Kids - School Grades

[Pope]

How do you demonstrate work ethic in an interview? Outside of you’re resume/credentials there isn’t much of a way to tell as an applicant can say anything they want right?

You ask a great question because it's not easy. What I would often do is give the same assignment to each finalist.

For example, I might let them know before the interview they will be asked to give a fairly brief presentation on a particular topic. When you give 3-5 different finalists the exact same assignment, it's not difficult to determine which persons put forth the greatest amount of effort in preparing.

I also tried to ask numerous questions to identify how much they knew about Iowa State and our department in particular. It helped me assess which ones really prepared well for the interview and which ones didn't.

 

[Bigman38]

I did have to defend every C grade I got in high school and college during an interview.

Not sure any employer goes into that much detail today.

Geez, I'm not a kid and the only time I ever had anyone ask any question about my grades was one booth at the campus job fair. I can't remember who it was but it was a big company that everyone talked to so I imagine they were just trying to manage the number of applicants they got.

 

[Jeremy]

I have what I think is the obvious question, Is getting parental advice from Cyclone Fanatic really a good idea?

You'll notice I post a lot of these types of "life questions". They aren't really soliciting advice or an answer, despite how they probably come across, but to get different perspectives to consider. Since my brain doesn't ever shut off and runs about 4 simultaneous thoughts, it gives me a way to analyze and consider things.

That's really why I created CF in the first place - not to say one opinion, answer, or philosophy is right or wrong, but for people to share theirs.

 

[Pope]

I would rather have someone that was smart/capable enough that they didn’t have to work hard.

I didn't say I hired dumb people who were hard workers. I said I valued work ethic and soft skills over technical skills.

It's great to have a smart employee, but some of the smartest persons I've worked with have the emotional intelligence of a 3rd grader, and they've created a challenging work environment for everyone else.

You can teach the technical skills. Pretty difficult to teach work ethic or soft skills.

 

[NATEizKING]

A's or bust

 

[KnappShack]

Geez, I'm not a kid and the only time I ever had anyone ask any question about my grades was one booth at the campus job fair. I can't remember who it was but it was a big company that everyone talked to so I imagine they were just trying to manage the number of applicants they got.

"You were a good student in high school"

Turns the page showing highlighted classes at Iowa State

"And then college"

Went through every grade he didn't find acceptable.

My GPA was 3.4 in major and I still had to defend myself. Good stuff.

 

[CYdTracked]

When I was hired at Iowa State many years ago, there were 63 applicants for my position. I wanted the job so badly, but I figured my chances were pretty remote. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when they offered me the position.

They told me the reason I was selected was the way I answered the final interview question in front of a very large search committee.

At the end of a half day long interview, they said they had one final question which they acknowledged wasn't very fair since I didn't know who the other finalists were. They asked if I could explain why I should be selected over those other finalists. After pausing a few seconds, I got pretty serious and said I don't know anything about the other finalists, but I know one thing with absolute certainty - none of them will be as appreciative or work as hard as I will.

Over the many years since then, I've had the opportunity to hire a lot of people at Iowa State. The two things I have always focused on when selecting a candidate are work ethic and soft skills. Technical skills were always secondary to me. You can teach technical skills, but after you become an adult, it's pretty difficult to teach soft skills or work ethic.

I paid attention to the candidate's college GPA as it can be reflective of their work ethic, but it wasn't of great importance to me compared to their work ethic or soft skills.

I can relate to this as I had a similar line I would use in interviews. My approach was if you ask me a question that I don't know the answer to immediately in an interview I was not going to fake or BS my way through an answer. I was going to be truthful and answer that I don't have a good answer to that now, but just like in any job if my boss asks me a question and I don't have a good answer immediately I am going to use all the resources I have available to me and come back later with an answer or explanation to what was asked when I am confident the information I am providing is correct or accurate. We aren't always going to have an answer to something every time and it's OK as I'm not going to provide an answer that is incorrect or inaccurate that could have a negative consequence or not represent my work accurately. Most managers are not going to expect an on the spot answer for everything they ask and you are going to gain a lot more respect by wanting to provide a good answer even if it means taking some time to get back to them on it than just providing something just for the sake of answering it right away.

 

[CycloneSpinning]

School isn’t as important as you all are making it seem. It’s a giant day care center and doesn’t really prepare you for real life.

I agree with @isufbcurt, show them what will get them into college, anything above is gravy.

I would agree with this. My standardized test results were super high (benefit of anonymity here - I can share that without it seeming like I’m bragging or something). School was easy for the most part as well. I would lose sleep over not getting As in junior high. Then I figured out that stupid stuff like band didn’t count and that scholarships were essentially the same if you had a relatively high ACT score and decent GPA as if you got a great one, and so relaxed.

Then ai realized college was way tougher and you shouldn’t drink and play basketball all the time and expect to keep said scholarships…and I had to really figure out how to learn (which is the best thing that ever happened to me).

Meanwhile my sister who is probably 3rd smartest in our family from a natural intelligence standpoint worked to get Cs in school, but that taught her how to learn, and she didn’t have as hard of a transition to college. She also happened to have a passion for the career that pays the highest and has the highest salary in our family.

Learn how to work, find what you like to do, and learn how to be a good human being. Don’t worry about grades.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Geez, I'm not a kid and the only time I ever had anyone ask any question about my grades was one booth at the campus job fair. I can't remember who it was but it was a big company that everyone talked to so I imagine they were just trying to manage the number of applicants they got.

It depends on the industry. Same thing if you had great grades but didn’t go to as prestigious an institution. They all have their formulas.

 

[Bigman38]

"You were a good student in high school"

Turns the page showing highlighted classes at Iowa State

"And then college"

Went through every grade he didn't find acceptable.

My GPA was 3.4 in major and I still had to defend myself. Good stuff.

That's a nightmare.

"Well sir, that was the semester where I discovered Thumbs had a special on Thursdays for double gin and tonics for a quarter"

 

[JVAR]

Our oldest is in 7th grade this year, the first year they actually assign letter grades. Before, it was just the fall, winter, spring standardized testing results.

How do you/did you approach balancing a push for good grades with just doing their best? What were suitable grades for your kids?

Our kids are incredibly intelligent but struggle with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression so there's a bit of a balance act we have to figure out and just realized as the first grades came in that we hadn't figured that out yet.

I think it’s pretty cool that you’re aware of your role as a father and how you impact your children. I’ve always enjoyed reading some of the things that you post because they are authentic. My youngest of three just graduated from high school and is a freshman in college. I’ve done some things right, but I’ve also made a lot of mistakes. I’m a workaholic and have role modeled being over committed. My rule with my kids was to get A’s and B’s unless it is a class that you weren’t very good at, and you were doing your best. Parents need to teach their kids to learn their own lessons, develop their own study skills, and develop their own interests. It’s our role to teach them to be independent and resilient, and as hard as it is, not to need us. I hate it when parents live their lives through their children and put their expectations on them. It’s a fine line of teaching them to be successful and pushing them, but not getting in the way as well. Grades are important, but what’s most important is having a good work ethic and how good they get along with people. That will get them further in life than grades.

 

[KnappShack]

That's a nightmare.

"Well sir, that was the semester where I discovered Thumbs had a special on Thursdays for double gin and tonics for a quarter"

"At times I bought into the college lifestyle a little too much"

When he shook my hand at the end of the grilling he said, "You know, I bought into the college lifestyle too"

 

[NorthCyd]

I would rather have someone that was smart/capable enough that they didn’t have to work hard.

Dispensing some Ducktales wisdom...

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Dispensing some Ducktales wisdom...

The guy never had to wear pants and swam in bullion, obv his advance is gold lol

 

[CyCrazy]

I have never had a job interview where they asked what my gpa was in college.

 

[wxman1]

Threats generally work. If you don't raise your grades you have to go live with @Mr Janny and you know how he walks around the house naked.

 

[Mr Janny]

Threats generally work. If you don't raise your grades you have to go live with @Mr Janny and you know how he walks around the house naked.

Courtesy towels are the rule of the day, at the moment, but you've got the gist of it.

 

[iahawkhunter]

You'll notice I post a lot of these types of "life questions". They aren't really soliciting advice or an answer, despite how they probably come across, but to get different perspectives to consider. Since my brain doesn't ever shut off and runs about 4 simultaneous thoughts, it gives me a way to analyze and consider things.

That's really why I created CF in the first place - not to say one opinion, answer, or philosophy is right or wrong, but for people to share theirs.

Counterpoint: The universality of **** Iowa.

 

[BryceC]

I didn't even do that for college or grad school. I just picked up ways to be more efficient.
I love to study more than most, but I'm not destroying myself over it.

If you love to study at all, you definitionally probably like it more than most.

 

[Chitowncy]

I'm enjoying this thread as a parent with young children who will soon be graded. I've only read the first 30-some posts, so it could go off the rails as so many do, but for those first 30 some posts -