Include SAT score on Résumé?

[Dooling37]

What do you all think about including placement test scores on a résumé several years after the fact.

For example, in my case I am a recent college graduate (B.B.A.) with a full-time job, but always looking for better opportunities.
I took the SATs 5 years ago.
However, I did much better on the SATs than mine college GPA might indicate (for many reasons, mainly lack of motivation in college). I have heard that if you have exceptionally high scores it would be acceptable to put on the résumé from some people, others suggest it is too far in the past and not relevant to a job search.

Your thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[kranky]

I vote for not relevant. Look at it this way - with a high SAT and lower-than-expected GPA, it might look like you slacked off in college. Not the impression you are trying to make.

 

[Shantanu]

I agree. Leave the SAT score off.

 

[gotsmack]

but what about GMAT scores? Should I put mine on? My gpa is currently 3.398

 

[Dooling37]

Yeah, that's the answer that I don't like to hear, but agree is probably the best idea.

Thanks.

 

[Riprorin]

Leave it off. High SAT + poor grades = underachiever. That doesn't make you a desireable candidate in my opinion.

 

[StormRider]

I think SATs are only relevant for applying to college. It has no relevance after college. It also makes it seem like your best days were in the past and that you are constantly trying to relive it. Sort of like Al Bundy constantly reminding others he was a football star in high school...

 

[Theslowone]

I would stay away from posting sat/act scores on any job application.

 

[MajesticMoose]

the only time i might consoder putting it on there is if i had a 1600, but otherwise stick with what everyone else has said.

 

[Stealth1024]

but.... if they think you are working hard and that's the best you can do then that's that

however... if they know you can do so much more but even when you slack off you still perform to such a level then hey you got a ton of potential

 

[bonk102]

leave it off, once it's done it's done an noone cares

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Not unless you are applying to teach a SAT prep course.

 

[hans007]

my cousin applied at a bunch of top rate financial firms. when he was applying like a year ago , a bunch of places asked him to put it on there so he just put it. He had a good college GPA though, like 3.9 or something. I dont know if i should put mine or not, my gpa is like 2.7 but i did really well on the SAT.


but now that i think about it i dont see why it would hurt you. I mean if you have a bad gpa in college, then they'll think underachiever. Would you rather them think that you worked really hard to do bad in college? i dunno i personally would hire a smart guy who is lazy, than a dumb guy who like worked hard to do just as well as the lazy smart guy. more potential i guess, you can motivate the smart guy, the not so smart guy isnt ever gonna get any smarter and he's already working hard. Besides the SAT is a reasoning test, its not even a good indicator of college performance, but its a good indicator of reasoning ability.

 

[Scarpozzi]

List your name, current addy and other contact info.

Highest level of education or certifications, skills, interests if relevant to the position, and of course work experience and references. Be sure to squeeze it all on one page if possible and only compile 2 pages if you exceed one. They hate sorting through biographies when they're hiring. Good luck on finding something better.

 

[Sir Fredrick]

Considering that the SATs are not a measure of your intelligence or capability, but rather they measure how good you are at taking standardized tests, I would definitely leave it off. It really makes it look like you're grasping at straws, trying way too hard to find SOMETHING good about you. And a high SAT score just isn't that good. sorry.

 

[jteef]

a better thing to put would be mensa imo if you really are smart. That reminds me that i need to take a real IQ test instead of all the internet tests.

I too have a really crumby gpa(2.3) and can't find a job to save my life. pretty annoying when companies schedule you an interview and then cancel it when they hear your gpa. there's always the military, or so I'm told...

I dont think standardized testing scores are anybody's business except the school you're applying to.

 

[ajayjuneja]

<< I too have a really crumby gpa(2.3) and can't find a job to save my life. pretty annoying when companies schedule you an interview and then cancel it when they hear your gpa. there's always the military, or so I'm told...
>>



First, never ever list your SAT score on your resume. It's obnoxious, and gives the hiring manager no useful information.

Second, here's how to overcome that low GPA. I have a 3.3, and I've gotten every single interview I've wanted this school year, and no one ever asks me about my GPA. Right now, it looks like I'll probably be interning with IBM Extreme Blue Austin, or if I get lucky, the Bosch Research and Technology center in Palo Alto. I've even gotten Patent Law firms interested in me. Why? Because I have a lot of really cool projects to overshadow the GPA, and I talk about them. Note, I've also gotten 7 rejections this year so far too, so I have yet to master everything.

The key to interviewing well lies in the following:

1. Be confident about yourself.
2. Always walk into the interview with something to blow the interviewers away, be it an independent project, or whatever.
3. Always tell them how you can improve their business.
4. Be creative in your interviewing style. I chat with my IBM interviewer regularly over AIM to show that I'm interested, and he's a really cool guy.
Then there was this time in late January where I asked the office manager of a company (Bosch RTC-Pittsburgh) I applied for a job at out on a date (she was really nice.. and personality wise, we clicked, and she's the same age as me). This was after getting word that that company was invoking a hiring freeze as of the beginning of that month. Little did I know that AFTER I asked her out (she's engaged.. but we will still be going dancing) and tell her I will probably take the offer from IBM, she asks me if I had received an email from her that moning. Well, I hadn't checked email since like 11am that day, and I was at their office at 1:30pm. So I said, "What email?"

Turns out she talked to the vice president in San Fran. that week and got permission to hire 2-3 interns this summer... she told me that, and said, "Well, if you're going to work for IBM again..."

[me] "I didn't sign anything yet..."

We chatted for about 20 more min. She's a wonderful person. Anyway, so we socialize regularly now, and I'm meeting one of the engineers for lunch on friday to chat about a research project I've been working on, and I want to link them up to some things CMU is doing that they'd probably be interested in. So, while I won't be working for them this summer (though I may get something with the palo alto office), since the hiring freeze came back, I made some new friends there... and I'm offering them connections which are valuable to them. So in the future when Bosch may hire again, they'll already have known me a long time!

As for the asking her out thing? Well, we just laugh about it now

good luck!

PS. I also have a cooky-looking resume. you can see it here. It's a PDF file (acrobat 4+).
the HTML version (slightly older) is here.

 

[lepper boy]

I've never had anyone ask about a g.p.a. As long as you have the paper showing you got the degree and can show a good knowledge and that your not an IDIOT.. you'll do fine in the job world.

empasis on the idiot.

 

[amnesiac]

I did hiring for my dad's company and to tell you the truth, if you have a halfway decent resume, that's better than what most people have. SAT scores and GPA aren't really important. The fact that you possess the skills the company is seeking is.

 

[Mister T]

for what its worth, here is my 2 cents:

Most top financial and consulting firms ask for SAT scores on resumes, so I would include them. If you have 3+ years of relevant work experience, putting SAT scores on a resume becomes moot.

BTW, this comes for an MIT grad who currently works at a top wall street bank.

 

[jteef]

<< Second, here's how to overcome that low GPA. I have a 3.3, and I've gotten every single interview I've wanted this school year, and no one ever asks me about my GPA. Right now, it looks like I'll probably be interning with IBM Extreme Blue Austin, or if I get lucky, the Bosch Research and Technology center in Palo Alto. I've even gotten Patent Law firms interested in me. Why? Because I have a lot of really cool projects to overshadow the GPA, and I talk about them. Note, I've also gotten 7 rejections this year so far too, so I have yet to master everything. >>



I graduated last may and did a ton of interviews when i was still in school. I was pretty confident that all but one of my live interviews went well, but for one reason or another they didn't hire. Looking back, I wasn't very persistant at the time. I was pretty mad at the Georgia Tech interview scheduling process(and the rest of the school for that matter) since most of the companies put a GPA filter on and would not respond at all to my voice mails or email requests to be added to the list.

since i graduated, interest has fallen off so much. i've only had 2 live interviews scheduled since last may. one was cancelled (grr, maybe i'll just never buy anything panasonic again?) Considering the patent bar in october and law school when i find somebody who can pay for it. my gpa pretty much excludes me from a decent engineering grad school(killer GRE, or not) until i get some work exp.

It gets difficult to work with new projects when you're unemployed and out of school. I've been doing a lot of diy audio projects so maybe that counts for something. Thinking of getting a ham licence since that stuff parallels the RF stuff i did in school.

jt

 

[microAmp]

<< I think SATs are only relevant for applying to college. It has no relevance after college. It also makes it seem like your best days were in the past and that you are constantly trying to relive it. Sort of like Al Bundy constantly reminding others he was a football star in high school... >>



God, I miss that show.

 

[Jfur]

A BIG NO. It would raise a red flag for me to see a test that someone took when they were 16 or 17 (and that is supposed to correlate with early college career grades).

 

[Dooling37]

Wasn't expecting that many replies to this question.
Thanks for all the opinions -- I am goig to leave it off, and see how I do.

 

[ucdnam]

ajayjuneja: You don't need to post your SAT because you obviously had enough qualifications to get into CMU and be double majoring in mechanical E and comp sci. You also have a good GPA in those majors, so no one needs to question you about anything. People know that your head and shoulders more intellingent and innovative than probably every sucker who has come to them before.

I know that if you weren't still in college, you could quit and get a job easily. I bet it will start at your asking price also and that would prob be 75K+

As for the orginal post, you should never leave your SAT score or anything else of that sort. It's pretty cheesy to do so and it may show you as more proud of one measly score on a test that you took ages ago versus a bigger product such as your college degree or job.