What is more important? Your GPA or your experience?

Great question!

As some have mentioned, your GPA matters less and less as your career progresses, but in the beginning it can have a significant impact. While most employers realize that GPAs are not the absolute indicator of skill, early in your career, there isn't much else to go off of. Internships are great, but it's hard to rate applicants on the various internships that each have had. No two internships are the same, so while one intern might have spent their days making coffee and reading blogs, another might have been a key member of the team, contributing just as much as a full-time hire. So GPAs end up being used to even the playing ground a little.

On top of that, with hundreds of resumes coming in for a job posting, hiring managers are looking for ways to cut down the pile to something more manageable, and looking at a GPA is a very easy way to do that. Many larger companies use software that does this automatically, with experience only looked at afterwards.

When I've recruited students for various roles, I've been willing to look past a GPA that wasn't stellar (mine wasn't either), but then there has to be a much more compelling reason to invite the candidate in for an interview.

Now this isn't to say that if you don't have a great GPA, it's impossible to get a job. If you work through contacts and networking, as well as are persistent and flexible in your search, jobs will be available. But just know that many companies have GPA requirements for a number of reasons, some of which are more fair than others, but it is the reality.

Best of luck!

Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, there’s no straight yes or no answer. A lot of reasoning behind employer decisions regarding graduate applicants is dependent on the field itself: industry status, the employer and the project/position they’re hiring for. Some industries for example, such as Law and Accounting, have quotas graduates must meet in order to be eligible for a position straight out of uni. The big 4 accounting firms and big 6 law firms have a minimum GPA grade requirement that must be passed first in order to attain an interview. It makes sense for huge corporate conglomerates like this to have entry requirements. Given their huge size and the wealth of the marketplace they boast, they’re looking for recent graduates who will complement their business values and offer the best return for their salary. From there, a display of a strong work ethic paired with proven competence helps pave pathways for career growth. Because universities are pumping out so many more graduates than ever before, firms like these can easily afford to be picky.

It’s important to remember that big companies and industries like the ones mentioned, have fully fledged, developed and detailed graduate programs. Other industries like banking and engineering also offer extensive pathways for tertiary leavers. Graduate positions come with challenges. They’re fiercely competitive and have strict applicant guidelines that must be adhered to.

So, for those not pursuing a conventional career path, or rather, aren’t studying or looking for a position in the aforementioned fields, what should you value more in pursuit of a career?

To get an idea, take a look at Google’s HR approach. The search engine giant stated earlier this year that they believe high grade point averages to be a poor indicator of career success and not necessarily relevant to a graduate's full potential. However, a high GPA is still a great thing to have. At the end of the day, doing well in university highlights your ability to conduct thorough research, critically analyse information, be disciplined, work hard and achieve exceptional results. All things that are impressive in the eyes of employers when hiring a new staff member. Ben Reeves, head of the Australian Association of Graduate Employees, (AAGE), points out that employers want graduates who are work-ready and can grow in whatever role they are given. Marks are an important early indicator, but they aren’t the be all and end all.

Assessments given in university differ vastly from the day to day responsibilities and challenges experienced in a full time specialised position. Reeves further highlights that while employers want smart and work ready employees, academic aptitude is a poor indicator by itself of whether a graduate will be a good fit for an organisation.

Furthermore, a lot of businesses and firms don’t have the cash flow boasted by big corporate giants. They have limited budgets for training and development. Hiring someone who, while having a relative degree in the industry, lacks role specific skills and experience can mean it costs an employer money and productivity since they have to allocate considerable time to train and develop the new employee. The fact that they would rather hire someone with a few years experience right off the bat makes sense. Having experience sets a person apart from the sea of other graduates out there, which is important when competition is so fierce.

Hi Tiffanie! Appearance, attitude, experience, leadership roles, participation in activities (band, choral, sports, student affairs) and credibility in the interview process are more important in the hiring process then GPA. My GPA from college was 2.4. No one has ever asked or cared. I have interviewed hundreds of people. I have never asked for or cared what a persons GPA was. I was more interested in their experience, job history, educational level attained and skill sets for the job. I'm not meaning to diminish good grades for traditional jobs it just means that grades are more important for more professional occupations like MDs, Dentists, CPAs, Lawyers or MBAs for example. Schools in my opinion could do a better job in preparing students for living life and less emphasis on Latin American History, Literature, some sciences and math requirements. Learning to become self aware and financially self reliant rather then financially secure by "getting a job" are the beginning process of creating a life that works. 75% or more of people who work hate or dislike their jobs, over 50% are in marriages they don't like and 40% can't write a check for $400 dollars. Being smart in school doesn't necessarily make you smart about living a joyful, abundant and fulfilling life. Suggest reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki for starters. Thanks for the question! Paul

Hi Tiffanie,
Definitely experience! After a while, your education matters less and less and what you've done matters more and more. This is because employers are looking for evidence that you can do what they need you to do--and your GPA and education just doesn't fully convey that. What does is experience--especially similar experience. However, getting a wide net of experience is also a good idea, as it encourages you to think outside the box while also giving you what the counselors at the CCPA call "transferrable skills." That is, skills that can be applied to many, if not all jobs. Hope this helped, let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!

In my experience, both as a student and as an observer, most of the classes where the students do just enough to get by (most but definitely not all) are the ones that are not really pertinent to their majors.

I completely understand the need for core math, English, and reading classes, as well as for other things that makes one a well rounded person with a well rounded education, but spending the better part of the first two years doing everything except one's major can cause people to get burnt out and want to just 'get through it.' Wow run on sentence much? LOL

I think a 'classical education' is important particularly for kids coming right out of high school because they haven't had much real world experience to speak of generally. Diversity classes, arts classes, 'how to survive in university' classes...all awesome. However, when there are let's say 30 units of a 90 unit major devoted to that stuff, it seems excessive.

My degrees are in anthropology, history, and sociology. All liberal arts/social sciences right? Why then do I need advanced statistics? I took it, but two of those majors (anthro and socio) require the maths. I despise math. I am not good at remembering formulas. When an equation goes past four or five steps I always * up somewhere. Here's an idea, I will collect the data and get a 'math person' (even if I have to pay them cold hard cash I earned working at Pizza Hut) to do the calculations and produce the graphs and charts for me. They go to school to learn the math, let them do it. I am certainly not asking them to go into the field and take oral histories from informants.

Kids coming out of high school, particularly if they were in AP classes, should be tested to see if they are at college level reading, writing, and math. If they are, don't make them take core classes designed to get them to those levels. Better yet, mandate that high schools teach at a level that anyone graduating will be at that level and don't let them graduate otherwise.

People going back to school in middle age? For the sake of any gods hat ever may have existed in this or any other universe, don't treat them like 18 year old kids. Give them some credit for life experience. Sure, classes on how to do university studies, great, but 'how to interact with the adult world through art/diversity/etc.'...get out of here.

Hi Tiffanie!

I would say both - with a little more weight placed on GPA. Because, each indicates something different.

Experience - this indicates what you might have been exposed to and participated in that might relate to the job.

GPA - this indicates the amount of effort and the quality of work that an employer might expect when you are on the job.