A reader posted this question on my last post about recruiting.

I am an accounting major going to my first accounting recruitment next week. My only worry is that my cumulative gpa is not up to their standards. I think that I have a lot of prior work experience but I’m not sure that is what they are looking for. I heard a bunch of different stories- work experience is more important, gpa is more important… what are your thoughts? Also, what are good ways to stand out to these firms?

On the eve of another recruiting event, I am going to share more thoughts from the “other side” of recruiting.

How important is GPA?

In some ways, GPA is a very important number for firms. Especially if you are interested in working for the Big 4, your GPA will play a role in whether you are even considered as a candidate. However, once a firm has invited you to an event, you can assume that you have met whatever their GPA cut off is, and at this point, I would argue that GPA hardly matters.

A firm may decide they will only consider candidates above 3.3 for example, but they may not really differentiate between a candidate with a 3.5 and one with a 3.8. Once you’re already “in” and being invited to firm events, personality and how well the professionals at the firm get along with you becomes a much more important issue.

How can you stand out beyond GPA?

When I was going through recruiting, I thought that firms put a ton of emphasis on your involvement in activities, what prior experience you had, but, at our firm anyway, it’s way more important the impression everyone gets when they meet you. I do think it’s good to be involved in some activity because that’s something where people can remember from conversation with you, and also connect it to your resume: “Oh yeah, that’s the girl who’s on the soccer team” or “that’s the guy who was in ROTC.”

At our firm anyway, we’re looking for people who fit into our culture. It’s hard to force that, but keep this in mind:

If you don’t speak up, ask questions, and meet a bunch of the professionals, then even if you are a good fit for our firm’s culture, how will we know?

Even if I have a great conversation with one student at a recruiting event, that will not get the student hired unless they meet several other firm employees who also get a good impression of them. (And one or two of those employees should be partners, since they get to make the hiring decision.)

A few basic rules of conversation

1. Try not to talk to one professional the whole time. They won’t be offended if you move on to talk to someone else, since they need to meet as many students as possible too.

2. Try not to “overshare.” I’m sure I have been guilty of this in many a conversation, but the professionals don’t want to hear how nervous you are to be there, and they don’t want to help you make a decision about whether to pursue tax or audit. Just because the younger professionals are the same age as you doesn’t mean that they’re your friend or confidant. Anything you say or email to them will be retold and passed around the firm, because all we know of you are the brief snippets of interaction.

3. Better topics: where you’re from, where they’re from, how they ended up in this city or picked their university. Recent travel you’ve done, sports you’ve both played, sports you’ve both watched. Classes you’re currently taking and how much you like your professors (try not to bad mouth professors - even if the professionals don’t know them, people prefer positive conversation to negative - as long as it’s not super gushy/fake.)

4. If you’re just not having an easy conversation with someone, by all means, move on and talk to another professional. Everyone at my firm is very different, and we all get along with different people. If it’s awkward talking to one of them, cut your losses and move on to someone easier. If it’s awkward talking to everyone, this may not be the firm for you, and that’s okay.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions for good recruiting conversation tips!