Extra-curriculars, internships as important as grades

As summertime rolls around and the sun and ocean begin to beckon eager pupils, one last roadblock stands in the way of true vacation bliss: the impending release of final grades.

 

And though grades are important for scholarships, athletic requirements and passing one’s classes, a great GPA is only one of many factors that potential employers look at.

“Employers understand that students have different circumstances,” Laura Morsch of CareerBuilder.com wrote on the site’s blog. “Employers do take a university’s reputation into consideration, but they also understand [that] working to pay your way through school, extracurricular involvement and extenuating circumstances can lower [your] academic marks.”

In the modern workplace, employers tend to look past grades to see a better picture of the student as a whole, USC Career Advisor Carl Martellino told the Daily Trojan.

According to Martellino, employers look at a student’s “involvement in internships, their volunteer work, their teamwork, analytical and communication skills -— both written and verbal — as well as their leadership in teams and clubs.”

It appears as if the professional world works incredibly similar to the way universities consider prospective students for admission. An institution will look at the individual as holistically as possible — an individual who has a balanced resume of both a decent GPA as well as a list of extracurricular activities will present a more favorable option than an achievement in only one area, especially when this includes internships.

“Internships are absolutely critical,” Martellino said. “They give you more options and show employers that you have experience in [a selected] field.”

Martellino also said students focus less on their majors and turn their attention toward gaining experience and skills that will help them in their chosen career path.

Although this means it might be safe for an aspiring actuary to major in accounting, for majors that fall into more “non-vocational” studies, Martellino advises students to “major in what they love and enjoy, and apply or configure the skills they gain from their majors, additional classes, internships and training to their chosen field.”

A company looks for students who have the experiences required to undertake the job and the personality to fit into the workplace.

“In an interview situation, students should tell the story on their resume,” Martellino said. “It’s like a puzzle. Tell the employer why you majored in what you majored in, why you volunteered or interned at these specific places, [and even] what circumstances may have come up that affected your grades [both positively or negatively].” Martellino also stresses the importance of relevant information and experience in one’s resume.

This emphasis on experience and skills is good news for students who might have slacked off during the past year or semester.

“It’s all about balancing your resume,” Martellino said. “If there is a deficiency in GPA, balance it with internships and extra classes. Go back and retake a course or take summer classes to make up for a bad grade. If you have a high GPA but no internships, do an internship after you graduate and work your way up. Someone who did internships while in school will move up faster, but someone with a college degree will still move up much faster than someone without one.”

Unfortunately, the importance of grades does rely on the type of employment or graduate studies program a student is considering. However, even in more vocational paths, students shouldn’t worry themselves over grades. Martellino said that there are always opportunities to balance out a lower grade by doing well on the GRE or gaining experience in an internship, even if it’s unpaid or after the student graduates.

It’s important to realize that very few potential employers will consider a failed class during freshman year too much or look twice at a bad grade in a GE class that gave the student no skill training for the position.

Of course, a high GPA coupled with internship experience, and involvement in organizations and volunteer work is an ideal that all USC students should strive for, students should also give themselves a little bit of breathing room when it comes to grades and not stress too much over a poor mark.

USC offers plenty of opportunities for improvement or advisement on campus to those who wish to improve their professional prospects. Visiting the Career Center, making an appointment at the Writing Center or talking with TAs and professors are good places to start. Additionally, ConnectSC at http://careers.usc.edu/ offers career advice and employment opportunities.

And when final grades are released, students should remember that a bad grade does not mean a bad academic record, nor does it equate to a lost cause in the career world.

And most importantly, it is not an indication of a student’s intelligence, character or capabilities.

 

Alina Abramovich is a sophomore majoring in theatre.