How Important is a Good GPA?
If I could offer advice to every student attending college; it would be to keep your grades up! I know I sound like everyone’s parents. But from someone who has been recruiting for a very long time, I know what I’m talking about.
College is a great experience and an opportunity to learn what you are good at, interested in and passionate about. Once you know what that is, you can receive the training you need to excel in your chosen field.
I hear from so many people, college is where they made lifelong friends or met their spouse or met the people they ended up working with after college.
When you list your college and degree on your resume and do not include your GPA, it is often assumed it wasn’t a good one.
Many companies ask and verify what your GPA is during the interview process.
Several companies have a “cut off” for GPA’s that they won’t go below when hiring. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, that requirement never goes away. Whether you are a recent graduate or have been working for twenty years. If the company will not hire anyone with a GPA lower than 3.5 out of 4.0, you can’t go back and fix it after you’ve graduated.
Why Risk a Low GPA
I’ve heard the argument from candidates that this requirement is shortsighted. Perhaps it is. Perhaps the company is overlooking someone who is truly brilliant but didn’t test well. That happens. But more often than not, the company doesn’t want to take that chance.
Also, the companies I know with the GPA cut off requirement are usually the ones that are voted the best place to work in their field. They can afford to be selective.
I’ve worked with candidates who graduated from prestigious colleges with a 2.2 GPA. If your GPA is extremely low, the company has a right to wonder what exactly you learned in school. Your GPA is their way of measuring you. For better or for worse, it matters. Would you like to see a doctor who squeaked by in school?
So, one of the most important pieces of advice I can offer is to keep your grades up to a level that will attract an employer to you. It provides some level of assurance that you learned at least some of the basic requirements in your chosen field.