Resume question

[Ramhock]

He has a friend who "advises" all the friends on their resumes, who educated him to include his GPA on his said document.

 

My son has an Economics degree from the University of Delaware, a fine institution. But due to a slight case of ADD and being f'n lazy, his overall GPA = 2.2 with a 2.5 in his major.

 

Would he be better off leaving these #s off or is it the case where all recent college grads should include them?

[Cunning Runt]

He has a friend who "advises" all the friends on their resumes, who educated him to include his GPA on his said document.

 

My son has an Economics degree from the University of Delaware, a fine institution. But due to a slight case of ADD and being f'n lazy, his overall GPA = 2.2 with a 2.5 in his major.

 

Would he be better off leaving these #s off or is it the case where all recent college grads should include them?

 

Definitely leave it off.

 

Emphasize activities, skills, etc..

[Big Country]

Leave it off.

 

Only time GPA came into consideration was the few times I was asked to provide copies of my transcripts.

[Savage Beatings]

Definitely leave it off... focus that document on the highlights, not his shortcomings.

[AtomicCEO]

He has a friend who "advises" all the friends on their resumes, who educated him to include his GPA on his said document.

 

My son has an Economics degree from the University of Delaware, a fine institution. But due to a slight case of ADD and being f'n lazy, his overall GPA = 2.2 with a 2.5 in his major.

 

Would he be better off leaving these #s off or is it the case where all recent college grads should include them?

 

Why not just say:

 

 

Activities and Interests:

• Attention Defecit Disorder

• Laziness

 

[DemonKnight]

Dittto those above. No one really looks at GPA when hiring.

 

Might I ask what type of job hes looking for and where?

[Ramhock]

Dittto those above. No one really looks at GPA when hiring.

 

Might I ask what type of job hes looking for and where?

 

Something analytical. He particularly enjoyed statistics. Local, Delaware.

[twiley]

Maybe it's just me but if I'm hiring a college grad and it involves statistics I definitely want to know how he did in college. Now, if it was something like advertising then I wouldn't give 2 squirts about his GPA and would focus more on his college internships.

 

Then again, what do I know.

[Cunning Runt]

Maybe it's just me but if I'm hiring a college grad and it involves statistics I definitely want to know how he did in college. Now, if it was something like advertising then I wouldn't give 2 squirts about his GPA and would focus more on his college internships.

 

Then again, what do I know.

 

If they want to know, they'll ask. Including them, when they're not stellar, might cause him to not even get the interview.

[yo mama]

2.2 GPA is pretty sucky. However, some schools bust the kids' balls and everyone gets a low GPA. So if his 2.2 GPA put him in say the top 25% of his class, then I'd put that down. But if that isn't the case, then I'd say leave it off. Assuming he's still got a year or two left of school he needs to: (1) get that GPA up; and (2) get some internships or work experience that he can emphasize after graduation. (I say this from personal experience).

 

And if all else fails, he can always go to law school.

Edited March 17, 2008 by yo mama

[twiley]

If they want to know, they'll ask. Including them, when they're not stellar, might cause him to not even get the interview.

HR depts get flooded with resumes and usually when I send out position requests there's a certain criteria that they must meet first. If I ask for a GPA then his resume will immediately get tossed because it's not on there.

 

Either way IMO, he's at a disadvantage because of the low GPA and also not putting it on his resume.

Edited March 17, 2008 by twiley

[Azazello1313]

HR depts get flooded with resumes and usually when I send out position requests there's a certain criteria that they must meet first. If I ask for a GPA then his resume will immediately get tossed because it's not on there.

 

Either way IMO, he's at a disadvantage because of the low GPA and also not putting it on his resume.

 

well, if an employer has some sort of GPA threshold they're looking for, 2.2 is probably going to be on the wrong side of it. the bottom line is he gains nothing by putting it on there. like yo mama said, if there's some way to put a positive emphasis on it (like top quarter of his class), do that.

[Chief Dick]

Why not just say:

Activities and Interests:

• Attention Defecit Disorder

• Laziness

• Excellent Speller

 

[keggerz]

Definitely leave it off... focus that document on the highlights, not his shortcomings.

Very good posting

 

2.2 GPA is pretty sucky. However, some schools bust the kids' balls and everyone gets a low GPA. So if his 2.2 GPA put him in say the top 25% of his class, then I'd put that down. But if that isn't the case, then I'd say leave it off. Assuming he's still got a year or two left of school he needs to: (1) get that GPA up; and (2) get some internships or work experience that he can emphasize after graduation. (I say this from personal experience).

 

And if all else fails, he can always go to law school.

if 2.2 is in the top 25% then put TOP 25% not 2.2...if you put 2.2 and its the top 5% it wont matter because the HR person is gonna ASSume it sucks...

[yo mama]

Very good posting

if 2.2 is in the top 25% then put TOP 25% not 2.2...if you put 2.2 and its the top 5% it wont matter because the HR person is gonna ASSume it sucks...

That's what I meant: put top X%, if that's more impressive sounding.

[keggerz]

That's what I meant: put top X%, if that's more impressive sounding.

[yo mama]

It's okay; you're new around here. Have you been assigned a huddle buddy yet?

[Riffraff]

Definitely leave it off... focus that document on the highlights, not his shortcomings.

Yup.

 

If no experience, perhaps highlight a few classes that he did well in.

Preferably with teachers that would put in a good word for him as a reference.

[i_am_the_swammi]

and he wants to be my latex salesman?

[Bill Swerski]

No one really looks at GPA when hiring.

 

Not true. I know of at least a couple of companies (Merck is one of them) that specifically ask for it because they use it as an initial screen. Some of them will throw your resume in the trash if the number is less than 3.5.

 

If your son had a higher GPA towards the end of college, he might want to highlight that. As was said earlier, highlight the positives and hide the negatives.

Edited March 18, 2008 by Bill Swerski

[Avernus]

Something analytical. He particularly enjoyed statistics. Local, Delaware.

 

sounds like me

[budlitebrad]

I used my major GPA (3.1) instead of my overall GPA (2.9) which helped a little.

 

Not true. I know of at least a couple of companies (Merck is one of them) that specifically ask for it because they use it as an initial screen. Some of them will throw your resume in the trash if the number is less than 3.5.

 

That's what killed me when I applied to PWC out of college.