[Anonymous]

I’m finishing my masters of accounting in May with a gpa in the 2.8’s. I also am finishing up my second tax season (700+ hours) as an intern at a midsize firm doing tax returns and other tax related work. Are employers going to see the gpa and toss the resume out immediately? I’ve signed up for two sections of the cpa exam this summer. If I pass some or all of the exam will my chances improve?

[Anonymous]

Yes they will! If I were you I would just focus full time on CPA exam. Then when you pass, throw that fact at the top of your resume and then drop your GPA.

[Anonymous]

Yes they will! If I were you I would just focus full time on CPA exam. Then when you pass, throw that fact at the top of your resume and then drop your GPA.

[LongShot]

Have you considered just not even including your GPA on your resume (unless the company specifically asks for it on an application they make you fill out)? If they ask you for your GPA/transcripts during the interview process hopefully you might at least get a chance to meet them first – figure most people wouldn't care about your GPA if they've already decided they like you.

For what it's worth, I graduated with a 3.82 for my undergrad and (barely) kept a perfect 4.00 in graduate school… nobody at any interview I've ever had has cared about it at all. I know a lot of people these days just leave it off altogether, good or bad.

And also, azCPA2B is right – once you get that “CPA” behind your name nobody will ever care about your GPA again!

FAR - 75
AUD - 72; 87
REG - 64; 74; 84
BEC - 88

Done!!

[LongShot]

Have you considered just not even including your GPA on your resume (unless the company specifically asks for it on an application they make you fill out)? If they ask you for your GPA/transcripts during the interview process hopefully you might at least get a chance to meet them first – figure most people wouldn't care about your GPA if they've already decided they like you.

For what it's worth, I graduated with a 3.82 for my undergrad and (barely) kept a perfect 4.00 in graduate school… nobody at any interview I've ever had has cared about it at all. I know a lot of people these days just leave it off altogether, good or bad.

And also, azCPA2B is right – once you get that “CPA” behind your name nobody will ever care about your GPA again!

FAR - 75
AUD - 72; 87
REG - 64; 74; 84
BEC - 88

Done!!

[Zaq]

2.96 GPA here.

No, you read correctly. 2.96. Pretty much the 74 of GPAs.

I left my GPA off my resume. If I was ever asked, I'd tell them and we'd have a good laugh about how close it was to a 3.0 Of course, I'd address that I had to balance 1-2 jobs while going to school full-time since I had to pay for school myself. This helped them to identify more with my character and ability to adapt through adversity.

Landed a fairly nice Staff Accountant role with a very generous compensation package with a mid-size public company. From my experience, employers want people who they believe they would enjoy working with the most.

Having your CPA or being in the progress of completing your CPA completely overrides whatever GPA you may have.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[Zaq]

2.96 GPA here.

No, you read correctly. 2.96. Pretty much the 74 of GPAs.

I left my GPA off my resume. If I was ever asked, I'd tell them and we'd have a good laugh about how close it was to a 3.0 Of course, I'd address that I had to balance 1-2 jobs while going to school full-time since I had to pay for school myself. This helped them to identify more with my character and ability to adapt through adversity.

Landed a fairly nice Staff Accountant role with a very generous compensation package with a mid-size public company. From my experience, employers want people who they believe they would enjoy working with the most.

Having your CPA or being in the progress of completing your CPA completely overrides whatever GPA you may have.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[KBinMN]

Funny I went on an interview (after 6 years of being in public). They asked about my GPA (which wasn't on my resume). I was a bit surprised and gave an “I have no idea” answer. Seemed like about the least relevant question at the time. I was actually annoyed with the question. I wanted to say “Are you serious? What was your GPA in college?” Seems about as relevant as mine.

[KBinMN]

Funny I went on an interview (after 6 years of being in public). They asked about my GPA (which wasn't on my resume). I was a bit surprised and gave an “I have no idea” answer. Seemed like about the least relevant question at the time. I was actually annoyed with the question. I wanted to say “Are you serious? What was your GPA in college?” Seems about as relevant as mine.

[Anonymous]

Yea I don't include it on my resume. I just wonder if they don't see a gpa listed that they automatically know it must be terrible. If I do get an interview I know they will ask for my transcripts.

[Anonymous]

Yea I don't include it on my resume. I just wonder if they don't see a gpa listed that they automatically know it must be terrible. If I do get an interview I know they will ask for my transcripts.

[fuzyfro89]

At the very least, just put your education near the bottom. Right now, my resume has Experience, Education, and then Interests at the bottom. By the time they get to education, they've already read (or likely skimmed) my experience.

I had a good GPA, 3.5, but I still put it near the bottom after experience (now as an experienced candidate and even when I was applying for full time position).

Leaving it off will make most people assume it is <3.0 (which it is). It just depends on luck of the draw. Depending on your experience, some recruiters may not even care/notice (until it comes time for a background check/offer stage), while others will notice just that it's missing. By removing it, you may be drawing more attention to it.

[fuzyfro89]

At the very least, just put your education near the bottom. Right now, my resume has Experience, Education, and then Interests at the bottom. By the time they get to education, they've already read (or likely skimmed) my experience.

I had a good GPA, 3.5, but I still put it near the bottom after experience (now as an experienced candidate and even when I was applying for full time position).

Leaving it off will make most people assume it is <3.0 (which it is). It just depends on luck of the draw. Depending on your experience, some recruiters may not even care/notice (until it comes time for a background check/offer stage), while others will notice just that it's missing. By removing it, you may be drawing more attention to it.

[Anonymous]

If you have experience, then college becomes less-relevant; if you don't have experience so college is your main qualification, then things like GPAs matter more. Personally I didn't put mine on my resume, mostly because my college did stuff weird (I officially graduated with a 4.0 because they did a lot of stuff pass-fail; if I go by grades in the pass-fail classes, it was more like a 3.5, which is more accurate but won't pass verification with the school). I had one interview ask for it, when I had no experience and they already thought I was under-qualified. Neither of the accounting jobs that I actually landed asked about my GPA.

My thought is if you're seeking a job with a highly structured hiring process (like, all candidates are required to meet these specific criteria), then you're more likely to have GPA matter, if they simply start the sifting process with – say – getting rid of any GPA below 3.0. From what I've gathered, Big 4 is more likely to be like this. But if the job you're applying to is with less of a robotic approach, then the GPA might not be a point in your favor, but they'll consider everything else too.

[Anonymous]

If you have experience, then college becomes less-relevant; if you don't have experience so college is your main qualification, then things like GPAs matter more. Personally I didn't put mine on my resume, mostly because my college did stuff weird (I officially graduated with a 4.0 because they did a lot of stuff pass-fail; if I go by grades in the pass-fail classes, it was more like a 3.5, which is more accurate but won't pass verification with the school). I had one interview ask for it, when I had no experience and they already thought I was under-qualified. Neither of the accounting jobs that I actually landed asked about my GPA.

My thought is if you're seeking a job with a highly structured hiring process (like, all candidates are required to meet these specific criteria), then you're more likely to have GPA matter, if they simply start the sifting process with – say – getting rid of any GPA below 3.0. From what I've gathered, Big 4 is more likely to be like this. But if the job you're applying to is with less of a robotic approach, then the GPA might not be a point in your favor, but they'll consider everything else too.

[Anonymous]

I'd prefer someone with a 2.5 who worked their way through school to someone with a 4.0 and never held a job in their life.

[Author]

Replies