What Is A Good Gpa
A good college GPA should be at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. This is equivalent to a C if the school is following the letter grading system. Depending on the guidelines of the university, a 2.0 GPA may be necessary to graduate and remain qualified for federal financial aid. Program enrollment and institutional scholarships at some universities often require a grade point average above 2.0.
Should I Include My Gpa On My Resume
If youve recently graduated and havent yet tacked on much work experience, your GPA is a smart piece of information to include. But this is only true if its a 3.5 or higher, showing excellent achievement. Not that a GPA lower than 3.5 is anything to be ashamed ofbut in the hiring world, it could actually hurt your chances of landing a job. Best to stick only with high honors when including your GPA on your resume.
How To List Ongoing Education
If you are still in the midst of your studies, you can include your current field of study in your resume and state when is your expected graduation. Hiring managers are interested in what you are studying and if you have any specific coursework that is relevant to the job. If you’re still a student, place the education section on top of your resume, below your contact information and summary statement.
Here’s what you need to include in your resume:
-
Name of institution
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a Minor in FinanceCumulative GPA: 4.32/5.00 Dean’s List ASEAN Scholarship*
Read Also: What To Put Under Education On A Resume
How To List A Minor On Your Resume
If your minor relates directly to the job youre applying for, it may be worth including on your resume. Listing your minor can help highlight relevant skills that can set you ahead of the competition.
You should list your minor on your resume just beside your major. For example:
DePaul University, Chicago, IL, December 2009-March 2013
Bachelor of Arts, Major English Composition, Minor Journalism
If you are including your GPA, it can go at the very end, beside the minor, like this:
DePaul University, Chicago, IL, December 2009-March 2013
Bachelor of Arts, Major English Composition, Minor Journalism
What Happens If You Lie On Your Resume
Lying can only lead to one thing losing out on your dream job.
Nowadays, the hiring process consists of initial background checks, calls to past employers, and multiple interviews. With all that, lies are very likely to get detected.
How to be on the safe side?
Just dont lie!
However, if you somehow got yourself in a position where you lied about something in your resume, we have prepared a detailed guide to show you how to handle the situation.
You May Like: What Font Size Should My Resume Be
Is A 31 College Gpa Good
To elaborate, the national average for GPA is around a 3.0, so a 3.1 puts you above average nationally. Having a 3.1 GPA as a freshman isnt bad, but theres certainly room for improvement. This GPA will still give you many college options. However, youll miss out on schools that are on the more selective side.
You Started College At One Place But Finished Somewhere Else
If you attended college at one institution perhaps a community college and then completed your education in another place, you only need to list the university where you completed your degree. All the employer wants to know is which college supplied you with your degree at the end of your education they don’t necessarily care or need to know how you arrived at this place. Save that resume space for more important information.
Read Also: What To Say When Sending A Resume
You’re Seeking An Internship
If you’re applying for an internship during your high school or college years, including your SAT score can help you prove your abilities. Since internships are often tied to classes and course grades, showing an above-average or exceptional SAT score may give you an advantage over other candidates. Your score may also help internship leaders recognize your ability to solve problems and conduct research using critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Finally Understand Your Strengths And Priorities
If you have mentioned your GPA while considering all the other aspects of your resume, make sure you feel confident about it. Your GPA can be a useful addition to your resume, but only if it complements the other information you provide. Once youve been in the workforce for a few years, your GPA is generally less important than the experience youve gained in your field. An exception would be if youve gone back to school to pursue a different career path. Once you rejoin the workforce in a different field, it may help to add your GPA after the first couple of years.
Don’t Miss: Honors Related To Your Academic Achievements
When Not To Include Gpa On A Resume
In some cases, including a GPA score on your resume can also be a pretty bad decision.
Avoid listing your GPA on resume if:
- Your GPA is lower than 3.5
- Youve been out of school for more than 3 years
- This is not your first job application
Score lower than 3.5 is not bad, however, its not really worth mentioning either. Many people have an average GPA, which means you wont stand out. Instead youll blend with everyone else.
Additionally, your potential employer can regard a lower GPA as an indicator of weak work ethic.
Theres a point when your GPA simply becomes less important. Trust us, you dont want to be the 36-year old still flaunting their GPA at every chance they get.
So, when youre out of school for more than 3 years or youve had a job before relevant work experience and professional achievements matter a lot more.
Where Should You Put Your Gpa On Your Resume
If you opt to include your GPA on your resume, put it in your education section. Here is an example of a GPA on a resume:
This example works well for a current student. It includes an expected graduation date, both a major GPA and a cumulative GPA, as well as details about honors and relevant coursework.
You can also check out our post on including magna, summa and cum laude on a resume.
Here is another example:
This section has fewer details, and is better suited for someone with a couple of years of experience. The GPA is still well over 3.3 but is not likely to be the most compelling information on this resume.
Don’t Miss: How To List Multiple Titles At Same Company On Resume
Recent Or Current Students Can Lead With Your Education Section
If youre a current student and dont have a lot of work experience, its fine to lead with your education section. Its the most recent experience you have. Leading with your education also prevents anyone whos skimming over your resume from assuming that youre simply inexperienced or unemployed, when the reality is that youre in full-time education. Its also okay to include your degree if you havent officially graduated yet simply list it as expected May 2024 .
The same applies if youre a recent graduate. If your education is still the most relevant or most impressive experience you have, list it first.
Include Internships And Student Placements
Internships paid or unpaid are generally a better fit for your work experience section, since they take place in a professional work environment. List these the same way as paid work experience, including the name of the employer, the dates of the internship, and a few key accomplishments in bullet points.
You can include student placements if they were a) significant, b) recent, and c) relevant. In other words, a six-month hospital placement belongs on your resume if you’re a recent nursing graduate, but a two-week observation probably doesn’t.
Recommended Reading: How Many References Should You Include
Does Gpa Matter On A Resume
The honest answer is:
It depends.
If you just finished your education, adding a good GPA might bring some additional value to the hiring managers.
Its appropriate to add it when:
- It is specifically requested by the hiring company
- Your degree is highly related to the position you are applying for
- You have a good GPA
On the other hand, dont include it if:
- The GPA is less than 3.5
- You are more than three years out of college
- You have earned a higher degree that is more relevant for the position .
Describe Your Achievements Using Numbers And Percentages To Back Them Up
When possible, you should back up your achievements with numbers and percentages.
This is how you show the employer that youre a high-achiever.
To show you how this looks in practice, lets take an example of an achievement for a customer support agent:
Increased customer support ticket closing satisfaction rate
While this is definitely a good start, it doesnt actually mean anything. Anyone could say theyve done this – but theres a huge difference between someone who increased the satisfaction rate by 0.5%, and by 30%.
What if you rephrased it as:
Increased customer support ticket closing satisfaction rate from 47% to 72% within 3 months.
Now, this is a lot more actionable. The hiring manager can see how good you are, and how youd be an asset for the company.
In this case, its instantly clear that you know what youre doing, and your resume goes directly to the YES pile.
Don’t Miss: Corvette Plant Shutdown
You Possess An Undergraduate Degree Graduate Degree Or Other Advanced Certification
An employer expects to find information about your undergraduate degree and any graduate work or additional graduate degrees you’ve earned, such as a master’s degree, Ph.D., law degree, and so forth, on your resume. The same goes for any certifications or advanced training you’ve received that’s relevant to your current job goals and career path, such as an RN, PMP, SSBB , etc. Include these in a designated Education and Professional Development resume section.
If you’ve earned an advanced degree or certification that’s considered very important for your field of work, include the acronym for the credential after your name at the top of your resume in addition to including the details of your education at the bottom of your resume in an Education and Professional Development section.
In Fact If You Include A Gpa Lower Than A 30 On Your Resume You Could Risk Hurting Your Hiring Chances
Should you put your gpa on your resume. Should i put a 3.44 gpa on my resume? Do not include your gpa if it will hurt you. While the standard is to include your gpa in your education section, in some situations , you may also want to mention your gpa in your cover letter or a resume resume summary.
If you graduated from college, forget about sharing your high school gpa. Put it in the education section of your resume. As stated above, if your gpa is 3.5 or higher, then you should definitely include it on your resume and in your job application recruiting & search recruiting & job search for corporate finance careers requires.
Generally, you should include your gpa on resume if: high achieving finance grad with a 3.9 gpa and a passion for data analysis. Tips for including your gpa on your resume.
When to include a gpa on your resume. The rule or thumb or consensus that you only put your gpa on your resume if: Include it if your gpa will help you or will be, at worst, neutral.
A company asks for it. Or can you round up a gpa on a resume? For example, do not put your gpa:
If your overall gpa is 3.0 or higher, list it on your resume. If you have been in the professional work world for more than five years, there is no need to list your gpa on your resume. Youre a recent graduate with less than 5 years experience or limited work experience
High school gpa on a resume. Your gpa is 3.5 or higher. Your gpa is 3.5 and higher
Some of you may ask:
Pin on Career Advice
You May Like: Should You Put Cum Laude On Resume
Do Employers Check Your Gpa And How Important Is It Really
The truth is that many small companies dont care about your GPA, and therefore, theyll probably not check the validity of the score.
However, large companies often expect to see your GPA In fact, 67% of companies said they screened candidates by their GPA, according to a survey.
Similarly, in 2018 when the National Association of Colleges and Employers asked employers about the influence of the attributes employers seek on a candidates resume a high GPA was rated 3.4 on a 5-point scale, which accounts to a moderately high influence:
As you can see from the chart above, your GPA influences employers opinions even more than your extracurricular activities, studies abroad, or your volunteer work.
Also, in a Forbes interview with Dan Black, the director of recruiting for the Americas at Ernst & Young, he says about GPA: Its really one of the only indications we have of a students technical ability or competence to do the job.
So, do employers check your GPA? As you can see, very often they do.
Its important to be honest, as employers normally request a copy of a students transcript in one third of cases. After all, you dont want to be remembered for lying on your resume, do you?
How To Write An Education Section
Here’s a quick guide on how to write a resume education section:
You May Like: How To Add Personal Projects To Resume
Relevant Social Media Handles
Many companies nowadays ask for a Linkedin profile when you apply for a job.
Your chances of getting hired will be greater if you as your resume.
In very specific cases, you can also include your Twitter profile .
Some marketing jobs ask for an existing social following, for example. In others, you could use it to display your witty, under-20-characters writing skills.
Quora
Quora questions and answers cover a wide range of business topics nowadays.
Are you an expert at giving business advice with 100+ answers on the topic? You can show your authority by linking your Quora page.
StackOverflow
Mainly relevant for developers,coders, computer scientists.
Having a very active Stack overflow profile can give you a big boost if you code.
Github
Only for developers, coders, data scientists, etc.
Github is a great way to showcase your projects. Whether its a website you developed, or a mobile game, make sure to include it!
Medium
Freelancers, writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs.
A rich medium profile can help you showcase your writing skills and personality before even getting to the interview or trial task.
Make sure to only put the relevant social media handles on your resume. If you are applying for a software development position, for example, your StackOverflow profile will be more relevant than your Twitter account.
Does A Good Gpa Matter In College
The answer is a resounding yes.
Students whose GPA dip below 2.0 may face consequences. The school, for instance, may place these individuals on academic probation. Students who fail to shape up could eventually face dismissal from their chosen program and the university, as well.
If youre aiming high and looking to be on top of the pack, shoot for a high GPA. This means getting a grade between 3.5 and 4.0. This academic achievement is worthy of praise, as it shows commitment to excellence something that employers want to see.
Take note, though, that hitting a high GPA can be difficult. Only a small number of college or university graduates achieve this academic excellence. Large companies use this as a benchmark to effectively whittle down the number of contending applicants.
Don’t Miss: How Much To Write A Resume
How To Write A Resume Summary
A resume summary is a 2-3 sentence summary of your entire professional career. If you have more than 2 years of work experience, youd opt for the resume summary instead of an objective .
The core structure of a resume summary should contain the following information:
Jobs and years of experience
- Senior front-end developer with 10+ years of experience in Angular and ReactJs
Relevant achievements and responsibilities
- Specialized in developing e-commerce solutions following agile development principles.
What you are looking for. Your goal.
- Seeking a position as a front-end lead developer at a startup company
To make sure your resume summary is memorable, make sure to mention how your previous experience on motivation will be beneficial to the company youre applying for. You should include the following information:
- What can you do for them?
- How will your previous experience fit in the companys current environment?
- How can you help their company grow while pursuing your own personal goals simultaneously?
Make The Right First Impression With A Resume Summary Or Resume Objective
Nowadays, it takes less than half a second for someone to swipe left and discard your entire worth on Tinder.
Luckily, when applying for a job, you wont be swiped left based on how you look. Youll get discarded if you fail to catch the HR managers attention.
On average, it takes an HR manager or recruiter around 6 seconds to decide whether your resume goes on the discard pile or not.
Thats why you want to leave a good first impression. Just like you did with that Tinder profile photo you uploaded from the time when you still had abs!
When writing a resume, the best way to achieve that is by writing a killer resume summary or objective.
Read Also: How To Draw A Line In Word For Resume