Bachelors Degree Holders: Has GPA Ever Been a Factor in Getting/Not Getting a Job?

JoJoCal19

I am working on my BS in Business Administration at the University of Florida (best college in Florida for those not familiar) and I'm not off to as good of a start as I wanted. This summer is my first term and I've learned that I must give WAY more effort than I did to skate by Junior College with a 3.0 (still not great). Ill have a 2.0 after this first term, if not a 2.33. Im going to pull it up to atleast a 3.0 (shooting for higher) but there is no guarantee. UF is damn tough and there is a reason why not many people make it into UF. Im finding out firsthand.

So lets say I end up with a 2.8-3.0 upon graduating. What are peoples experiences with their GPA, both good and not so good, being a factor in getting a job offer or not getting a job offer?

*Note: Doesn't matter what area the degree is in.

Devilsbane

From most resume sites that I have seen, unless you have a 3.5+ GPA, you don't mention it. And an employer will never ask. I don't think it will ever matter for a job, could if you are ever looking to go to graduate school though.

ChronusMaximus

I agree with Devilsbane, there are not many places that will ask for your GPA. I have only had one job interview since I received my Bachelors degree and they just wanted to know if I received it. Some may ask for official transcripts but I would think if your in the 3.0 range you should be fine. Like Devilsbane said, it might be an issue with some grad schools but I think they also take into consideration your GMAT/GRE scores for that as well.

Off-topic but have you been to any Gator games yet? I have some friends who went to UF's business school and they all mentioned how hard it was. Best of luck with your studies!

NightShade03

I agree with the others. I went on quite a few interviews and I never had any of them ask or question my GPA. I did have one or two look through my transcripts because they were interested in the course backgrounds I took.

mikej412

When you're a new college graduate with no work experience, all you have to differentiate yourself from all the other new college graduates is your GPA (and the quality of your school).

One advantage of going to a good school is that you stand a good chance of getting a job through your school's recruiting program senior year -- if you have the grades.

Without a good GPA you'll may be competing for the same jobs as the party school graduates -- so hopefully you'll at least have had as much fun in school as they did.

brad-

I nor any of my friends were ever asked. The only real question to answer on your resume is "do you have a degree? If so, what major?" I think it is kind of like certs in that manner, nobody cares what score you got, as long as you got it.

Unless you're trying to get into Grad school of some kind or get a scholarship while you're in college, GPA is pretty much irrelevant once you get the degree.

petedude

Probably only matters if you apply with high finance firms, e.g. large stock brokerages.

And maybe Google.

uhtrinity

GPA for some previous coursework that was 12 years old came up in an FBI interview. I was grilled pretty heavy about it, in the nd I think they were using it to gauge how I reacted under pressure. The lady in charge scoffed at my transcripts and said, "Some of these grades are terrible, we are the FBI!!" WGU and their lack of a GPA also came up, I just explained that to pass a course it had to have a B or higher, or 3.0+. Still got an offer as a GS5 which I ended up declining. It was only help desk and their security guys are super paranoid. In the end it wasn't worth the hassle.

Edit: 18 months ago. The only cert they were concerned with was A+. I had finished Network+ and Security+ by the time the second round of interviews came up.

Devilsbane

uhtrinity wrote: »

GPA for some previous coursework that was 12 years old came up in an FBI interview. I was grilled pretty heavy about it, in the nd I think they were using it to gauge how I reacted under pressure. The lady in charge scoffed at my transcripts and said, "Some of these grades are terrible, we are the FBI!!" WGU and their lack of a GPA also came up, I just explained that to pass a course it had to have a B or higher, or 3.0+. Still got an offer as a G5 which I ended up declining. It was only help desk and their security guys are super paranoid. In the end it wasn't worth the hassle.

Government is the exception. They are going to use everything that they can get their hands on (which is pretty much everything). I can't see why some poor grades in the ancient past would hurt you. They weren't hiring you 12 years ago, they are hiring you today.

Bl8ckr0uter

Devilsbane wrote: »

Government is the exception. They are going to use everything that they can get their hands on (which is pretty much everything). I can't see why some poor grades in the ancient past would hurt you. They weren't hiring you 12 years ago, they are hiring you today.

A lot of people equate good grades to intellect, and intellect to being a better worker.

phantasm

knwminus wrote: »

A lot of people equate good grades to intellect, and intellect to being a better worker.

This is true, but I beg to differ. I knew a guy with a 4.0 and he felt the employer owed him so he did jack and got fired. On the other hand, you have me, my GPA is nothing to write home about but I work my but off day in and day out.

So I guess it is a case by case basis.

Bl8ckr0uter

phantasm wrote: »

This is true, but I beg to differ. I knew a guy with a 4.0 and he felt the employer owed him so he did jack and got fired. On the other hand, you have me, my GPA is nothing to write home about but I work my but off day in and day out.

So I case it is a case by case basis.

I am not arguing that it is correct ( I don't believe it is) I am just saying that people believe that.

shaqazoolu

I graduated with a 3.3 and it really hasn't done anything for me, good or bad.

JoJoCal19

petedude wrote: »

Probably only matters if you apply with high finance firms, e.g. large stock brokerages.

And maybe Google.

Yes this is one of my biggest concerns too. Finance is one of my choices, really my top one, if I leave IT completely. If I stay in IT then I'm shooting for one of the big three, MS, Apple, or Google.

The only bright side is that will be after my MBA so if I can get a good GPA for my MBA my BS wont matter. The type of coursework of an MBA is better suited to my academic skills than the usual BS coursework.

bellhead

I would try really hard to get it up to at least a 3.0.....There are a lot of major companies out there which will week out applicants based upon their GPA. Examples of these are Ernst and Young, P&G, Accenture etc...They will hire straight from college and mold you into the type of employee they want. I know P&G has a specific set of schools they hire from and have a list of things you need, one of them is a minimum GPA. Most companies could care less but consultant type jobs do look at GPA.

AnthonyG

JoJo I graduate in August(Gamecock ) and from what I can tell GPA really isn't that big of a deal as long as your near a 3.0... Coming out of college and working for Google, Microsoft, or Apple is not easy... The best way to battle higher GPA students is to gain work experience while in college. Find a part time IT job it will benefit you greatly not only in your pockets but in your education.

At the end of the day, IT is everywhere, there are many places that are great to be employed at.

NightShade03

shaqazoolu wrote: »

I graduated with a 3.3 and it really hasn't done anything for me, good or bad.

I'm right about there too. The company I work for, I work alongside two guys that graduated from Columbia with like 3.9s and their Masters. I make just as much as them. I guess GPA isn't always everything.

JoJoCal19

AnthonyG wrote: »

JoJo I graduate in August(Gamecock ) and from what I can tell GPA really isn't that big of a deal as long as your near a 3.0... Coming out of college and working for Google, Microsoft, or Apple is not easy... The best way to battle higher GPA students is to gain work experience while in college. Find a part time IT job it will benefit you greatly not only in your pockets but in your education.

At the end of the day, IT is everywhere, there are many places that are great to be employed at.

I agree coming out of college and landing a good job isn't very easy. Thankfully Im a lot older than the typical Bachelors graduate (28 and have 9 years of professional work experience and 5 years of IT experience)

Along with my experience I am currently working on obtaining my Six Sigma Green Belt, CAPM certification (I want the PMP eventually), and hopefully my Series 7/66 (stock brokers) license. I work for the nations largest bank and investment firm and I'm hoping to use my experience here along with those industry certifications to either move up or move out and up somewhere.

erpadmin

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

I work for the nations largest bank and investment firm and I'm hoping to use my experience here along with those industry certifications to either move up or move out and up somewhere.

So you work for BOA? Man I hope you're not in their IT department........I am still fuming about their online banking site being down for 2-3 hours today!!

Good luck with your GPA. Remember, our second to last President had a pretty crappy one....but he was rich, and it was from Yale. lol.

JoJoCal19

erpadmin wrote: »

So you work for BOA? Man I hope you're not in their IT department........I am still fuming about their online banking site being down for 2-3 hours today!!

Good luck with your GPA. Remember, our second to last President had a pretty crappy one....but he was rich, and it was from Yale. lol.

I (unfortunately) do, formerly of Merrill Lynch. I actually do Identity and Access Management here and thankful I don't deal with BoA stuff, just legacy Merrill.