Have you ever wondered what employers think about your grades? After all, isn’t having your degree – that piece of parchment presented to you at the end of years of study – all they care about?
Well, many employers docare about grades. Larger employers who offer vacation and graduate programs tend to have a grade benchmark. Not all of them will ask for your academic transcript or give more weight to higher grades – but many will. They want to see a record of how well you’ve being doing.
Good grades are not simply proof of being clever. They can show employers that you are interested in – and can get to grips with – your subject matter. They can also demonstrate that you are methodical, organised, reliable and can perform under pressure.
It may be perceived that you are doing well if your course weighted average is 65% or above. If this is the case, we’d even suggest you include this info in your resume to promote it.
If you have organisations in mind you’d like to work for, check to see if they make mention of any cut off grades. If you’re looking at postgrad studies in the future, we’d also suggest you check out the entry requirements – find out if there are any cut off scores needed to get in.
If all this turns you cold and you’re wondering if your grades are going to cut it, think about your other qualities. Some employers consider juggling work or community obligations, such as volunteering, with study as an alternative way of demonstrating commitment, time management and determination.
So, no matter if you’re experienced a sense of accomplishment when you got your exam results or didn’t do as well as you would have liked, you can have a chat with the Curtin Careers team. We can talk about how you’re doing and where you are right now in relation to the kind of jobs you’ll be looking for in the future.
This article was written by Career Development Consultant, Susan Surgener.
