When can experienced analysts remove GPA from resume

Did some searching and could not find a solid yes/no answer for this, so wanted to hear your responses.

I think I should start by asking that if you are not a current analyst and are still in school don't reply to this post as I am seeking experienced analyst opinions.

Question is: At what point can a current IB analyst (second year) remove their GPA when looking for lateral ops? I'm at a top MM, went to a non-target and our firm has closed a solid amount of deals this year which I can list that I have worked on. thanks.

 
Best Response

In your case, I would leave it on if it is good because that will help given that you are from a non-target.

I also went to a non-target but have a lot more experience. I wouldn't even consider listing my GPA at this point even though it is high.

My thought is that GPA is definitely relevant for your first job, less relevant for your second, and not relevant at all after b-school or if you move to a 3rd job (assuming upward progression and not a string of lateral moves). In other words, if you make it to the post-associate level, don't put you GPA on your resume. I'm sure somewhere in the history of time some douche bag has called someone out at that level for not having GPA on the resume, but you can ignore people like that.

 

Made a lateral move less than a year ago and I would leave it on. You simply don't have enough experience at this point to justify leaving it off and I would imagine some people reviewing your resume would wonder why you chose to exclude it (and some might even assume the worst about your GPA). Assuming you're at a decent shop getting good experience, it really shouldn't matter how low your gpa is.

 

I for one will keep my GPA on my resume until the day I die. My tombstone will read: Leonidas, Loving Father, Loyal Husband, 4.0 GPA.

Seriously though, keep it on until your MBA (or ~5 yrs of experience). After that, no one gives a shit what your fucking college GPA was. If you want to though (and your GPA was really good), you can still put it on your resume post-MBA.

Calling Ron Paul an isolationist is like calling your neighbor a hermit because he doesn't come over to your property and break your windows.
 
BigHedgeHog:
no one gives a shit about your GPA in your 2nd month on the job if you are a moneymaker. those who says that you need to keep the GPA on for 5 years are not moneymakers.

While no analyst is a moneymaker, I agree with this statement, if you were good enough to get into an analyst role and your still in it helping to close transactions I don't see why anyone cares what your GPA is so long as it was >3.0.

its one way or the other: hate me or admire.
 
makeyourownluck:
BigHedgeHog:
no one gives a shit about your GPA in your 2nd month on the job if you are a moneymaker. those who says that you need to keep the GPA on for 5 years are not moneymakers.

While no analyst is a moneymaker, I agree with this statement, if you were good enough to get into an analyst role and your still in it helping to close transactions I don't see why anyone cares what your GPA is so long as it was >3.0.

There are a lot of great examples why it still matters. Think about the shithead analyst who got a job because of connections, and still continues to work on deals even though others have to constantly correct their work. If buy-side shops just take this at face value and don't look any further into them, then they'll be stuck with a worthless person as well.
 
rf17:
After how many years of experience is it alright to drop GPA from your resume? I have one year of experience as an assistant trader at a top trading firm. I graduated from an Ivy in a difficult STEM major with a mediocre (3.2/3.3) GPA. Not currently looking for a different job, but there is a non-zero probability of being fired within the next six months or so, so it's important to know.

I feel like if I do have to look for another job, the low GPA would be a major roadblock. I have good SATs but I feel like it would be very weird to include those as a counterbalancing measure on a resume, particular after you have work experience.

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks!

After you start FT, having SAT is weird enough IMO, but having SAT WITHOUT a GPA would look extremely strange to me, and almost surely make me assume your GPA was horrible--in all honestly probably much worse than it actually is. Generally speaking resumes without a GPA are assumed to be below 3.0, so if it's higher you should keep it on there. Additionally, if you were in an extremely difficult major, almost all employers will understand the courseload and will be okay with a less-than-stellar GPA as compared to business or liberal arts majors. From what I understand, 3.2-3.3 in a STEM major would be comparable to a 3.6-3.7 business or liberal arts major. That's definitely not terrible, and should probably stay on your resume, solely because many employers would assume even worse

 

Thanks. By counterbalancing I meant including the SATs in addition to the GPA (to say "hey, I'm not an idiot"). But I think the standard for someone w/ 1 year experience is just including GPA like you said.

 

You can drop the gpa once you have enough quality work experience to override it or you recieve a higher level education

"If Henry Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." -Steve Jobs
 

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