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Website design By BotEap.comAs a practicing attorney who volunteers regularly at a couple of local law schools, I spend a lot of time advising students. A question I get frequently during recruiting season is, “How can I explain to interviewers why my grades are not very good?” While it’s true that you can’t change your ratings, the way you explain less-than-stellar ratings can be the difference between a callback interview and, well, nothing at all.
Website design By BotEap.comFirst, it should be noted that ratings are, as most people assume, the factor that most interviewers assign the most weight. However, the ratings often serve as a cut-off point rather than a ranking system. That is, a company may, as a policy, consider only students in the top 25% of their class, but a student ranked in the 87th percentile of their class is not necessarily in a much better position to receive an offer than a student. ranked 77th.
Website design By BotEap.comHowever, if you think your qualifications put you outside the target range of most employers, a compelling explanation can give your interviewer a reason to fully consider you, and perhaps a callback interview.
Website design By BotEap.comAs a matter of threshold, I think bad grades it should be approached in an interview. Some students (and even some career service advisers) believe that it is best not to draw attention to poor grades and instead focus on leaving a positive impression during an interview. However, whether a student decides to address or ignore grades, the interviewer it is I will consider them. Not talking about a C + is not going to make it an A-. In my experience, a student who is able to speak frankly and thoughtfully about his poor grades leaves a better impression than one who simply ignores the subject. An honest and well thought out explanation suggests a student who is self-aware, confident, analytical, and interested in self-improvement. All the important traits in a new lawyer. A student who does not deal with his poor grades, on the other hand, can simply be assumed to be a bad student.
Website design By BotEap.comFor 1L: If you have a 1L interview in the spring for your first summer job as a law student, then you only have one semester of grades to be evaluated. If those ratings are not as good as you would have liked, your explanation should:
- Discuss what you learned by taking the tests.
- Please provide some concise details about why your exam did not earn as many points as others
- Emphasize what you did straight
- Explain how you plan to improve your performance in the current semester (spring)