Since graduating I have been applying and interviewing to various positions in multiple companies. Much to my dismay I have been playing the waiting game like many of my friends and other college graduates around the nation. Before graduating I heard it a lot from older peers, but have experienced it time and time again while going through the interview process. It is a trend many companies have adapted to, but is it right or wrong? What I am talking about is a graduate’s grade point average, otherwise known as GPA. The two questions I have are: Should GPA be used to weed out potential employees by prospective employers? And is GPA a direct indicator of ones one’s ability to perform in the workplace? The answer to both of these questions, in my opinion, is a mild yes and a strong no.

To answer the first question “Should GPA be used to weed out potential employees by prospective employers?,” I believe it’s a decent safeguard used by the human resource departments but not the best practice. For example purposes only I’ll use California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) in comparison to California State University of Bakersfield (CSUB). Let’s take a look at a Cal Poly graduate who applies to a company, gets to be interviewed, and is told a job offer is being written up. Human resources hadn’t seen this graduate’s GPA yet, but this graduate has worked for the company part-time for the last year and has done his job exceptionally well. Once human resources saw this graduate’s GPA, slightly under a 3.0, it was set in stone that this graduate would not receive a job offer regardless of the circumstances. Why? Because there are policies the human resource’s department must follow. Is this implying that a graduate with above a 3.0 GPA from California State University of Bakersfield would get this job instead? I can’t answer you that since I don’t work in the human resource department! The point I’m trying to make is that ALL colleges and universities vary between the caliber of their courses and coursework.

Not only does the caliber of courses and coursework vary from colleges and universities but so do the professors. At every college and university there are multiple professors that teach the same course. With multiple professors teaching the same course you’ll have a similar curriculum but completely different personalities and level of difficulty in the course. I experienced this multiple times during my time here at Cal Poly. I had a finance professor who used to teach at Northwestern University and expected an introductory level finance class to perform and execute at the same level of difficulty as he could. Nonetheless I learned A LOT by the end of the quarter, but I spent twice as much time studying and completing practice problems for the course versus the other courses I was taking. At the same time I had a friend taking the other professor for the same introductory finance course who never had to study because “the class was a joke and an easy A.”

Someone who allocated less time, energy, and effort into the same course with a different professor got that easy A which boosted their cumulative GPA. While I on the other hand struggled alongside my classmates and received a C- in the course, but learned a hell of a lot more than our peers with the other professor. Sure, some of us choose to take the professors everyone tries to avoid because they’re more difficult but that’s because we hear great things about those professors and how much more knowledge previous students walked away with after taking that course with that professor.

Let us take a look at the second question “Is GPA a direct indicator of ones one’s ability to perform in the workplace?.” My answer and personal opinion to this question is absolutely not! After explaining my opinion above I hope you understand why my answer is what it is. My cumulative GPA isn’t above a 3.0, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not a hard worker, won’t be able adapt to a fast working environment, or set goals and continuously accomplish or exceed them. Depending on the major, GPA could be used as an indicator of one’s knowledge on a particular subject especially with the “Learn by Doing” aspect incorporated in many of the architecture and engineer courses here at Cal Poly. But like I said this doesn’t take into account the intangibles and characteristics of an individual.

Many companies are missing out on candidates that would perform and excel in the workplace by setting GPA requirements in order to land a job with their company. Okay, so yeah there’s thousands of applicants to some companies. But as a company wouldn’t I want to at least go through most if not all of those applicants to find the best one to fill a position? Most of these companies have personnel, usually in the human resource department, being paid full-time salaries to do this vary job. They’re getting paid no matter what to go through resumes, cover letters, and writing examples to find the best employee. At least go through every application and/or resume because you might just find that needle in a haystack. Setting GPA requirements is a form of discrimination, not too extreme, but something I think companies should strongly reconsider lifting if they have that kind of a policy in place.

On another note, I’d love to hear your comments and opinions about GPA requirements used by companies. Feel free to post them down below in the comments section!

Painting by Ann Altman

No related posts.

The graduation ceremony/commencement was at 9:00 a.m. on December 12, 2009. We [business majors] and engineers were bundled together for the first morning slot of graduation in Mott Gym. I was a little bummed that our graduation was in Mott Gym and not on the football field like the Spring commencements are, but it actually turned out quite well. I can understand since it was raining and not as many students graduate in the Fall.

The whole experience was surreal. It was real, but didn’t feel real…I made it through 4 years and 1 quarter of college and I was finally graduating. It’s weird to think back to the first days of college–WoW (Week of Welcome) week, moving into the dorms, meeting my roommate, saying goodbye to my parents, and struggling to find my classes. It was definitely a great 4 years of my life that I’ll look back on one day and be able to smile and laugh about the things I went through and did.

It’s weird to be an official graduate. I remember thinking after my high school graduation “maaan I have 4 more years of school,” and I dreaded having to take more classes! It’s crazy how fast time goes by, literally. Moving into the dorms feels like yesterday. I’ve learned a lot, changed for the better, matured, and became a young adult that I’m even proud of. My character was tested time and time again. I can’t count how many times I’ve been completely exhausted, but kept on studying and working hard–working 40 hours a week for most of my last quarter while taking my last 12 units. Blah.

Life after graduation has been a little tough. I had a part-time job, but lost it (I could write a lot about this, but maybe later…I’m literally biting my tongue). I’m working for a local company as an intern (unpaid), but absolutely love it since it’s exactly what I enjoy doing, it’s stuff I know how to do, and I’m good at it. I’m also applying for a job to teach English in South Korea. There’s a lot of paperwork and I hope I can get it all in time. They’re looking for applicants to leave end of February or beginning of March for this wave of teachers. I just hope things work out and that I have made the right decisions thus far. I’ll admit to being worried, but I know things will work out. They always do.

There’s a part of me that says to myself that all my degree got me was a piece of paper that I haven’t received yet, I’m referring to my degree, and a boat load of debt. In many ways it’s absolutely true. However, I did learn how to work in group environments, better prepare myself for stressful situations and strict deadlines, research, collect data, and write strategies, plans, and reports.
And also how to present all of that stuff well in a professional manner. My degree also allowed me to connect with a lot of people I otherwise would not have met if I stayed in Bakersfield.. Not just connections, but friends that I’ve made, will cherish for the rest of my life, and never forget (hopefully!).

I look at myself now and laugh a little bit because I think it’s kind of funny that I don’t mind staying in on a Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday night watching a movie or reading. I would have never guessed that I could enjoy a night in on the weekend!

Plans for the Future
Yeah, I’ve been working on Internet stuff. It amazes me how much my brother and I have taught ourselves in 3 years. Basically all the simple, but not-so-simple steps to getting a website up and managing it, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, article marketing, building keyword lists for campaigns, creating effective ad copies that convert, optimizing websites and campaigns after analyzing traffic with analytics, a little bit about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and much more. It’s overwhelming really, but also a challenge–one that I like and enjoy. Why? Because, I know I’ve probably said this in another post, the possibilities online are endless. Heck, you can make millions of dollars in your sleep!

One thing that pursuing the “make money online” train is that you can slap up websites and run campaigns for a quick buck, but it won’t last very long. Build something that creates value for potential customers or visitors. You will be rewarded with customer loyalty and a long-term business model that works. I’ve learned from many trial and errors on the Internet. It’s very and I mean VERY frustrating.

I have a few business ideas that I’m going to start conducting my own primary research on, write a business plan, forecasts, and revenue models for. One in particular I’m pretty excited about and eager to get started on. I’ve told myself that I’ll start collecting data and conducting research this next week starting on Monday (the 25th). Now that I’ve made it public I better actually do it!

All in all I’m not completely satisfied where I am now. Two more years until I hit my quarter-life crisis, oh my! I just hope that my hard work, motivation, and dedication to succeed will eventually pay off in the near future.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I know most of you (whoever reads my site anymore) don’t care. I just had to type up my thoughts. It helps me relax and also do more reflecting on my life.

Related posts:

1. Graduation is Not the End it is the Beginning