How does one compete with dean's list students, honor roll students, etc in the work force?

[Nocturnal]

With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

No one I have ever interviewed with gave a damn about that stuff.

 

[dighn]

do employers even care about honor roll/dean's list?

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

No one I have ever interviewed with gave a damn about that stuff.

Shoots thanks lol. I thought it just added A LOT more to your resume as far as the picking and choosing process goes for an employer.

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

No one I have ever interviewed with gave a damn about that stuff.

Shoots thanks lol. I thought it just added A LOT more to your resume as far as the picking and choosing process goes for an employer.

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

No one I have ever interviewed with gave a damn about that stuff.

Shoots thanks lol. I thought it just added A LOT more to your resume as far as the picking and choosing process goes for an employer.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

No one I have ever interviewed with gave a damn about that stuff.

Same here.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

EQ > IQ

 

[Storm]

Is that how you got to 8k posts by triple posting ?

Umm a resume is one thing, but doing well in the interview is just as important.

 

[bcterps]

It depends on your major and the type of company you're applying for. For example, I have found that for business majors, a high GPA makes a considerable difference in getting your first job. I think the same can be said for things like computer science and engineering.

The longer you are out of school, the less it matters what your GPA is, but when you're first coming out of school, GPA is certainly important. That's what I have found in my experience when looking for a job when I first got out of school, and now hiring people that are fresh out of school.

That being said, the best way to distinguish yourself is through work experience. Get a good internship somewhere if you can, you may even end up with a job offer before you graduate.

Larger employers probably tend to look closer at GPA because of the sheer number of applicants they get for jobs. Sometimes GPA is an easy way to weed out candidates.

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: Storm
Is that how you got to 8k posts by triple posting ?

Umm a resume is one thing, but doing well in the interview is just as important.

Nope, the forum itself is broken. I don't do it on purpose. I click submit, it does, and then takes me to an error page. When I refresh it shows up three times. Sorry about that.

 

[Jejunum]

gpa doesnt matter...but ur ability to not tripple post on a message board does!

seriously though; in my experience employers weed initally by gpa if ur just outta college or the like UNless u have some kickass experience on ur resume

 

[radioouman]

This does matter to some employers. Naive employers will think that a really high GPA means a really great employee. Most employers will look at experience, personality, and related work before GPA. However, a GPA below a 2.5 (or so) is often passed up by employers. And finally, some very large corporations (FOrtune 50) will look for only applicants with very high GPAs.

 

[Geekbabe]

Simple,just suck up better than they do

 

[Zombie]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
With all those qualifications on your resume I'm sure it's an added plus to the employer. Comparing side by side someone who has the same qualifications but does not have honor roll or dean's list recommendations or something similar, what does one do? How do you make yourself stand out?

I'm a B-C student grade wise. I'm sure by the time I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure.

Yes, people do care about dean's list in todays economy. I have seen job ads that no only ask 3.4GPA or above but also from a really good Ivy league school, so don't kid yourself. In late 90s nobody cared today they do.

I had 3.0(at graduation) but I made up for it but having tons and tons of work experience(Co-ops and internships). That is the only way you can match somebody who is on Dean's list. Most of those kids won't have any work experience.

I graduate my GPA will be somewhere along the lines of 3.0 or less but not less than 2.0 for sure

What does that mean? I don't know if any decent college lets students with less than 2.0 even graduate. My program had a 2.5 requirement to graduate so I suggest you aim a little higher than just 2.0.

<office Space> You don't wanna be the kind of person who is happy to do bare minimum, do you? <office space>

 

[CrazyDe1]

It depends...usually you don't compete w/ people with way higher GPAs as if you have someone with a 3.8 they're usually already offered a job right out of school. So, sure you might not get that job with the large company like HP or IBM, but whatever. Most people with a 2.8 or above get jobs. I mean, there are occassional companies that say 3.2 or higher required, but just don't apply for those.

Oh yeah, you also don't have to put your GPA on your resume....most companies won't even verify it.

 

[Bekker]

I am a marketing prof at a university with about 6,000 and have many students wondering the same thing. Truth be known, different employers want different things. Top employers who can choose from the cream of the crop can afford to demand the best and most promising of applicants. That would be a student who had more than just a very high GPA. They would expect the student to have demonstated lots of leadership qualities through sports (hard to have a top GPA and be very active in sports given the time demands of sports) and or campus activities, as well as community service. Personality definitely matters. After that, it's a mixed bag. A high GPA student who is not active and has a poor personality is often less in demand than someone who is an average student but very active and who has lots of leadership, personality, etc. Overall, a well-rounded individual. The person at the bottom of the pile will be the person who has a low GPA, is not active in anything, and who has no work experience. But, there is another side of the coin. Getting a job doesn't mean liking or being able to do the job. If you get an offer from a firm that expects you to sit behind a desk and be a brainiac all day long when you hate bookwoirk, etc., you're never going to be happy. Don't apply for the kinds of positions that require the characteristics that cause students to have high GPA's. That's usually lots of bookwork, paper writing,and so forth. If you have a winning personality and are willing to work hard, you might consider sales for a career.

The kind of person who will be least employable is the student who seldom if ever comes to class, and when he does, sleeps. Through hisa actions he is showing he does not have a strong work ethic. Finally, today we have a real problem of grade inflation ... the average ngrades assigned students has really escalated to the point that the most frequently given grades are A's and B's. If I recall correctly, no Harvard (or so the story goes) sophomore received a grade lower than a B for one recent semester. That might be an urban legend, but the grade inflation is real. What that means is that employers have come to expect GPA's of over 3.0 or B. Below that increasingly is considered evidence of someone who is either not too intelligent bookwise or too lazy to apply themself. If you can, aim higher than a 2.5, and try to find an internship or a volunteer activity or somesuch showing you do have something to contribute. Good lusk. If it is any consolation, some of my past C students have become real financial success stories! Bekker

 

[Nocturnal]

Sounds like I'll never be anything better than a manager at McDonalds.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Bekker
I am a marketing prof at a university with about 6,000 and have many students wondering the same thing. Truth be known, different employers want different things. Top employers who can choose from the cream of the crop can afford to demand the best and most promising of applicants. That would be a student who had more than just a very high GPA. They would expect the student to have demonstated lots of leadership qualities through sports (hard to have a top GPA and be very active in sports given the time demands of sports) and or campus activities, as well as community service. Personality definitely matters. After that, it's a mixed bag. A high GPA student who is not active and has a poor personality is often less in demand than someone who is an average student but very active and who has lots of leadership, personality, etc. Overall, a well-rounded individual. The person at the bottom of the pile will be the person who has a low GPA, is not active in anything, and who has no work experience. But, there is another side of the coin. Getting a job doesn't mean liking or being able to do the job. If you get an offer from a firm that expects you to sit behind a desk and be a brainiac all day long when you hate bookwoirk, etc., you're never going to be happy. Don't apply for the kinds of positions that require the characteristics that cause students to have high GPA's. That's usually lots of bookwork, paper writing,and so forth. If you have a winning personality and are willing to work hard, you might consider sales for a career.

The kind of person who will be least employable is the student who seldom if ever comes to class, and when he does, sleeps. Through hisa actions he is showing he does not have a strong work ethic. Finally, today we have a real problem of grade inflation ... the average ngrades assigned students has really escalated to the point that the most frequently given grades are A's and B's. If I recall correctly, no Harvard (or so the story goes) sophomore received a grade lower than a B for one recent semester. That might be an urban legend, but the grade inflation is real. What that means is that employers have come to expect GPA's of over 3.0 or B. Below that increasingly is considered evidence of someone who is either not too intelligent bookwise or too lazy to apply themself. If you can, aim higher than a 2.5, and try to find an internship or a volunteer activity or somesuch showing you do have something to contribute. Good lusk. If it is any consolation, some of my past C students have become real financial success stories! Bekker

cliffs?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Sounds like I'll never be anything better than a manager at McDonalds.

Work your ar$ off every day doing your best and show respect for everyone, even if they hate you. I'm sure you'll climb up the ladder.

 

[GTaudiophile]

From what I've seen after quite a few interviews, past experience and past demonstrations of leadership are most important.

 

[Isla]

Let's just give you a real world reality check!

I dropped out of high school, mainly because I was appalled at the stupidity of the people in charge of me. Plus, being at a school with over 3000 students (that was built for only half of that) was excruciatingly unpleasant for me.

I went to a junior college... struggled at first due to personal problems but then managed to graduate and go on to a major university to finish my 4 year degree. I had a 3.8 GPA... it would have been higher, but I had this one professor who was a total idiot and wasn't even concerned about planning and executing organized class content.

I spent 10 years working sporadically, at minimum wage jobs. However, I did do lots of volunteer work during that time.

A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to have a career. I used good communication skills and demonstrated my talents aptly enough to be employed at the best institution in my county within 6 months of embarking on this working thing. Granted, it helped that I am very familiar with the field I chose to work in and I have 'connections'. But the truth is, I got my first assignment based on my own merits... merits I earned the hard way, working a lower level job several years ago to see if I was interested in the field as a whole.

I don't think your grades matter nearly as much as your heart does.

 

[Mustangrrl]

Being well-spoken, friendly, and confident will get you further in an interview than your GPA will.

I hung around with (worked with) a bunch of frat/student government people in college, I was surprised half of them could even read, yet they were all on the dean's list because they tested well... but they came across as being pompous boneheads when they spoke, and I was never worried about competing for jobs with them

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga
cliffs?

Here's an example of the "too lazy to apply himself" person Bekker was talking about.

Instead of asking for Cliffs notes, just hit the Cancel button so you don't embarrass yourself.

 

[Hector13]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
From what I've seen after quite a few interviews, past experience and past demonstrations of leadership are most important.

the problem is, at big "presigious" firms, you won't even get to the interview if you didn't go to a good schoo and have a good gpa.