Including GPA on resume

 

Should you include GPA on your resume?

Red Flag alert! Like everyone you have a CV but it is far from a perfect one, and by imperfections we don’t mean grammatical mistakes here and there! We are talking about epic level imperfections like a less than stellar academic record, or a less than glorious employment track record.

 

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have impeccable credentials – be it academic or professional. However that does not mean that those of us will less than enviable credentials cannot go on to secure an enviable job! Today we will be sharing a few tips on how to write a perfect resume which in reality is far from perfect.

 

Keep in mind, that in your case you have to put in twice the effort in order to get noticed than people with higher GPA ( Grade point average)/aggregate. Once you have accepted this grim reality, we can proceed.

 

 

  • Omit GPA from your resume : Not all graduate jobs ask for a GPA. Most requires relevant work experience and some specific set of skills. If your GPA is not impressive leave it out of resume. 

 

  • Build Up A Distance From Your GPA : Believe it or not, if you put in some years distance between your college grades, it will matter less. Many employers emphasize recent achievements and if you can show an impressive ( and relevant work experience) then your college grades will be less important. ( Though you may still be grilled over your pitiful grades, we are coming to that later).

 

  • Highlight Relevant Projects : For engineers – especially software developers, any relevant projects, coding competition awards, hackathons won, GitHub projects etc can go a long way in proving that you are a competitive candidate with extensive experience and good domain experience. Your old college GPA will become increasingly less relevant then.

 

  • Don’t Ignore GPA Issue : Face the low aggregate issue head on, instead of ignoring. Especially if you are a fresh graduate with little to no work experience, your GPA will be more important. There may have been mitigating circumstances that lead to the imperfect GPA like chronic illness or death of a family member, or maybe you had to work throughout your undergraduation on different jobs. If however you did underperform on certain subjects due to lack of interest/aptitude

 

  • Highlight Extracurriculars : GPA is often only one aspect, one part of the total picture. If you have significant extracurriculars that displays your leadership abilities then it would make for a very impressive resume – for example you might not have a high GPA, but you might have incredible volunteering experience, fundraising experience that clearly demonstrates your leadership acumen – this might fetch you some managerial jobs.

 

  • Mold Yourself to the Job Requirements ; You need to ensure that the rest of your application is flawless. Try to weave in a tale of coming over personal obstacles and emerging victorious. If you have worked throughout your undergrad, then make it a tale of surviving against odd and how you persevered and passed college.