Those Low Grades in College

Being an accounting major, I found the article, "Those Low Grades in College" particularly interesting. The reason I found it to be intriguing is because of the immense stress placed on GPA within my major. I can remember that from the beginning of freshman year having professors and advisers say that it is the most important aspect for job placement and success within my field of study. This, in turn, has caused me to put good grades as my first priority academically.

I think that the article brings up several very good points. I would have to agree with Johnny Taylor in saying that GPA is the single most important aspect when it comes to prospective hiring or admissions. Although I have this viewpoint I do not think that it is a single determining factor. Since the beginning of high school the importance of extracurricular activities has also been heavily embraced. As important as I believe GPA to be, I think that an array of extracurricular activities can outweigh a below par GPA. In many instances I have been told by potential employers that someone with a not as good GPA but is involved in a lot of other activities has a better shot than someone with a 4.0 that has nothing extra to offer. I think that it is beneficial to use tactics such as Jeff Man did in playing up his major GPA so that employers are aware of beneficial information that may not be apparent while glancing over a resume.

One major factor of gaining employment that this article did not really touch on is the interview itself. I find this to be the most important part of job seeking. It is one thing to make a fancy resume that sells yourself but it is much more difficult to impress someone in the high stress environment of an interview. Being a senior, I have had many interviews for internships and jobs and as a piece of advice I highly recommend for anyone starting this process to take time to prepare for interviews! As much as I thought I would be ready for any question that was thrown at me, there is at least one question that you may not necessarily expect.

In conclusion I think that there was something to get out of each persons view in this article but having a good resume is only part of what you need in preparation for applying for internships and jobs.

Here is a good list of interview questions, many of which I have been asked.
http://www.jobinterviewquestions.org/questions/general-questions.asp