Should I include ACT on resume if I don't include GPA?

I went to an ivy and did not work nearly as hard as I should have in college. I have no excuse. I didn't have my priorities straight and had too much fun in college. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA and I hate myself for it. As a result, when I'm applying for jobs I don't put my GPA on my resume. I got a 34 on the ACT. Do you recommend that I include that on my resume (while omitting my GPA) just to demonstrate that I'm not an idiot or will that just bring more attention to the fact that I was a total slacker/underachiever in college?

 

Yeah, include it, as I would say a 34+ would reflect well. To make your UG GPA nearly obsolete, you'd probably have to go to business school. If any part of your GPA was good (major or something else you could get creative about), then include that. If it was uniformly bad, then omit it. Put education on the bottom of your resume and use as much space as possible to emphasize your work experience.

 
Best Response

Put it on.

Whether it helps a ton or not will depend somewhat on who's reviewing your resume. People tend to favor those whose profile strengths mimic their own (self validation of sorts). If you're going for a job in high finance it's very likely anyone who reviews your resume will have a profile that falls somewhere along the spectrum of 3 categories: 1. High gpa, high test scores, 2. High gpa, avg to below avg test scores, and 3. Avg to below avg gpa, high test scores. Essentially you're not likely to meet someone who is avg to below avg in both.

The above are obviously generalizations and only apply to a specific portion of your resume, but you might as well capitalize on whatever points you can earn from people in that third category. Having recently been tasked with reviewing resume books for the first time, I absolutely found myself naturally gravitating toward the people with the ultra high test scores, even if gpa was very unimpressive. My experience was that there are a lot of high gpas (3.8-4.0s) but much fewer 34+'s. That meant that while all resumes got their due glance, I gave a full, hard look at all resumes with the high test scores and only consistently did the same for kids with 3.9+ gpas. To be clear this was only for the education section. If there was a super solid name/position that stuck out, that would also garner a harder look. Anyone with no gpa and no test scores would have to have something that absolutely leapt off the page in a dramatic fashion during a 5-10 sec glance to avoid the toss out pile.

This is a long winded way of saying, yes, put it on. Others, with more experience reviewing resumes may tell you something different, but I doubt it.

Best of luck.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 

Whats the floor for a 'high' ACT score?

Mine was a 33, would that be worth putting on my resume? I list my GPA as Major GPA: (A-) and Cumulative GPA: (B+)

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 

Thanks. This is where my application gets even worse. I don't really even have any relevant real estate/finance internships. My school has a ton of alumni in real estate that I've been meeting with and they've all been helpful so far, but it still hasn't led to a job. I've also become certified with ARGUS since graduating. After January 2 or so when everyone gets back from vacation, I'm going to speak to some alumni and see if I can work as an unpaid intern for one of their companies. I figure this is my best chance at getting experience as I'm looking for a job and I figure that if I do really well working, it will at least lead to an excellent reference from my supervisor (even if I don't get offered a job at their company). What do you guys think of that idea?

I know it sucks to offer to work for free but I need some kind of experience and I'm not gonna resign myself to working in another industry just because it's easier to get a job in.

 

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