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Get That Job With The Right CV: Should I include all of my exam results on my CV?

by Julie Gray

The answer depends on two things:
- how relevant your exam results are to the job you are applying for, and
- whether they will help or hinder your chances of getting an interview.

For recent school leavers or graduates, education carries more weight than for someone who has been working for ten or twenty years. Experienced people may even delete their education completely in favour of more relevant and recent information.

Whatever stage you’re at, aim to mention only those exam results that benefit your application. If you got straight As or A*s at GCSE or A Level, make it clear. To hide a flush of Ds try listing the number of GCSEs you got and the subjects studied, without listing each grade. If you have a mixed bag of grades, and scored highly in subjects relevant to the job you want, try putting something like ‘7 GCSEs, including As in Maths and Science.’

University and college students should give a predicted result if it’s positive. If it’s not, keep it to yourself. Graduates should of course show actual results – it looks very odd if you don’t – but once you have a few years’ experience you could leave out your actual degree class if it doesn’t do you justice or isn’t in a relevant subject.

There are some exceptions. In the legal profession for example, you would normally include all exam results from GCSE upwards: an applicant’s entire academic performance is considered strongly relevant. The same is often said of the medical profession, although one could question the relevance of a Home Economics GCSE grade to a surgeon.



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