Interviews: Mental health issue as an answer for "Why Low GPA?"

I know that this is a touchy subject.. and for a lot of people problems with mental health is a real thing, but for many they tend to discount the severity of such an issue. Furthermore, bankers might think that it may affect the candidate later on if hired which will affect their productivity or such. If you had a low GPA in your first two years at university due to mental health issues, would you disclose that in an interview?

 
PiratesSayARRR:

Don't say "mental health"....figure out the scientific name for it.... I was battling with [INSERT SCIENTIFIC NAME] during my first two years...since then I have been recovering and have perserved and expect #.# GPA this semester. This demonstrates I can overcome adversity and navigate difficult situations....yadda yadda yadda

Worst advice I have ever seen on this site. And that's saying something.

"Oh, so you're telling me that you're stupid AND retarded... NEXT"

 

While legally they can't discriminate, mental illness is still a taboo subject and in the high-stress, high-pressure world of finance, I'd imagine that a significant percentage of interviewers would ding you. It's unfortunate, but I think that's the case.

That being said, there are certainly ways you can frame it, per above. I personally had below a 3.0 coming into my second year and graduated above a 3.2. You tell them you had a hard time adjusting for whatever reason (e.g. coasted through high school, never really had to work, then college was a wake up), you changed your habits and adjusted, and now have xyz GPA overall after getting xyz GPA your junior/senior year. Make it clear that the past is the past, you can't change the fact that your grades sucked, and now you're performing.

Make Idaho a Semi-Target Again 2016 Not an alumnus of Idaho
 

Yeah this is something I would recommend avoiding in an interview unless for some reason you have gotten to know the interviewer well. First impressions are everything, and in filling a competitive role recruiters will look for any possible excuse to pass on you. By discussing this type of stuff, it is likely that a lot of recruiters will anchor on it, and will view you as either a risk down the road, or not able to maintain professionalism, regardless of whether either of those are true in your specific case.

It sucks, but that's kinda how the system works. Just focus on telling a consistent story. You've landed the interview so obviously your early GPA is not going to be a disqualifier, just convince them that you're right for the job.

 

i commend you for being able to overcome the health issues. I've seen this cripple some people for years and years. I dont know the specifics of your story, and although you obviously can't say it in an interview, i'm going to guess that the effort/willpower for you to get through that time really says something about your character and will be something you'll remember for the rest of your life.

What is the answer to 99 out of 100 questions?
 

If you have to bring it up I would advise framing as having had a specifc, non-repeatable cause. Say maybe you had a bad reaction to another drug that you were given that resulted in a preventable issue...and now you know about it so it can not happen again.

 

I think you would be better off telling them that you were battling an unknown gluten intolerance, then you were diagnosed with Celiac disease and through a process of regimented dietary patterns you were able to get to where you are today.

 
Best Response

Absolutely not. You're better off just pointing out the progression in your grades. Just say you learned focus and determination as part of your experience, the progression will support that and it's not a complete falsehood. Or, even better, tie it to a different experience as suggested above. That way you can point out that you were splitting priorities but ultimately you realized how important good grades were to you.

As an aside, I would have some very candid conversations with both your doctor and therapist before you pursue an incredibly high stress career like banking. I've seen a lot of friends & family suffer with mental illness. Maintaining balance with meds is only half the battle; finding a lifestyle where you can stay mentally strong is just as important.

I'm not suggesting that you don't fulfill your dreams. Just be honest with yourself that potentially jeopardizing your mental health is a risk. Your doctor and therapist can help guide you in how big that risk may be. Adjusting meds is hard (as I'm sure you know), and it can be wacky until you find the right balance, if you ever do. That's if you can even get the time off work to see your therapist/doctor when the time comes.

If you do take the plunge and receive an offer (good luck!), please, please, please know your own warning signs and if they start showing up make that your priority over your career. Sometimes it feels worth pushing off your health for career progression; it's not. There are some things money can't buy.

 

Disclosing mental health issues is risky, many people may not respond favorably. Technically I believe it's illegal to discriminate based on that, but they could easily demonstrate that the rejection was based on the low grades and not the mental health history.

If it's significant enough that it can't be overlooked, I would just say it was a medical issue, and the treatment has been completed and the issue has completely subsided. You could go on to say that you chose to continue your studies rather than taking an extended leave of absence because you wanted to continue learning and were determined to not let your medical issues impede your learning, and that the low grades are not an indication of your intelligence or work ethic, as demonstrated by your substantially improved grades in the latter half.

I would be more concerned about how to get to the interview to begin with; unlike grad school applications, there's no place to write an explanation for the GPA, so maybe you can delineate your major GPA or GPA from the last two years or something. Networking heavily may also be critical in getting past GPA cut-offs.

 

Just tell them you were in the hospital with a serious injury for six weeks and didn't want to bail on the semester so you wouldn't be held back in terms of graduation. So you weren't able to study and get good grades that semester, which bleeped up your GPA, but have been kicking ass ever since.

 

I wouldn't tell them you had mental issues as it is still discriminated against (quite unfortunately and to everyone's detriment). I would say the following: One of my grandparents was quite ill and it affected my studies OR I came down with a severe illness and caused me to mess up my grades OR other major life event.

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
 

I'm a 2x cancer survivor, don't mention any illnesses in an interview. The point of an interview is to get people to relate to you.

I can't think of a time mentioning any illness ever helped me so I've learned my lesson and never bring it up.

For example; I had an interview for IBD at a BB and one of my interviewers was an associate fresh out of business school who wanted to know where I expect to be "4-5 years from now". This guy looked at me like I said the most ridiculous thing when I said I wanted to stay in banking for at least that time because according to him; "even I don't know what I want in four to five years, nobody does".

I had to plan out every move I made over the previous four years to get that interview because recruiting as a nontraditional candidate is brutal. To give you an idea; I went from a top 20 school, to a community college, to a semi target, to research at a small cap HF where I'm now contemplating if I'll still shoot for IBD.

In retrospect it is no wonder I didn't get an offer. How is a guy like him supposed to relate to me during my interview and understand my work ethic? Don't leave room for anyone to interpret something as a weakness because most likely they won't "get it". If you get to the point you are getting interviews like that you're obviously equally capable and should leave nothing to chance.

You should do your homework and join some disability resource groups if you are eligible, then network as hard as you can.

 
FinanceBrah:

In retrospect it is no wonder I didn't get an offer. How is a guy like him supposed to relate to me during my interview and understand my work ethic? Don't leave room for anyone to interpret something as a weakness because most likely they won't "get it". If you get to the point you are getting interviews like that you're obviously equally capable and should leave nothing to chance.

This is excellent advice, both in this context as well as in general.

 

First, I wouldn't bring it up unless they do. Assuming you're actually getting interviews, your GPA is obviously not that big of an issue, or at least not big enough to keep you from getting the job.

If they bring it up, you can go one of two routes:

1) Tell a white lie: say you goofed off the first two years because you were immature, partied, or whatever, but you became more serious as you got further into the program. Good excuse that is forgivable.

2) Say you had a health problem which took some time to successfully treat and distracted your studies. This is risky though because people will start to wonder what type of problem you had that lasted so long and whether it is chronic in nature. Legal or not, this could create down in their mind that could hurt your candidacy.

Whatever you do, I would not bring up mental health / anxiety / depression / girlfriend problems / etc. These are awkward topics and there is no reason to call out the specific nature of the problem. Personally, I would go route #1 and blame it on immaturity or whatever.

 

First of all, I'm sorry you're experiencing mental health issues. They are a curse, truly, and I more than sympathize with your plight--whatever it may be.

That said, no, I do not think it's an excuse for having a low GPA. I'll be straight up: I've battled mental health issues myself since I was a freshman. So did legendary posters on this site like Jared Dillian. It's categorically true that something about the college atmosphere at least exacerbates if not CREATES mental health problems, especially within the best and brightest of us, as there is a well-known positive correlation between intelligence and mental illness.

HOWEVER, I do NOT have a low GPA, and do not think "mental health" is an excuse for having a low GPA at most major universities. Why? Quite simply because in this day and age, unless you go to an ass-backward "university" like Liberty or Bob Jones or tiny college with little endowment, for the vast majority of today's college students there is a categorical ABUNDANCE of resources available. Schools will help you to succeed.

It's usually simple as going to going to a doctor and then going to your schools Student Disabilities Office. They will do anything and everything within your power to help you just as though you had a severe physical disability.

Severe test-taking anxiety? They'll give you extended time on exams and assignments.

Severe ADHD? They'll prod professors to give you written notes for every lecture.

Tend to have panic attacks during interviews? Doctors will give you drugs and the University will tell recruiters to go easy on you (or something).

Hell, most departments even have the power to allow you to RETAKE assignments you failed or forgot.

Are you not taking advantage of the above resources? Did you not know about them? Well guess what? That's not excusable. That's either laziness, ignorance, or total lack of initiative. And all those characteristics COULD and SHOULD disqualify you for high finance internships.

"A modest man, with much to be modest about"
 

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"A modest man, with much to be modest about"

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