How important are your school grades in corporate consulting
How
important are your school grades in corporate consulting
Recruiters take a look at your GPA
when you apply for a position in management consulting firms. Your grades are
indicators of your education, the basic foundation for any kind of career. What more are recruiters looking for.
There’s no fixed GPA cutoff for
management consulting. Different firms
set their own standards. However, many
consider that a 3.5 average is safe. If
you’re a fresh graduate, and you got a grade below that, you may be screened
out for interviews. However, you can
compensate it with other impressive factors to shift the attention of the
recruiters.
Consulting club activities
Consulting isn’t all about knowledge.
It is also about skills, something that
you can gain not from books but from actual training. One of the best ways to acquire skills is
through joining management consulting club activities. It initiates workshops, coaching sessions and
training programs where you develop your problem-solving capability,
communication and logical reasoning.
You can also develop these skills
though involvement with other organizations. For instance, if you volunteer for a community
project, you definitely learn how to deal with different kinds of people. If you’re active in sports, you must have
discipline and high tolerance for stress. You can always point these out in your resume.
Extending your network
Truth be told, recommendations of key
people are more reliable than grades because the former is based on actual
performance and interaction. If a
headhunter or consultant in a big firm, can vouch for your abilities and
values, most likely you’ll be considered for an interview. Of course, you are
on your own after you get an interview invitation.
This gives you an important
reason to meet people and extend your network. You can start with your friends and
family. Then you can widen it with your connections at university. Participating in club activities that gather
alumni and representatives from different firms is also a wise move. Make sure you’re updated with these types of
events.
Experience
When you’re a fresh graduate, it
doesn’t necessarily mean you have no experience to include in your job
application. Did you have a part-time
job at any time – even if in a family business? Have you written articles for on a blog of
interest? These may not be necessarily
related to management consulting, but from these jobs, you must have learned
something or gained specific skills that may be of good use.
A student internship
program is
also a source of valuable experience. You’ll
have opportunities to deal with real-life business scenarios. You’ll get an idea of the work culture and
lifestyle of management consultants. You’ll be able to attend team meetings and
interact with senior client leaders. Lastly,
if you have proven you possess the necessary potential, you may be offered a
position in the firm.
Your GPA will play a significant part in your
candidacy, especially when you’ve just graduated from school. However, recruiters aren’t so narrow-minded as to consider your educational background
only. If you can prove you have the
necessary skills and experience, they will certainly give you a chance in an
interview
.