[aznshrek88]

I'll be honest; I thought that coming to USC was going to be a truly awesome experience and for the most part is has been. But now I'm recruiting for a full-time job and am struggling to even find a position or availability. I attend a top 20 University; the # 4 ranked accounting school in the US, which is under a top 10 business school. I know my grades aren't stellar, but I'm not retarded, but I might as well be. I'm not going to reveal my numbers, but I'm a student in good standing; I work hard and am graduating with 150 units for the CPA.

All the recruiting around campus has been flying by and I've landed I interview; just 1st rounds...

I really feel that if I had just stayed at a state or JC I could have just gotten a 4.0 there and gotten a secure job. I attended a couple of classes back in freshmen/soph summer and aced those classes with no problem and now I'm just struggling to find a job. Some of the recruiters I talk to give me the impression I'm just attending something like SMC/PCC/Saddleback and I might as well have seeing how recruiters respond or don't even know about the accounting program here.

I admit, I let my grades slip; but I feel if I was competing with someone from a state/JC or other college (I'm not saying they're below me; but that I've taken a lot more classes and I'm pretty sure more advanced accounting) that I could outperform a student with a 3.5 or even a 4.0...but recruiters seems to care less.

Does anyone else who's graduating or is in college feel this way??

I feel I'm better off--->

I mean I transferred from a lower ranked school for a better education and more opportunities, but feel so left out. I'm graduating with 150 units so I can sit for the CPA ASAP, and I've been working my ass off; even if I'm not getting the grades I still have been and understand the material. I've done everything I feel like I can do to better myself and feel the school really through me under the bus.

I paid over 100k for my education and I'm struggling to find a job.... AS A BEAN COUNTER (I know the economy is bad, but really if your looking to audit or do tax as a 1st year you really are just sampling cash, A/R, etc. the easy peasy jobs) Does that really take a college education???

I know if I ever get there that managers, seniors, etc. need that knowledge of tying everything together, but its not like I don't understand how the B/S I/S and R/E all tie together and that the bank recon, etc. needs to be looked at. ppl keep telling me 90% of the job is learning on-site and you use what you learn from school, but most of it is learned. (Point being: how does someone not find a job as an accountant?) EPIC FAIL


And that's why this thread is a rant...

[NeoE46]

Cheer up. At least you have an education. The average GPA of CEO's is below a 2.9. Sometimes you can't do it by yourself. Make sure you have established a network that can give you the best information and vice/versa. There is truth in the statement, it's not what, but who you know. Make sure you take advantage of all the organizations you are affiliated with. Sometimes it takes a while, but it will come.


Wow 100k for a BA!!!! I know doctors who didn't have that high a bill for medical school. Oops. I wouldn't worry. Keep your eyes open. Sometimes you can learn more at smaller firms anyway.

[asdflkijd]

After much debating about the same question, I find myself at NYtech school of architecture instead of Pratt or any other architecture school. I moved to NYC to establish a network and have a head start on internships etc.. From what I've hear its all the same thing, sure a higher ranked school would look good on your resume, but in the end no matter how capable you are its about the people you know.. Sometimes I wonder if I should try and transfer to Columbia or somewhere else but something tells me that it wont be much different, for undergrad at least... Grad school is a whole diff story, I really want to go to a prestigious grad school to get my masters in design.

Cheer up dude, that extra money will pay off someway or another...

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by NeoE46

The average GPA of CEO's is below a 2.9.

where did you get this?

[n3985]

Have you considered maybe you didn't get past 1st rounds is because you were lacking in your interview? Someone with a 4.0 from U Penn equally won't even have a chance for 2nd round if he didn't sell himself well in the interview.

[Couch]

It does and it doesn't.

It's all about WHO you know, not WHAT you know.

IMO, grades don't prove actual intelligence or overall work ethic. Just because someone may have busted ass studying 10 hours a day 7 days a week, doesn't mean they'll be worth a shit at a real job.

[TurboFan]

Your grades make a big difference to recruiters. It's about the only way they can gauge your long term performance. After my first job no one cared about my GPA, but for the first one....the really care. I went to a top 25 engineering school, had a 3.3 in my major, 3.0 overall, and some places were more interested in people with much easier majors but higher GPA's. I had offers from every interview, but didn't get interviews with a couple places, as they only wanted 3.5 or better.

I look very hard at GPA for a new college hire. You can be great for 30 minutes in an interview, but your GPA tells me more about how you manage your time, balance stress, etc. At least you have your degree, no one can take that away from you. Find a job, learn some skills, and then think about how you want to evolve your career from there.

[Enjoiyourlife]

Heh... Funny thing is I went through this same thing man... If you're not recruited into the Big 4 right out of college it might take some time for you to build up your resume before you can land that job.. Most these jobs are looking for people with at least a year of experience under their belt.

I know that if you had done an internship your junior year, it would pretty much be a guaranteed job as it counts as accounting experience. I, however, didn't take this route either.

I'd try some temp agencies like Robert Half if you're trying to get into accounting. They usually do a pretty good job at getting you interviews for temp to hire positions.

Keep your head up. It took me a few months out of school to finally land the first job..

[MCS]

School matters for the first 1 or 2 jobs. After that, the connections made while in school matter more.

In the first screen for Accenture, if the candidate was from an elite school or well-recognized engineering program, they only needed to have a GPA of 3.0. If they were from second tier school, the GPA cutoff was 3.3

The initial pay is higher for elite shool graduates as well.

You can argue this until you're blue in the face. I was on several recruiting trips, so I know the first screen process well at my old employer.

[aznshrek88]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

Your grades make a big difference to recruiters. It's about the only way they can gauge your long term performance. After my first job no one cared about my GPA, but for the first one....the really care. I went to a top 25 engineering school, had a 3.3 in my major, 3.0 overall, and some places were more interested in people with much easier majors but higher GPA's. I had offers from every interview, but didn't get interviews with a couple places, as they only wanted 3.5 or better.

I look very hard at GPA for a new college hire. You can be great for 30 minutes in an interview, but your GPA tells me more about how you manage your time, balance stress, etc. At least you have your degree, no one can take that away from you. Find a job, learn some skills, and then think about how you want to evolve your career from there.

fucking genious man.... 3.3 engineering gpa is pretty much a 4.0 with all those ppl I know that are like shit i got a 30 and the curve was a 25, haha

[aznshrek88]

Originally Posted by Enjoiyourlife

Heh... Funny thing is I went through this same thing man... If you're not recruited into the Big 4 right out of college it might take some time for you to build up your resume before you can land that job.. Most these jobs are looking for people with at least a year of experience under their belt.

I know that if you had done an internship your junior year, it would pretty much be a guaranteed job as it counts as accounting experience. I, however, didn't take this route either.

I'd try some temp agencies like Robert Half if you're trying to get into accounting. They usually do a pretty good job at getting you interviews for temp to hire positions.

Keep your head up. It took me a few months out of school to finally land the first job..

Yea I really like the input I'm getting.

I DO have work experience, which is what's bothering me. I worked for a small CPA firm and have been on an actual audit engagement; I understand how to tick and tie; how to do working papers; and how to churn out proper financial statements; hell I've even signed the audit agreement since I was working on the client.

The previous summers have all been accounting internships; I've had three. Also the ones that I haven't been accounting have been for school since if you want to graduate with 150, you must average 18-20 units at a semester school for 4 years and USC loves transfers who need to clear GE's; so I've always been working on something.

As for selling myself; I've done it as best I can and I'm not socially retarded; I bartend part time and know what/how to talk about my experiences, but I think its a matter of how I'm being compared/ranked with other interviewees and how my GPA is being stacked.

It seems like a lot of you guys have been doing 1st round screenings and I'm really just not sure how to gauge how a behavioral interview is going because 1) you can't really ask them for feedback 2)its behavioral so your just chatting.

It's one thing when they ask easy questions like tell me about a time when you were a leader in a group or tell me about a time when you had a problem with a group member and needed to deal with it, etc.

But behavioral throws me because I'm not sure whether to talk about their soccer passion or the interview

[Tondtar]

The only school ranking that matters, IMO :

http://www.totse.com/en/ego/literary...s/party40.html

[dth656]

i used to work in management consulting, and there was a definite bias against non-top tier schools. when i'd go recruit, or conduct phone screen or in person interviews, a second tier candidate had to really stand out to move to the next round.

our core schools were the standard: ivies, MIT, northwestern, univ of chicago, berkeley, stanford. there are plenty of other elite liberal arts and other colleges out there, but we typically went for bigger schools that also offered hard sciences and engineering.

the other thing you can do is find an alum of USC that works in a firm taht you are interested in. see if you can meet up w/ the alum and network that way. every company i've worked in has had 'booster't ypes that would actively try and get more folks from their school in...

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by dth656

i used to work in management consulting, and there was a definite bias against non-top tier schools. when i'd go recruit, or conduct phone screen or in person interviews, a second tier candidate had to really stand out to move to the next round.

our core schools were the standard: ivies, MIT, northwestern, univ of chicago, berkeley, stanford. there are plenty of other elite liberal arts and other colleges out there, but we typically went for bigger schools that also offered hard sciences and engineering.

the other thing you can do is find an alum of USC that works in a firm taht you are interested in. see if you can meet up w/ the alum and network that way. every company i've worked in has had 'booster't ypes that would actively try and get more folks from their school in...

glad to hear this, lol.

[Tortfeasor 335xi]

The hardest thing to do in a down economy when you are graduating from school is getting your foot in the door. After getting the first job, things become much easier. With a year or two of experience suddenly you will be getting calls from recruiters who refused to talk to you when you had no experience. The key to getting your foot in the door is networking. Whether that is through school contacts, family contacts or friend contacts does not really matter, what matters is having an in at a potential place of employment. So work with your schools career development office, talk to your family and friends and see if you have any connections to people in your industry and start plumbing them for ideas about who to contact in your job search.

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by Tondtar

The only school ranking that matters, IMO :

http://www.totse.com/en/ego/literary...s/party40.html

hahahahahahaha

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by Tondtar

The only school ranking that matters, IMO :

http://www.totse.com/en/ego/literary...s/party40.html

C'mon, that list is from '87!!! Here is the one from '06: http://www.fanblogs.com/ncaa/005842.php

FSU #4 baby!

[TiAg335i]

School rankings don't mean squat unless you graduate at the top of your class at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT.

If your GPA sucks (i.e. below a 3.5), they don't care where you went. School prestige alone is not going to save you. This especially applies for medical schools, law school, etc.

[NYSPEM3]

I do know that for big name finance jobs, the recruiters won't even read the resume unless the candidate comes from the Ivy Plus. (Ivy League and MIT, Caltech, etc)
Likewise for white shoe law firms.

[TMNT]

I think the biggest issue your facing is bad timing (the economy). I am sure your not the only student from a good school having an issue finding a job out of college.

I think a lot of it has to do with 2 factors that recruiters can only judge someone out of college with when they really don't have any "real" work experience:

1. Grades. As someone said earlier grades really tells you about someone. It tells you about their dedication, their focus, their time management, and their ability to handle stress. Remember college is not manditory and your major is something you choose, so if I were a hiring manager and you don't have good grades in something you picked, what does that tell me?

2. The Interview(s). Grades get your foot in the door, how you interview and interact with the interviewer determines how long you stay. You could be the smartest person in the world but if you can't communicate, socialize, or interact with people effectively your not going to get a great job.

I graduated from college 3 years ago from a school that's not bad, but certainly not a "prestigious" college and ended up with a great job with a top Fortune 15 company. I had really good grades, worked during school, participated in extracurricular, and had an internship. I went on many many interviews (getting up to the 2nd & 3rd interviews), applied to hundreds of places, and got a lot of NOs. I just kept trying and kept applying. I played with the odds and put them in my favor. Then finally I landed my current job after 4 months of trying, which ironically was the best job I applied for. Funny how everyone else said no, yet the best company I thought I had no shot at said yes.

Keep trying, keep applying, keep looking...eventually you'll find something you really like!

[BMWE90]

Originally Posted by Couch

It does and it doesn't.

It's all about WHO you know, not WHAT you know.

IMO, grades don't prove actual intelligence or overall work ethic. Just because someone may have busted ass studying 10 hours a day 7 days a week, doesn't mean they'll be worth a shit at a real job.

I kinda agree with this. First, it might be WHO you know at first but if you don't know anything (or what you're doing), it won't save you down the road.

As for the second point, grades really don't necessarily prove intelligence. In an accounting class I sat next to a guy who was just as quick as me when answering questions (sometimes even quicker). But when it came to tests I consistently got A's while he got C's. Heck if anyone asks me I would say that some people are just not good test takers so that might be reflected on their GPA but not their intelligence.

I think in life there are 2 kinds of smart: the first kind is the book smart that we all know of. The second kind is not just street smart but more like a combination of both book and street. The second just means that if you're confronted with a situation you can come up with creative solutions and not just those that are based solely on books.

[SpecC]

i'd say it depends on your career choice