What Are The Rules For Listing GPAs On A Resume?
Kent R.
As I am often saying, there are very few resume “rules,” just guidelines and best practices. If you are a recent graduate, and your GPA is strong, include it on your resume. Keep in mind that you then need to list your GPA for all of your degrees (if you have more than one). If you feel like you shouldn’t list the 3.1 GPA for your undergraduate degree, then you can’t list the 3.7 for your graduate degree. Consistency is important.
If you have a body of relevant work experience on which you can lean (or if your GPA might work against you), then leave it off.
These guidelines do not apply to honors. You should feel free to list honors with your degree. One caveat; If you have a lot of professional experience, listing too many academic honors can start to make your resume read a bit “junior.”
As with everything you include on a resume, you should ask yourself, “does this make me a more qualified candidate” and” is this going to differentiate me?” The answer to those questions are a fairly good indicator of whether or not something belongs on your resume.