Question:

How important is a high grade point average to employers?

First Answer:

I've been asked this question many times, usually by young graduates. A college diploma is considered a pre-requisite for almost any white collar job, but the DEGREE is what counts, not the percentile you graduated in or the school you went to (as long as it is accredited). The emphasis by most employers is on what you have accomplished and what skills you bring to the job. A student from an ivy-league school in the top percentile of his/her graduating class but who has no outside interests, skills, or work experience is usually not as good a candidate as the person who perhaps attended a less well-known college and had modest grades, but brings a wide variety of skills and experiences that the company can use. It's quite possible that this person's grade point average was not as impressive because s/he was working two jobs, supporting a family, or balancing extra-curricular activities with studying.

That being said, there are some types of jobs, especially in the professional realm, where the college you attended, and your grade point average, are extremely important (E.g. a recent law school graduate hoping to land a job with a top law firm). If you are planning to enter one of these fields, you already know that where you graduate in your class will help or hurt you. If you are worried that your grade point average isn't going to impress and employer, make sure that you work on bringing a lot of other good qualities and experience to an employer when you go for that interview. Get active in related student clubs, volunteer, intern!

-- Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column.

Second Answer:

The importance of your GPA to an employer will depend on the employer. There is no pat answer to your question. Some employers will not ask for a transcript and will have no idea what your GPA is unless you tell them or put it on your resume. Other employers will ask for a transcript.

I believe that GPA becomes important when an employer is deciding between several new graduate candidates for the job. If both candidates interviewed well and have the expertise needed, then the GPA an be one of the factors used in the decision making process. After a person gains work experience, a GPA becomes less important. Just because a person did not have a high GPA 10 years ago, that does not mean that he will not be a valuable employee. Most employers will consider experience and references above the GPA for those who have some practical post graduation work experience.

-- Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Third Answer:

Well, like everything else, that varies and depends on circumstances. You may take comfort in knowing that oftentimes hiring decisions depend on how well you did in the courses relevant to the job that is being offered. For example, some hiring managers focus on success and knowledge in your major and are more flexible in other coursework grades. I believe that low scores can be overcome IF you can get an interview and convince the employer that you will be productive, responsible and reliable since these are universally required of employees. Your grades are one of the indicators a potential employer might choose to use to evaluate you as a candidate, but hopefully, this person will be more open minded to you as an individual. You may also take some comfort in knowing that if your grades have not been consistently poor, you might be able to prepare a clever cover letter introducing your self with a plausible explanation about why you either went downhill or how you got yourself up by your bootstraps. Meanwhile, work hard to achieve your goals and be confident that someone will give you a chance to prove your abilities.

-- Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, creator of the JOBWHIZQUIZ, and specialist in cyber savvy strategic job search consultations.

Fourth Answer:

That depends on the employer. Just as colleges have differing criteria for admitting high school students, employers are not all alike. Large companies who perceive themselves as "industry leaders" may have developed "ideal candidate profiles" for their college recruiting efforts. There are companies that intend to hire only the top 1, 3, or 5% of students, grade-wise, from what they identify as the "top" schools in a given discipline, and they will not consider applicants who do not fit that profile. If you run into this brick wall, unless you can prove there are exceptional reasons for the employer to hire outside their criteria, move on to employers who look beyond grades. Your career services office may be able to help you identify more welcoming employers.

Other employers look harder at your leadership skills as evidenced by offices you held in campus organizations, or team leadership roles in class projects, your analytical ability, your writing ability, or your ability to maintain good (but not necessarily excellent) grades while working to pay for college. They may also consider the coursework you chose to prepare for the work you want to do (enough math, economics, history, statistics, computer science?), and the work experience you've had so far. Employers can ask for writing samples, references, transcripts, or anything else they think will validate the skills you claim or that they seek.

Be prepared to explain why your grades are less than stellar, and if they improved over time as you matured or mastered study skills or belatedly became intellectually engaged in your major, say so. My second semester of college, having discovered the many distractions from academic life that living away from home for the first time provides an 18-year-old, I managed to fall from the Dean's List performance of my first semester to a 1.9 semester average and academic probation. My academic performance recovered, so my senior year grades were quite respectable, but the damage to my overall GPA was permanent. Permanent but not fatal to career success. It wasn't until graduate school, from which I graduated in the top 10% of my class, that I redeemed myself academically. You may create a similar opportunity for yourself.

Employers also look at motivation and self-knowledge, because the investment in a new employee is expensive, and they want a good job-person fit as much as you do. So prepare to explain why you chose the field you did, what attracts you to this work, this organization, this job, and highlight similar experience or volunteer work that is related to the job you are applying for. In other words, don't let your job interviews be focused entirely on your grades: sell your whole "package."

-- Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City.

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