[darek9576]

Hey.
Basically, the story is: Couple of months back, i got an offer for a grad job (Application Developer) at JPMorgan and one of the requirements was that i need to get a certain mark for my overall degree (2.1). However, i got a worse one than required (2.2) and now i have a huge problem because i do not know what to do. I mean, i would love to work for them but i know that my chances of employment are slim.

In one of the emails from them, i got a list of requirements and it said:

"Degree: 2.1 - Should you have failed to meet this criteria, you must call us immediately to discuss."

So should i just simply call them and see what happens or is there anything i can do before hand to increase my chances of going through. I do not know anyone that works in HR so i have absoultely no idea how they approach such issues.

So my question is: what can i do before giving them a call to maximize my slim chances and how should i behave (what things should i say) during the actual call.

Thanks for feedback

This post has been edited by darek9576: 19 June 2012 - 07:18 PM

[modi123_1]

What's your gpa now?

[darek9576]

Well, in England it's a bit different. We get a certain mark for a degree.

Best - 1st
Second Best: 2.1 (required)
Third best: 2.2 (i got it)
Worse: 3rd
Worst: fail (no degree)

[modi123_1]

Okay so what's the problem? You qualify grade wise..

[darek9576]

The problem is i do not meet the Degree Grade criteria. They want second best, i got third best.

[fromTheSprawl]

"Degree: 2.1 - Should you have failed to meet this criteria, you must call us immediately to discuss."

That speaks for itself. It means they are willing to take those who even fail this criteria. Well, if you could show them that you are skilled for the job and you really want it, they will hire you.

There are companies out there that don't look into grades too much. In fact, a company here hires someone who flunked three subjects. He passed the exam, aced the interviews, and got the job.

[darek9576]

I think that they do take people who failed it but then, you need a good reason: e.g some mitigating circumstances like you had depression or whatever. I have nothing. I did badly in exams cuz i just did. The only thing i can offer them is that i am passionate about technology and programming and i can highlight my technical strengths but i am not certain whether that will be enough.
Life sucks...

This post has been edited by darek9576: 20 June 2012 - 12:59 AM

[no2pencil]

darek9576, on 20 June 2012 - 03:58 AM, said:

I did badly in exams cuz i just did. The only thing i can offer them is that i am passionate about technology and programming and i can highlight my technical strengths but i am not certain whether that will be enough.
Life sucks...

Hrm, life sucks? Why not start by cleaning up your act here. Capitalize I, try to avoid words like cuz. Life is what you make of it. If it sucks, then start being more professional every chance you get. You don't get to be a slacker & then an offer lands in your lap & instantly you become a professional.

You have to realize that landing a job offer is not about meeting criteria. It isn't a game. You don't just pass the bar-minimum & you get it. The candidate has to prove that they are the best choice for the position. The candidate must prove, beyond a doubt, that if chosen they will be beneficial in every aspect to the company, be an asset, that will increase profits with the business.

Are you better than the other candidates? That's what you need to ask yourself. That's what you need to prove. Not bs them about grades.

[darek9576]

Valid points. I believe I have proved to them during assessment centers why I am a good candidate and therefore they offered me a position. But I have put myself in this back seat position so need to turn it around. Sometimes, it is about meeting the criteria. That's how coorporate world works. It's not a company with 5 people where when you impress 3 of them the majority is in favour of you.

I guess, I will need to prepare a kick-ass sales pitch and just try to tip the scale my way.

This post has been edited by darek9576: 20 June 2012 - 02:56 AM

[DarenR]

@Darek

My comp0any does work for JP Morgan here in the state and I can straight up tell you that most of their developers are worthless. We constantly have to fix all their code to make it actually work the way it is supposed too. There have been many a day where they would send us xml code that was missing so many tags that we got the old field ### does not belong.
Make a long story short-- Call them and tell them you want the job.....

[darek9576]

Thanks for encouragment. Im going to call them tomorrow.

[modi123_1]

Keep us posted.