Compiling a decent resume was always a difficult challenge with many peculiarities that can make your candidature more attractive, as well as the opposite. Although listing GPA on a resume may seem like an obvious decision that needs no consideration, in reality, it turns out to be one of those peculiarities mentioned above. The majority of graduates can face a range of concerns regarding the proper place for including GPA, the extent of covering it, and the necessity to include it at all.
Where to Put GPA on Resume?
That’s why we prepared this article to disclose this matter more precisely, providing answers and a few helpful tips to improve the chances of obtaining the desired job. If it happens that you will still have any concerning questions after reading – fear not! Because you are always welcome to get a helping hand on resume writing from our team at ResumeEdge.
When Should You Include Your GPA On Your Resume?
The first and the most extensive question concerning the necessity of indicating GPA on a resume as a whole has a pretty simple answer. It depends on a particular situation and the employer’s requirements for candidates. If listing GPA on a resume is a straight condition from the employer – then it’s simply a must. Even if you aren’t very proud of your GPA, not including it instantly makes your resume inappropriate for hiring on this job.
On the other hand, when there are no such conditions, the options are more diverse and greatly depend on your working experience. Though creating a resume with GPA can be a sensible way to improve your resume, it may not be suitable for everyone. To be precise, gaining an advantage through this method is only applicable in case you’re a recent graduate that only begins to work.
Cases When a Resume With a GPA Will Be Of No Use
First of all, turning your grade point average into an advantage is only possible if you have good grades. Usually, to be considered beneficial, the GPA has to be at least over 3.5, while 3.0 is the average score. Naturally, if those are worse than average, it may even cause the opposite effect, resulting in your candidacy decline.
Another case when it’s possible to neglect to indicate GPA on a resume is membership in honor societies or availability of honorifics, which show academic achievements. Among them, it’s possible to highlight such as getting on the Dean’s List, winning awards, and any Latin Honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude). Mentioning those gives a clear understanding of successful studying, without any need to confirm it with GPA. Although academic honorifics provide similar results to GPA, they are much more valuable and will always stay relevant. However, if you really want to put your GPA on the resume, it’s possible to include both of them together.
Finally, there is no need to mention your GPA if it’s not relevant anymore. It’s not a secret that real experience “in the field” is way more precious and sound, making it a far superior option for any recruiter. That’s why if you are an experienced employee with at least a few years of work behind your back, it would be much better to concentrate attention on demonstrating professional capabilities. That is especially so if you have real achievements to back your words and highlight your part in the team.
Cases When It’s Recommended to Include Your GPA On Your Resume
The most widespread cases when one needs a resume with GPA relates to fresh graduates that don’t possess much experience. Due to a lack of actual working experience, the employee’s value is substituted with academic achievements. Employers consider graduates with higher GPAs to be more reliable, serious, and appropriate for carrying tasks and functioning in the working environment. Though this way of thinking may not entirely match reality, this method shows the person’s work ethic and attitude to work.
At the same time, this is also an option for people that apply to work during school. Here GPA on a resume fulfills the same aim of showing employees’ skills, personal drive, and working ethic. The only thing to recommend here is to use your current GPA at a particular institution. This way, even if you had a low GPA in school, you can easily replace it with your grade’s in the current year of college.
Read More: Education vs. Experience: Which Matters More for Your Career?
Instructions On Listing GPA On a Resume
First, it’s necessary to clarify where to put GPA on a resume and what it should contain. It is always included in the educational section of the resume, providing a brief summary of your academic achievements and previous places of study. At this, it’s also important to stick to the standard format, as it will let employers quickly check it, avoiding mistakes. The correct formatting contains the abbreviation GPA, then a colon, and the number in the end.
Here you can also mention your honorifics and academic awards if you have those. That would be extremely advantageous, as it serves the best proof of your reliability and skillfulness. On top of that, if GPA gets less relevant with time, honors will stay in the resume forever, highlighting the candidate’s benefits. At the same time, if you want to include honorifics and GPA at once, it’s possible to put it into parentheses right after the honor itself.
A Few Tips For Putting GPA On Your Resume
It’s not a rare occasion when one’s overall GPA is low, but major GPA is average or even well above that. If it happened that you got into such a problem, there is also a way to improve your resume just a little. You can include only your major GPA, excluding the overall one.
The second piece of advice is much more simple, recommending to not lie about your GPA in the resume. Employers can check one’s GPA with ease, so revealing the truth is just a matter of time. Although it’s okay to leave it empty, lying will most likely result in rejection or even getting fired. If your grades are less than average, just don’t mention them at all (if not necessary).
Conclusion
Despite the information on GPA may be worthless for the best part of employees, it’s definitely a valuable piece of information for those who struggle the most – recent graduates with no real experience. Unfortunately, at the moment, this is the only available option for employers to assess the person with no working achievements. Even though some companies disagree with such an approach, most companies in the market still look for new employees based on GPA. That’s why it’s so important to know about including GPA on your resume and when it’s necessary. All of that just increases the chances of obtaining the desired job.
We hope you enjoyed reading the article and discovered some new information about getting a job. Whenever you face trouble with resume writing, we are always glad to help at ResumeEdge.
