How badly did I mess up
I have just received a First Class Degree (First) in BSc Accounting and Finance from University of Birmingham. My gmat score is 700 (Q47 , V38) AWA 5 and CFA Level 1 cleared . In extracurricular I have 1000+ hour of experience as a Rock Climber with some certifications. My age is 28.
Now either I will be applying for Consultinf/IB jobs/Big 4 - Accounting or I will be applying for MSc Finance at UK Universities (LSE, Oxford, Warwick etc.)
I have a major concern with my application
1) Before joining University Of Birmingham, I dropped out of another university due to poor grades, where I studied for 2 years 8 months. I was young and naive. All I did in those days was party, drink tons of beer, chase girls , socialize and Rock Climb(ed). How would this be viewed by Employers and Graduate Schools.
After dropping out of the first university I worked in a junior management position for two years .At that time I faced a lot of hardship like living pay check to pay check when all my friends were going for nice jobs/intern-ships , did not had food to eat for a few nights etc. I learnt from my mistakes and found a sponsor (my parents) went to University of Birmingham where I have straight A's in all subjects except one (B).
Now how do I explain this to my employers or Grad Schools? Should I sugar coat it or speak about it exactly as it happened?
How badly is it going to effect my application for Large Investment Banks, BIG 4 Accounting firms or large Consulting firms because everyone is going to see a gap of 2 years 8 months in my resume.
Please advice me on how to deal with the situation. In my heart I know that I made a mistake and learnt from it but it may still be awkward to explain this to employers.
You messed up and learnt from your mistakes and did great afterwards. Don't see a problem with being honest...
Yes but I am not sure how will the employers like GS, PWC Deloitte view it. Because I have heard over and over again that it is not a process of selection for the IBs but it is a process of elimination. 2 years 8 months gap is big gap.
rock climbing is a whole fucking lot more dangerous, difficult and demanding than a finance drone cubicle gig...any jackass can learn to point click drag and extended an excel tab, very few of your potential future colleagues will ever be able to do what you did...focus on spinning your story so that it highlights leadership and teamwork ability, as well as, the ability to work on your own, take initiative and tackle tough tasks...i would also consider taking the gmat again and getting a 750, this would make you a very, very viable candidate...another level of the cfa would also help tremendously...most important thing: focus on your past as a learning experience and a unique skill set, not some fuck up period you are ashamed of, good luck
Rock Climbing is NOT dangerous except if you want to to climb one of the ten most dangerous peaks in the world. More people get injured playing Rugby than climbing rocks.It is not about risk taking, it is about minimising the risk , giving and receiving clear signals from the team and planning. Even if you slip n number of times each time there will be someone in your team supporting you through the rope. It is like an art. It is more about balance and stamina than muscles and power. - have coached more than 100 students. You should definitely try it sometime.
Retaking GMAT is a good idea, I will make a plan on retaking it soon. Also CFA level 2, is next year now but I need to get a job before that.
I am going to focus on positives but since they are definitely going to question on 2 years 8 months, I need to be prepared for that too.
If they ask me , what were you doing during those 2 y 8m , what do I say? It wont sound nice if I just say that I was drinking, chasing girls etc. Should I say something like - I was exploring and experimenting with many different things, I was reading books (which I do), taking part in social events, exercising etc.
LMAO. Re-read what you just wrote to me about rock climbing. That shit is GOLD. Interviewers will love it and it is precisely what you should be focusing on, build your story around it and expand.
Yeah man you have good story, stop focusing on the shortcomings and start focusing on all that you HAVE done. You have a great story if you spin it the right way. I think you will be fine if you re-take the GMAT and score a little higher....other than that it seems like you have your life together now.
Good luck job hunting..
If I have a good story should I tell them outright what I wrote on this forum earlier about tons of beers, chasing girls than facing extreme hardship, facing poverty, realizing for the first time the inequities in life etc etc? Because this is exactly what happened. And quote some things like "Success is failure turned upside down"
I will focus on positives but they are definitely gonna question about the 2y8m gap. Also any suggestions on how to spin the story in correct way?
I have to make a plan to retake GMAT again, and I am working on it. My life is still not together because I am an international student, if I do not get a work sponsor ( a job) in UK over the next 4 months , I have to go back to India where I will be earning in Indian Rupees but I need to pay back my education loan (to my parents in Dollars).If so t will take a decade to recover the college expenses, if I earn in Indian Rupees.
lol the first name which popped in my mind became my username
oh yea... your name is pretty cool too hahaha...
Honesty is probably your best approach. But I would not dwell on it too much. Instead you talk about why you are stronger and what you have learned because of it. You are not going to have on your resume "Fucked off" Duration: 2 years 8 months As one of you accomplishments. My cousin nearly failed out his freshmen year (of course only 1 year, not two) but after 5 years and an MBA later he was M&A at Deutsche. Nobody is going to think they are hiring a goof off after such a drastic change in behavior. And the rock climbing should help. That stuff isnt easy.
How much honesty is the best policy? Of course I am going to focus on positives but they are still going to question about the 2y 8m. Saying something like drinking beer, chasing girls etc may sound too honest at the risk of sounding stupid. Also should I also explain them something like seeing inequity and poverty for the first time helped see the harsh realities of the world. Before that I was just naive, I really thought the world revolved around me, in school and my first college.
I think you can get by without going into the gritty details. Avoid saying things like you skipped classes because you were hung over. Instead, you tell them that you did not take education as seriously, had problems with time management, goal setting, etc. Then launch into your talking points that you have acquired these qualities, perseverance, time management or whatever else you think they are looking for, and your current grades and other accomplishments are proof. This thing won't keep you down as long as you convince people that you are mature and responsible now.
Your explanation (at least as presented above) seems too off topic for me....too intangible and fluffy, but maybe others would like it. I think your reason for doing poorly and dropping out should be something tangible that you can demonstrate that you have fixed. You want to use this experience to discuss the things that you have learned, and those things need to be job related. You always need to be selling them on why you are qualified for the job. If you want to go the learning about poverty and stuff route, you'll need to think of way to craft that story into demonstrating you have the skills necessary for the job.
To put it another way, the poverty stuff may be WHY you decided to get your life in order but I more interested in hearing HOW you did it.
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