Every day there are numerous posts from undergrads or recent grads with nearly identical topics - “Do I have a chance at landing an XYZ entry-level position at ABC”. Posts like these, where all they seek is validation from WSO through means of seeing ‘Yes’ as a response, provide no real benefit to the community or the OP. *Note this rant is not about posts that involve highly specific/unique scenarios where personal guidance is needed.
Why I despise these posts
Many of these jabronis just want self-validation, not advice
If a random WSO member’s one-word comment is the catalyst that influences a career decision, I infer three things:
- You don’t want the job as much as you think you do
- You (currently) lack drive and/or confidence
- You already have a preconceived notion you aren’t qualified, effectively eliminating yourself before you even apply
- 95% of these posts have been answered in the past
So how you do compete? Gain a competitive edge in every area you can
Sure, Brad went to Yale and is expecting his offer two days after his first interview. However, did Brad develop relationships with multiple employees at ABC to vouch for him, or is he relying on his academic background? Did Brad spend 100+ hours preparing for one job in particular? Can Brad articulate exactly why he wants the job?
Most likely, Brad is still going to get the job, but that doesn’t mean you won’t as well. Find the areas where you can outperform others, and you’ll start to see the benefits.
I also highly recommend looking at the user profiles of WSO members who have success stories. Notice their attitude even in times of desperation. You won’t find any doubt portrayed in their old posts, ‘chance’ or ‘possible’ aren’t in their vocabulary. These people are (generally) positive, driven, and find every possible way to leverage themselves to land the position they want.
A moderate GPA from a non-target school isn’t going to eliminate you from a potential job.
Instead, it is this very assumption that will. For 99% of you on this forum, yes – you have a chance. Yes, it is going to take a shitload more work to narrow the gap between yourself and others. Yes, you will have to study x^3 times more than other applicants with better credentials. Just understand how to identify your weaknesses versus other candidates and develop those (applicable) weaknesses into strengths that give you an edge over others, and you will find yourself better situated than many..other than Brad. You can't change the past, but certainly the future.
Apologies for grammar/formatting issues, been two days since sleep.
-Posted by someone who has gone through more than you can imagine
P.S. Congrats on the job offer Brad
so you're telling me there's a chance...
jokes aside, this is spot on. if kids will self-select themselves out of a role, then it just wasn't meant to be.
It's sad because these posts flood WSO and make up maybe 25-33% of total posts these days
Edit: Do you have a chance at halting these do I have a chance posts?
Not after this gets stickied to all undergraduates cough Mods
Typically there is a heavier rush of these types of threads when approaching recruiting season/s, but I agree it's an issue if you don't use the filters... For about two years we've been requiring all new threads to be tagged based on what experience level the thread is related to... If you filter for the more senior topics, might make for a better mix for you.
We're also recently experimenting with certified user only discussions (certified users can decide whether to only allow other certified users to respond)... I think there have only been four of them so far, but they've been gold.
I'm hopeful we can keep quality high and continue to evolve our moderation tools to let the more annoying threads float away (we've already implemented measures here...)
Thanks for your thoughts, the filters are probably just not obvious enough! Patrick
I would like to suggest the creation of a "Chance Me" type forum on this website, much like there is already one for introductions, etc.