Over the last ten years, India has witnessed an extraordinary expansion amongst the private sector banks. As a result, career opportunities have been created on a large scale in the private banking sector. There used to be a time, when private banks would be elitist and knock on the doors of top B-Schools to recruit their work force. But, today, they are open to recruiting able contenders through direct recruitment.

Though career opportunities in private sector banks are available in abundance all across the country, one should have some clarity as to what kind of a job opportunity he / she is looking forward to.

Job opportunities in private banks can broadly be classified into two categories – Sales and Non-Sales profiles.

Sales profiles would broadly be designated as Sales Officer/Executive/Manager, Business Development Officer/Executive/Manager, Customer Acquisition Officer/Manager, etc. In these profiles, employees are expected to acquire new customers for either Deposit Accounts, Loan Accounts or Third-Party Products. All these roles require constant engagement with customers and most of the times it eventually results in field work. Many youngsters at times feel that this is an unsuitable career option, or it is not their cup of tea owing to the demanding nature of such profiles. Undoubtedly, survival in these profiles require a lot of determination, hard work and a die-hard attitude. But having said that, these profiles are extremely rewarding and bring in a sense of achievement and recognition which keeps the employee motivated to grow further in his/her career. Many ex-colleagues of mine who had started their career with Sales, have grown to Vice President, Asst. General Manager, Head of Department levels over the last 15–17 years and continue to add value to the organization.

Non-sales profiles would broadly be designated as Back Office Operations Executives, Customer Service Executives, Finance/Accounts Officers, etc. These roles have negligible or no interaction with customers. Hence, there’s negligible or no pressure of sales or revenue generation. These profiles are highly considered by youngsters, nowadays, as it does not involve field travel. Not a bad career option at all! However, youngsters must remember that ‘no sales’ does not mean ‘no pressure’. These profiles too require a lot of patience, quick learning ability and constant upgradation of one’s skills.

For Sales profiles, one can directly apply through the bank’s website or bank’s branch. Most of the banks regularly conduct walk-in interview drives for hiring candidates for their sales teams.

For Non-sales profiles also, one can apply through bank’s website. However most of the times response to such applications is delayed and may not be lucrative. Many private sector banks have arrangements with training institutes for hiring trained candidates who have undergone a banking course for their non-sales profiles. We like to term such candidates as ‘Banking trained candidates’. Some of the reasons for banks preferring such candidates are: (i) it helps them in saving training cost, (ii) the attrition rates are comparatively much lower and (iii) the performance of such banking trained candidates is relatively better.

There are some reputed banking training institutes that are providing banking course with 100% placement assistance such as Financial Planning Academy (FPA). Do visit them at www.fpa.edu.in. FPA has been established to disseminate Financial Education to the aspiring individuals who are keen to make a career in Finance. FPA is student-focused, result-driven and committed to helping individuals achieve their educational and career goals.

Before you apply for a job, keep in mind the following tips to crack interviews at private sector banks:

• Keep abreast with current affairs
• Work on communication skills
• Be eager to learn
• Be flexible
• Learn about banking, its products, processes, rules & regulations, etc. (One could consider joining a banking course)

Wish you all the very best for your career.