If they ask for GPA in interview - Page 2

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  • #186439
    hutchinson29
    Member

    I have a phone interview on Monday for an internship during the school year in private accounting for a very good company. (9 states and international) My resume has good experience for someone still in college (bank recs, month-end recs) but my GPA of 2.6 was omitted on my resume. There is no GPA requirement in the job description, so I don’t know if they will ask for it, but I at least want to be prepared.

    During my first few years of school, I thought I would be getting into marketing or sales, or something like that and really did not consider it important to get that great of a GPA. I really did not see the value in much of the course material and its relevance to anything I would be doing. Marketing and sales tends not to recruit on GPA as much as a technical field.

    Then when I switched to being an accounting major, I realized GPA was important, so I took a course load that was more than I could handle at once while working 25 hours a week in attempt to have more courses factoring into my GPA since I was now going to make an attempt at raising it. Besides the other courses during the semesters that weren’t accounting related, I took 3 accounting courses one semester and 4 the next. My GPA during that time remained about the same. That GPA remaining the same also includes a C in a core requirement, Geography. So my accounting GPA was a little higher. Take out C’s in both my tax courses and my primary course GPA is looking half-way decent. Tax knowledge isn’t necessarily a part of a general ledger position, which is why I specify taking out tax.

    So what is the best way to market this if I am asked for my GPA? Should I say “well if you take my GPA in my primary courses, financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate accounting I, and intermediate accounting II, it’s a 3.1 (which it is).

    My only concern with specifying my GPA that way is that I am not necessarily answering the question, and it could be looked down upon that I was asked a question and did not answer it. It could also be looked down upon that I have a 2.6 GPA.

    Even if I answer the question that way at first, the interviewer can still keep asking questions about my GPA.

    Does anyone have suggestions for the best way to go about this?

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 30 total)
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  • #578878
    mla1169
    Participant

    Here's why your GPA matters- you have little to no professional experience and they need to guess at whether or not you have a strong work ethic. I very much hope you never repeat what you said above in an interview. Saying “eh who cares what my grade in music was?” Translates in an interview to “I'll pick and choose what is worthy of my best effort”. Will very quickly end the interview.

    Instead try some self depricating humor. Saying “I was a dumb kid the first 3 years of college but got my act together my senior year and raised my overall GPA” (if you're able to) will go much further than any of the suggestions above. The person interviewing you has heard it all before and will see right through any attempts to paint a better picture.

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    #578879
    hutchinson29
    Member

    There are more ways to determine work ethic than GPA. I realize that you are right that it could translate to “I'll pick and choose what's worthy of my best effort” but I don't agree that that translates to reality. When you have a job, its completely different than school. I give 100% at my job as an accounting assistant now, with every task. It's not comparable and there is no possible way to argue or think something isn't relevant because if its a part of your job, it is relevant. There's nothing to be contested there unless the boss is a real idiot, which most aren't. In fact the fact that I am questioning and thinking indicates that I am more willing to put in effort than someone that is just ‘okay' with whats going on.

    I'm wising up in the sense that even if what I say is true, it doesn't matter if the person in the position to hire me doesn't think that way. Next year my plan is to just get good grades even if I think something is completely stupid. I wouldn't ever say the above in an interview, and I wouldn't ever not take ownership for a mistake on a job. One day my boss was out, I made the biggest mistake I made thus far on that job, and I told her 8am the next day as soon as I came in so we could solve it.

    #578881
    mla1169
    Participant

    Listen I agree with you on 80% of what you are saying but at the end of the day you're one of a dozen or so candidates for the same position. While your ability to question the BS will serve you well in life it will NOT score you any points on an interview. For those 45 minutes the other person is only thinking “Will Hutchinson hit the ground running doing even the most menial tasks and will Hutchinson fit in well with my staff”. You can impress with your outside the box thinking AFTER you are hired and after you've paid your dues as a newbie there. Until then think of it as an audition for a movie and show them only what they're looking for.

    FAR- 77
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    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #578882
    hutchinson29
    Member

    Thank you for the feedback mla, it is appreciated. I want honest answers and if someone disagrees I'm happy if they speak up.

    One thing I've been thinking about is to just go into the interview with it in mind that I'm interviewing for more than just tomorrow (tomorrow being the internship). Let's say I don't get the internship because of my GPA, but after I graduate and have better grades they have an opening. When they see the newer resume, they see that the grades have improved which could lead to a second opportunity with that company. If I'm a little ‘out of state' during the interview because I'm concerned they might ask about GPA, I might not make a good enough impression for if/when another opportunity arises.

    Also, if they do ask about GPA, it could be an opportunity to tell them that I'm willing to come in and show what I know. I'm good at presentations and explaining so it might be an opportunity to showcase a strength. What are your thoughts on that?

    I think if I tell them my overall GPA, they will probably ask my accounting GPA. So 2.75 vs 2.6. What are your thoughts on which to tell first?

    I did switch majors 3 times in college, so I have always had a course load that is more work at once than most due to trying to get courses in to meet pre-requesites. And athletics took up 25 hours per week practicing and then weekend travel on top of that. I played the most time consuming sport at the school. I am thinking that including any of that in the interview will just come off as an excuse. Is there any way I could phrase that to help for the better?

    And this past year I decided to stop playing athletics to take ownership for my life. What I would make during the summer was not enough to carry me through the school year, so i stopped playing ao i could work more. After switching to accounting and realizing the recruiting does care about GPA more than other majors, I took as many accounting courses as possible in a semester to get my major GPA up and it actually backfired since my time management was not good enough at that particular time to deal with the work and course load. I picked up a book after the school year titled ‘Harvard business reviews ten must reads on managing yourself'. I'm thinking there's a way I could use that to my advantage in the interview. Thoughts?

    #578883
    mla1169
    Participant

    Well chances are if you go back in 12+ months to apply, they won't even have your old resume anymore.

    That said, spin it just the way you did here, that you never made school your #1 priority but you always took work very seriously. That it was difficult for you to manage both so work was #1, sports were (but no longer) #2, then school. Make sure to say you've learned from the experience (which it certainly sounds like you have), just about any negative can be turned into an asset if you can say these are the steps I've taken to be a stronger student.

    May be putting the cart before the horse-they may not even ask GPA.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #578884

    They care about your overall gpa for 1 reason, it shows how you respond to things you may not care that much about. You telling them you didn't try in your marketing class is a red flag. Why? Bc they don't want to hire someone that if you are given a task you may not LOVE you might just blow it off.

    #578885
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    To answer the original question, I'd recommend being very upfront: “My overall GPA is XX and my accounting-courses GPA is XX.” Then, have a concise explanation (re: under 30 seconds) as to why it's lower than planned. “I changed direction halfway through school, while working XX hours per week. It was a tough choice — one that tested me as a person in many different ways. Looking back, I absolutely could have done a few things differently, but I'm glad I made the switch, and I'm confident my CPA exam scores will speak to my true potential.” That's it. Stop talking and let them probe further if they want to.

    I've interviewed a number of people who had low GPAs, and I can tell you that it's not always a deal breaker. Anyone worth their salt in HR knows exactly what a resume without a GPA listed means, so if they're taking the time to speak with you, it's likely you have some other redeeming feature that interested them. For me, the worst answer is a 3 minute explanation as to why their life was so hard and how outside factors forced them into a scenario where a low GPA was the only reasonable outcome. Nope. That answer is usually a deal-breaker.

    Also, not to be a jerk, but I really can't stand the “I don't put up with BS” attitude. When people make those types of statements during an interview, it makes me concerned about their ability to work with challenging clients and frustrating projects. Most intelligent people don't like putting up with BS — after all, it's rare to hear someone say, “Man, I wish my job had more BS.. everything is so straight-forward and value-adding. That sucks, and I wish there were more crappy co-workers, tedious work, poorly managed projects, and bureaucracy.”

    #578886
    hutchinson29
    Member

    Thanks for the input. It is appreciated. I certainly see how the not put up with bs idea could come off that way and its something I won't share in an interview. I do all my tasks to the best of my ability when on a job. Besides working as an accounting assistant I work helping people with disabilities and its challenging and rewarding. I've faced situations where a client can be frustrating when not listening and I just continue to do my job which is why I believe comparing academics to work is like comparing apples to oranges, they're not comparable. I wouldn't be where I got to in athletics without dealing with a ton of bullshit and my ability to sense it is definitely above average. Got traded 3 times in juniors and lived in 8 different states along the way and that experience has shaped some of my beliefs towards academics. I was over a 4.0 student before college. Funny thing is when I was a 4.0 student I was not a good worker and during my time in college as a 2.6 student I have been a much better worker. Some might see my take on things (which I will not implement next year) as one that could indicate that I wouldn't put in full effort on all tasks. I see it as having no relation to how much effort I will put into a task but if we receive a project at 4:15 that needs to be submitted by 5 I will have the ability to decipher which parts require the most attention if say, there simply isn't enough time to give as much as we would like into the project before the due time. That's the way I thought of it when I was ignorant and wasn't thinking about the recruiting process. Now my take on it is that its a game and you have to play it right, and if that means good grades, then get good grades even if you think the course content is a waste of time.

    #578887
    kahtwoloo
    Participant

    I've been asked once, ever, and I've had some 30 interviews.

    BEC-51,71,70,77
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    FAR-15(didnt study)

    #578888
    hutchinson29
    Member

    Well, they didn't ask for my GPA, and called back about 2 hours later to set up an in person interview this Friday.

    #578889
    Kimboroni
    Member

    So far so good!

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    #578890
    hutchinson29
    Member

    Is it appropriate to ask for a tour in an interview?

    #578891

    what are they going to show you? heres a view out of a window, heres our printer/scanner/copier, heres the break room?

    although if you do ask for one, and they take you don't be shy with saying hi to people around the office, shows your not afraid to interact with people you've never seen before.

    #578892
    hutchinson29
    Member

    You do have a point Monkey Wrench. I guess I am just interested in the company and what their work space is like. I probably won't ask because if its a typical office, that's all they could show me

    #578893
    hutchinson29
    Member

    Well, got a call back from my interview but it was on my way home from work and I had my phone on the passenger seat so I didn't feel it vibrate. The caller didn't leave a message. In the past when I have been turned down the caller has left a message just saying they have decided to go in a different direction so I don't know what it means when an employer calls you but doesn't leave a message. I called back but she was out of the office.

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 30 total)
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