When I was applying for my first job out of college, I had my GPA on my resume, so there was no need for the interviewer to ask for it, but I know after landing that job I took the GPA off my resume, and I was never asked for it.

When I was hiring interns, I would look at the GPA, but it was just one factor I looked at – along with internships, school groups, etc. I was probably just as willing to interview someone with a 3.2 GPA if they had relevant experience as I was willing interview someone with a 3.8 but no experience that was relevant. And once the candidates came in and interviewed, GPA didn’t matter to me anymore. Then, it was all about how you presented yourself in the interview and whether I got the vibe that you would be a good fit.

Honestly, I learned more about someone from their writing sample than their GPA. The writing sample showed analytical ability AND creativity, and whether the candidate could understand a (relatively simple) assignment. The GPA showed me that someone was academically smart, but not necessarily that such knowledge translated well to the real world.

The item you overlooked is GPA. I’ve never once have been asked what my GPA was. So you could have literally gone to a $50k school and never went to class getting 1.0 GPA and still land a better job than a more qualified candidate if you’ve got experience from some previous top notch agency. What’s even better is that you could have just got that job by knowing someone. Such an incestious world we live in. Ugh!

Thanks for sharing!

Antonio

Thanks a lot. I’ll be sure to look for more articles from you.

Rachel