When making a job summary, we need to carefully think about everything to include there – education, experience, skills, hobbies, etc. And there is one thing that we worry about – should we mention GPA in our summary? If you do know as we do, let’s find out together.
First of all, let’s understand what GPA means. GPA (or fully Grade Point Average) indicates the middle figure of all primary subjects’ scores mentioned in the school transcript.
All grades are divided into several types – pass or fail, A, B, C, D, and F. Together, they are summed up and form the middle figure for your every studying year. The final Grade Point Average comes after you finish school.
What does Grade Point Average represent? Firstly, it represents the total middle point you get on all subjects. Also, it shows all the efforts you make during your studies, the amount of time you spend studying, the level of dedication to studies, your time-management skills, and your ability to balance school and personal life.
Someone mistakenly thinks that Grade Point Average is simply a number. But, in reality, it means more than just a number. It can open up the potential employer your personality and the things you can do. It can help you stand out among other candidates and get the job you want.
But there are also cases when Grade Point Average can do a bad favor. So, now, let’s figure out when we can mention our GPA in summary.
Let’s see it in the example. We have a girl Jenny who has the Grade Point Average of 5.0. Besides studying, she was also part-working in several organizations for several years. And she wants to include this fact in your summary. It not only underlines her Grade Point Average. It also indicates three main things: Jenny can work and study simultaneously (and show great studying results); she participated in extracurricular activities and received high marks; she has well-developed skills of balancing studying, work, and personal life.
And now let’s see the opposite case – Jenny has a bad Great Point Average. But, in fact, things are not so bad. She has finished school with a GPA of 3.0. She was a leader of the cheerleader team. She also volunteered in several organizations.
You may think that Jenny does not want to mention her low-Grade Point Average. But GPA is not the primary indicator of getting the job. The key thing here is the way you present yourself in your summary. And for employers, the summary is essential.
So, in this case, Jenny’s GPA shows that she knows how to work in a team; her passion is more important than money (it’s about volunteering), and she can keep a middle GPA and combine it with multiple activities simultaneously.
In this situation, Jenny must mention her Grade Point Average because it indicates her ability to multitask. If you have a low-Grade Point Average, in this case, you should underline the extracurricular activities, achievements, experience, everything that will make the employers notice you. For them, your grades are not important. What really matters is the things you can give them.
There is one more thing about Grade Point Average – here, you should be honest and show your actual GPA. One day the truth will open up; that’s why you do need to lie about your GPA. There are two cases when employers ask about your Grade Point Average – in the application or during the interview. In any case, tell the truth.
When including the Grade Point Average, you probably want to put it in place corresponding to the summary’s format. But, in some cases, it’s not a good idea. We don’t recommend putting Grade Point Average in such sections as the summary’s header, below your name and abilities’ section, in the corner of any page and by itself.
You should indicate your Grade Point Average in the educational section. For example:
University of Washington
Masters of Public Relations
Cumulative GPA*: 4.1
*Here, cumulative GPA represents the middle figure of all years in school GPA.
So, that’s all. We hope that our article will help you make the right decision about including your GPA in your summary and get the job of your dream.
