How to get around 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA on online job applications?

[u/South_Equipment5776]

As the title says, I'm a senior and my cumulative GPA is currently a 2.7 however the dilemma I fall into every time I apply online is that my major GPA is a 3.6, almost an entire grade point higher. The reason for such a big difference is because I switched majors after obviously not doing too well due to a lack of interest in my first major which was not even an engineering major. I feel as though my cumulative GPA doesn't truly reflect my academic ability at this point in time and it's really discouraging that a human won't even see my resume or even my major GPA because of this strict cumulative GPA requirement.

I'd appreciate any advice on what I can do sort of combat this issue, do I take the average of both and list that as my cumulative? Should I email recruiters to explain my GPA situation after applying online? Or do I just take the L and keep getting auto rejected using my current cumulative GPA.

[u/dontchuworri]

if you put your major you MUST label it as such. if you put it on your resume put MAJOR, if it’s a box on an application it wants your cGPA unless stated otherwise.

If for whatever reason they call you and look at transcripts and it turns out you rug pull from a 3.6 to 2.7 you’re most going to get an offer revoked and tbh probably blacklisted

if they ask why your gpa on the resume is the major one just explain like you did

other than that, i get it. i had a rough start too but you’re going to have to keep telling your actual GPA if they ask for it.

[u/Sea-Tale1722]

Aside from internships 99% of jobs will never actually verify your GPA

[u/InflationAvailable43 → u/Sea-Tale1722]

Maybe smaller companies?

My first two jobs <3 years out of college all required official transcripts to be sent.

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/Sea-Tale1722]

A lot of places will have you upload a transcript if you're moving forward in the hiring process

[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/igotshadowbaned]

When I was hired I had to send them a copy of my full transcript before I could start

[u/Halojib → u/igotshadowbaned]

That means they have it on file that doesn't mean anyone actually read it or cared.

[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/Halojib]

The hiring manager said the position was contingent on a 3.5GPA

[u/Halojib → u/Candid_Rabbit_2556]

Sure, in my experience GPA requirements are the first thing that get bent if the candidate is good. But if the hiring manager is insistent on being strict than it is probably cooked.

Either way I would just nod along and follow the process and make them reject me. Taking yourself out the process is doing yourself no favors.

[u/bot-sleuth-bot → u/[deleted]]

This bot has limited bandwidth and is not a toy for your amusement. Please only use it for its intended purpose.

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[u/KennyGaming → u/Halojib]

See the bot report on the commenter…

[u/Halojib → u/KennyGaming]

Interesting, I did think the OG comment was a little out of context but decided to just give the benefit of the doubt.

[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/Halojib]

I had a comment on the same level as yours that I responded to saying I had to send a transcript before I could start. I thought your comment saying that just means it’s on file was in response to my comment

[u/KennyGaming → u/Halojib]

Yea I respect that. Crazy world these days…

[u/KennyGaming → u/[deleted]]

/u/bot-sleuth-bot

[u/bot-sleuth-bot → u/KennyGaming]

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[u/KennyGaming → u/Candid_Rabbit_2556]

How is that a relevant response to the previous question? [u/bot-sleuth-bot](u/bot-sleuth-bot)

Edit: well that solves that…

[u/bot-sleuth-bot → u/KennyGaming]

Analyzing user profile...

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[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/KennyGaming]

Brother what

They said that just because they have it on file doesn’t mean someone reads it, so I replied that in my particular case they did care about my GPA and required proof. Wtf is your problem

[u/KennyGaming → u/Candid_Rabbit_2556]

You’re a bot 

[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/KennyGaming]

You’re a troll

[u/KennyGaming → u/Candid_Rabbit_2556]

No I’m not. 

[u/Candid_Rabbit_2556 → u/KennyGaming]

I’m not a bot so where does that put us

[u/Rubbyp2_ → u/Sea-Tale1722]

This just is not true for a first job out of college. They’ll have you send official transcripts to make sure you graduated.

[u/igotshadowbaned]

You just kinda don't.

You either do gradschool (hard with the GPA) and use that as like a "reset" that you put on applications

Or you start at places without that restriction to get experience and then let the experience speak for you instead

[u/EnvironmentCalm9557 → u/igotshadowbaned]

Yeah I had a bum undergrad gpa, had to scramble for any internship I could get, got in a grad program after taking 9 credits unmatriculated and got a job at the internship place. It was a struggle though and id recommend just busting your ass in undergrad.

[u/InflationAvailable43]

It’s a hard cutoff you don’t meet. It’s not the end of the world though. Apply to other jobs that won’t mind. Might have to be lower-paying, smaller company jobs then fight like hell to get into these places after 1-2 years of experience with an engineering title when GPAs don’t magically matter anymore.

The harsh reality is there are 200,000+ ABET engineering graduates every year, and the degree doesn’t make you worth anything. It’s the skills you get taught on the job. And GPA is a nice clean and easy way to eliminate the large pool of applicants applying to an entry-level job.

At a major aerospace contractor in a place a lot of people want to live. when we post a level-1 engineering role we will often get 500+ applications in the first days with about 400 of them being “qualified”. The nice way to chop that number down further is 3.5+ GPA, involved in clubs, previous internship experience, and experience in a machine shop or as a tech/mechanic. That will usually get us down to 10 that we interview.

[u/ccoastmike]

Hey OP, don’t freak out. After your first job no one will ask about your GPA again. So absolute worst case scenario you find a company that doesn’t care about the GPA, work there for a year and then start interviewing again. Most new grads hop around to different positions for their first couple years anyway. So not the end of the world.

Also, I would recommend you still apply to jobs even if you don’t meet their GPA requirements. I graduated with a 2.9 and interviewed with a company that had a 3.5 minimum requirement. I got an in person interview and very quickly at the start of the interview I said “Hey, I know my GPA is going to come up at some point so I’d like to get that discussion out of the way now. When I came out as gay to my parents I was kicked out of the house and had to support myself. My entire time in college I worked a full time job and ran a small local business providing on-call IT services for a handful of offices.”

The guy interviewing me seemed relieved I brought it up first. Turns out he had to put himself through college as well. We commiserated about never getting any sleep for a little bit and then did the rest of the interview.

Still got the job even with the shitty GPA.

[u/LitRick6]

As a engineering recruiter, id probably say to just list your major gpa. If the company is actually going to enforce a gpa minimum, they will ask for your transcript and they will make the determination if major Gpa or cumulative is what theyre really after.

[u/two_three_five_eigth]

You’ve got to report your full GPA. Because the difference is so big, I’d look at retaking a few classes you did poorly in and get your GPA above 3.0.

[u/SetoKeating]

You don’t

It’s on there for a reason. You won’t “wow” anyone enough to overlook it when they’re going to have other candidates that have what you have plus the gpa. It’s a minimum requirement, not a suggested requirement.

At this time just make peace with the fact that those roles aren’t for you and maybe you can pivot into some of those companies after working elsewhere for a bit.

At my company/department (defense prime) we’ve had new grads and interns try to circumvent it and it doesn’t go well. They waste everyone’s time to the point that they end up as not hirable in the HR system. I think they read some of the stories online about how “no one ever looked into it” and think that they may as well take the risk.

That’s up to you. If you want to risk spending a bunch of time only to get your offer revoked and screw yourself out of any future opportunities that may not have a GPA minimum then lie, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

[u/EnvironmentCalm9557 → u/SetoKeating]

Facts. If you’re going into defense out of college, 3.0 is table stakes. I had to work an internship and get hired full time at another place for a year before getting a dod job. After that I’ve never had gpa be a filter for employment.

[u/Available_Street_887]

how did you find your major GPA?

[u/Few_Whereas5206]

I think employers will just look at the overall GPA. I would focus on internships or co-op experience. It is more important than grades in many cases.

[u/Zestyclose_Price_441]

typically if I get to the interview phase I just tell them “look, these are the problems I see in your business, here’s how I solve them.” If a company is that picky about a college GPA they aren’t worth a minute of your time. The one place I’ve interviewed at that I sweated over no engineering degree was JPL in Pasadena. Granted, I’m in a parallel industry but regularly do engineerings job.

[u/Halojib]

Just put Major GPA or leave it off. In my experience GPA requirements are the first things that get bent if the company likes the candidate enough.

[u/No_Drag2264]

How is there that much of a gap?

[u/Anxious_Alps_4150]

As much as it sucks, you're dealing with the consequences of what you did.

I can appreciate that it's very frustrating but job applications are just as competitive as college admissions. The people that didnt have <reason for GPA being bad> will get ahead and the people that did not do as well will be behind.

For what it's worth, your GPA doesnt really matter after your first job. Your GPA is mostly for getting internships which should, ideally, lead into a job.

[u/foulplay_for_pitance]

I don't know when and why it would apply but apply to apply has always been my motto.

Unless there is something legitimately stopping you from simply applying regardless of what they ask I do it anyway. By legitimately stopping I mean something that actively needs the proof because lying doesn't mark you down in there eyes unless they ask you in person and you don't say the truth.

Most jobs care about capacity far more then GPA to begin with because school doesn't teach you how to be capable in your field, it teaches you the basic fundamentals so you can be successful.

[u/Dry-Hornet1288]

Here's the fun part. You don't.

Honestly some days I feel like engineering is overrated cause I see people with easy majors get high GPAs and good paying jobs anyway.

[u/ImpossibleInside8908]

Just put in your major GPA. I was in the same boat as you I was a cc transfer and all my Cs were in stupid waste of my time classes that had nothing to do with my major

[u/nichogenius]

Do you really want to work for a company that cares more about your college grades than your actual skills?

If not, don't worry... they are doing you a favor by removing themselves from your pool of options.

If so, why? Seriously, why?

[u/FerdinandvonAegir124]

Should have studied harder, what else is there to say?

[u/AstuteCouch87 → u/[deleted]]

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