30

So I just started working in an admin position in a financial office and I think I may have slipped up. I listed my major gpa on my resume as just (GPA:#.#) as I had been under the impression that this was commonplace, and employees only wanted to know about coursework that is most relevant to the position. I'm now learning that it may not be. My major gpa is .3 higher than my cumulative. Ive completed a background check and sent my transcripts (required of all employees) about a month ago now, and nothing has been brought up. The transcripts only list the cumulative gpa, the major gpa was calculated by me.

A degree wasn't even required for the position, so of course no listed GPA requirements. They were pretty clear about hiring me based on work experience, but i'm now worried that the discrepancy may be discovered and i'll be fired for being dishonest. I'm four years out of college and wish i had just left gpa off altogether to avoid all of this stress.

Should I address this with HR? Will that get me fired? Should I just quit and start looking elsewhere?

Improve this question
10
  • 12
    Please tag this with a location. Most answers make my hair stand on end for my part of the world, but since you mentioned "GPA" I think they are correct for your location. But only your location, this is not globally valid.
    – nvoigt ♦
    Dec 2, 2018 at 22:50
  • 1
    I asked a similar question, might help: workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/114940/…
    – Nathan Goings
    Dec 3, 2018 at 7:13
  • In which country are you? In most western countries, no one would care about your gpa, but only about your diplomas and experience. Especially if you are already working for the company and performing well (this should be your only concern right now). But some countries (ex: South Korea) focus a lot on the university you attended, your gpa and test scores (TOEIC,...)
    – Taladris
    Dec 3, 2018 at 8:58
  • 1
    0.3 is such a small amount, no one is likely to care. But it's such a small amount, why was it worth fudging it in the first place?
    – user1602
    Dec 3, 2018 at 9:42
  • 2
    A 0.3 difference isn't necessarily a small amount. Going from 2.5 to 2.8 is a small amount. Going from 3.7 to 4.0 is a much bigger deal, as is something like going from 2.8 to 3.1 when the job lists a 3.0 minimum.
    – Karl Bielefeldt
    Dec 3, 2018 at 18:03

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
82

This is almost certainly a non-issue. If it comes up clarify it then. Do not quit on the very off chance of you getting fired. Do not bring it up. Just do your job and do it well and I assure you they won't give a flying concern even if they do find out.

Improve this answer
1
  • 68
    But do update your resume, either to say (Major GPA: #.#) or to list the total GPA that matches your transcript. The term GPA, if it stands alone, does mean all-inclusive.
    – Ben Voigt
    Dec 2, 2018 at 22:25
63

You're four years out of college? Dude - nobody cares about your GPA anymore. Just leave it alone. Don't go to your boss, don't go to HR, don't mention it at all to anyone. Good, bad, or indifferent, nobody cares.

Improve this answer
8
  • 20
    My PhD thesis is old enough to drink legally in the USA (so it’s older than 21 years). I was recently asked for my PhD transcripts! Some people do care! 😂
    – Peter K.
    Dec 2, 2018 at 23:55
  • 12
    @fluffy That's ... really weird.
    – Jim Clay
    Dec 3, 2018 at 16:08
  • 1
    @fluffy "in the real world". No.
    – Sandra K
    Dec 3, 2018 at 16:24
  • 1
    My present company asked for my college transcripts after 10 years after my graduating college. One company always asked for my GPA even after 5 years of college. Many business applications have fields for GPAs.
    – Thomas Matthews
    Dec 3, 2018 at 16:46
  • 2
    @SandraK Apologies, I realize in retrospect how harmful my comment was. I have deleted it.
    – fluffy
    Dec 4, 2018 at 4:41
11

If you're listing a GPA on a resume without any further qualification, it absolutely should be your overall GPA. You should fix your resume by either omitting your GPA entirely, changing the label to "Major GPA," or by changing the listed GPA to your overall one. Unless your GPA was particularly stellar, you're likely better off just omitting it entirely considering you already have 4+ years of work experience. No one is going to care about your GPA that much if you've already shown you're capable of doing the job well.

Having said all of that, since you already have 4+ years of experience and apparently have already been hired, it seems quite unlikely that anyone at your current job is going to care about this slip-up. In the unlikely event that someone ever does mention it, just tell them the truth: you listed your in-major GPA instead of your overall one under the mistaken impression that this was common practice. I see no point in bringing it up to your new employer at this point.

However, you really should fix it before applying for any future positions. Not listing your GPA on a resume is generally no big deal once you've been working for a while. Listing one that someone happens to notice is higher than your actual GPA, however, could cause a future hiring committee to think that you're being dishonest, which could lead them to drop you from further consideration without even telling you the reason.

Improve this answer
9

I would not worry. Your university likely does not disclose records to anyone just asking. Unless they ask you for your transcript they will not have access to your grades and in the unlikely case they do ask and bring it up, I would just explain it.

But again, the employers tend to not even verify your Alma mater.

Improve this answer
2
  • 4
    OP stated that he sent transcripts.
    – Dessa Simpson
    Dec 2, 2018 at 19:40
  • 4
    They probably did not even look at it beyond "okay he was taking the major he mentioned at the uni he mentioned"
    – Layman
    Dec 2, 2018 at 20:08
5

Even if it is unusual to only list your GPA for your major, that is still your GPA for the major. It is not untrue, just ambiguous.

If you created the ambiguity intentionally then that would be dishonest, but that is another matter.

Improve this answer
1
  • It was not dishonest at the time, because you assumed they would interpret it as your in-major GPA. Now that you are aware that you were incorrect in that assumption, it would be dishonest to not clarify what you meant. I doubt they'll care about a small difference in GPA, but you should inform them anyway.
    – Ray
    Dec 4, 2018 at 1:09
2

If I was a hiring manager then this would sound off all sorts of red flags such as:

  • Is dubma dishonest?
  • Is dubma careless?
  • If they misrepresented their GPA then what else have they misrepresented?
  • Did dubma even attend this college?

You are now employed at a financial office and if I am not mistaken then they probably take accuracy very seriously.

Answer me truthfully:

If your "major" GPA was lower than cumulative then which number would you have used on your resume?

Never in my life have I heard of the idea of a "major" GPA and I switched majors twice. The poor performance of my early majors is reflected forever in my GPA.

Improve this answer
0
0

In my opinion while employment of a job it is considered that what you have GPA on graduation, because at that time only your qualifications are degree and grading is what matters. You have already spent your four years , now onwards your performance in work center is only counted while awarding promotion and future privileges.

I suggest while you have this weak point in your mind, you should not share it with your colleagues or your boss at all. You should give more attention towards your performance and try to get full grip on your assignment. I am 100% sure, in case management came to know regarding your GPA, they will not fire you by analyzing your performance because for boss actually your performance is essential.

Improve this answer
-3

If "a degree wasn't even required", whatever you told them about your GPA was irrelevant.

Telling lies about something that is relevant is a very bad idea, but in your case, most likely this was just "random noise" so far as the selection process was concerned - unless the selectors were wondering why someone with a degree was applying for the job when they were obviously over-qualified for it!

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Not being a requirement does not mean it's irrelevant does it ?
    – zakinster
    Dec 3, 2018 at 10:03

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .