While filling for the IBPS PO 2016 applications, candidates need to enter their bank preference. This is the main part of the application that should be considered properly before submission of the online application. The preference order will ensure the appropriate allotment during the IBPS recruitment process.

On passing the CWE and the interview part of IBPS, automatic allotment of candidates to the banks mentioned in the preference order would be given. And candidates will have to join only those financial institutions.

Here are some tips to help aspiring candidates to fill in the order of preference for the banks they want to be selected to.

Process of Filling the Preference Order

Since there are over 23 organisations to select from, it is difficult for a candidate to rate the institutions and get the order right. This is significant as any errors on the part of the candidate in listing the preference cannot be altered, once the application is submitted.

What are the factors to consider before choosing the banks?

To help you arrive at the right decision regarding the preference list, here are some factors to consider:

Location of the institution

This is a key factor as most candidates would prefer working in or near the city they reside in. But bank officer jobs are subject to transfers. An office can be transferred to any branch in the country once in every 5 years. Therefore, a candidate cannot rely on being posted in the same branch for the long-term.

However, the chances of being posted in and around the native state are increased when you list the banks that operate through several branches in your state.

Employee Feedback

All Indian public sector banks are completely owned by the Indian Government. These banks operate under the regulation of Reserve Bank of India. Hence the allowances, the pay scale, and the hikes given to employees in all these banks are done uniformly.

However, you can know about the working environment, growth opportunities, and policies of the different banks from the reviews or feed backs given by employees online.

Bank headquarters

The location of the headquarters of a bank is another important factor to consider. This is because banks give more attention to the region where their headquarters are present. This can be seen in the high number of branches present in a region. So, a candidate has high chances of being recruited in the region where the bank headquarter is present.

For candidates who want a posting in North India, a few of the banks to choose include Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, IDBI Bank and Punjab and Sind Bank. These are more concentrated in states like Punjab, Haryana, HP, J&K, Uttarakhand, UP, and Delhi. In a similar way, candidates have to choose for the East and North Eastern sections, the south, west, and eastern parts of India.

Even if posted in areas other than their top preferred regions, youngsters should be ready for taking up the posting as it offers them an excellent opportunity to experience anew language, culture, and people and forge new relationships. Further, since promotions are offered with transfers, it is an opportunity to grow in the institution.