Success Story of Anirudh Mukherjee – Selected in IBPS Clerk

If you feel that missing selection by just a few marks is the end, then Anirudh Mukherjee’s story will change your thinking. He faced close failures where even a difference of less than 1 mark stopped him from selection. It’s frustrating and painful, but he didn’t let it break him. Instead, he improved his approach, focused on learning smarter, and kept practicing. Slowly, things started changing, and he finally achieved success in IBPS Clerk. Let’s read his story below.

Q1. Please brief us on when did you start preparing for the competitive exams and how was your preparation journey?

February 2019

Q2. Which exams did you appear in till date and what were their results?

SBI PO 2019 (Pre out by 0.25 marks), IBPS PO 2019 (Missed Final cutoff by 0.9) LIC Assistant (Missed Mains) IBPS Clerk 2019 (Final selection in PNB)

Q3. How did you prepare for the English section?

I used to read novels which are interesting to read like Harry potter series, The Great Gatsby, The Alchemist, Lord of the Rings, 1984, IT (by Stephen King) etc. Reading novels which excites you makes the learning effortless.
I also used to read newspaper daily. My pick for newspaper was The Indian Express. Reading newspaper improved my comprehension, improved my grammar and not to mention the entire lexicon of words I developed from newspaper reading alone. Reading newspaper also helps in keeping yourself abreast of current affairs and helps you develop an opinion on topics that are in vogue, this is crucial for performing good in descriptive section as well as in Interview.
However, those who are having weak foundation should start with building basics. Grammar books, material on internet (like PracticeMock’s vocab and grammar rules PDFs), Mocks and Youtube Videos they all will help beginners and experienced candidates in building basics.

Q4. How did you prepare for the Quantitative Aptitude section?

I started building my basics by watching Youtube videos from various youtube channels (like Meritshine and Infinitesimal) and also joined their facebook groups to practice along with other candidates. This helped me immensely as I abandoned old school methods of solving and started solving questions using smarter methods.
I also bought PracticeMock pro around August and started taking mocks. Giving mocks are indispensable in your preparation, there is hardly any candidate who made it to finals without attempting a single mock. Also, buying good mock test series is as very important. There are many options which sell mocks for cheap which many people fall prey to without knowing the quality of those mocks. PracticeMock is the cream of the crop, PM mocks are always a cut above the level of actual exam so whatever candidate scores in PM mocks they score more than that in actual exam.
Analyzing mocks is another crucial step in this regard. After attempting mocks I used to check what I did wrong, how I could do better in the questions I fumbled and how to attempt it better next time.
Lastly, I would say that quantitative aptitude is a section where you should keep practicing or else you lose you grip on this. Solving questions from Mocks and books is very important once you finish learning the basics.

Q5. How did you prepare for the Reasoning section?

Reasoning is one section where the the concepts can be learned in a bried period but the questions take plenty of time to master.
There are not many concept as such that you must learn to proceed, just general rules rest all is on your analytical skills.
To bolster your grip in this section you need to practice a lot. Dearth of practice is what makes people to fall in this section.
Mocks are again indispensable when you are talking about practicing. I too followed this strategy to make myself stronger in this section my primary source for practice questions was PracticeMock mock tests. PM mocks are again a kingmaker here, their balanced mixture of Intricate and easy questions in mock will make sure that your practice is top class and that the real exam doesn’t catch you off-guard.
Puzzles is the section which requires most of the attention and to prepare it I needed good quality of questions which was provided by PM.

Q6. What was your strategy for the General Awareness section? (If Applicable)

General Awareness is a section which many students undermine but this section, if done correctly, is your ticket to victory.
General awareness must be done regularly and not days before the exam. I used to prepare the section daily through multiple sources and daily YouTube videos, along with that I also used to read newspaper which helped me immensely. Revision is also important in this section for which I used PM capsules and best 200 MCQs pdf, they are super handy and good for last minute revision.

Q7. What was your overall strategy? Did you follow a study schedule? If yes, please share the details.

I developed my strategy by attempting mocks, I used to attack simpler questions/questions from my strong zone first and then move to other ones. Skipping hard and confusing questions is very important, I used to skip the questions If I wasn’t able understand after giving some 20-30 seconds.
Not getting strangled is key because time is limited.

Q8. Did you face any hurdle as well? How did you overcome it?

My biggest hurdle was my fear of not doing well in exams which I overcame by reading Bhagwad Gita. Apart from that I also found reasoning a bit challenging which I overcame by religiously solving more and more questions.

Q9. Did PracticeMock help you in your success? Please elaborate.

I think it is safe to say that PracticeMock helped me in every possible way to crack this exam. What I couldn’t do was my fault but what I did achieve was purely because of blessings and efforts made by my teachers, parents and of course the Almighty God( Nothing happens without God’s will). PracticeMock deserves the equal credit for my progress, without PracticeMock I can’t imagine myself at this point. I have put emphasis on attempting mock but this is also true that mock only works when it comes with great quality. PracticeMock, no doubt, is epitome of quality.
I can totally suggest PracticeMock to any aspirant who is seeking for a good mock series.
What I really like about PracticeMock is how they update questions based on the latest pattern which is being asked. The UI of PracticeMock is very fluid and easy on eyes plus the Analysis window equips you with enough data to improve your game.
PracticeMock is a mock of choice for serious aspirants so I can totally say that the percentile you get is going to be even higher in exam because at PracticeMock you compete only with the best.

Conclusion

Anirudh Mukherjee’s journey shows how close failures can actually shape your success. Missing selection by even less than a mark can break anyone, but he chose to learn from it instead. He focused on improving his basics, practiced regularly, and trusted smart strategies like mocks and analysis. Slowly, his hard work started showing results. His story reminds you that sometimes small improvements make the biggest difference — so keep going, keep learning, and don’t let one or two marks decide your future.

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