RBI Grade B 2021 Interview: Preparation Tips

This year in 2021, RBI announced 270 vacancies for the Grade B- General officer post. This is the highest number of vacancies for this post that has been announced by the RBI in many years. The response was no less either; 1.88 lakh candidates applied for the coveted job this year. This is also the highest number of applications received, despite a change in the exam pattern this year. RBI introduced a combination of objective and descriptive exam pattern in 2021 as against an ‘only objective’ based exam pattern followed from past 5 years.

Four months and two phases (of written examination) later, 764 candidates have made it to the final phase of the selection process for RBI Grade B – DR (General) vacancies – the INTERVIEW phase.

First of all, many congratulations, if you have made it to the interview stage. You should be proud of yourself and give a pat on your back for making it this far. However, keep moving towards the finish line; 764 interview candidates for 270 vacancies effectively means that 1 out of 3 is going to finally make it to become RBI Grade B Officer this year. So how to make sure that YOU are that “1 candidate selected out of the 3 candidates for interview”?

In a series of blogs, I will discuss your interview preparation strategy and the mistakes to avoid. So let’s get started without further ado with our first topic of discussion. In this blog I will elaborate on the meaning of an interview. It is important to know the meaning and purpose of an interview to prepare for it well.

What is an interview?

A simple dictionary meaning will tell you that an interview is a meeting at which somebody is asked questions to find out if he/she is suitable for a job. The key words here, to focus on, are “questions” and “suitable”. I have been taking interviews for almost 6-7 years now and have been mentoring for interview preparation for the last 3 years. Over the years I have noticed that the understanding about an interview, amongst the prospective candidates, has remained narrow and information focussed. For the majority, Questions = job related technical information. This is a very narrow understanding and has been the major reason why so many candidates fail at interviews, despite being very bright academically.

So what is the broader or correct understanding of “questions”? Here comes in the second word I asked you to focus on in the definition of an interview – “suitable”. The questions not only revolve around the information related to the job profile but also that help to understand if the candidate is suitable for the organisation. You might have heard about the recruitment concept of “right person for the right job”. Recruitment is a very tedious and costly (and not just in terms of money but also the number of human hours invested) process for any organisation; and therefore, it is imperative for the organisation to find the right person for the job, who is not just likely to excel in the work/task assigned but is also a right fit with the core values and vision of the organisation and would be instrumental in achieving the goals of the organisation. The questions asked in the interview also try to understand the personality of the candidate. So when you prepare for the interview, keep in mind, not just the answer but also how you answer the question.

Do you structure your answer well? Do you try to bluff your way out of an answer you are not sure of? Do you lose focus and confidence if you are unable to answer one question? are you easily confused? Do you tend to give a book definition of a question or are you able to give your own understanding of it? Do you fumble for words while answering? Do you have a negative tone while answering or an apologetic one or a confident one?

So as a first step, when you prepare for the interview, also prepare for your delivery of the answer and not just the content of the answer.

In my next blog, I will discuss the areas of questions you should prepare for. For complete guidance and preparation, you may join our RBI Grade B Interview Course which includes 4 classes on general guidance on interview preparation, 1 formal mock interview by our expert panel which is followed by personalized feedback, and a 1-o-1 session with Mr.Susheel Ragade.

About the Author

Prachi Agarwal is an MBA (Finance) from BIMTECH, Noida and B. Com (Hons) from Hansraj College, Delhi University. She has previously worked with CARE Ratings. At ixamBee, she is faculty for Financial and Management and Securities Market Awareness. Her expertise topics are Ratio analysis, risk management, bond valuation, etc. She is the student’s favorite faculty for her easy-to-understand approach while teaching in Live Classes.

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