Does GPA Matter? It Depends…
Every year, tens of thousands of college students pour their energy into resume formatting, and checking every box they believe employers care about. But what if I told you that the boxes you’re checking might not be the ones we’re reading?
A recent poll I conducted asked a simple question:
“When hiring for Entry Level or Internship Roles… what are you focused on?”
Here’s what over 300 hiring professionals said:
GPA: 3%
Relevant Skills: 46%
Personality / Interview Skills: 51%
LinkedIn / Industry Engagement: 0%
Let that sink in: GPA pulled 3% of the vote.
What Employers Actually Want
Hiring managers aren’t looking for perfect grades—they’re looking for people who can do the work, work well with others, and keep moving when things don’t go as planned.
Here’s the breakdown:
🔹 Personality / Interview Skills (51%)
Can you communicate clearly? Show curiosity? Handle ambiguity?
Interviews are less about perfection and more about energy, coachability, and how you make others feel in the room.
🔹 Relevant Skills (46%)
This doesn’t mean you need 5 internships by age 20. It means you need to connect your experience (class projects, volunteering, part-time work) to the role in question. Employers are asking: “Can you contribute early—even if you’re still learning?”
🔹 GPA (3%)
Unless you’re applying to grad school or specific finance/consulting roles, most hiring managers couldn’t tell you your GPA two minutes after reading it.
🔹 LinkedIn / Industry Engagement (0%)
Surprised? So was I. This doesn’t mean LinkedIn is useless—but it means having a profile isn’t enough. Use it to network, learn, and engage—not just as a digital resume.
What This Means for Students
Students, here’s the takeaway:
Practice interviewing. Ask mentors to run mock interviews. Record yourself. Learn to tell your story.
Build applicable skills—learn tools, tech, or workflows that show you can do the job.
Stop obsessing over the 0.2 GPA difference. Start building real-world experience.
Use LinkedIn as a learning and networking tool—not a trophy shelf.
What This Means for Parents and Educators
Grades aren’t the finish line—they’re just one checkpoint. Encourage your students to explore, speak up, and stretch beyond the classroom. Confidence and communication are muscle groups—they grow when exercised.
Final Thought:
Your resume might get you a glance.
Your interview is what gets you the job.
And your curiosity, effort, and energy?
That’s what will get you the career.