Do employers really give a shit about your A-Levels? #SSP

This is a thread better suited to the Student Room - except the people there make you feel as though you’ve ruined your prospects if you didn’t go to one of the ‘top 10’ UK universities (which is complete bullshit, right?). That’s genuinely how many of them think.

Basically, I did really badly in my A-Levels first time round. I took an extra year at an FE college and then another gap year after that (so basically I took 4 years to finish to finish them). Eventually I got the grades I needed to get into the uni I wanted to go to, and I’m still technically there waiting for my dissertation results.

But I’ve read somewhere that even if you have a degree, some graduate jobs still require you to have a certain number of UCAS points (i.e. 300 and above) - which I have, but apparently some employers are only interested in what you got first time round, “in your first sitting” (and I did really badly). Apparently some look down on you if you took a long time to complete them.

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense or seems a bit pathetic, but some of the stuff I’ve been reading on the internet has scared the shit out of me. Basically, do employers really give a shit about this? Or am I worrying too much? Is it only a tiny minority of employers who actually give a shit about this, in a tiny minority of professions (i.e. stuff like Law which I’m not interested in anyway)? Or am I basically never going to get a good job, on the basis that even though I did ok in the end, I have a slightly shady academic track record because I took so long (and even longer at university for that matter)? Or does none of this at all matter once you’ve graduated?

i remember looking at a job application recently and i couldn’t even remember what highers I had done never mind what grades i got

hope this helps

Unless you’re applying for a job that is specifically linked to the degree you did then work experience is more important than any education stuff imo

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#CONGRATS ON FINISHING YOUR DISSERTATION PUNKO!

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At your age it’s probably worth putting them on your CV, but after a job or two, I wouldn’t bother.

Put down what grades you have achieved, one per subject. Unless there’s a weird quirk to applying for legal jobs, I don’t know why you’d show, or even mention that you also sat the exams at an earlier stage.

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Depends on the interviewers, depends on the job.

different jobs for different…needs

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Yes. Much like the humble onion.

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All jobs are going to be automated within months anyway, put your feet up.

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Yeah, if you’re lucky enough to have a like from @marckee then that can go front and centre - one page CV, done

Where I work they don’t give two hoots about your A-Levels. Graduate job aplicants are considered on having a degree and good GCSEs in Maths & English.

If you have a half decent degree, I don’t see why they’d give a toss about your A-levels tbf. I used to have mine on my CV (and the year / place I got them, so no need to say they were repeats or whatever), but once you’ve got a bit of experience, no one could possibly give a shit.

I didn’t even do A-Levels(book), lads!

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Yeah we knew

I was going to write a long reply, but marckee’s basically nailed the best route. By omitting the first sits you’re not lying, just obscuring slightly so the worst that can happen is someone will sift you out on the basis that it looks like you’re hiding something. Far more likely they won’t notice.

As someone who’s sifted a lot of CVs, you need to keep in mind that for many jobs, and certainly those with large numbers of similar applicants, your CV will get about 30 seconds of attention before being either thrown on a “possibles” pile or an “outright reject” pile. Your degree will probably be the first thing they look at, then probably your other education grades. Nobody will be perusing the dates until they sift the possibles again, if they bother to. At that point the rest of your CV will be getting more attention.

You might get asked about it at an interview. If you are, tell the truth. What you did shows character and perseverance, not failure, so you should present it that way when asked to account for yourself. Any good boss will rate that, any bad one can go fuck themselves.

Good luck, and try not to worry about it too much.

Oh look I did write a long reply after all.

I’m a cultured and flamboyant european so I did the international baccalaureate instead (you cunt)

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Such language in an SSP thread…

I think the graduate training schemes tend to ask for them. I recall when I looked at the Accenture application form back in 1998 it was asking for my a-levels and possibly also my GCSE values beyond just English and Maths?

There was a LOT to fill out in that form, though: show ways in which you’ve run a team, etc. That sort of thing that naturally favours the life experiences of those who’ve gone down a Public School → Oxbridge route, I suppose.

Graduate jobs where there are lots of applicants will ask for this sort of data because I guess they have a lot of possible people to sift through?

I’m 26 and I don’t even list internships now let alone A levels. No one gives a shit. I doubt whether any of my employers have actually bothered checking my university grade tbh.