Should Private Indian Banks Use IBPS for Recruitment?

At present, the private banks in India do not utilize the services of IBPS for filling vacant banking positions such as those of clerks, probationary officers and specialist officers. However, in the last two years, a trend has emerged in which the private financial institutions are showing interest in those candidates who have managed to clear the IBPS exams and possess a valid score.Some Examples of this TrendThe recent advertisement for clerical and probationary officer recruitment issued by Federal Bank mentions the necessity for the candidates to show a valid IBPS scorecard. The card is valid only for a year from the date of exam clearance.Prior to 2012 recruitments, Federal used to conduct its own recruitment exam. Apart from the scorecard, the candidate should have a minimum of 50 percent marks in non-Science streams and a minimum of 55 percent marks in Science stream.Another example is the recruitment announcement made by the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) bank for November 2012 and February 2013 probationary positions citing the IBPS score as one of the primary requirements apart from a bachelor’s degree in any subject from a recognized university with a minimum of 55 percent marks.So the fact is that the private banks are using the IBPS score for recruitment, but not directly. They are not affiliated to this third-party institution and the use of the scorecard functions as a ‘filtering’ strategy to attract only capable candidates.Now that you know this, it is good to know about some other important things pertaining to jobs in the private financial institutions.1) There is no quota system in them, which means that they value talent only.2) Since a basic graduation degree is the primary criteria, most of the banks rely on campus recruitment. It is only in the last couple of years that they started to offer recruitment opportunities through direct walk-in or through public notifications in major newspapers.3) Private bank job vacancies are less than the public banks. In other words, your chances of getting through in public financial institutions are more than in the private ones.4) Sometimes they prefer candidates with MBA degree. So if you have one, try the banking field.5) If salary and growth matter to you, the private ones win hands down. First of all, there are no fixed salary packages. It all depends on the capability of the candidate. Secondly, it is often said that working in public banks leads to stagnation after few years as the growth opportunities are less and available only after serving fixed number of years. This is not the case with the private institutions. Growth is proportional to hard work shown by any candidate.