list course on resume if I did poorly on it?

Hey, just had a quick question regarding the Relevant Courses section on the resume. If I got a C+ in Financial Accounting, should I list it on my resume? It was a class I bombed the final in freshman year because I was sick.

Would it be lying to not list it? Obviously, I would rather not talk about it in an interview.

On a related note, during an interview, do interviewers have a copy of the transcript? For example, will they ask you about specific courses..."Why did you get a B- in this class, etc."? I noticed that they don't ask for transcripts to be submitted during the application process. But will they ask me to bring one to an interview?

Thanks for any help!

 
Best Response

List it - Financial Accounting is one of the most relevant classes you can take in undergrad. However, you should look the course material over again and know it well in case you're asked about it.

The transcript issue has been visited numerous times on other posts. I went through many BB and MM IBD interviews, and not one of them asked for a transcript copy before the interviews. More likely, you'll have to turn it in after you accept the offer. HR just wants to verify your GPA, that you're enrolled in the University, haven't been suspended or anything, and are on pace to graduate. I've never heard of specific class grades being checked or being an issue.

 

I've had it happen maybe once or twice when I was interviewing, but no it's not too common. In most cases, if they want to know how proficient you are in the subject, they'll ask you technical questions to gauge your grasp on the subject. For the most part, they'll assume your listed GPA is indicative of how you would have performed in the relevant classes as well. There's usually not enough time or enough interest to go through your resume class by class.

 

You should be fine, and it probably won't be all that emphasized during the actual interview process. I can't recall a time when a banker grilled me specfically about the grades I received in my different business and non-business classes. The only time I had to give a banker a specific grade was after they asked me what my least favorite/most difficult class was during my college career. In this case, I would make sure to list a class that's less relevant to banking than financial accounting, i.e. art history or english literature. Any interviewer will see your major and cumulative GPA on your resume, and assuming this number is high enough (3.5 or above), they will almost certainly spend a majority of their time evaluating your interest in banking, communication skills, etc.

A few of the banks that I interviewed at this fall requested that I bring an "unofficial" resume with me to the superday. In almost all of these cases, my transcript was handed directly to a recruiter at the beginning or end of the superday and was kept for official records. Interviewers did not have my transcript in front of them during interviews. Needless to say, given that you already were invited to the interview, this is primarily to check that you don't have a discplinary record and the information on your resume is accurate.

One MM firm I interviewed with during FT actually asked me to e-mail an unofficial transcript to the IB analyst recruiter a couple of days before my superday. The recruiter happened to be one of my many interviewers that day. At the beginning of the interview with her, she took it out and asked me questions about a few classes where my grades weren't up to par with the rest. Granted that these grades were from freshman year like yours, I gave a quick explanation about adjusting to college and being overcommitted and the interviewer moved on from there.

 

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