Internship crisis

angelfish13 · 06-02-2012, 08:58 PM

Hi everyone,

I am a rising junior and am having a mid college career crisis. I have carefully mapped out my education/career path since I was in middle school and now I feel like everything is falling apart and I have a very little chance at being as successful as I want to be.

Here are my goals:
1. Land a top internship next summer as a rising senior
2. Get a fantastic job at a fantastic company upon graduation
3. Get into a top 10 MBA program in a few years

I'm not really sure what I want to do after that. I just am worried I am not going to reach my goals. The reason I am worried is because my GPA is very bad and I just realized how screwed I am. My main concern right now is making sure I am doing everything possible to get a great internship next summer. Some companies I am thinking of out of the top of my head are google, microsoft, nielsen, proctor and gamble, amazon, apple. Any companies that would be great for people going into marketing.

I go to a tier 1 college and I am double majoring in business and communications. I want to go into marketing or public relations. I have leadership positions in 5 clubs, have 2 part-time jobs, and have 4 past internships. I am sure I can get great recommendation letters from my previous employers. Unfortunately, I will have a 3.1 unweighted gpa when applying for internships

Do you think I have no shot at any good internships next summer? I should have at least a 3.5 GPA upon graduation, do you think I will be able to get a job at a top company? I am sorry for the rant, I am just really upset.

angelfish13 · 06-06-2012, 12:39 AM

Bump...

Any suggestions? Shorter question: What GPA do you think you need to land a marketing/communications related internship at a top company such as google, apple, nielsen, proctor and gamble, etc?

Thanks!

naokifresh · 06-06-2012, 12:55 AM

I don't the answer since I'm not a top company or HR ^^; .....but I think you could get a good internship. A 3.1 is decent. Not stellar, but decent. Be proactive and apply to lots of places! Show them your skills and attitude to make up for the GPA.

Don't lose hope about graduate school either. You need to try harder in college. If you can raise your GPA to 3.5, you will have good opportunities at many grad schools! With the internship and superior letters of recommendation, will help as well. Also, doing well on the entrance exams (GRE? I believe)..or what the program you are looking at requires.

Do not be afraid if life changes its course on you a bit. You may have had these plans for a long time and so it feels terrible if it's not happening, but let your plans be more flexible. If you not enjoying struggling for those goals, either think of new ways to complete your life goals or alter the goals slightly so you are heading in a favorable direction still.
Rather than the prestige or career, it's important to know what you can do with your present situation and how to step to the next frame of mind, rather than suffer focusing on one thing in your life. One thing at a time.

You sound like you have drive and ambition, you will surely go great places! Just relax and be confident, give it your best in your classes!

naokifresh · 06-06-2012, 12:59 AM

Oh sorry didn't see the question you added. ^^" I think a 3.5 GPA or higher will be safe. Or course, the higher the better, as high as you can get it. Aim for straight A's!

Also, don't let this thing make you feel like you're not successful in life for a moment. The smartest thing to do is come with a stronger plan for the future, enjoy your youth and don't stress more than necessary!

soccerguy315 · 06-06-2012, 09:46 PM

if you have a 3.1 right now and are projecting a 3.5 at graduation, that means you are projecting a 4.0 (basically) for your last two years. The chance that a 3.1 student suddenly turns into a 4.0 student seems remote.

I don't mean to sound insulting, I was a 3.1 student in undergrad. Just be realistic.

btw, the facts are it doesn't matter what shot anyone here thinks you have. You should apply to every opening you can find that you think you would be interested in. Then go from there.

chrisw · 06-07-2012, 09:17 AM

The best thing you can do (coming from another person who graduated with a 3.1) is get a dominating resume and cover letter, and learn how to crush it at an interview.

A good resume is the difference between getting an interview and getting ignored in many cases.

For now, it's time to readjust your goals. A top internship is unrealistic, and a paid internship is probably even a stretch; a regular summer job isn't bad, though! A fantastic job at a fantastic company is very doable (I have a fantastic job at a fantastic, though unknown, company and have had it since graduation!). And for B-school, it's probably pretty unlikely that you'll get into Wharton or HBS, but you'll need to take the GMAT to know for sure.

Obviously you should apply to every place you can, but be prepared for an up hill battle and a lot of disappointment!

terenc · 06-08-2012, 01:01 AM

Quote:

I have leadership positions in 5 clubs, have 2 part-time jobs, and have 4 past internships.

I think this explains your low GPA. I cannot fathom why you chose to load up on so many club activities and time-consuming jobs... You could consider easing up on the load.

CollectivSynergy · 06-08-2012, 10:32 AM

Network. It's the best option for students with less than stellar GPAs applying to top companies like Google, etc.

chrisw · 06-08-2012, 03:08 PM

Sorry man, but telling someone to "network" doesn't really help. One doesn't just magically decide to network.. either you know how to do it and do it consistently... or you don't know how to do it because it is a ridiculously amorphous term. Also, networking won't get you around a low GPA as an undergraduate, no matter how wide and deep your network is.

-Lurker- · 06-08-2012, 05:17 PM

You really need to work on your GPA - communications and business (marketing) are among the two most cupcake majors that you can pick in college. You are competing with people that have 3.8 + so chrisw's post is not far off. You need to refocus on your academics and set realistic expectations

CollectivSynergy · 06-08-2012, 09:44 PM

The OP is a rising junior. There is plenty of time for him/her to network - and yes people do "magically" decide to do so. I did when I was job hunting, and I'm a very introverted person. I've known people with 3.0s get top IBanking jobs through networking (whereas most places throw your application away with <3.5), so it can do a LOT. The whole point of the recruiting process is to identify smart, capable, sociable candidates. Like it or not, there's a lot of hiring decisions based on whether the applicant seems like a good person to have a beer or shoot the breeze with.

GPA helps as a funnel, but if you already know the person is smart, capable, and sociable recruiters can (and do) ignore it. If you have someone plugging for you inside the company, even better.

Remember that networking nowadays isn't necessarily going to networking events. I know people working at prominent tech companies who found connections through gaming, reddit/reddit meetups, and the like.

static75 · 06-08-2012, 09:58 PM

dude, you have a story. you have reasons for your gpa: your internships and extra-curricular activities. sell the story in your cover letters and during interviews. you're much more interesting than the average bear.

besides, most employers look at a threshold GPA... usually a 2.0 2.5 or 3.0. It's rarely a 3.5 -- they would lose some REALLY good potential employees if they did that

terenc · 06-08-2012, 11:57 PM

^For business positions, I've heard that they do have cutoffs around a 3.5, if you're a business/communications major. If you're in math/science/engineering, the cutoff might be lower.

chrisw · 06-09-2012, 10:30 PM

Quote:

The OP is a rising junior. There is plenty of time for him/her to network - and yes people do "magically" decide to do so. I did when I was job hunting, and I'm a very introverted person. I've known people with 3.0s get top IBanking jobs through networking (whereas most places throw your application away with <3.5), so it can do a LOT. The whole point of the recruiting process is to identify smart, capable, sociable candidates. Like it or not, there's a lot of hiring decisions based on whether the applicant seems like a good person to have a beer or shoot the breeze with.

Who do you know with a 3.0 who works at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley or JP Morgan? Those places throw away most applications if the GPA is lower than a 3.7; if you've made a particularly good impression on a recruiter, maybe you can sneak in with a 3.5. But a 3.0? I'd like to know the person who even got an interview, let alone a job, with a GPA that low.

Networking skills can help you to get a job at a great boutique firm, where their recruiters are looking for ten people a year and care the most about fit. But at the big players, you will be competing against people who are excellent at networking AND have 3.9 GPAs from top programs.

soccerguy315 · 06-09-2012, 11:22 PM

maybe the lower GPA kids wouldn't crash the economy...