Where to Put GPA On Resume?
Where to put GPA on resume and should you list it?
Major GPA vs cumulative GPA resume.
Listing overall GPA is one of the most debated questions for job-seekers. Major GPA, or grade point average, measures your overall success in college. It also proves that you have a solid theoretical background in the chosen field. But is overall GPA that critical for employers? And how to write gpa in cv?
In today’s post, we are going to explain what types of job-seekers will benefit from listing college grade point average on a resume. We will also note in what resume section to put this cumulative cv GPA and what to do if you don’t have a high GPA.
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What makes resume GPA important?
Unless you gain professional experience, GPA is the main predictor of your performance in the workplace. Hiring managers assume that if a person is smart and persistent enough to get a GPA of 3.5 or above, they are likely to work just as hard once hired.
To explore the importance of GPA in cv or on your resume, let’s take a look at some data:
- On average, it takes 5 months to find a job in the US. But if the resume represents your strengths well, you are likely to get hired faster.
- Unemployment rate for college graduates is 4.3%. Listing a high GPA as well as other academic accomplishments can make you a more employable candidate.
- 59% of hiring managers will reject a resume that contains typos or grammar mistakes. Double-check the resume content before sending it – strong writing skills are just as important as good GPA.
Also, did you know that 77% of resumes are tossed before a hiring manager even sees them? This happens because of lack of keywords and poor optimization for ATS. Our website offers resume optimization for your target job to help you get shortlisted. Contact us on chat to learn more.
The main rules to list GPA on a resume
A high GPA can be a strong selling point if used strategically. Below, our resume consultant will explain how to grasp the attention of potential employers by showing off your superior performance in the university.
Add GPA on your resume only if you’re just out of college
Using GPA is most valuable for recent graduates. Career experts recommend listing it if you’re a student or have under 3 years of work experience. As you gain skills and experience in a real job, college grades become less relevant and can be removed.
Leave GPA if it matters for your target job
In some industries and careers GPA retains its importance years after graduation. If you work as an educator or researcher, for example, your academic performance will matter for employers even if you haven’t recently graduated. If GPA is important in your career field, keep it.
Place it in your Education section
List GPA alongside your degree and institution. Here’s the correct format:
University of Texas at Austin
Master of Science in Marketing
Cumulative GPA: 3.82
Note: Only include your university or college GPA! No need to list the high school GPA. If you have any college degree, remove the high school information at all. Mention if you decided to obtain a double major as well.
List other academic honors and awards
Academic achievement is not limited to GPA. Here are other types of academic records that will help you stand out as a candidate:
- Latin honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude)
- Dean’s List
- Academic distinction, etc.
If you lack accomplishments from college, there are still ways to enhance your Education section. Consider listing information as follows:
- Coursework relevant to your target job (i.e. Investment Banking, Environmental Science, Macroeconomics)
- Relevant thesis subject.
Only include a high college GPA
Employers expect to see a very high GPA. In fact, GPA is worth listing only if it’s 3.5 or higher. Some hiring managers admit that it’s better to leave it out than to include a low result. If your overall GPA isn’t impressive because you focused on career-related subjects only, consider adding a major GPA instead.
No need to reiterate it in your cover letter
If the resume has your GPA already, no need to list it in other application documents. When writing a cover letter, you can focus on specific experiences from college. For example, you can describe college projects, volunteering, or recognition from your professor. Cover letters with real examples are the most powerful.
Strengthen the resume content and looks
Listing education is the most important for a recent graduate. However, to get more chances for your dream job, take a critical look at other resume sections as well. Our resume consultant suggests that you follow these rules to stand out from other candidates:
Keep the resume to one page
As an entry-level professional with limited work experience, you can probably fit all your skills and work history into one page. No need to write many pages. Make sure that resume has the main information about education, internships, projects and skills.
Add a career summary
It’s a common misconception that Summary of qualifications is for experienced professionals only. Recent graduates can use it too to show their personal drive, ambition and explain what kind of career they’re looking for. In 2-3 sentences, describe your competencies that are most relevant to the job listing and try explaining why they should hire you.
List job-related skills
Adding a list of skills is helpful because it helps the hiring manager get a glimpse of your biggest strengths. Moreover, these skills can work as keywords and help you pass the ATS. So, write 8-16 hard and soft skills that are relevant to your target career. Try to avoid obvious skills like time management, MS Word, work ethic, teamwork etc. Only include such skills if they are in a job description.
Describe volunteering and internships as real jobs
Often, graduates underestimate their unpaid experience. Yet, everything depends on how you can present this experience to the recruiter. Describe your volunteering involvement and internships as real employment. List your daily duties, achievements, and types of tasks you were assigned. In this way, you’ll beat the resumes of other applicants.
Pay attention to formatting
Resume formatting matters no less than content. Nobody will notice your academic achievements if they are not highlighted in the right way. Give the resume a good structure by clearly dividing sections. Use bold and italics to draw attention to the most important facts in a resume. When possible, avoid resume builders – they are often don’t open correctly in ATS which means that your resume may be tossed.
Proofread before sending
Poor writing and typos are seen as lack of attention to detail and lack of communication skills. To avoid making a bad impression, proofread the resume several times. Read the bullet points aloud to make sure that each statement makes sense. Use the spell checking software to speed up the process.
Get personalized help with your resume
We hope that upon reading of this article you are well aware of how to list GPA properly. However, there are lots of other tricky resume issues that can sabotage your job search. In other words, you may be making resume mistakes without realizing it.
At ResumePerk.com, we offer affordable resume editing. An experienced resume writer will fix the content, looks and structure of your resume, thus giving you more chances to get shortlisted. Our writers are located in the US, UK and other English-speaking countries and we work 24/7 to assist with your resume anytime. Contact us via chat to get a special student discount!