| Topic Name: |
Job Search |
| Message Name: |
never disclose more than you have to |
| Date Posted: |
01/28/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
My first two years of college I kept a 3.5 GPA and made the Dean's List several times. Before my junior year I became severly depressed, but I really didn't understand that at the time. As a result I finshed my last two years and my GPA slid significantly, I quit the part time jobs I had on poor terms, and was not involved in any intermships or campus organizations. So basically I have jack shit for a resume. I graduated from a top 5 B-school with a 3.1 and can't even get through the screening process to be interviewed with anyone.
I have since been treated for depression and it's turned my life around. Should I tell companies that I'm seeking employment with what happened as a way of explaining I have much more to offer than what they see on paper? |
| Message: |
Mental illness is still very much stimatized in our society, and even though depression isn't as scary as, say bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, people still have all kinds of misperceptions.
You don't have to justify your GPA, because nothing you say can make any difference, anyway: either they have a strict policy about a minimum GPA and won't see you or they are flexible, in which case your skill speak for themselves.
Most employers don't care at all about part-time work during college. If anything, they consider it a sign that you were poor, which is actually a negative thing.
Only you can decide what to disclose, but I caution you not to mention it.
I dealt with my state department of rehab due to a back injury, and they always said to cover up as much as you reasonably could, and put a positive spin on what you couldn't.
For example, you might want to say that you were distracted by personal problems, but that you have resolved them and they won't get in the way now. It's none of their business what those problems were.
If your state has a department of rehabilitation, they might be able to help you with your job search. They helped me a great deal, and I urge anyone out there to go to them if they feel they qualify. And it's fairly easy to qualify, at least in California.
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