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I never said that not having it on there helped me. It simply did not hurt me at all. Additionally, I wasn't trying to say that you should never put it on there. I was just stating that, if you have direct experience and recommendations coming out of college, they can largely overshadow your academic work and GPAs may not even be much of a consideration.
It did not hurt you in your specific case. Why? Because you likely would have been hired due to your internship experience even if you had a 2.5 GPA much less a 3.1.
This is not some huge new topic. It has been discussed to death on many college forums and the near universal advice is to put your GPA if it is >3.0. If your overall is not >3.0 try your major GPA. If they both suck you can do whatever you want.
It did not hurt you in your specific case. Why? Because you likely would have been hired due to your internship experience even if you had a 2.5 GPA much less a 3.1.
I don't disagree. I definitely tried to include the disclaimer that if you have experience it probably isn't an issue, but if you don't it probably will be.
To be fair, not everyone who got a 4.0 is a better candidate than someone who didn't. I DID have experience. I had an internship with a company in my exact field (with a great recommendation from that boss) that I am working in now. That was much more valuable to them than my ability to pass classes in school. Additionally, things like personality and communication skills are not reflected in a GPA, and depending on the job, it can be very important.
Nothing bad about a good GPA of course, but GPAs only tell a small portion of the story. Like I said, if I didn't have a relative internship with a great review, they probably would have cared about my GPA because they wouldn't have anything else to go on. However, I did have direct experience and I interview well. I assume they weren't worried about my GPA at that point. Had I come into the interview and didn't have experience plus an associated recommendation, they probably would have asked me more about school.
If you have a 4.0, by all means put it on there. It won't hurt anything. But I definitely graduated with 4.0 people who I was a better candidate than, even though I had a 3.2.
Put it this way. You had a 3.2, which is pretty good. You must have gotten at least a few As. Do you think it's fair that someone who had a 2.0 and failed a bunch of classes, partied and barely got by for 4 (or 5) years has the same job opportunities as you just because he is a smooth talker?
I have been on tons of interviews and interviewed a couple of people myself. One employer told me that interviews are a shot in the dark. Anybody can get good references. Most people will give you glowing reviews unless you were a total screw up. Work experience on your resume can be glamorized. And someone who is lazy and incompetent but has charisma can totally ace an interview.
So, if someone was looking for a good worker, what is the safest gauge? 4 years of consistent hard work. Anyway, that is just my opinion.
In my experience sitting 6 years out of school, the relationship of GPA to being a good employee is also somewhat of a shot in the dark. Work experience and a recommendation are worth more than a GPA in my opinion. A 4.0 + internships + recommendations are better than just internships of course. Nothing wrong with a good GPA, because someone with a 2.0 probably slacked a lot, but the difference between ~3.0 and a 4.0 is pretty small and the individuals attitude, communication, and experience easily make up for any difference there.
I help interview people who are being considered for my department. It's a technical field, so it's hard to be a smooth talker without getting caught in your own web pretty quickly. It doesn't take long to tell if someone actually knows what they are talking about or not.
This is about a fresh graduate. If you throw away resume that had GPAs on them from fresh graduates I can only laugh at your company. Now if you had a 40 year work experience and still hugs your 3.4 GPA then you probably have some issues.
This is about a fresh graduate. If you throw away resume that had GPAs on them from fresh graduates I can only laugh at your company.
Really I worked for a major investment company-we and a lot of hiring managers find it distasteful-the only time we asked for GPA's is when we were hiring lawyers..
Just because someone has a 4.0 doesn't mean he/she will be a good worker-
What the OP should do is list skills, volunteering (that enhanced his/her work skills) and a heck of a cover letter
Work experience and a recommendation are worth more than a GPA in my opinion.
For a fresh graduate I mostly disagree. We've hired interns at my companies and mostly they just get the lay of the land. I do agree it helps to weed out those who do not want to do that job. But it does not help to find out who will be able to perform at what level.
At my last job, I was the top performing project manager at my company. In reality, it's not that impressive. But somebody will eat it up. And yes, my old boss will verify it. What GPA also proves to a lesser extent is that you are interested in the work material.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnvrsoul
Really I worked for a major investment company-we and a lot of hiring managers find it distasteful-the only time we asked for GPA's is when we were hiring lawyers..
Just because someone has a 4.0 doesn't mean he/she will be a good worker-
What the OP should do is list skills, volunteering (that enhanced his/her work skills) and a heck of a cover letter
You're right. Medical schools should do this too. Prospectives should just put their skills and volunteering experience on a sheet and send it in. Then, they pick the ones with the best interviews and put them to school as surgeons. Harvard Law should do it too.
Because GPA has no bearing on your competence or work ethic or potential at all.
Because GPA has no bearing on your competence or work ethic at all.
It certainly isn't as good as what you learn after somebody has a few years of actual work experience, but "no bearing" is obviously absurd. It is very hard to get Ds (or even many Cs these days) without lacking one or the other.
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