Hey everyone, I’m kind of nervous. My GPA is the only negative thing that will appear on my resume, plus the fact that I’ve been in school a long time. I know I can’t change those facts too much. I do have decent, growable communication and presentation skills. What should I do? How can I get noticed by good companies? Can I still get hired by major firms?
Analyst at bulge, no. Analyst at boutique, maybe.
Uh so I might not get a job at bulge? Is that what you mean?
BB have cutoffs for interviews 3.5 I believe is the cutoff… boutiques are “a little bit” more lenient…not to say its any easier anyways what’s your gpa anyways sub 3.2 , sub 3 ??
sub 3.2 Actually, is there anything I can do to like improve my chances all around?
A path towards getting in a BB is by using the boutique route for a few years, assuming you are exceptional during the work experience you gain in a respectable firm. You can then take an MBA from either Wharton or Harvard, then be able to jump to a BB.
Linfone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh so I might not get a job at bulge? Is that what > you mean? Definitely wont, especially if you took 6 years or so to graduate. Look towards the SEC or FDIC
jackofalltrades Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A path towards getting in a BB is by using the > boutique route for a few years, assuming you are > exceptional during the work experience you gain in > a respectable firm. You can then take an MBA from > either Wharton or Harvard, then be able to jump to > a BB. How’s this guy getting into harvard with a sub 3.2 gpa?
That calls for a GMAT north of 750 and an experience in Haiti feeding the victims of the recent tragedy. Anything is possible.
Just don’t put your GPA on your resume, if the place wants to know it they will ask If its not satisfactory, explain why you skipped class sophomore year because you were banging some freshman and didn’t care at the time… you’ve matured (maybe improvement in GPA jr/sn year?) and are still smart hire at a discount to value
Redox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > jackofalltrades Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > A path towards getting in a BB is by using the > > boutique route for a few years, assuming you > are > > exceptional during the work experience you gain > in > > a respectable firm. You can then take an MBA > from > > either Wharton or Harvard, then be able to jump > to > > a BB. > > > How’s this guy getting into harvard with a sub 3.2 > gpa? Of course you can get into harvard with a sub 3.2 gpa…if it’s sub 3.0, then it becomes significantly harder…you need to look at the class profile of HBS
O.G. Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Redox Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > jackofalltrades Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > A path towards getting in a BB is by using > the > > > boutique route for a few years, assuming you > > are > > > exceptional during the work experience you > gain > > in > > > a respectable firm. You can then take an MBA > > from > > > either Wharton or Harvard, then be able to > jump > > to > > > a BB. > > > > > > How’s this guy getting into harvard with a sub > 3.2 > > gpa? > > > Of course you can get into harvard with a sub 3.2 > gpa…if it’s sub 3.0, then it becomes > significantly harder…you need to look at the > class profile of HBS Sure, it’s possible that people get into HBS with a 3.2, but this is highly unlikely. I have several dozen friends that are either at HBS now or attended before and saw a resume book from a couple years ago; the HBS candidates are virtually uniformly impressive, at least on paper. Even at other top schools including Wharton, MIT and Kellogg, there was quite a bit more variability in the quality of students in my opinion. Wow, there is so much inaccurate advice on this thread. First of all, I don’t know why anyone would want to spend a few years doing sell-side research at a boutique as an associate, and then lateral to a bulge bracket; what does that really accomplish for someone? They’d basically be doing a junior role for 4-6 years, only under a different roof – sounds pretty crappy if you ask me. Also, the major equity research firms recruit at plenty of firms besides HBS and Wharton, so you can always go the MBA route and then get into equity research if you really want to. However, if you were to do equity research and go back to business school, I don’t know why you’d even consider doing equity research afterward. Best advice I can give to the original poster is to (1) spruce up your resume by showing creativity, leadership, and analytical skill; and (2) network aggressively. Your 3.2 GPA won’t keep you out; rather, your lack of relevant work experience or contacts will. These are areas you have to focus on…after all, you already know you can’t change a 3.2 GPA. The fact that it’s not a good GPA is already a foregone conclusion…concentrate your efforts on things you can actually control, like learning about the industry, fixing your resume/cover letter so that it’s not so “academic,” and meeting the right people who can put in a good word for you.
Linfone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sub 3.2 > > Actually, is there anything I can do to like > improve my chances all around? Yes - networking and knowing people.
^^ To all who’ve responded you’ve been great help. I will focus more on my resume/cover letter and networking. Still I had a question about networking: what’s the best way to find someone at a boutique firm I’m targeting? What I’m asking is what’s the best way to network? Also, boutique just means they’re smaller in market cap than a bulge, right? What if they had a good year - the one I’m looking at did a major deal last year and its (stock) value has essentially doubled from 2005/6? BTW, I’m a member of my school’s BBA/Accting/Econ club; if there’s a way to use this in my pursuit, it’d be helpful.
Linfone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What I’m asking is > what’s the best way to network? Students in grad and undergrad programs have a distinct advantage in networking as students. Industry people are very open to talking about their career, experience, and opportunities – at cocktail parties, the bar, the gym - - anywhere that you strike up a conversation. So the best way to network is to be curious, friendly, attend events, be social, and be a discreet but direct marketing tool for yourself to talk about what you want to do, where you want to go, and talk to people about what they do and if there is any chance that they could give you a number, or a contact, or a card, or a reference. Be friendly and always grateful. Don’t take people being humble for granted. Often, the most humble people at the cocktail parties or the events are the ones that have the most experience, or are the highest executives in their company. These people are the decision making people that will be able to get you a job.
That’s what I was looking for. Thanks Philip. So if I had a professor who is teaching part time at my school, I should chat him or her up? I know a professor who is a CFA as well. I think the problem though is that office hours are more directed to students who had questions about classwork/homework. Should I begin email correspondence instead or is face-to-face more appropriate?
In my experience… no one ever goes to office hours… Profs. love it when people swing by… even to shoot the shit.
Network, network, network. Use your alumni from either college or high school.
philip.platt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Linfone Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > What I’m asking is > > what’s the best way to network? > > Students in grad and undergrad programs have a > distinct advantage in networking as students. > Industry people are very open to talking about > their career, experience, and opportunities – at > cocktail parties, the bar, the gym - - anywhere > that you strike up a conversation. This is a little off topic but goes to the student advantage in networking. I worked for a startup and did guerrilla market reserach in undergrad by calling companies (arcitecture firms and engineering firms mostly) to find out about their operations and target our marketing approach. I probably called up over 100 firms and developed 10 or 20 or so relationships…and I wasn’t even trying to break in. Just pick up the phone, people will talk to you for an informational interview. You’d be surprised how few people have the gumption to just ring somebody up. You will put yourself at an advantage by doing so.
Thank you for the clarification, Funancial and okiew. Eureka, so who do I call? (And please don’t say Ghostbusters…) I mean, can I just call up some random guy working in my target firm? How would I even find this person? How do I even break the ice?