I've got a question about keeping GPA on your resume. Before you all tell me to use the search function, my question is a bit different from the rest.
Background: I have a decent GPA (~ 3.5) in strong majors, so its not terribly low or high. I do have very strong experience...2 BB banking experiences on my resume, though only one was a legit 10week summer analyst program. I think off my experience alone, I'd be an attractive candidate for a lot of places. Also, I go to a target school (H/W) where competition is stiff and there are plenty of 3.8+ but with lesser experience.
However, I've found that I'm getting turned down from some places for resume drop first rounds because of my GPA (or at least I can't find another reason since its a blind drop). Now I'm talking about the elite boutiques (LAZ/BX/EVR/etc.) and BB groups that do separate recruiting (SF tech). These places pretty much only look at people with 3.7+, regardless of experience. Networking seems to matter a lot less for these places. It's frustrating not even getting looks because of low-ish GPA, even with my experience.
My question is, how do you guys think me leaving my GPA off will affect my chances of getting a first round? Will I get autodinged regardless of experience? Should I change up the order of the way I list things on resume, with work experience at the top?
Generally, no GPA means 3.0, but considering my experience it would be harder to justify that I have sub 3.0, right? Actually I'm not even sure what it would mean. Advice from people at said banks is greatly appreciated!
Thanks ahead of time
You want to stand out? This is not the way. Could it be made any more clear how structured the process is?
ya so the way it works is you drop your resume through school OCR portal, then the company sifts through them and chooses you for first rounds. I'm just not sure how much it would hurt me to not have a GPA on there.
Anyone have thoughts on whether it would help to put education underneath work experience?
If your more relevant major (finance/business) is higher than 3.5 than you might want to put this on your resume - Major GPA: 3.7xx-3.8xx and Overall GPA: 3.5xx.
Network hard and your GPA won't be weighed as heavily. If you know the right people, you won't get dinged just because you don't have a 3.7+
I completely agree with km190. Your GPA is not a death sentence, even at the banks you listed. Given your previous work experience, I am sure a little networking will be more than enough for securing a 1st round interview and having the opportunity to show someone that you are more than just the GPA on your resume.
I would imagine people would look negatively at no listed GPA for this very reason..
The thing is that networking is a lot harder to do for the smaller firms, much less than the bulge brackets.
Would it look weird if I moved work experience to the top and had education listed lower down?
How to stand out? Stop blind dropping, do some networking, and develop strong enough relationships that people will tell HR to seek out your resume.
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