No GPA on resume; never been questioned; disclose or not?
Hi all,
Quick background: non-target, 3.2 GPA, decent finance internships, and many E Board leadership positions. I knew my only chance is to NETWORK like crazy, which I sure as hell did.
I'm currently talking to a few guys at a very good firm. I've had several calls now and to my surprise, no one has brought up that my resume doesn't include a GPA. I do have some good reasons for my cumulative GPA being low (basically failed freshman year due to many reasons, so think about trying to recover with permanent 0.0 and 1.0s on my transcript. Then, got very high 3s and 4.0s in subsequent semesters).
My question is - should I just own up to the elephant in the room and explain the situation or would I be prematurely shooting myself in the foot here? Also, could it be that these bankers already made assumptions and just don't care at this point after so many interactions?
Appreciate it guys. If there's already a thread on this, pls feel free to link it.
Thanks,
Unless they ask, don't bring it up. An issue you might run into is if the bank has a strict GPA minimum. I think BBs have a 3.2 min.
Yeah man, I think it might even be 3.4 or 3.5.
I'm just wondering because people always say, good networking can overcome a low GPA - and it seems like I'm actually on the path to doing it. It's just strange that no one has asked, which makes me wonder if they're giving me a "pass" (contingent upon exceptional demonstration of technical knowledge, of course)
Most BBs have a 3.4/3.5 minimum and that is generally for targets. Many BBs have a 3.8 cutoff for non targets, see below my comment from another thread
You'll probably get less responses if people see you have a low GPA so might be worth leaving off until they ask, but do understand that once you get pushed through for interviews, it will be extremely difficult at BBs coming from a non-target to overcome the GPA factor
There is a difference between the minimum to apply, which is what you guys are referencing, and the minimum to get hired fulltime. The latter is the same for everyone, but the former varies based on target/nontarget and is not always a strict cutoff
Not going for BBs, you still think it'll be that much of a deal breaker?
You will probably get asked if it moves further along... either at a superday or by HR. As long as you're being honest about it, shouldn't be a huge issue. 3.5 is generally the floor but if you can network in they may be less strict about it.
You're doing the right thing now, continue on and make sure you're talking to multiple banks.
Hey Eloquence,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm thinking the same - it's probably gonna come up eventually. That's why I'm contemplating on just "owning up" to it and telling it as a part of my story. Of course, the reservation is still there because nobody wants to look back and say, damn I sabotaged myself.
You think I might as well just go for it?
Calc your post-freshman year GPA so you have it on hand when people ask. Can almost guarantee it will be asked at some point. I personally always ask, not that it really matters since if somebody's GPA is not on a resume I assume it's pretty shitty anyways. More care about the story / reasoning people give.
NuclearPenguins,
Hey man, good idea. You think that's acceptable to include on my resume? How would I phrase it - "Sophomore - Junior GPA" or something?
Thanks,
Curious about this for PE recruiting. Let's say my GPA goes from 3.65 to 3.8 (I know a lot of PE places have cutoffs). Headhunters have said that Sophomore-Senior GPA is fine. Since you work in PE, what are your thoughts?
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