Bank PO

A Probationary Officer (PO) in the bank is the starting level appointment for bank officers.

The POs have a one or two years probation period during which they are given exposure to various important functions of the bank such as Loans & Advances, Foreign exchange, Credit Rating, Treasury, Risk Management, IT, Marketing etc. Vacancies in officers cadre in public sector banks are filled from within the organization after promotion of clerks and also by direct recruitment. To meet the shortage of manpower in officers cadre, now a days the public sector banks are required to recruit large number of officers. Most of the vacancies for which recruitments are made are in junior management Graduate Scale I, which is the entry level position for joining a public sector bank as an officer. This entry level position is known as that of probationary officer or management trainee. Bank probationary officers can come from any discipline or field of study, although there is a misconception that only people from commerce or finance background are eligible. A finance or commerce background may help the candidate adjust to the banking environments faster than others but banks recruit talents from diverse backgrounds of science, literature etc.

CAREER PROGRESSION

There is a well defined career progression path in each public sector bank. Performance and potential are key elements which determine this career progression. Most senior officials in public sector banks started their career as clerk or scale I officer only. In tune with the time banks have reviewed their promotion policy and now for bright, hardworking and knowledgeable employees it takes less time to move to higher scales. In may banks a person who joined as an officer may reach to the position of General Manager in 14 years. After that one can aspire for the position of executive director or chairman of a bank. These are very high positions, nomination to which is decided by the Government and not by the individual banks. Many public sector banks have a network of foreign branches. Thus joining a public sector bank gives you the opportunity of working abroad also. Transferability in a bank job provides you the chance of seeking different parts of the country.