Bank on Banking

Before anyone says it, yes, the school you attend definitely plays an impact on what exactly constitutes a bad GPA, and just how many points or tenths of a point recruiters are willing to overlook. A 3.5 from a non-target does look different to recruiters than a 3.5 from a target, and at the end of the day, all GPAs are not created equal. That said, target or not, Harvard or not, school name aside, there is definitely a ranking of GPAs for undergraduate students. Just because you have a bad GPA, you do not necessarily have to completely give up on banking- it might be a more difficult path to follow, but I have put together a few tips on getting around your GPA. Before we go into the tips, let’s first cover what exactly constitutes a bad GPA vs. a decent GPA.

What really constitutes a bad GPA?

Let’s cut right to it. A GPA of 3.4 or better is not, by any means, a bad GPA, and while many ill-informed people will try to tell you that you need a 3.8 or better to break into banking, they are absolutely wrong. There is no hard cutoff greater than a 3.4 to eliminate students across the board. Therefore, while you should certainly shoot for more than a 3.4 cumulative GPA, having a 3.4+ cumulative GPA is definitely strong, and will not keep you out of banking by itself. For more on the stronger GPA ranges as well as other GPA issues, click here.

Getting beyond the strong GPAs, let’s get into those that are not so strong. A GPA in the range of 3.2 to 3.4 is often thought of as bad, inexcusable, and hopeless in terms of breaking into investment. While a GPA in this range is definitely less than ideal, it is definitely not hopeless, and is not a terrible GPA by any means. Coupling a GPA in this range with a difficult major, some strong leadership experience, some networking, or some internship experience will definitely help to take the focus off your GPA and put your right back into IB opportunity contention. If you have the opportunity, I would absolutely recommend that you boost your GPA and get it as close to the 3.4+ as possible, but if not, even the strictest of cutoff points for IB is generally around a 3.3, and most of you in this range will fall at that level or above it (especially if rounding to 1 decimal place), so focus on the rest of your resume in addition to boosting your GPA and make the most of it.

Next we end up in the first category that I would actually consider bad – the 3.0 to 3.2 category. This category is the first category that is essentially eliminated from the applicant pool of many IB opportunities given the minimum GPA requirement of a 3.3, or even 3.2. Furthermore, applicants falling in this range of GPAs will have a tough time selling their candidacy to small boutiques, since these shops often rely on GPA as a bellwether of aptitude and ability to handle the workload and analytical demands of the job. Getting past the negative of the GPA, hope is not lost here in that there are still many firms that do not have hard cutoff points for cumulative GPA, and while the rest of your resume will be heavily scrutinized, if evaluated, you still have the opportunity to utilize some of the tips to break in, in spite of a weak GPA. Even with a GPA of this range, you are still in contention and can still show the cumulative GPA on your resume. Assuming you have a strong major GPA and have taken several upper level courses in your major, this supplemental GPA can definitely help to offset a weak cumulative GPA. While I would definitely focus on bringing the GPA up if in this range and make it a priority, if possible, I would not lose sight of the other aspects of my resume, and make sure to keep my major GPA as high as possible.

Finally, we come to the range that is truly cause for concern – GPAs below 3.0. When your cumulative GPA is below a 3.0, you need to absolutely focus on getting it back above a 3.0, even if the studying comes at the expense of other activities – in this case, if you have the opportunity, you want to that GPA above a 3.0 and you want a final, graduating GPA over 3.0. While some will disagree with this next statement, in my opinion, cumulative GPAs under 3.0 should be left off the resume. In other words, either display just the major GPA, or no GPA at all – I prefer listing the major GPA alone, but to each his/her own. The reason I suggest this if I see a resume without a cumulative GPA, I will usually assume that the GPA is around, but no higher than a 3.0 and go from there. If, however, I see a GPA of 2.86 or some such thing, in my mind I will have already moved past that candidate. Yes, I know many people will say that without a cumulative GPA they will do the same thing, for others, seeing a strong major GPA is enough to give the rest of the resume a look – however, if the GPA I see is a cumulative GPA of 2.91 or something, I will definitely have a very tough time getting passed it. Furthermore, I know a few friends in IB (yes, full disclosure, they come from target schools), who have cumulative GPAs in the very low 3s, and have decided to leave the cumulative GPA off the resume and display on the major GPA. Bottom line, if you’ve got the opportunity, you need to get that GPA above a 3.0.

Getting around the bad GPA

Now that we’ve pretty much figured out where the bad, decent and good GPAs lie on the scale, let’s go into how to best overcome, or at least try to overcome this one lacking attribute and still land in, or move towards landing in investment banking.

Networking

First, and foremost, networking is always the key to getting over any hurdle. If someone has deep enough connections, as I’m sure you’ve all heard stories, that someone can absolutely land a gig in IB regardless of background, GPA, experience, etc. Now I realize that most of us, myself included, do not have these sorts of connections, however, most of us do have some connections, or have access to a some sort of a network of bankers, whether through family, through friends or through school/alumni. The problem ultimately becomes the applicant’s trepidation to call on them. Yes, reaching out to alumni is often hard enough when you have a 3.8 GPA and attend a target school – it will certainly be more difficult, for many, when they have just a 3.3 GPA and attend a semi- or non-target. That said, you cannot, I repeat, you absolutely cannot talk yourself out of opportunities like that. Do not focus on the negative – instead, reach out to your contacts and build your network. As time moves forward and the relationship continues to remain alive, the comfort level will begin to rise, and the ability to overlook a small bump in the application/resume becomes much easier – result, you just might end up with a resume push/recommendation. To be fair, you may also end up with zero support – then again, if you don’t reach out at all, you will definitely end up with zero support. Don’t let fear and one dark mark on your resume keep you from pursuing your interests – I’ve seen analysts with a great many GPAs from a great many schools break in – don’t think that a lackluster GPA is going to shut every door.

Getting the grades up

This goes without saying, even though I’ve said it a few times already, but if you are still in school, you need to absolutely work towards getting your grades up – at least above a 3.3. While there are courses that you will want to take, and courses that you will have to take, for your major, for example, you should also look towards taking a few courses that are definitely easy “As.” No, you won’t be showcasing them on your resume as relevant coursework on your resume, but you will be using them to boost your GPA and, ideally, start to bring it up to levels that look much more attractive to both recruiters and bankers. Besides taking some easy courses, you will need to buckle down and focus. I know as students enter their senior year they often want to slack off and let the grades slip a bit – don’t – just don’t. Not only will you need to GPA to be as high as possible for FT IB recruiting, you will also need that high level when it comes to either pursue B school, or make a move to a boutique, P/E shop, or other buyside/corp position – all of these options will definitely check your GPA and will definitely put at least some weight on it. Therefore, don’t lose focus, or, if you already have, get it back and get it back fast – ge those grades and give yourself one less thing to worry about both now and a few years down the line.

Focusing on the major GPA

As I mentioned before, for really bad GPAs (less than 3.0), leave off the cumulative and focus on the major GPA. At the very least you should have a major GPA that is pretty solid – if not, you will definitely have a tougher time – especially if your major is applicable to IB – such as finance, accounting, math, etc. Additionally, even if you have a decent GPA – assume over a 3.0, but under a 3.2-3.3 – you should consider swapping the order of appearance for your GPAs. In other words, lead off with your major GPA, and then follow up with the cumulative GPA. Yes, it sounds like something insignificant and silly, but remember, bankers take very quick glances at these resumes, and seeing a 3.6 major GPA and then a lower cumulative GPA, is definitely more pleasant on the eyes than seeing a 3.2 cumulative GPA and then something higher for a major GPA. Always lead off with the best stuff – whether we are talking about work experience bullet points, GPAs, honors and awards, etc – since there is at least a chance that the first bullet or so is all that will be seen, or at least computed.

Punching up your experiences

Finally, work on punching up your experiences. In this case I am referring to both the language that you use in your bullet points to describe your experiences, as well as the quality and quantity of actually experiences/positions in your resume. Yes, I know that it could very well be a circular argument in that a bad GPA can keep you from getting internships/other opportunities, which will keep you from putting more stuff on your resume, which will keep you from offsetting the bad GPA, blah, blah, blah. Again, don’t focus on the negative – yes all of that might be true – however, you may very well find some opportunities despite your weaker GPA. Look to club involvement and non-profit work – specifically any leadership/officer (in the case of clubs) opportunities that you can harness to show that there is far more to your candidacy than 2-decimal point number no greater than 4.00. Beyond that, look towards taking relevant coursework such as accounting and finance courses – again, maintain that strong major GPA – and you can begin to look towards boutique opportunities and other opportunities perhaps outside of IB, but are at least relevant or applicable to IB. Remember, it won’t be easy, but no one ever said it had to be. Keep your head in the game, and keep your eyes open.

That about covers it – stay tuned for future posts on Getting your Foot in the Door, What an Analyst Really Does, and much more! Like what you’re reading let me know with a comment below or an email here! Have any follow up questions – follow the same rules as above – comments below, emails here!