GPA Omission

Question

Hi, I was wondering, I am getting my latest resume forwarded to the recruiting team, and I want to understand if omitting GPA would be a + or a - for me; I have been omitting my undergrad GPA as an experienced hire and in networking, but I believe that omitting it ultimately might harm me when the recruiting team asks what is going on with GPA (lack of one suggests a poor GPA). I had an undergrad 3.3, so not stellar… since this will be an internal referral, should I continue committing it? Or be frank but risk losing the good first impression?

Answer 1

Hi there,

Omitting is OK for now. However, it will come up sooner or later, if you were to progress in the recruitment the process.

Whether or not this is deemed relevant will be up to the recruiting team and is done on a case by case basis. Generally speaking, all MBB consultants have stellar academic records. However, this becomes less relevant the more work experience you have.

Bottom line, not including it now may get you to a certain point, but at some point you'll have to face it. Hopefully, they will already be sold on your candidacy by then!

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Answer 2

Hi there,

I would omit it in your case for the following reasons:

They may assume the GPA is low, but indeed that’s the case for you – so there is no advantage in adding it and confirming it in advance
You are applying via referral, so they may not even ask for the GPA in order to invite you
You are an experienced hire, so they may not focus much on the GPA

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Answer 3

As an experienced hire, I wouldn't worry about omitting your undergrad GPA. If you went to a non-target school then a stellar GPA helps to show you were really ‘top of the class’ but if not, then ignorance is bliss… :)

Answer 4

If you got a decent chunk of work experience on CV, then its fine to omit. If its not worth showing off why put it there :).

All the best.

Answer 5

Hi there,

I would omit your GPA in your particular situation.

There's no downside to omitting it, only downside to including it.

Answer 6

Hi there,

generally speaking, academic excellence is a fairly important factor for higher tier consulting firms. That said, the more experienced the candidate, the less it will matter.

For your particular case - when you go through referral channel, you may want to first omit it. No damage in doing so and chances are you will get through the screening anyway. If the recruiters really care, they'll follow up and ask for it anyway. However, omitting it won't get you rejected.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Andi

Answer 7

Hello!

If it´s not really good, and it´s not going to make you stand out, don´t put it. This becomes more true even when you have professional experience

Cheers,

Clara