Ahhhhh, another direct and to-the-point message from a reader…gotta love it. The email below is from a reader who is interested in a position with my former employer has concerns about whether his GPA will keep him out of the running for an interview. It’s been so long since I was there that I can’t really give any specific insights on his question, but I did try to give him some good general advice.
By the way, a piece of overarching advice that I’d like to share with everyone out there is that you should NEVER expect to be rejected, even if it might seem likely. You’ll understand why I’m saying this when you read the email below. Over the years, I’ve heard many, many stories of people who thought they had the deck stacked against them and somehow were able to do it up big despite all of that. Hell, I’ve lived that sort of story over and over in my life, so I always try to have at least a little bit of faith wheneve I can, even if the odds seem to be working against me. I’d recommend that you all do the same when facing seemingly insurmountable odds because you never know what can happen on the positive side. If you go into a fight thinking that you’ll lose, chances are that you’re bound to get whupped up on…it’s better if you think that you’ve at least got an outside chance of a positive outcome, right?
——-
FF wrote:
“Dear Marquis,
I read an interview you did about your blog on getting hired at consulting firms and would appreciate it if you could lend me some advise. I graduated from the University of Michigan a month ago with a 3.43 GPA. I double majored in Cell and Molecular Biology and Political Science. I did not take the GMAT/GRE, but did take the MCAT with a score in the 98th percentile (37 R). My SAT score is 1430 (out of 1600). I have, what I believe to be an extremely strong resume, with leadership experience in a political campaign, and several student organizations with major accomplishments. However, I know that my GPA is lower than it should be for getting a job/interview at [your former employer]. I know you cannot speak in certain terms, but what would you say my chances of getting an interview are? Do my standardized test scores and strong experiences make my GPA less of a factor, or should I expect to be rejected?
Thanks for your time, I am sure you are extremely busy.
FF”
——-
My response:
FF,
I hope this message finds you doing well. It’s tough for me to answer your question because I’ve been away from my former employer for close to a year now and I’m not sure what they’re looking for in candidates anymore. Once upon a time, your profile would have jumped off of the page at just about any firm from the strength of your standardized test scores, but, with the down economy, I don’t know how your profile would be viewed now.
What I can say is that your scores make you a strong candidate at any job that you’re considering, but you should know that there’s a lot of competition out there. Your GPA is good, but there will be people with higher GPAs and test scores like yours so you’ll want to find some other way to differentiate yourself, including your extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and interactions that you’ll have with company employees. Also, you should put some thought into developing a story that explains why you’d make a strong candidate for Firm X…there are a lot of people competing for these gigs nowadays and you’ll need to make sure that you stick out in the minds of the company representatives that meet you.
I hope this helps. It likely wasn’t the definitive “YES/NO” answer you were looking for, but it’s the best I can do, given the limited knowledge I have about what’s going on at the moment. Take care and good luck.
Marquis
By the way, a piece of overarching advice that I’d like to share with everyone out there is that you should NEVER expect to be rejected, even if it might seem likely. You’ll understand why I’m saying this when you read the email below. Over the years, I’ve heard many, many stories of people who thought they had the deck stacked against them and somehow were able to do it up big despite all of that. Hell, I’ve lived that sort of story over and over in my life, so I always try to have at least a little bit of faith wheneve I can, even if the odds seem to be working against me. I’d recommend that you all do the same when facing seemingly insurmountable odds because you never know what can happen on the positive side. If you go into a fight thinking that you’ll lose, chances are that you’re bound to get whupped up on…it’s better if you think that you’ve at least got an outside chance of a positive outcome, right?
——-
FF wrote:
“Dear Marquis,
I read an interview you did about your blog on getting hired at consulting firms and would appreciate it if you could lend me some advise. I graduated from the University of Michigan a month ago with a 3.43 GPA. I double majored in Cell and Molecular Biology and Political Science. I did not take the GMAT/GRE, but did take the MCAT with a score in the 98th percentile (37 R). My SAT score is 1430 (out of 1600). I have, what I believe to be an extremely strong resume, with leadership experience in a political campaign, and several student organizations with major accomplishments. However, I know that my GPA is lower than it should be for getting a job/interview at [your former employer]. I know you cannot speak in certain terms, but what would you say my chances of getting an interview are? Do my standardized test scores and strong experiences make my GPA less of a factor, or should I expect to be rejected?
Thanks for your time, I am sure you are extremely busy.
FF”
——-
My response:
FF,
I hope this message finds you doing well. It’s tough for me to answer your question because I’ve been away from my former employer for close to a year now and I’m not sure what they’re looking for in candidates anymore. Once upon a time, your profile would have jumped off of the page at just about any firm from the strength of your standardized test scores, but, with the down economy, I don’t know how your profile would be viewed now.
What I can say is that your scores make you a strong candidate at any job that you’re considering, but you should know that there’s a lot of competition out there. Your GPA is good, but there will be people with higher GPAs and test scores like yours so you’ll want to find some other way to differentiate yourself, including your extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and interactions that you’ll have with company employees. Also, you should put some thought into developing a story that explains why you’d make a strong candidate for Firm X…there are a lot of people competing for these gigs nowadays and you’ll need to make sure that you stick out in the minds of the company representatives that meet you.
I hope this helps. It likely wasn’t the definitive “YES/NO” answer you were looking for, but it’s the best I can do, given the limited knowledge I have about what’s going on at the moment. Take care and good luck.
Marquis
