Success Story of Dumesh Nikode – Selected in IBPS RRB PO

If you are someone who changed your goal midway and feel unsure about your decision, Dumesh Nikode’s story will really help you. He was preparing for GATE and wanted a career in academics, but things didn’t go as planned. After facing failure, he took a bold step and shifted to banking exams in 2020. Starting from scratch is never easy, but he trusted the process and worked smartly. And in his very first attempt, he cleared IBPS RRB PO. 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?

Initially, I was preparing for GATE exam because I wanted to make career in academies. I appeared for the exam two times but did not crack it. Then I decided to prepare for government exams. After March 2020 I started to prepare banking exam

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

In banking exam it was my first attempt and with the help of hard work I cleared it

Q3. How did you prepare for the English section?

I have done the grammar part(from Wren and Martin).I was not an avid reader of newspaper so I just attempted and analysed mocks and learnt from my mistakes,noted them down so I don’t repeat them in final exam. In last months I started reading economist articles that were really useful. My approach in this section was to read comprehend infer that worked for me.

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

I cleared my basics from rakesh yadav class notes and rs agarwal.Once the basics were done I have just relied on mocks heavily, practicemock’s mains mocks questions were a notch higher than the actual ones that helps you maintain your calmness during a tough exam.When you attempt a mock setting the exam environment before the actual one then only you’ll be able to find your strong area as I’ve found out if any di/suffiency question comes from boat and stream/profit loss, I can do that. So accordingly you have to find your own strong area.

Q5. How did you prepare for the Reasoning section?

I have studied topics like syllogism and inequality from some online sources but mains paper comprises mostly puzzles and seating arrangement, input -output and critical reasoning questions. I have just utilized pm mocks and tried to solve every question on my own then looked for the solution so that I can have a general idea about my strong/weak zone .In most of the mocks I’ve attempted all the Critical reasoning questions ,circular seating , matrix based and never attempted input output question similarly you should plan which to choose/skip.

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

My strong section scoring and game changing section.
For current affair- every morng I used to learn gk from daily gk of affairs cloud and at night I revised what I learnt

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

I have researched all about the exam pattern and process, drawn the conclusion that I need to focus exclusively on the mains exam preparation part because it will help me clearing prelims too.

For prelims time management and speed is most important thing that will come by practice. 20 days before the prelims exam I have started attempting 1 mock daily and analysed after onwards.I have focused extensively on mains from the start reason being mains marks would only get me selection, prelims is just qualifying in nature.

For mains accuracy and choosing the right set of questions is very important. I’ve attempted 1 mock and analyzed it 2 days because most of the learning for mains exam comes from analysing mocks.

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

There are many ups and downs in every aspirant’s journey, sometimes you will think whether you are going to get it or not.The only motivational lines that I had with me during the journey of preparation,were by Steve jobs speech at stanford-:”You can only connect the dots by looking backward not by looking forward.” He says what ever actions you are going to take today if they may have any adverse impact on tomorrow you’ll never take those actions. So take those actions which make you think the efforts that you have put, were the best that led you to the success of today.

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

Practicemock tests have helped a lot. Try to compulsorily appear for the Live Tests as they help you get a national rank which will help you to assess your preparation level. Try to rank within 200 as in a lot of exams the vacancies are around the same( if not lesser).

Q10. What’s your message for the fellow aspirants who are preparing for competitive exams?

Do smart work. There’s a lot of information, videos, Pdfs, mocks in the market. Choose wisely and prepare accordingly.Revision is must when it comes to GA section.Skipping questions and choosing the best ones is an art. Online mocks can help you in that.
Analysing mocks is a must. Utilise your internet connection to its fullest.
Keep patience.

Conclusion

Dumesh Nikode’s story shows that changing your path is not a weakness, it can be your biggest strength. Even after failing in one field, he didn’t let it define him. He started fresh, focused on the right strategy, and trusted mock practice and analysis. Clearing IBPS RRB PO in the very first attempt is not just about hard work, it’s about smart decisions and self-belief. His journey reminds you — it’s never too late to start again, just stay patient and keep moving forward.

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