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?

Degrees don’t have the same value anymore. I never went to uni, all my friends did & I work the same grade as tonnes of people who went to uni.

going to a “top uni” shouldn’t hold any sway when applying for a job

I think a lot of the University system is going to collapse in coming years, people aren't stupid, there's no point getting into debt to the tune of £50,000 plus to end up working in the same job as people who left school at 18. It'll go back to being Oxbridge, the Russell Group and maybe a few others, and everything else will be vocational based training. Which is probably how it always should have been,

Personally I think the whole system went to shit when people started calling it "Uni"...

Nah, it's too much big business, besides universities started back in the dark ages,

I'm not sure why mn have such a big thing about Russell group unis and I've been here for about 14 years now

Then again I dont know why there's such an obsession with uni anyway, some very bright people just aren't interested and would rather learn a trade but it's quite rare on here that people talk about that

Every MNers child seems "bound for uni" even if they haven't even started school yet.

My eldest refused to even do A levels, he applied to college to learn a trade and that was that. I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do at the time but I wasn't going to try and make him do something he didn't want to do.

But this place is so full of posters that think they should have the last word on where their child goes to uni that I think they'd have a break down if their child refused to even do A levels

Don’t worry he will still have a better life than almost everyone in the country, that’s the overall concern right?

Part of the major benefit of going to Oxford & Cambridge is the networking opportunities.

I work in a city institution that does blind interviews. Recruitment is not totally blind - applicants background is vetted by HR including university, background etc. They have some academic requirements. It is when the applicants get to interview that things are blind- interviewers do not get info in advance to avoid bias. Normally it does come out as the applicant can tell the interviewers.
your DS sounds like just the sort of applicant they would love! Hope he has a wonderful time at Cambridge.

I think it's a good thing. Coming from an area where so many clever dc have so few opportunities it's important that the job market isn't missing these very bright people simply because they didn't go to 'the right university' etc. There will still be plenty of opportunities for your ds.

This is the main advantage.

Its much easier to make a connection with the interviewers if you have common backgrounds.

Thats when it is obvious who went to Oxbridge and who went to Podunk U.

Apart from bragging rights was uni degree good for anything else the past 30 years?
Nope, for anyone who was doing everyday jobs. Probably because apart from a few examples, uni never thought anything you would use in a real job, so it’s irrelevant
Children who are academically inclined to this degree, should go into research fields where that matters.

If you need to move abroad, lack of degree will effectively kill your job prospects.

Over the last 30 years, this has been more true than ever.

My husband once recruited a Oxford graduate and after a few months wondered how on earth she got her degree because the lack of knowledge she had in her field was shocking enough that she was doing her job very badly and they were having to actually teach her basic stuff.
So now when people apply, they arjt interested in the uni.

Many a wild time is had at Oxford too, rest assured!

A degree is a degree. The misogynistic pricks who talk over women in my sector have all got Oxford or Cambridge on their LinkedIn profiles, so I wouldn't say that it gives a good experience.

As a recruiter it wouldn’t make any difference to me. I didn’t know my first degree was from a Russell Group university until 10 years after I graduated and discovered mumsnet 🤣 I go by experience, aptitude and attitude.

We do blind recruitment in the civil service but not for things like uni’s. Maybe they will in future. Many companies target top uni’s. For example my son’s at Warwick, and he turned down St Andrews for Warwick as he’s interested in banking and many top companies do internships at Warwick (and a few other uni’s) which leads to a permanent job if they make a good impression

Why is that? Do you actually have a reason, or are you just being rude and not very funny?

i worked for one of those companies. Whist it is true to say the recruitment team was proactive on campus at a smaller number of universities, including Warwick, we accepted applications from students at any university, and the university attended had absolutely no advantage in recruitment. I know this is true of many other large corporates too. Just so anyone reading this has a balanced view.

Ive recruited grads and post grads all my working life. Most people in my field hold masters degrees or PhDs.

Many employers now focus on grads with upper second minimum. Your DCs will do fine at whatever uni they attend, so don't fret but Cambridge still opens doors, so your DS will benefit attending Cambridge.

The issue to me is your DD thinking going to Manchester Met will be a doddle. All degrees and awards are moderated and you have a ball no matter where you go to uni...

I went to Manchester Met and it's not all about the uni, it's about the course and the experience you get whilst you are there. For my subject, MMU is rated higher than the Russell groups. Chose MMU over UoM because I didn't want to stress on results day and the course was better. No regrets, Had an amazing time and not left Manchester since. It opened so many doors and a really successful career out of it. Unless you intend to go into academia, politics or jobs where prestige counts (I know it still does in some law firms) - then it doesn't matter where you got your degree from. When I'm interviewing people, it's about the person and how well the perform in the interview and not what uni they went to.

Warwick work hard to gain opportunities for their students as do a few other good universities...they work hard building connections with even smaller companies. They use creativity to support their students to build these connections too in a way that is time-efficient and cost-effective for both employer and student. As an employer they remind you frequently that their students are talented and eager to meet with your company, they are hard to forget and they are the first with their feet in the door when we have an opportunity.
And then there are the other Unis - their careers dept put next to no effort in and some of these Unis have great courses - directly related to our industry, we'd love to talk to their grads, we could really add value to their grads search for employment - we have tried to connect with them but their careers department is a graveyard. Their students are disadvantaged but now because of the teaching or the courses - the University is not proactive in building relationships with employers.

Don’t worry, most companies won’t be university blind. Prestige, status and names still matter especially for competitive well paid jobs (rightly or wrongly).

But going to uni isn’t all about getting a job, I hope your son is going to enjoy his course! Much better that he does what he enjoys and falls into the right job/career that way as he is obviously bright. He will be happier long term