| Topic Name: |
What "stuff" do new employees need? |
| Message Name: |
My Low GPA Strategy |
| Date Posted: |
01/09/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Hi foxylady12 - congratulations on getting through.
Sorry to hijack your post. I remember you from the lowest GPA thread. Since you've gotten in, could you offer any advice on non-GPA distinctions for the initial cut? What sort of leadership examples were useful for you in the PEI?
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| Message: |
Keep in mind that I have no idea how recruiters reacted to individual parts of my application. Overall, of course, I passed muster, but this doesn't mean that everything I did was good. You'll have to rely on your own intuition and, perhaps, the feedback to this post of more experienced McK-ites.
So, here's my breakdown of what-I-did-to-land-an-interview.
1. PROVIDED CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF INTELLECTUAL ABILITY IN RESUME. GPA is just one metric, albeit a useful one, for gauging intellect. There are others; find them and use them. For example, while I had a poor GPA, my GREs were excellent. And, though at the time of application I had no publications, I had accomplished some very significant things in lab that are leading to a single major publication, which I included as strong bullet points on my resume.
2. ADDRESSSED REASONS FOR LOW GPA IN COVER LETTER. As I stated in the previous post, I think this was risky, perhaps not for everyone. I've spent a lot of time (years, in fact) trying to figure out what happened in undergrad, and I think certain characteristics I possess were detrimental in the classroom, but have been great strengths in other environments. I made the case in my cover letter that McK would be one of these environments. This strategy is probably a bit specific to me, so my general advice would be to seriously and thoughtfully consider why McK should hire you and express it in the cover letter. Don't just give them the same old tripe as everyone else.
3. WROTE A THOUGHTFUL, ARTICULATE TEAMWORK ESSAY. Again, I wanted to contribute some real content, not just rehash the same points that every other candidate would cover. It had to be honest, reflective and memorable. (If you're not a good writer, come up with the content yourself, but get help on the presentation. Same for the cover letter.)
4. APPLIED TO SUMMER APD PROGRAM FIRST. McK offers a weekend seminar for upcoming APD graduates to recruit them into consulting. The one to which I applied was called Insight Healthcare (there's also an Insight Law and Discovery Weekend; see APD site under "Programs"). I was NOT accepted to the summer program, but was offered an interview for a full-time position without the need to reapply. In hindsight, I think there were two benefits to this approach: first, it indicated a very strong interest in McKinsey and second, my application was part of a far smaller group.
As far as the leadership PEI, both formal and informal positions can by useful. In fact, I relied heavily on my informal leadership roles because they were more challenging and prompted more interesting discussions. I'm hesitant to give specific examples because they're just not recyclable. You need to spend some time thinking about your own history, digging up times when you were exhibiting leadership skills, perhaps without even knowing it. Let me emphasize: these experiences need not have been perfect. In fact, I think McK is most interested in the ways you screwed up, how you analyzed your mistakes, addressed them and learned from them.
I plan to continue visiting this board and would be happy to address any further questions you have!
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