Hi all,Firstly this is a great forum full of valuable information. However I was hoping some of you experienced people can help on a matter that has been bothering me for a while. I am currently finishing my PhD. I also have a 1st class honours degree BUT I did poorly in my A levels (BCD). I am nervous about stating my A level grades when I apply for consultancy jobs. Do you think they might reject me on this basis or will it be a contentious issue during the interview process (provided I get one!). Should I avoid stating the grades just to be safe? Do they check your exam certificates during the interview process? Your comments are highly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance!

Completely irrelevant.As long its not joke degrees from a joke institution, then you're proven you through your university career that you are clever and competent. And can recover from a problem (the A level grades).More likely the challenge you'll have is why do a Phd then go into consultancy? Aren't you an academic? And if you're not, why were you doing a Phd? Why should we employ you don't have a direction, you'll probably get bored by the work as you'll be starting near the bottom of our organisation. All those challenges are surmontable - you need to have a good story on those. But A-levels? No. They're as important as your swimming badges from junior school

That's what I thought.Alas, it wouldn't be the case.My A'Level grades were the deciding factor in having an offer withdrawn.However, this was with only one organisation. Other companies I interviewed with didn't seem to mind.My degree and Msc were sufficient.Good luck!

Thanks a lot for reply. Luckily I do have an Engineering degree from a reputed institution. I was just concerned whether in this highly competitive job market, employers are just looking for any excuse to reject applicants. Glad to hear from you that my A level grades will not be a hindrance. The questions you presented are extremely valid and I have to prepare a really good story to explain my situation. I suppose the prospect of getting a fully funded PhD seemed like once in a lifetime sort of opportunity for a non-EU foreign student like me. But I doubt that's a valid enough reason. Besides as an undergraduate I hardly knew how boring and unrewarding it can be in academia. I also felt a postgraduate degree could open more doors in the business world as according to some figures I have seen on the net, only 10% of consultancy recruitments are graduates whereas over 40% are postgraduates and PhDs. Maybe someone can shed a little light on the accuracy of such figures. Besides the analytical skills that I would have as a research student should be useful in a consultancy role. Anyways thanks again for your comments. Really appreciate it!

Hi Disappointed,Sorry to hear that you got a rejection letter just because of your A level results. At which interview stage do companies check your certificates? Do I need to bring them along to the assessment centre and at all other interviews?

Hello Explorer,Some things to take into consideration. Your A levels may be important with bigger outfits that use a one-size-fits-all approach. In this case I would advise that you target firms that may use a more "personal" approach (possibly CV + CL) and if you're filling in online forms that require you to upload a CV ensure the layout points towards your (good!) more recent achievements. Secondly as a non-EU you may have to consider sponsorship, this may prove tricky and the timing (check the company website) is crucial (stringent deadlines)No need to take your certificates along to any stage (unless you're asked to)...but don't lie about marks at any stage of the application, that may get you into serious troubleYour degree is in engineering, that's very good and you may want to consider consultancies that may work in this field enabling you to demonstrate at interview level WHY they should take you. Final point, try and look dispassionately at your CV and turn any negative into a reassuring positive answer. Good luck!

Brilliant suggestions Ned Flanders. I will take your comments as a guideline and work on my application accordingly. Thank you.There is a consultancy career fair in London on 12th October. http://www.top-consultant.com/UK/events/Article_display.asp?ID=343I live in Scotland and before traveling all the way down to London for the fair, I would like to know from people's experience, will attending such an event and speaking to recruiters enhance the prospect of getting through to the interview stage?

The odd thing about my situation is that they were aware of my A'Level grades all along.

I had a similar experience, went through the whole interview process (experienced hire) for a well known growing consultancy. I was rejected based on my A-level grades. It was really annoying as I spent considerable time and effort preparing for the final interview and presentation..Interestingly I re-applied to the same consultancy 2 years later and was offered a role. I think timing and need can have as much to do with it as anything.

A levels help you get into a consultancy. Once in you are judged on experience, professional qualifications and post grad quals.<br>E.g. 6 years consulting, Prince 2, PMI, MBA

I have worked in investment banking and consultancy. Never once (apart from perhaps my very first interview many moons ago) have been asked about anything pre university.Some people don&apos;t excell at school but develop a tad later ie at university.I really wouldn&apos;t let it bother you and infact I&apos;d find it rather starange for a person with a degree and a PHD to even list earlier school results on a CV

I found that my A-Level results were my biggest downfall.Although I have a 2:1 Master of Physics in Astrophysics from Edinburgh (a 5 year undergraduate course) I found that it was my poor A-Level results which let me down in obtaining a job. (Poor grades because of circumstances out of my control, which I didn&apos;t think had affected me at the time)However this was only with companies with automated application systems. If you can get round the automated process then things start to look up. However all of the big firms make this difficult.However if you go to the states they don&apos;t care. My fiance is American and found that firms relying on A-Level results was astonishing.The big problem in getting work in the US is having to do a postgraduate degree.If my fiance decides that she wants to go back to the US and I have to do that I will be doing Law. Otherwise I&apos;ll stay in consultancy in the UK