Do You Put your GPA on Your Resume?

As someone who has vetted my fair share of resumes, it wasn’t totally uncommon to come across people putting their GPA on their resume. But was it standard? No.

As a rule, I advise against putting your GPA on your resume unless you are in very particular fields (Finance and Engineering being two of the more common ones).

Also, it’s not a popular thing to do unless you happen to have gone to a highly ranked school, and also if you’ve ranked high within that school.

In fact, I would advise against putting your GPA on your resume. There’s really no reason to unless requested. It would only be a distraction in fact.

The reason that many people ask about putting their GPA on their resume is due to an increase in recrutiers and employers asking questions about what school you went to and what your grades were.

Is There Ever a Good Time To Put Your GPA on Your Resume?

Yes, as mentioned, there are certain industries where it is important to list your GPA. But again, that is really only applicable for entry level roles. This means that if you’ve been out of school even a few years, then it’s totally irrelevant.

The only reason people care about GPA is when they are hiring people who are basically untested. That means new grads.

If you are a new grad, and you happen to have a 4.0 or similar high GPA and other accolades (such as deans list) then yes, it is important to list them. But once you’ve been in the work force a few years, it’s not really necessary to list your GPA.

So, the answer to this section is that the only time it’s ever a good idea to list your GPA is when you’re a new grad. After that, and once you’ve held down a few jobs, then frankly the company doesn’t care too much how well you did in college.

The fact of the matter is that how well you did in college often times doesn’t correlate to the real world. When you’re a new grad, sadly there is not much else to judge you on. But once you’ve been in the workforce, your GPA is rather meaningless.

Should You Put Your GPA On Your Resume If It’s Low?

Definitely not. Now, you might wonder who would even think of such a thing. Well, there are people who think that they are just supposed to put their GPA on their resume and don’t even think of the repercussions of this.

What happens if the person reviewing the resume didn’t even consider your GPA beforehand. But now they happen to see that you have a less than stellar GPA. Do you think you’ve done yourself any favors by listing your GPA when it’s not something that is normally done?

Of course now. So, my advice is to not list your GPA on your resume. And definitely do not list your GPA on your resume if it’s low or average. You should only list your GPA if it’s high, and also you should add on things like scholarships.

If you’re working with a recruiter, then ask them if you are unsure. One of the things a recruiter is supposed to do is determine what is the best way to market your resume.

You want to stand out from the crowd when you are sending in your resume and if you submit a resume with a low or average GPA then you’ll definitely not stand out for any good reason.

Do you Put Your MBA GPA On Your Resume?

This is a unique situation. When you’re an MBA grad, then you are most likely someone who has been out of school a few years. (MBA programs that accept people straight from college are not looked highly upon by most serious employers).

And the traditional approach is to enter B school after you have some work experience, then get your MBA and then reenter the workforce. Now, if you’re someone who has plans to return to the company that you work for, then your GPA is not that important.

And if you’re in the Non-Profit sector, or a public role, then it’s a similar issue. In many of those roles it’s more of a formality and your success depends more upon prior work connections and experience within the government or non-profit sector. Additionally, many in the non-profit sector get MBA’s at schools that corporate environments would not even consider legitimate.

But, it doesn’t hurt to add your GPA if you are an MBA grad. This is an instance where you can add your grade point average post college and when you do have a few years working experience under your belt.

How To Write Your GPA on Your Resume?

This one is simple enough. What you will want to do is list it next to your education. For example, if you review resume templates you will see that people list their GPA in their education section, underneath or beside the name of the school they attended. Preferably underneath.

Again, I would suggest to only list your GPA if it’s really good. 4.0 is the standard, but high 3’s are also ok.

What I would never do is advise someone to list their GPA if they happen to have an average or bellow average number. It’s just not advisable.

So, let’s look at the situation where you have someone who went to a good MBA school. UPenn for instance. Or Tuck or Kellog. Well, if you’ve gone to one of these schools, then you’re competing in a hyper competitive marketplace. And for those situations it is important to list your GPA as you are likely competing against other high achievers for roles t hedge funds, private equity, and VC firms.

If you are concerned that you’re resume does not look professioanl enough, then the solution is to use a pro. While sometimes it’s ok to use a free site such as Canva or some other resume free resume template. However, you can make mistakes using these services. This is why professioanl resume writers are somtimes worth it.