3 Key Takeaways
- You should include grade point average on your resume if you’re applying to an internship, graduate school, or are new to the job market.
- Positions that require your GPA will state that in the job description.
- Teal’s AI Resume Builder makes it easy to add your GPA, relevant classes, test scores, and all other academic achievements to any resume.
Do employers care whether you include GPA on your resume?
According to a dozen hiring managers, career advisors, and employees the answer is typically no.
For the vast majority of job seekers, GPAs have little to no impact. But for those still early in their careers, applying for internships, or seeking employment in certain STEM careers, a good GPA carries more weight. In fact, there are some industries that won’t consider your resume unless it includes a grade point average.
This guide covers when to add GPA on a resume and how to format it.
Need to format your GPA on a resume? Make a free resume in Teal and get it just right—without the manual work.
When should you put your GPA on your resume?
You’ve probably seen conflicting advice on including GPA on your resume. Many will say you absolutely need it, especially if you’re early in your career.
Others will disagree. Just look at this Reddit thread:
According to Masoud Ardestani, co-founder and CEO of recruiting platform Rapha,“GPAs don’t matter whatsoever.”
Lynda Spiegel, human resources professional and career coach, turns the question around, “Why would you put your GPA on your resume?”
Unless it’s asked of you in the job description, you’re better off without it.
“As a human resources professional, I can tell you that GPA tells me only one thing: how good [of] a student you were. That means little about how good [of] an employee you would be.”
Still not sure? Here are the four factors to consider when determining whether or not to include GPA on your resume:
1. Industry
Your GPA is far more relevant in industries like government, education, engineering, science, or other STEM-related professions. Even then, it’s highly dependent on the organization’s policy and your specific role.
For example, your GPA may matter more when applying to teaching positions than for IT roles in the same district. As a teacher, the school would want to confirm competency in a subject.
Teachers in some states are required to submit the transcript for their coursework and certifications to the state education department and human resources with their prospective employer.
Some defense contractors require no less than a 3.5 GPA for entry-level positions.
Government is a toss up. You will likely find that about half of the government jobs you apply for require college transcripts with your application and want to see GPA on your resume.
2. Internships and student programs
Some programs and internships span several years and are meant to lead to permanent positions within the company, so they’re strict on GPA maintenance for students.
Generally, they’ll require a GPA above 3.0, as you can see from these popular internship programs:
Typically, if it dips below the 3.0 GPA requirement, you’re given a semester to rebuild. If you can’t get it back above the minimum, you’re relieved from the program.
3. Experience level
Early career positions are the exception to the rule.
Because you have limited work experience, employers have a harder time judging whether or not you can do the job. Fair or not, they may look at your GPA as an indicator of work ethic.
In this case, employers will simply want to see your GPA is respectable and that you meet all of the basic requirements for the position. Once you’re past that initial check, they’re unlikely to ask about your GPA in interviews.
4. GPA strength
If you have a very high GPA (3.5 or higher) and you’re new to the workforce, you may be eager to add it to your resume.
Unsurprisingly, most hiring managers believe adding a GPA lower than 3.5 to your resume is a mistake.
Sief Khafagi, a Facebook recruiter, advises to “leave your GPA off, unless it’s near [the] top of your class.”
He goes on to mention you can replace your GPA and other education details with technologies you’re comfortable with, as long as you don’t go overboard.
Caitlin Proctor, a certified professional resume writer and career expert at ZipJob, believes there’s more to lose than gain from including your GPA on a resume:
“My advice would be to leave your GPA off. Ultimately, the exclusion of your GPA from a resume isn’t going to make or break your job search. However, including it could absolutely cost you an interview.
By the time you get to the interview process, you should be able to develop some kind of narrative around why your GPA is lower.
If it’s a factor that may remove you from the list of applicants, you can offset it with references, a good school, internships, and letters of recommendation. If those internships have given you a good basis of work in the field, you can use that to demonstrate your knowledge and experience as well.
Ultimately, skills trump grades in the corporate world, according to Proctor:
“While most companies would rather see achievements that demonstrate skills like teamwork and leadership, the ones who care about GPA will ask you about it.”
How to list your GPA on your resume
You’ve probably started browsing resume templates and examples of resumes on Google images or Pinterest, and you’ve seen so many different ways of listing your education on your resume.
Unfortunately, as flashy and visually appealing as some of those resumes are, they’re not always readable. ATS systems- which automatically check your resume against the company’s job listing- aren’t always able to read resumes that aren’t formatted correctly.
For reference, this is what the average education section should look like on your resume:
Below you’ll see where to place your GPA on your resume, and how to format your education section if you have more than the average qualifications.
Where does your GPA belong on your resume?
After you graduate, your GPA should sit at the bottom of your resume alongside your major and college, in one of the most important parts of a resume for new graduates, your education section.
However, if you’re a recent graduate, you’ll want to include your education section, including your GPA, at the top of your resume, just beneath the professional statement.
How to format your GPA on a resume
Student applying for graduate school example
Where you put your GPA on your resume and the best resume format to use depends on whether you’re still a student or if you’ve graduated.
If you’re still in school, add your education details at the top of your resume, just under your contact details and resume summary.
The amount of information you add varies, depending on if you:
- Went to a top tier school
- Were in a prestigious or competitive program
- Have a high GPA (magna cum laude, summa cum laude)
- If you received relevant certifications or awards
Your GPA looks best when kept simple and neat, with only the most basic information included.
If you have additional credentials you’d like to add, such as a college program or dean’s list, you’d list the information in this order:
- Your alma mater
- Your degree
- Your major and program track
- GPA
- Credentials and awards
- Years of attendance
If you’ve had some incredible achievements while in school, you might want to include them. Consider the following examples:
- A fundraiser you organized
- A capstone project
- Awards you’ve won
- Elections directly related to the position you’re applying for
If you don’t have a lot of experience on your resume, additional achievements, credentials, and awards can help to offset that inexperience.
It can also help to offset a lower GPA, if you’re required to add it to your resume.
Some resume templates shift the years of attendance and your GPA to the right side of the page, separating it from the rest of your education section.
This may have some implications on the readability of your resume by applicant tracking system (ATS) software, which scans for resume keywords and qualifications that help recruiters find the best candidate matches.
GPA on resume examples
Keep your education section simple. It should be easy for both the hiring manager (or employer) and the ATS to read. Use proper punctuation to separate items all on one line.
If you’re required to put your GPA on your resume, add it next to your university location in the education section.
GPA on resume example 1
If you’re new to the job market, your education section should sit just below your professional statement, like so:
Why this format works:
While short, this is all that’s required of most resumes. It isn’t flashy, but it’s readable, clear, and lists all the details the resume reviewer needs.
GPA on resume example 2
If you have other credentials or awards in conjunction with your high GPA that you want to feature, especially those that align with the position, you might want to add those details as well. Here’s how to do that:
Why this format works:
While you have all of the general education listed in a standard format, additional details should be listed as resume bullet points below.
GPA on resume example 3
Why this format works:
Making valedictorian is no easy feat. Calling out only the most important grade-related achievements as bullets keeps the education section short and sweet.
In addition, this example incorporates collegiate awards and involvement into other sections. This way they’re able to talk to each bullet point more than if they were in the same section.
If you have no work experience, or that experience is limited, this is a great way to demonstrate similar experience through school projects and programs.
Check out more tips on crafting a student resume.
How to put GPA on your resume using Teal
If you’ve done any job hunting and have had to create a resume, you know how absolutely daunting it can be to create a resume from scratch.
The constant reformatting, rewriting, copying and pasting of sections is arguably the worst part of the application process.
But with Teal, you don’t have to think about whether your GPA is in the right spot. You can start with a resume template that follows best practices. Here’s how to get started:
From Teal’s AI Resume Builder, you can select and deselect any section or detail to tailor your resume to a job description.
Towards the bottom of the page, you’ll find the education section.
Select the pencil icon and the page will open to show the various fields you can add or edit in the education section. You’ll see GPA as one of the top fields.
Enter your GPA and any other details you’d like to add. Click “save to all resumes” if you’d like to display it across all saved resumes. Then save the section edits.
While most employers, recruiters, and career advisors don’t pay attention to overall GPAs—and even advise against it on a resume—there are some cases it’s necessary.
If you’re new to the professional market, are applying for competitive positions or internships, or the job requires your overall grade point average, you need to list GPA on your resume.
But it doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as listing your cumulative GPA right next to your degree and years of attendance. Because Teal’s resume builder allows you to easily select and deselect details to add to your resume, you can remove this information with the click of a button.
If you’re not sure whether or not your resume meets ATS standards, or aren’t sure how to make it look appealing, you can always start with a free resume template in Teal.
Sign up for Teal for free to format your resume for success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you put a weighted or unweighted GPA on your resume?
Choose whichever is higher. If you have a 4.5 major GPA but a 3.5 unweighted, you’d choose the 4.5. However, unless it’s asked for, you can leave your GPA off of your resume completely.
Can you round up the GPA on your resume?
A small amount of rounding when it comes to your GPA is acceptable, but only to one decimal point (3.49 to 3.5 or 3.74 to 3.75). Beyond that though, it’s disingenuous.
Businesses and programs that require you to maintain a certain major GPA, or to have a certain GPA at graduation, have the potential to validate those scores. For all other positions, your GPA doesn’t carry much weight on your resume.
Can you lie about GPA on a resume?
You may be tempted to lie about your GPA on your resume to supplement your lack of experience as a newcomer to the workforce. However, direct lies about your credentials, background, or past misconduct can constitute fraud.
Never lie on your resume. Employers may not discover the lies during the hiring process, but if those truths ever come out, it’s most likely a case for immediate dismissal. In other cases, companies may conduct a background check that unveils the truth.
