I’ve been recently arguing with my dad about which is more important, network or GPA. I have a decent GPA but he is beginning to worry since I have a lot extracurriculars.
What would you guys say?
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Equal. Banking jobs are too competitive to do poorly on either
I've got a 3.7 GPA, it's not bad but I'm at a non-target.
3.7 minimum 3.8 help way more then network
Is that really true for non-targets too? It seems like, the kids who get internships at my school are mainly focused on their networks. They still maintain a decent GPA (3.5-3.9) but they only ever talk about networks.
Yeah fellow non target. You really have to have both. Network will get your foot in the door. GPA will allow for people to take you more seriously.
Both are needed to win offers.
It's simple : 3.6/3.7GPA + Network> 4.0 GPA + no network> 3.0 GPA + Network
Yeah I agree with this, I went through SA recruiting from a semi/non-target.
Had really strong networking that got me into a lot of interviews, but also also had a 4.0 and got interviews at top EBs where I hadn't spoken to a single person ever.
I'd probably stretch the 4.0 with no network to better than a 3.3 or 3.4 with network under a lot of circumstances, depending on school and assuming the rest of the resume is compelling of course.
i have a 4.0 but with networking and constantly reaching out to people i think my gpa will drop. Got any recommendations on how to network and maintain a 4.0?
do EBs care a lot more about GPA in general? I have a 4.0 and got an interview at one with no networking. I can’t seem to understand why, given my school is a non-target as well
EB meaning european banks or elite boutiques
I can only answer based on myself- My bank tend to care a lot on our GPA and SAT scores. But what scores really do is make networking a lot easier - the chance of me answering your e-mail or meeting for coffee is just higher if you have a high gpa and/or go to a target school. The less of a target, the higher your GPA needs to be for me to see you as a potential candidate and therefore spend the time to network with you. I don’t have a formula but from a target I don’t think anything above 3.7 matters, from a no name I would probably like to see close to 4.0. That being said I have dinged plenty of targets above 3.7 because they don’t have their technicals under control. I know very few Ivy’s have business schools and they rarely take finance early enough for recruiting if they do - but that is a handicap targets needs to breach. Regarding extracurriculars - i just want to see an interest in finance, you don’t need to be in every club but some prior interest is important. I would rather see a 3.8 with one finance club or similar thing than a 3.6 with every experience known to man. Above 3.8 I start looking more at extracurriculars rather than gpa especially if you are at a target/semi target school.
What kind of extracurricular activities do you look for? Like fox hunting and competitive pony prancing championships?
I assume your comment was sarcastic- but will answer anyways. Anything that we think would make you fun to be around and have a chance of making you stand out. Professional pony prancing would certainly make you stand out. You see a lot of resumes that look more or less the same - I bet the professional pony prancer would get some comments in the office which would mean we would remember him/her.
Wow, I am glad my post suddenly garnered so much attention. It feeld like it became a collection of mini AMAs.
Neither is really that important. Most important is interviewing skills, technical studying (for said interviews), and skills learned on the job.
Can´t say. Over here, banks have formally very high hurdles (starting at ~3.8 GPA equiv.), but informally the side door is pretty open, I guess. And as with you guys, target schools are always a big plus, schools like FS, WHU, Cologne, Mannheim, Goethe and so on. Further down in the career, in PE or DAX Corporate, it´s more of a question how you "paid your dues", i.e. where you got your start and how well you did there.
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