How important is the college GPA?
That’s the question I get asked most often by college students. In fact
it came up recently working with a college freshman debating his major —econ or
engineering. His thought process was along these lines: In the engineering program
the average GPA is a 2.3. I’ll never get
into a good job with that. As
hard as I tried to coach him to put the GPA aside for the moment and focus on
the real issue—his strengths, skills, what he wants to do, what matters to him—his
concern continued to be focused on the GPA.
With a lot of work and thought he did get past it and with
confidence selected engineering. The message: If you don’t like what you do,
you won’t do it well.
But why talk about GPAs? First, some More Than A Resume´ clients are
about to enter their last semester of college and want to know if their GPA
will help or hurt them in their job search. Second, reading an article on how
to play the GPA Game I was compelled to write the author to understand why he
would instruct college students to play the game. He wrote back, “There is a facetious element to what I'm
saying -- my overarching point is that students are aware of, and are actively
playing this game -- all in pursuit of achieving a high GPA.” Wow! I totally
missed the sarcasm but never the less point well-taken. There are students who
play the Game.
So, what gets lost in the GPA game? I’ve thought about this a lot,
talked to university professors, clients and
other college students and grads. I am
of the opinion when you play the GPA Game you lose a genuine pursuit of knowledge and developing real-world skills and competencies employers value more than
they value a GPA.
I’m not implying your GPA isn’t a
factor in helping you land your first job. (Although in my years as hiring and
mentoring young talent not once did I ask about a candidate’s GPA.) It’s
just one of many factors in the hiring decision.
the Interviewing
decision
Generally, employers focus on more important factors than a GPA when
making interviewing decisions. Real-world competencies gained through your internships,
other work experience, course work, and extracurricular activities along with a
general, well-rounded college experience are more likely to affect an employer’s
decision to interview you. How well you
manage your college career does matter. Your GPA is just a data point on how successful
you were in doing that. Therefore,
your resume´ must demonstrate your competencies and your value to an employer.
It does not necessarily need to include your GPA.
There is no hard and fast rule
that says you need to include your GPA on your resume´ unless of course the job
description states a minimum GPA requirement. In this case you must include
it. However, if your GPA is below the requirement your online application will
not make it through the applicant tracking system. Attending career fairs,
networking to get an introduction and other such activities are your only
chances to get your resume´ into the hands of a hiring manager.
Not including your GPA employers
might assume that it is below a 3.0. So what? When you manage your college
career successfully that will outweigh the GPA. Feeling the pressure to include
a GPA? Some tactics in the Game are to list your major GPA or list your current semester or most recent academic year GPA. You fool no one.
Interviews
Be prepared to communicate the story behind
your college years not your GPA. Employers want to hire
intelligent, thoughtful, well-spoken, well-rounded and mature thinking and
acting individuals. Employers want problem solvers.Your ability to reflect on your college career
to the interviewer is a sign of your maturity, growth and development. When
crafted and told well, your story about your college experience can draw
attention to your strengths not as a student but as a new professional. Exactly
how you want to come across in an interview.
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