To be upset about ‘university blind’ recruitment

[Newname576]

DS has overcome so many challenges and has an unconditional offer from Cambridge after achieving 4 A star last year. He has worked so hard and we are so proud of him! But I was upset to learn that so many companies are recruiting “university blind”now - what the hell is the point of going to a top Uni if no one will know about it! My younger child says she will apply to Manchester Met and have a ball even though she too is predicted stellar grades as there is no point going to a top Uni

AIBU to be sad that companies are recruiting blind?

Seems I should have posted this in a thread called higher education - will do that from now on. More knowledgeable arguments there rather than gut instinct and prejudice.

If u see a previous post of mine.You will see we don’t take Oxbridge if we are looking for design based Architects as neither school has a good reputation for design.

the design abilities exhibited ( of 1st and 2:1 students) within the last 10/15 years of applicants are far inferior to those from other Universities who are clearly teaching the subject with much more success.
We see this first hand.

Architecture is not unique in this finding, as i believe others on here have also noted

No, OP. I admire your DS hugely. I never thought you or he sounded privileged.

I am a Russell Group STEM academic and I agree that degree standards vary hugely. Much more than I would wish.

My uni is in the tier just below COWI (Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial) in many STEM disciplines and our students get great jobs. It is a combination of our academic reputation and the fact that we put effort into our students’ pre-professional development.

I don’t know what pre-professional opportunities Cambridge offer. I am sure there are some and I would urge your DS to look for them. Even volunteering is a good start.

I was also careful to say that engaging with the tutorial system is the special opportunity of Oxbridge. You get out what you put in, although it may be stressful at first. If your DS engages academically and pre-professionally - I use that word realising that he could be aiming for PG studies - he has great chances of coming out on top. His Cambridge training will show, whether he does blind applications or not.

PS OP, I thought you sounded fiercely protective of your DS. A different thing entirely.

For sure @Hammerhouseofhorrors. My under-privileged DS (with A stars) will be reading history at Cambridge though. His 2.1 will be judged equally (under blind recruitment) to a student at crap Uni admitted with CCD. It is crazy and I just don’t get it

@poetryandwine thank you for your empathy in last post. I wish I had never started this thread as people have jumped to conclusions. My Ds has had horrific secondary school experience - bullied, late diagnosis with ASD, requires improvement school with teachers leaving every few months. We are free school meals and BAME. Not posh or private school - DS was scared about that but Cambridge far better than Durham or Exeter (his other choices)

Why have you posted OP, if you are not prepared to listen.
You have insulted a lot of posters on here for being prejudiced and unknowledgeable! Why, because they don’t agree with you.
Isn't this a debate
Isn’t this what education is all about…learning..discussing and appreciating other people point of view
You have no idea of posters backgrounds or indeed whether they are speaking from experience.

Yet you have resorted to putting MNs down with your offhand previous post when MNs have come on here and given their time to advice.

This says it all
You are calling higher educational establishments
Crap
I do hope there are no MN on here getting upset by your nasty comments.

You are living in an alternative reality with a chip on your shoulder. We are a humble, underprivileged family who are just so proud of DS and his Cambridge place with A stars. We don’t think his achievements are remotely comparable with someone who went to low ranking uni with BBC and got a first. Sorry not sorry,

Lots of experienced and knowledgeable posters have offered reassurance, explained the potential benefits and described the ways in which your son's degree will still benefit him over other candidates but you are still giving a lot of weight to the words written on a CV as though this is all an employer will look at when recruiting.

Have faith in your son's abilities rather than the reputation of the University he is going to, and try not to give him the idea that he isn't employable enough without the full details of his degree.

@DysmalRadius accepted but there have also been a helluva hot of shocking, prejudiced and uninformed posts on this thread too. All firsts are not equal for one!

Bloody hell, do you not trust that he'll do well in interviews or something?

He's not even at uni yet, doesn't matter how smart they are, not all of them can hack it. Getting angry about interviews is a bit premature

@DysmalRadius and no need for your last para. I do not doubt my son at all. We build him up not knock him down - though thanks for the noddy parenting. He will rise to the top. My post was about blind recruitment and the downsides of it which I feel are real

But you've barely acknowledged all the helpful replies and instead chosen to grouch at those you disagree with. Why focus on the negative?

What anger? Bemusement more like. Chill, sweetie

Ok, I'm out, but I don't think blind recruitment is your biggest problem here...

That is definitely not bemusement

So many uninformed posts on here though. I should have posted on higher education rather than AIBU.

This thread full of people - other than a few kind academics - maintaining that a 2.1 from uni in bottom third of league tables equals a 2,1 from Cambridge. Think that if u like but boy, read the Higher Education thread rather than AIBU. Bye - and if you interested in educating yourselves, I’ll see u on HE thread!

Check your prejudice

I don’t think that all degrees are equal, of course a 2.1 from Cambridge is a higher standard than some others. But when it comes to recruitment and jobs it doesn’t really matter. When recruiting we focus more on the applicants attitude, their drive, what they’ve done outside of uni, their ability to communicate, what they will be like as an employee. I really don’t care if someone went to Cambridge or Wolverhampton, Cambridge doesn’t mean they will be better at the job. Clients also don’t care what uni someone went to, their rapport, how good they are at the job and work experience are much more important.

In fact I’ve just realised I have no idea where my colleagues went to uni, because it doesn’t matter. No one talks about it. As soon as you enter the work place it’s work experience and professional qualifications that matter, not which uni you went to.

I get it mate it's not really about the university or grades its about the fact that the middle class white boy with the B grades will still have an advantage. You and I know he will always have to prove he is good enough in a way that the equivalent none bame kids won't. Many here won't get that and that's not a dig at anyone before you all come after me its just a sad fact.

I work in advertising - for a top agency. My clients (Nestle, Sainsburys etc) are aged 35+. They don’t find it easy taking advice from our brilliant young account handlers and always ask about their background. Oxbridge grads get benefit of the doubt because they are clever and articulate. We overwhelmingly recruit from RG and a couple of other courses that are good for creative writing.

Presumably with it being all that they coach them through interview techniques and what sort of things to put on a cv anyway