HR Doesn't Know How to Read = Ruined My Life
Accepted an SA offer from a top BB for Tokyo office. Everything was dandy until background check, I was asked for an official transcript. I did not lie about my cumulative gpa.
I dont know if the transcript for my school (US) is typical. They way my school does it is that it categorizes by semester in chronological order and list courses + gpa for that term. At the very end of the transcript it shows the cumulative gpa.
My transcript is two pages. The first page lists my coursework and gpa for Fall 2007, Winter 2008 and the second page list my coursework and gpa for Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Fall 2009, and my current course work, and at the very end of the second page were two lines listing my cumulative gpa (which is exactly what I list on my resume).
I had really crappy gpa my freshman year (3.03 and 2.97) and I have been getting 4.0s every since so my cumulative gpa is up to 3.65.
This HR person received my transcript and sent me a email. "Your offer has been withdrawn because you listed your gpa as 3.65 while your gpa is 3.03 (which is my gpa for my Fall 2007 term)". I called her but she barely speaks english and after a while she said she doesnt want to listen to excuses, and that I lied on my resume and there is no way I get my offer back. WTF?
I already turned down my other offers. I have no other contact in HR with the BB. Receptionist wont transfer me to anyone who I can talk to!!
Is the format of my transcript typical of US universities? I mean arent they experienced with reading transcripts? How the hell could they not know how to read a transcript? What should I do now? The HR person clearly doesnt read and doesnt listen either. What should I do now?
Why don't you email them telling them to read the second page?
I did. I also tried to tell her on the phone and I got a "No excuses" response.
sounds like HR messed up, but you probably fucked up something as HR is usually not this stupid. maybe you yelled at her or something out of frustration... who knows just don't go down without a fight.
if HR won't listen, contact the MD or whoever interviewed you.
if all else fails, find a Japanese friend for help, find a highschool and stalk the japanese teacher, or use google translate as a last resort.
talk to the dudes that interviewed you/gave you the offer
I only have the email of one of the interviewers. No response via email for 3 days. Receptionist wont connect me either. I even tried linkedin.
I'm actually kind of surprised a non-Japanese speaking person got an internship there... it's not like in HK where english is widely used.
Anyway, email the MDs/VPs/everyone in the team you interviewed with. Send them your transcript, and cc them on the email you got from HR. Tell them she didnt pay attention to the dates, that cumulative should be 3.65.
Something else you may also consider... ask your school to help you out. Get the office to sign off on the transcript, or a separate letter to confirm your cumulative GPA.
Edit: Do you have that one contact person's phone number? Call them, explain the situation, send your transcript, highlight relevant parts of transcript, etc.
Don't know how to help you, but I can say that is exactly the way my transcript is organized.
Two Syllables, One Word. Lawsuit.
At-Will Employment. btw I am not familiar with japanese law
Not sure if Japan's employment laws are as stringent as New York's. The offer was made in Japan, the job is based in Japan; it might get mighty complicated to get the jurisdiction issue settled- and then you might wind up being subject to Japanese rather than US law.
Have you spoken with your placement office about this? If they're better than your typical helpless state school placement office (like the one I suffered through), they should be able to do a few things. Obviously, if you've told us the truth and the WHOLE truth, this looks pretty bad for the firm that did this to you.
Send me a PM with the firm's name if it's a European or UK firm with a large NYC presence. Not promising anything (other than the fact that I'll stay quiet about the firm), but I might be able to help if it's MY firm and I get FULL disclosure.
Illini - very true - I would imagine, however, that Japanese law might be more worker-friendly than NYC law, but I agree w/ all above posters that tying this up in a suit would be totally counterproductive.
Don't deal with HR. CALL the people you interviewed with and tell them your situation. Do not reach out to HR again as they are not in control of the process.
Dude, no way... This has to be cleared out sooner or later, just don't give up and keep searching for a way to contact them, ideally the guys who recruited you.
Which bank is this? This is absolutely ridiculous.
This is how you sort this - you phone up their US office, and ask to speak to a senior person in HR - explain the situation.
Be polite, show that your a good catch that is getting through the net because of some inadequate proof reader in HR - they'll fix this for you in 24 hours.
If not, pm me the bank and I'll either do it myself (if its my bank) or if its at another, then most likely I will have a contact and I'll get them to do the same
I would follow up rodney's suggestion with all the proper paperwork, documentation of when the interviews took place, with whom, documentation of the offer, very politely suggest that they take a look at this - for another contact try looking in the investor relations page on their web page. Lawsuits won't get you the job, but a fully documented file usually starts the discussion. A lawsuit will prevent you from getting a job anywere on the street.
If this fails, perhaps they are reacting to your reaction. Just trying to help.
One other thought, take the moron reference off of the thread, in case they are reading here.
This I do not believe.
Agree. That HR woman is a moron. rodney's suggestion is great though...contact the NY office and explain to them.
Your GPA for your first two terms was 3.0. Your GPA for your next three terms was 4.0
How does that make your GPA 3.65? Did you take a lot more coursework sophomore and junior year.
Also, not sure many colleges called their semesters Fall and Winter. Usually Fall and Spring, if they are on a two-term academic year.
the fewer terms that you have grades for, the more each term's grades impact the cumulative gpa
assuming equal credits/semester----> 3+3+4+4+4=18/5= 3.60
btw, I totally just pwned you, lolz
3.6 is not 3.65. Considering that he went to two decimal places everywhere, this is not a rounding error.
WHICH BANK IS THIS?
You need to fight back man. Try to find who's in charge of recruiting in this area. Try to speak to someone you know at the bank.
Good luck and try to be nice with them.
How come you only have one interviewer's email? I've been through the process several times and each time seems like I can list at least 4-6 people unless it was just a first round.
But that really sucks.
My transcript has the identical format. Doesn't list a cumulative til the end and our semesters are labeled Fall and Winter. Schools really should have your cumulative GPA clearly indicated on the first page of the transcript to avoid these types of botches. But yea man, there's no way you should let this go. This would be the most illegitimate, downright unfair reason to rescind an offer ever.
speaking of transcripts,
mine has 2 different branches of the school I am at because i transferred due to location/ grant. Now I only have the current on on there with the expected graduation date due to it still being the same college just 2 different locations. Does this matter at all?
Thanks for the advice so far. I emailed an alum that I have met at information session. He has been giving me advice up till December so I hope he remembers me. If that doesnt work I'll call someone from HR in the US tomorrow. I will keep you guys posted on what happens.
Kid, you just got your first big lesson in life. You may have a 3.65 GPA in school but it has little relavence in real life.....not to take anything away from you educational accomplishments. Most people in HR are idiots, thats why they're in HR. As a matter of fact most people in the world are idiots. When presenting information to people you have to take full responsibility for how your information is perceived. Do you really think some HR person in Japan has any idea how to read that transcript?? Use this incident as a life lesson that when you present anything to anyone, you must assume they're an idiot. Simplify it so much a monkey could grasp it. Don't be rude or condenscending about it, but make it undestandable......assume nothing in this world. Do you really want to work for a company that conducts themselves in this maner.?The place could end up being a nightmare to work! Just a thought. If you really want the job, try conducting your correspondence through a US office. Good luck either way!
There is an temper-proof seal on the envelope that contains my transcript. I dont think I am even supposed to open it, let alone arrange the information so it's easy to read.
I mean... really? What, you think the kid has his transcript in Excel and formats it the way he wants? Makes sense, really, it does...
EDIT: I am also loving the headline picture for this topic. Priceless.
In terms of an official transcript, you don't really have a choice how to present yourself. It comes as it comes and exactly the way your school chooses to represent you. Just because this may be a lesson doesn't make it okay.
I hate it when people start doubting the OP's information... if there is an obvious flaw in logic or in the way he told the story, then by all means call him out on it, but don't be a douche just for the sake of being a douche and showing off on some internet forum. Jeez.
Is this a BB? i doubt it
My transcript says my cumulative GpA at the top and in each box a per term GPA... whyt the fck is ur transcript 3 pages long?
MIne is 2 pages 1 with certification letter and 1 of the grades by term ... i dun see why you need 2-3 pages
He says his is two pages long. Mine is two pages long as well with the exact same format (Cum GPA at very end of second page). Im just curious how this HR person could make such a major error. I mean its a BB and you have to assume they have a lot of foreign interns. Maybe she was new?
Problem solved!!
Just got a email from one of the associates who interviewed me. He said someone forwarded him this thread and told him that it was hilarious. Upon reading this thread, he remembered that one of the incoming summer analyst he pushed for failed the background check due to "lying" about his gpa, and made the connection from there..... What are the odds...considering that I posted less than 9 hours ago??
Anyway I was adviced not to call HR morons again. I was also told that it is in my best interest not to disclose the bank's name (haha hard to figure that one out). I just feel that I owe everyone the outcome after all the advice and support. Thank you very much. I almost went crazy.
wow. this shows that BE CAREFUL of what you post on WSO
Awesome dude...glad it worked out for you!
Turns out WSO is now the standard read along with WSJ for all people working on WS...haha
this was entertaining...glad we could help.
Best thread ever. Glad it worked out!!
Great!
Would love to see the HR's face now though...
Very relieved to hear this after reading this whole thread. Well done.
Awesome story!
good to hear about that!
on a side note, i seriously dont understand why some ppl keep questioning the format of his transcript. mine is pretty much the same as his and it CAN go to 3 pages long. Just cuz your school's transcript might be one or two pages or has the cum gpa at the top or something doesnt mean other schools do it the same way....
WAIS,
Good for you. Glad this story had a happy ending. Now go work your ass off.
This thread reminds me of this post-it note that one of my MDs had on his desk, which reads:
"Working with idiots can kill you."
Jesus, I am glad it worked out alright for you. Good luck!
WowIAmScrewed,
I would be very careful going forward. Now that someone at your bank knows about this thread and knows your username, you can assume that within short time everyone at your bank will know about this. My point is be careful who you criticize and who you call out. This could backfire on you if the wrong person reads this thread (an MD for example). I would even recommend that you request this thread be deleted.
Good luck and I hope everything works out.
Congratulations and I told you that they might be reading here. I have been on the street since '84 and I have seen many things happen. I am glad you persevered.
Former quant - Saloman Bros, Bear, Goldman Sachs and Merchant Bankers Group.
Wow. I can't believe this story is true. Way to go WSO. Kill that job.
Patrick, can you save this guy's job, and take the posting down if he asks you to delete it, maybe PM him?
Non-Japanese speakor woking in Japan? Broh, learn some Japanese, Trust me! I was sent from estee lauder to work in Tokyo for a week.. I didn't know what I was eating.
Congrat on the offer! It means a lot!
this was a great read. congrats! this should be paraphrased and put up in the hall of fame if the original's to be deleted.
WoWIAMSCREWED:
very happy that things worked out for you.
;)
Congrats man! Glad it worked out.
Yeah, agree with flyingmonkey on deleting the post if OP requests and just archiving it in hall of fame with proper edits. We don't want this happy ending to become a disaster...
x
Overreacting - its all good - he didn't say anything terrible and no one knows what bank it is ... so no harm
Good to hear man. As a general rule though, HR is useless. Always try to deal with the people that actually interview you, and hold on to their contact info.
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