millionaire75
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http://dealbreaker.com/2011/06/groun...es/#more-42584
Lauren Rivera "” a 32-year-old sociologist who teaches management and organizations at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management "” has concluded it's still where you went rather than what you did there that makes the difference...She says "elite professional service employers" rely more on academic pedigree than any other factor. For recruiters, it's prestige that counts, rather than "content" like grades, courses, internships, or other actual performance. That's because if you got into a "super-elite" school "” which essentially means Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wharton (University of Pennsylvania), and Stanford "” you must be smart. Plus, time spent at those bastions in turn will make you "polished" and attractive to corporate clients. It is, according to Rivera, a largely self-perpetuating hiring process that prizes efficiency: Why spend effort looking for "that one needle in the haystack" at a "safety school" like the University of Michigan or, heavens forfend, Bowling Green, when the run-of-the-mill Yalie's still a prince. Even "second-tier" Ivies like Brown, according to Rivera, are suspect for the top firms.
The most surprising finding in Rivera's research "” conducted through observation and anonymous interviewing "” was about the role of extracurriculars. While going to a super-elite gets your penny loafer in the door, that isn't enough. Rivera says it's leisure pursuits that seal the deal. Employers use these as "valid markers" or "proxies" of a candidate's "social and moral worth," all the more so for time-intensive sports that "resonate with white, upper-middle-class culture." Think lacrosse, squash, crew, and field hockey. Skip football, basketball, and soccer. And no sport at all suggests "nerd," which correlates to future "corporate drone."
Lauren Rivera "” a 32-year-old sociologist who teaches management and organizations at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management "” has concluded it's still where you went rather than what you did there that makes the difference...She says "elite professional service employers" rely more on academic pedigree than any other factor. For recruiters, it's prestige that counts, rather than "content" like grades, courses, internships, or other actual performance. That's because if you got into a "super-elite" school "” which essentially means Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wharton (University of Pennsylvania), and Stanford "” you must be smart. Plus, time spent at those bastions in turn will make you "polished" and attractive to corporate clients. It is, according to Rivera, a largely self-perpetuating hiring process that prizes efficiency: Why spend effort looking for "that one needle in the haystack" at a "safety school" like the University of Michigan or, heavens forfend, Bowling Green, when the run-of-the-mill Yalie's still a prince. Even "second-tier" Ivies like Brown, according to Rivera, are suspect for the top firms.
The most surprising finding in Rivera's research "” conducted through observation and anonymous interviewing "” was about the role of extracurriculars. While going to a super-elite gets your penny loafer in the door, that isn't enough. Rivera says it's leisure pursuits that seal the deal. Employers use these as "valid markers" or "proxies" of a candidate's "social and moral worth," all the more so for time-intensive sports that "resonate with white, upper-middle-class culture." Think lacrosse, squash, crew, and field hockey. Skip football, basketball, and soccer. And no sport at all suggests "nerd," which correlates to future "corporate drone."
