Poor grades will hurt your job search, but research and lab experience can transform a student with average grades into a desirable employee.

Experts say grades are an important indicator of job performance but not a perfect one. By contrast, research experience at a university or national laboratory demonstrates your capabilities and gives potential employers a chance to discuss your strengths and weaknesses with your research supervisor.

"That sort of experience can make a person with mediocre grades a better candidate than a person with great grades," said Dr. Kelly O. Sullivan, manager of the university relations and fellowship programs at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State.

Great grades by themselves don't guarantee job performance. Some students struggle in the classroom but blossom in a laboratory—or vice versa. Employers want to know whether classroom knowledge translates into job skills.

"If they had a 3.0 and a lot of research experience, that would be better for me than a 4.0 and none," Sullivan said. "People who have great grades can come into a research setting and fall flat on their faces. They may not be so good at applying what they've learned in the classroom."

Debe Deeb Williams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign agrees that great grades aren't as much of a "no-brainer" in landing a job as students might think.

"If you don't have a stellar GPA but you have on your resume that you supported 50 percent of your education, or that you're a single parent, that's factored in," said Williams, director of placement and student services at the university's School of Chemical Sciences.

Other mitigating factors to lackluster grades include work experience, research publications, stellar references and leadership positions in campus or civic organizations.

Students seeking entrance into graduate schools also benefit from strong letters of recommendation and undergraduate research experience, especially if they're pursuing admittance into an esteemed research university.

"Typically the minimum grade is 3.0, but it can fluctuate a little," Williams said. "I've seen a very widespread range of grades who have been able to get into grad school."

Mary Harty, an academic adviser at the University of Washington department of chemistry, said that graduate schools typically place a higher priority on students' essays and references than on GPA or GRE scores.

"They're looking more at, `How do you present yourself?' and 'What do people say about you?'" Harty said. "They want to build a scientist."

Graduate schools and companies want students who can handle themselves in the lab. A student with a 3.2 and lots of research experience may have an equal chance of getting into graduate school as a student with a 3.95 and no research experience, Harty said.

She said an employer's preference would probably depend on the particular job opening, but students who have a 3.2 and research experience would be quite competitive with students who have a 3.95 and no lab experience. She added that companies tend to value team players over anti-social students with perfect grades.

But Harty cautioned that students are not helping their job options when GPA's dip below the 2.8 range.

In fact, some companies require applicants to meet a minimum GPA requirement.

"The highest I've ever seen (companies look for) is a 3.5 or 3.0," Williams said.

Those employers tend to provide some leeway. A student from a rigorous institution might be able to squeeze through with a 2.8, she said. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy, requires a minimum GPA of 2.5 for post-bachelor's positions and is considering raising that to a 3.0.

"It's a matter of wanting excellent preparation," Sullivan said. "We're a prestigious facility, and we feel like we should have pretty high standards. We want the stars, the best people coming here."

Sullivan prefers research experience in a national laboratory setting to a university setting, partly because supervisors away from your university may offer a more neutral assessment of your skills.

"If you've done two semesters of research at a national lab, that can make a huge difference in how the application is perceived," she said. But she added that if you have two years of research experience with a professor at the University of Minnesota, for example, "they're no slouch."

Experts say that undergraduates should supplement their grades by selling other strengths in their resume, recommendations and interviews.

Among experts' tips:

Spend some time deciding who you want to recommend you.
Students should consider what each professor or supervisor can add to their recommendation letters. Letters should supplement each other rather than repeat the same information.

Distinguish yourself from other students.
What about you or your experience is unique? Do you have a minor in philosophy? Do you have research publications?

Highlight all work experience.
"Even if they worked at the Gap, that says at least they can work with people, deal with irate customers, that they are trustworthy and handled the cash register," Williams said. "If they worked in Subway, they followed health codes. In chemistry, they must adhere to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements."

If students worked one summer at the Gap but then snagged an internship at Eli Lilly and Company the next summer, they can show that they built experience and skills over time. -- If you have a dream company, find out if they have a GPA cutoff. "If you're not close to it, you may not be able to work there as your first job," Williams said. "GPA is an entry-level issue. After that it's, `How good is your job performance? How well do you get along with people?'"

Don't obsess about grades.
Sullivan knows few students are likely to follow that piece of advice, but she says it's worth a try. "Instead of arguing for that extra credit, why not focus on learning the material and getting the most out of it?" she asks. "Hopefully the grade will come naturally out of that."

Rachel Smolkin is a Washington-area freelance writer. She previously worked as a national reporter in the Washington, D.C. bureau of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade and covered issues such as health care and education. She also worked at Scripps Howard News Service as a national education reporter and as the Washington, D.C. correspondent for The Albuquerque Tribune in New Mexico and the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama.