meritocracy

[kdi]

speaking of social stratification based on personal merit. what do you yw people think about meritocracy. isn’t finding a job all about “who you know”, is more important rather than “what you know”?

[KrHyme]

speaking of social stratification based on personal merit. what do you yw people think about meritocracy. isn’t finding a job all about “who you know”, is more important rather than “what you know”?

"Who you know" will get you a job, and "what you know" will help you keep your job.

[Emperor_Mike]

Merit is a good thing, but usually it's through connections that you obtain a position. The legal profession here in England is still very much an "Old Boys Club" as far as the larger and more prestigious firms are concerned. Unfair as it may be, usually these organisations give preference to graduates from Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, LSE, UCL, etc (i.e. the more "established" law schools.)

I would think that the Ivies back in the US operate in the same manner as well, yes?

[achtungbaby]

isn't finding a job all about “who you know”, is more important rather than “what you know”?This is something I said a lot when I was unemployed.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

After 6 months of underemployment, I just got a real job and I'm convinced that who I know (one of the regional heads of IT; he interviewed and rejected me for an internship at the same company two years ago, but we'd had a good discussion about the differences between academic life --- the guy used to be a Chem PhD --- and professional life, and kept in touch a bit) was a lot more important than what I know (very little; I didn't prepare for the interview at all by researching the company but just stopped by their booth at a career fair on a whim, and all the other companies in their same industry rejected me, mostly without even a second glance).

[kimpossible]

"Who you know" will get you a job, and "what you know" will help you keep your job.

The only thing I would add to that is "what you are" in regard to promotion. Race, gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliation. Otherwise, well put.

[ism]

speaking of social stratification based on personal merit. what do you yw people think about meritocracy. isn’t finding a job all about “who you know”, is more important rather than “what you know”?

The thing is, what I know is what made me memorable enough to who I knew (or rather, who knew me) that lead to opportunities. It's a synergistic relationship.

I think on the whole, if you're on the high end of the skill spectrum for an engineering or technical position, the latter tends to be more true.

[VV o n g B a]

I think on the whole, if you're on the high end of the skill spectrum for an engineering or technical position, the latter tends to be more true.even for technical jobs, who u know is important if u want to move up in the company's managerial structure. the area where i think skills matter most is sports (although i'm sure some counter examples can be found.)

the area where connections matter most is politics and business, and i only have one example here: george w. bush

[achtungbaby]

After 6 months of underemployment, I just got a real job and I'm convinced that who I know (one of the regional heads of IT; he interviewed and rejected me for an internship at the same company two years ago, but we'd had a good discussion about the differences between academic life --- the guy used to be a Chem PhD --- and professional life, and kept in touch a bit) was a lot more important than what I know (very little; I didn't prepare for the interview at all by researching the company but just stopped by their booth at a career fair on a whim, and all the other companies in their same industry rejected me, mostly without even a second glance).Congrats...welcome back to the land of the gainfully employed.

[ModernLogic]

Man... you guys are making me nervous about finding a job after college. I hope the market of Econ/Math majors is looking good.