To be upset about ‘university blind’ recruitment

It really depends on the firm and the qualification.

We recruit graduates but by accident. Their degree is irrelevant. If they have the professional qualification we need which we know comes from 3 years hard graft and tough exams we will consider them or if they are part way through it. Many degrees are quite easy.

I think academic types choose Oxford and Cambridge for the challenge and the cache not the job prospects.I would assume many would end up as academics which does not pay very well.

Anyone who sees a CV with Oxford or Cambridge on it will be impressed. Although to be honest Oxford Brookes often gets mistaken for the real thing by HR departments especially overseas ones so it might be just as good.

Now I'm thinking with uni blind recruitment the Cambridge person can get the job through their own talent and hard work?

People can’t change sex. Sorry to break it to you. It’s ‘tragic and repulsive’ that places of academic learning are trying to preach otherwise.

It’s rather like do you want the student who got As in Underwater Basket Weaving? Then do Uni blind recruitment.

It's really really not.

I know it’s a minority opinion, but YANBU. The top Unis have the hardest courses and so a 2:1 from one is equivalent to a 1st from a garden variety Uni.
To have Uni blind recruitment punishes students who have stretched themselves. It’s rather like do you want the student who got As in Underwater Basket Weaving? Then do Uni blind recruitment.

Just an excuse to brag...

I also really welcome this blind recruitment more broadly as it reminds me of when we were naming our kids and my husband was so concerned about their “foreign name” on a job application and tried to think of names they could anglicise. I thought it was unnecessary in this day and age but I suppose he still works in a company where is he is one of not even a handful of black people in 2023.

Transphobic?

You know the lecturers at Cambridge will have taught elsewhere right? In some cases the system is so screwed you actually have the same person teaching in both at the same time (gotta love temporary part-time contracts)

Yes, the really, really important thing is, will they remain safely transphobic?
Bloody hell, this is both tragic and repulsive.

For graduate recruitment don't they care more about your extracurriculars and like leadership ability and the ability to be resilient etc

Uni of Hertfordshire specialises in career pathway degrees like law, teaching, business, paramedic training and similar so if you want a degree to make your son more employable then this isn’t the snarky comparison you think it is.

If you just want bragging rights then he can still tell anyone willing to listen that he went to Cambridge once one of these companies offers him a job.

No job I’ve had have ever seemed to see the value in any of my qualifications, it’s all just a popularity contest in reality.

😂 Spot on!
I have 2 degrees OP (not from posh universities may I add) that I've worked bloody hard for, considering my life circumstances. I take offence at your snobbish words. Regardless, others are right, in many fields a degree itself is not what lands you a career.

"When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression"

How rude, and narrow minded.

Speaking as a Man Met law graduate who is now a senior associate at a top international law firm, I am pleased I managed to crawl in through the cracks 😏

I am actively involved in interviewing candidates for our summer vacation placements and training contracts and we blind recruit - it's much fairer and the candidates who can demonstrate the necessary skills are the ones who are shortlisted. We have to turn away highly qualified individuals as the quality of candidates is so high and we don't have enough places. It's not about the university at all. Having seen these kids in action down the line, a big name university makes no difference to the calibre of the lawyer or their ability to do the job.

My niece went to Oxford and wanted to get a job related to writing. However, she didn’t have any practical experience, such as writing for university magazines etc. My sil thought that Oxford would give her a passport to a good job. Not so.

But do they actually recruit the best students or those they think are the best fit for their institution?

The first is merit; the second potential elitism.

Academic brilliance is absolutely not a yardstick of how well a person will do outside the world of academia.

It's just not. So yes, interview applicants who meet the criteria and hire on the basis of their interview performance.

@Solonge You are the person who originally insisted that Oxbridge was admitting a majority of private school applicants!

Oxbridge uni's take the vast majority of their students from private schools

This is what you said. I'm just pointing out that isn't right because I think it's important for those considering applying to know what the real picture is. These threads come up on google searches etc. Important to be accurate.

I am sure Oxbridge has a long way to go before it is truly equitable in admissions. But throwing around inaccurate hyperbole doesn't help anyone.

Really? Been to both, and that's a resounding 'no' from me.

Light touch paper and retire OP?

smacks of some lazy journalism

A top university is supposed to recruit the best students - of course it’s elitist. That’s the whole point!

You’ve obviously done a ton of research and yes one barrier is getting people to apply but that’s not the only barrier and many of those other ones are institutional.

Family member lives in a deprived postcode in the North. Straights A*s at GCSE and A Level and did 4 full A Levels which didn’t include general studies. Sportsman, DofE and generally a well-rounded individual (I interview a lot of people and know the difference). Didn’t even get an interview. Has gone on to get a masters elsewhere. I have a friend whose daughter is the same - no interview. So people from those backgrounds ARE applying and I have anecdata of maybe 7 with the same story. Imagine how hard it’s been to go to a really average comp and get straight As, yet apparently the criteria is adjusted to accommodate.

The majority....I should hope they do take the majority of their pupils from state schools! if you compare the number of state school pupils compared to private. Pupils in state schools in 2022 were approx 7,859,000, The number of pupils in private schools was less than 615,000. So even if Oxbridge are taking 'over half' of their students from state schools I assume even you see there is a rather large discrepancy.

Congratulations to your child! That’s wonderful for them.

Some companies (not sure which - I don’t know enough about it admittedly) hire mainly from Oxbridge and a select few Russell Group universities which has an impact upon diversity. Yes, thankfully these universities are doing some work to make their intake more diverse yet certain universities still have a lot of privately educated students (eg I think perhaps Bristol does/did off the top of my head?). Also, teacher here. The trainee I was most excited to mentor (as an Oxbridge grad) turned out to be the worst teacher I’ve ever worked with, including in terms of work ethic and professionalism.