[Pilly]

Hello there,

Big 4 recruiting season will be coming up in about 2-3 months and I need to start polishing my resume.

I’m pretty confident in my resume which includes 3 internships (1 at a Bulge Bracket) and a leadership position, but a friend told me that recruiters get suspicious of resumes that excludes any GPA’s (Major and Overall). My overall GPA is a 3.5 but my Accounting GPA is a 3.2 =(

Should I risk not including it or should I include it despite it bringing my resume down?

The school I go to, everyone seems to get a 3.5+ GPA…. so a 3.2 actually looks worse than what a normal 3.2 would look like.

[Anonymous]

I had a 3.2 cumulative and 3.3 business GPA, but something like a 2.6 accounting GPA lol. I included the overall business GPA but not the accounting one and got two Big 4 offers. Maybe doing that would help you out, but a 3.2 accounting gpa is pretty good imo

[foreverstudying]

I would mention it, but I doubt leaving it off would look suspicious. I worked at my college's career center doing resume critiques and I can say with absolute confidence that while GPA is important, it isn't everything. When I interviewed for summer internships last year (I graduated this past May) my overall GPA was about 3.05 and my accounting GPA was a 2.7 which I left off of my resume. However, I had a ton of leadership experience, an accounting internship experience from the prior summer, and I was involved in a variety of extra-curricular's (both business and non-business). That was enough to interview with one Big Four, two banks, a few mid-size firms, and a local private company.

Even at a competitive school I think a 3.2 with an overall 3.5 is pretty solid, but if you really want to be sure I would talk to someone in your schools career center. They should have an idea as to how well your resume demonstrates qualities recruiters want to see.

Good luck!

FAR - 70, 83
REG - 82
BEC - 78
AUD - 76

[Mayo]

That's not such a bad Accounting GPA, but I still don't see the need to list it.

I mean your overall is good enough. I typically see Major GPAs if it's higher than their overall GPA. Personally, if I was recruiting, I wouldn't even notice.

The rest of your resume sounds solid, and your GPA is consistent with someone who is active on campus and in work.

If I were you, I'd leave it off, and just list the overall.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[CPA2013]

I had very similar GPA's from a good business school as well. I listed the 3.5 overall GPA and had offers from 3 of the big 4… and none of them asked about my accounting. Recruiters honestly gloss over GPA's and are more worried about your personalty and experience. They can go find a student with a good GPA whenever they want, but to find one with good intangibles is another.

FAR: 91
BEC: August 10, 2013
REG: October 7, 2013
AUD: November 23, 2013

[Author]

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