While the old adage ‘Cs get degrees’ may indeed be accurate it is well recognised that the pathway into post graduate employment is likely to be a great deal more challenging for a candidate with a ‘C’ average than a ‘B’ or ‘A’ average. This seems to be particularly true for those who seek employment as a solicitor in New Zealand, especially in private practice.
‘the academic transcript hangs around your neck forever’
Whenever someone looks to apply for a solicitor position they are required to submit their Academic transcript and we will then calculate a grade point average (GPA) across their law papers. We often have candidates ask us at which point the transcript becomes irrelevant compared to their post qualification experience. Regrettably the answer to this is ‘never’. After that first job, (if even then), an Accountant, a Dentist or an Engineer is unlikely to ever need to produce their University grades – it will be enough that they have their professional membership and they will be judged on whatever they have done most recently. Not so for the NZ lawyer. Like the albatross in Coleridge’s ancient mariner the academic transcript hangs around your neck forever.
‘A ‘bad’ transcript may be evidence of academic disinterest’
Most of us attended University immediately after leaving school. The ensuing grades achieved at Law School are likely to depend upon a myriad of factors. The academic rigour of the institution, the quality of secondary school in preparing you for this type of study, your living arrangements, the need, (or not), to undertake paid work alongside the degree, the personal maturity of the student and the ability and inclination to focus on exams. A ‘bad’ transcript may be evidence of academic disinterest, or of the individual discovering independence living away from both home and the structured, monitored environment that the school system may have offered. Science tells us that the prefrontal cortex of the brain is not fully developed generally until the age of 25. This means that some younger people will have major struggles with impulsive decisions and planning behaviour to reach goals – the prefrontal cortex doesn’t have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25 – and yet this is the very period through which most people are doing their degree.
‘there is ‘no evidence’ success at university correlates with achievement in later life’
That the academic performance of your early adulthood should so profoundly affect future career prospects and hiring decisions made years later is, on its face, absurd. To use the GPA as a filter for hiring, even at a graduate level, is a very blunt approach, and it is my opinion that firms are bypassing and missing out on some very talented and able people as a result. Interestingly, Ernst & Young in the UK, one of the UK’s biggest graduate recruiters, has recently announced that it will be cancelling the degree classification from its entry criteria, saying there is ‘no evidence’ success at university correlates with achievement in later life. While academics will still be taken into account when assessing candidates as a whole, they will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door.
I have heard it suggested that a more appropriate measure than the GPA would be an ‘effort to GPA ratio’. If someone has been able to achieve average grades with minimal effort it may be that they are a person with high ability. Some would suggest that the skills developed in generally approaching assignments and exams on a last minute basis are invaluable. These people are well practiced at working fast and under intense pressure without the indulgence of unlimited time with which to attempt to achieve perfection. They work pragmatically and are masters of the 80/20 rule of efficiency. As they go into the workforce these people may be just beginning to hit their stride and given the right environment and motivations make wonderful employees.
Written by: Rosemary Hunt, Consultant
I am not in the legal space but chanced upon this – liked your concluding lines and bravo to E&Y. There is usually an inverse correlation between academic record and business performance in the business world (and avery earning activity is a business activity), even super computer making (as Cray Research history will show).
I think recruiting experts like you should educate the corporates and, perhaps, the legal firms still with yesterday’s logic need it more than others.
Well reasoned and researched article on the bluntness of exam #s as a measure of capability. As an experienced tertiary educator I encourage employers to be open minded and look beyond grades to see the whole person. We produce graduates with the ability to think critically, be innovative, be confident, ethical, and resilient. I’ve witnessed those with learning difficulties rise to successful lives. Sad to think the legal profession misses out in such richness of skills by limiting themselves to historic grades .