I worked so hard to raise my GPA, but it's still low! by Abigail Soley

"I worked so hard to raise my GPA, but it's still low! I can't put this number on my resume!"

WRONG! One of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaving your GPA off of your resume. If your Cumulative GPA is below a 3.0, there are some tricks to getting you a higher number. For instance, if you happen to do better in your major classes than you do in your core classes, calculate you Major GPA and if it’s higher than your CGPA USE IT! If it’s still not high enough, calculate you GPA for the past year you were in school. If that’s above a 3.0, include it on your resume and call it something like Junior Year GPA. If that’s still not good enough try calculating your Last Semester GPA.

If all of those numbers still don’t come out to be above a 3.0, you should still include the highest one on your resume and have a compelling story about why it is low. If you immediately, right off the bat, tell your story to the recruiter. You will be surprised at how well the recruiter will take the information. Above that, you will be AMAZED at how good it makes you feel about yourself, and in turn that will raise your self confidence for the rest of the conversation!

HUGE TIPS FOR THE JOB / CAREER FAIR

After 20 minutes of standing in line you finally get to talk to the recruiter at the career fair. Now what?!  Okay you gave him your resume. Now you are talking. Good progress. But wait… the conversation is ending. No offer for an interview yet? Then it happens. The recruiter that you stood in line for, printed this crisp resume for, and woke up early to talk to, now suggests you should apply online and someone will get back to you.  What did you do wrong?  After stressing out all day about trying to get that one interview with that one company you have blown it. Have no fear career fair go-ers here is your chance to figure out what exactly went 

In my book, “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” there are not 30 things you need to do, but rather let’s stick with those that work! So let’s start with HUGE TIP #1: Ask yourself this question: “How can I show this recruiter that I am serious without ever having met them before?” Your resume is a huge part of it. This shows major accomplishments, but what about showing that company and their representatives exactly how you act in a working environment? (Remember your whole goal when it comes to recruiters is to impresses them!) So having available for them a performance evaluation from a previous internship is a great way to get recognized. There is nothing more powerful than basically handing that recruiter an outline of your skills and a real life example of how excellent you preformed them. It is one thing to say you were in a professional working group that did testing for a major airline than to have a breakdown of how well you worked in that group and the actual accomplishments you made all the while cohesively attaining the company’s objectives written by your previous employer. This will really raise your likelihood of getting that interview.

HUGE TIP #2 Listen for the questions! While in line, listen to the questions that is asked of the person in front of you. Do you really think recruiters are creative? They have a set of basic questions they ask at these events. Or simple walk up close –pretend you are looking for something….step to the side and LISTEN. Then get in back of the line and PRACTICE your answer to the questions! That wasn’t rocket science, right

HUGET TIP #3 Ask for the interview! Recruiters cannot resist if you make it personal. Simply ask for the interview this way, “I really would appreciate and interview with you ….I promise if you grant me the interview, I WON’T LET YOU DOWN.” Who in their right mind would not give you an interview? You’ve just made it personal. This will work! Try it.

So you’ve got the INTERVIEW…now practice your interview answers. This is all up to you now.

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

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