points

The various formulas, steps to solve problems, rules, and other important points and facts should be at your fingertips so that you don’t have to think twice before attempting a question. So, understand them first and then memorize them by heart. Then, practice them from time to time, especially the various formulas.

6. Go through Example Questions

Going through example problems for every topic you finish will give you an idea about the type of questions asked in the exam and how to approach them. For example, you will discover that some questions need common sense to solve. Some need the application of formulas. Some may need a more critical and analytical approach, and some are based on your knowledge and ability to memorize information.

7. Solve Practice Questions

After going through the example questions, you need to solve IBPS PO practice questions diligently. This will improve your problem-solving abilities. So, solve a sufficient number of practice questions for every topic during the time allocated for practising. Also, it would help if you marked the questions that you are unable to answer or get incorrect so that you can visit them later and revise/practice.

8. Improve Your Time Management

If you study religiously in the above manner, you will find that most of the topics in the IBPS PO syllabus are easy, and you can solve most of the questions. However, what makes the exam challenging is not the vast syllabus but the time duration within which you need to finish the whole paper. In Prelims, you have to answer 100 questions in 1 hour.

In Mains, you have to answer 157 questions (Objective and Descriptive) in 3 hours and 30 minutes. Moreover, in both Prelims and Mains, you need to finish every section within the time allocated for it. So, you need to have good time management skills, and you need to maintain a balance between your speed and accuracy. This can be achieved only with time-bound practice.

So, as you solve practice questions, develop the habit of keeping track of the time you are spending on each question and learn how to control it. Of course, the time spent per question will depend upon the difficulty level of the question. So, you need to assess that as well, and this can be achieved when you solve a wide variety of questions of different difficulty levels.

9. Take Mock Tests

Taking IBPS PO mock tests regularly will help you in multiple ways. First, you will get used to the pattern and level of the exam. Second, you will identify the important topics as well as the topics where you are weak at. Third, you will build stamina and concentration and, above all, develop a smart strategy to take the exam so that your accuracy is maximum and negative marking minimum.

So, once you finish the whole syllabus, take as many IBPS PO mock tests as possible and improve your weaknesses and overall test-taking strategy.

10. Revise Regularly

Even if you feel confident about a particular topic or subject, revise them on a regular basis. Otherwise, you will forget. Regular revision of the whole syllabus is highly important and must be a part of your preparation plan.

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern 2025

IBPS PO Paper Pattern for Prelims as mentioned below:

It has three sections, namely, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. However, it is just qualifying in nature.

IBPS PO Mains Exam Pattern 2025

Candidates shortlisted in the Prelims can appear for the Mains exam.

It has an Objective Test and a Descriptive Test. The Objective Test has four sections: English Language, Data Analysis and Interpretation, Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, and General Awareness. The Descriptive Test (English Language) includes Letter Writing and Essay.

Note: Candidates who clear the IBPS PO Mains are called for a Personal Interview, and the final selection is based on the marks secured by the candidates in Mains and PI.

Now that you know how to crack IBPS PO in the first attempt make the best use of the remaining time. Finish the IBPS PO syllabus and take mock tests. You can take IBPS PO mock tests for on Embibe. Embibe also provides detailed feedback on your tests. This will help you identify your areas of improvement. Then all you need to do is focus on those particular aspects, and your score will improve.

FAQs on IBPS PO Study Tips and Strategies

Candidates can check FAQs related to IBPS PO 2025 preparation below:

Q.1: What is the IBPS PO Prelims syllabus?
Ans: The syllabus for the preliminary exam includes three subjects: English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. English Language (30 marks) Quantitative Aptitude (35 marks) Reasoning (35 marks) Reading Comprehension.

Q.2: How many hours of study are required to crack IBPS PO?
Ans: A daily study plan of 5 to 6 hours for 6 months is more than enough to clear IBPS PO. Plan your studies with adequate breaks. Buy books which cover all the topics.

Q.3: Can I crack IBPS PO in the first attempt?
Ans: Yes, it is absolutely possible to crack IBPS PO in your very first attempt. If you go through the IBPS PO syllabus in detail, you will realize that most of the syllabus is basic, high school. What makes it difficult for most candidates to clear the exam is the lack of a proper study plan.

Q.4. Is coaching necessary to crack the IBPS PO exam on the first attempt?
Ans: You need to give a proper direction to your preparation, and you can easily clear any bank exam on the first attempt, even without coaching. The ones who get through these exams to secure a bank job are not always the ones who take coaching classes regularly.

Q.5: Is a Bank PO job good?
Ans: The job of a bank probationary officer (PO) is considered a lucrative career option and a white-collar job. Every year lakhs of aspirants contest for PO exams. The job offers high career growth and prospects for a bright future in banking.

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We hope this detailed article on how to crack IBPS PO in first attempt has provided you with sufficient information on how to prepare for the examination. Stay tuned to Embibe for more updates related to the IBPS PO Exam 2025.