<p>How would you guys rank:
-Work Experience
-GPA
-GMAT Score
-Interview
-School Prestige
-Connections/Luck/Others:</p>
<p>When:</p>
<h1>1: Applying for a job directly after undergrad.</h1>
<h1>2: Applying for Biz School.</h1>
<p>My guess:</p>
<h1>1:</h1>
<p>Work Experience: 25%
GPA: 30%
GMAT: Depends on if they need it, lets assume 0 (right out of undergrad)
Interview: 12%
School Prestige: 8%
Connections/Luck/Others: 25%</p>
<p>I'd put work experience, school prestige, and testing after those 3. It obviously varies a lot depending on the job (some may require a very important test).</p>
<p>In regards to business school I would say:</p>
<ol>
<li> Work Experience 40%</li>
<li> GMAT 18%</li>
<li> Essays 14% (I added this category..IMO this can be huge for candidates)</li>
<li> GPA 11%</li>
<li> Interview 7%</li>
<li> Connections/Luck/Others 5%</li>
<li> School Prestige 5%</li>
</ol>
<p>Which connections are we talking about? In regards to finding a job I was referring to having connections in certain companies. They can certainly be useful. Although, I knew one guy that had great connections with a consulting company. He had hung out with them a ton the previous summer, going to sporting events with the CEO etc but then he bombed the interview and didn't even get a 2nd interview. I had connections in a major fortune 500 company and worked closely with the company for a group trip to visit its HDQs. However, when I interviewed I got this prick interviewer that I didn't know. He already didn't like me for some reason and tore me up for things like my HS (which has produced a long list of successful leaders..which is why I left it on my resume..it actually helped me land my eventual job.. but this guy hated it) and he ripped me apart for having a triple major too, saying that I was indecisive when in fact I never once changed my major. </p>
<p>Anyways, My point being that while I found having connections to be important out of undergrad they still weren't more important than the top two.</p>
<p>As for connections for business school, I'm sure they play a huge role for a small number of people. I don't think they play much of a role for most people and that is why I agreed with the threadstarter that 5% was an appropriate level. Just my opinion though.</p>
<p>
[quote]
why wouldnt work experience count as much in a job after undergrad?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What kind of work experience do you have when trying to land a job out of undergrad? Some internships and possibly a side job? Internships can be very useful, especially if you want a job with that company. However, i'd still rank work experience behind GPA and interviews. Keep in mind that you will probably need a good GPA, have good interviews, and possibly have good connections just to land an internship.</p>
<p>legitimate gpa as in, what would be considered a "good" gpa for when applying for a job. yeah, when i was referring to work i meant internships. does it matter if internships are at unknown small firms/banks btw? sorry if im repeating all my questions in my other post, but seems everyones answering here</p>
<p>Attempting to assign percentage weights doesn't make a great deal of sense. The factors are not considered simultaneously in the hiring process. Absent UG program/school prestige and GPA, there is no interview. Given that automated applicant screening is so common today, too low GPA and lack of connections will account for 100% of the failure of most applicants to any given position to obtain an interview. Thus how well or poorly they may interview or how good they look in terms of soft factors not considered in the automated screening will have no impact.</p>
<p>About 1/3 of the BBAs from my school end up in investment banking (the biggest chunk). I eventually want to get into a top 20 MBA school and work for a large company or start my own business. I thought that a job at an IB would be a great positive for getting into a top MBA school. However, I don't want place to much weight on this if I would prefer to do something else out out undergrad. I see that more weight is placed on experience than GMAT (more than twice as much from the posts above). Given the amount of weight on this, I wonder what is considered "good experience." For example, I assume that working at a top IB firm would carry far more weight than working for, say, a Fortune 500 (but not 100) company. However, if I progressed more rapidly at the less prestigious company, would this count more or less than a typical consultant path at a top IB?</p>