Interviewer asked about my GPA

Nurses New Nurse

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I had an interview last week for an ER position at my first choice hospital and about half way through the interview, the nurse manager asked what my GPA was. It made me pause for a second because I thought no one cared about that outside of school. I told her the number and then she went on to ask me more questions.

Has anyone else been asked their GPA during an interview? I thought it was kind of weird! I always tried to make the best grades I could during school and now I'm glad I did.

BTW, I got the job!!! :nurse: I beat out 4 other people and I almost started crying when they called me with the job offer. I was in the ER during my preceptorship and I LOVE it.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
If I'm a patient, and I get to pick between the A nurse or the C nurse, you bet I'm gonna pick the A nurse!! Wouldn't you??

Exactly. Of course there are people with low GPA's who end up being good nurses -- and people with high GPA's who are lousy ones. It's just one piece of information about an individual -- but it IS a valid piece of information. It's a bit of information that can be added to all the other bits to give the hiring manager an overall picture of who this person is and most important to the manager, how well that person will probably perform in the workplace. People can be pleasant and "interview well" and be saying all the right things during an interview -- and then turn out to be lazy or untrustworthy etc. on the job. An interview can be misleading, too.

No one piece of information tells the whole story. That's why good hiring managers get lots of information from lots of different sources as they make their decisions -- and many include information on how well your performed in school.

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If I'm a patient, and I get to pick between the A nurse or the C nurse, you bet I'm gonna pick the A nurse!! Wouldn't you??

I used to think so but not necessarily anymore and this is why. I do very well in nursing school but I don't think that my grades are going to reflect the type of nurse I will be. After all a lot of it is theory and and speculation and in no way reflects what I might be able to with call lights going off, maybe someone yelling at me, etc etc.

I have a friend who graduated nursing school last year and she's kind and intelligent and had a 4.0 on PAPER. She is also forgetful in real life and spastic. No one minds asking her technical questions because she can remember stuff verbatim nor would I worry about a drug calculation with her but I doubt I would be comfortable letting an A nurse spaz run an IV line on me over the C with the steady hands. I have also noticed that a lot of people with instant recall can't really tell you what to do for the times that there is no book or piece of paper that corresponds with situation.

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I had my 2nd interview the other day (landed the job BTW :yeah:) and was asked what my GPA and position in class was.

The DON who interviewed me first didn't ask about my GPA.

I am of the mind set that a great GPA indicates book smart it doesn't mean that it will indicate great nurse.

I am proud of my GPA and class standing but I don't think for one second that because I have a high GPA, that I am or will be a better nurse than someone who has one lower than me. Nor do I think I am not as good a nurse as the couple of students who graded higher than I did.

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no one asked about my GPA, but I am sure that they knew it because it was on my resume. I had two interviews and was offered both jobs a couple of days after passing NCLEX. GPA means something otherwise every class would just be pass/fail, but it is not "everything". But the lesson should be not to have the C=RN mentality if you can avoid it. If you can do better, then strive to do so, if not, then you know you have done the best that you can and most people will not fault you for that.

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Hospitals need to use something to decide who to interview, or which of two similar candidates to hire. GPA can be part of that picture. They have no way of knowing exactly who is going to make a good nurse, and they may have 25 qualified people who interviewed well vying for a few coveted spots in a specialty area. Of course they can ask, and I would expect them to when you're applying for your first nursing job. Like in anything else, I'm sure other qualities can offset it and vice versa.

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They asked for my GPA on my application which I thought was a tad odd but I guess not after reading this thread. I graduated with a decent average but not 4.0 I wonder if it made a difference or not.

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Hey Don't Worry about it.....anyone smart enough to be a nurse manager knows that a high GPA "does not a good nurse make". A good nurse is Careful, Caring, and has the best interest of his/her Patient in mind. MAKE SURE that you highlight those things in the interview.

I almost think that interviews have gotten a little CRAZY...you would be surprized about the questions they asked me!

I left thinking what the Hell was that? I got the job...and so will you (with the right additude)

~Good Luck~

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Specializes in LTC, case mgmt, agency.

Although I was hired at the hospital where I've been working as an LPN for 5 years and as a CNA for 3 years, and as a med tech/ lab tech for 6 years they still wanted my transcripts to see my GPA. Glad I was an A student.:p I think they use it as a tie breaker when 2 or more applicants have similar/same qualifications. However, what do you call the doctor who graduated at the bottom of the class? You call him/her doctor.:fnypst:Sorry, I couldn't resist.:clown:

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My GPA was on my resume.

I was quizzed with patient scenarios. I had to know that the patient was hypoglycemic and then they asked me to describe what the patient would look like and what I'd do about it. Luckily, I just had that in critical care.

We recently were given a way to remember hypoglycemia in a meds pub review which would have helped 2 years ago. So, here it is for someone else:

TIRED

Tired

Irritable

Restless

Extreme Appetite

Diaphoretic

(And I'm going to add - quick onset since my daughter has this from time time, common in adolescents/young teens.)

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Specializes in Psychiatric NP.

wow who told you people don't ask for your GPA? It's one of the most looked at factors for hiring, especially if you have little experience. Also, if you ever want to go back to grad school it's pretty important as well.

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I never said people don't ask - and I guess I assume all nursing students have great GPA's because that is what it took to get into nursing school and maintain your competitive edge in the program - what I said was that it's not all there is.

GPA has subjectiveness to it. For example, people can fluff with art classes or electives. That's why admission into a program is good when they isolate their prereqs and those classes only.

GPA can be questionable based on what determines the grade for the course. One nursing program may be known for having 3 tests and that composes the grade vs. a program that uses 2 tests, an exam, and 2 papers or a group project. You know?

GPA can be skewed by which teacher you get. We know which teachers grades heavier on papers vs. those teachers who have killer tests.

That's the point. Ironically, the people who had THE highest GPA's in my program have yet to pass HESI 3 times out. I have a great GPA and the difference between mine and theirs is miniscule but I passed Hesi with a superior score. Our class of 20 had grades on top of each other. We all excelled - and that had to be established over and over again. One problem in programs like these is that good students are the norm. We all are the top dogs in other classes and now there's a group of top dogs. It has to be established that we're all smart so "get over yourself".

So - point taken? Let's not forget work ethic, physical, get your hands-in-there-and-do-the-physical-work work ethic. Attendance. Etc.

If I was an employer, I'd look at GPA but I'd want the complete package and I'd take GPA with a grain of salt.

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Specializes in Psychiatric NP.

I'm in no way directing this at you personally so don't take offense. I'm just stating it matter of factly. All the things you said are true, however that doesn't change the fact that interviews can only be so long and both prior to the interview and after the interview the interviewer will undoubtedly put a lot of weight on a candidates GPA, especially a new nurse with which there's little else to judge performance on. Therefore the GPA is important. That's all I'm trying to emphasize.

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