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Don’t say ‘elite’: Corporate firms’ new pitch is meritocracy
McKinsey, Accenture and other big firms want to recruit with a wider net, focusing more on skills than on pedigree, but this may be easier said than done.
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Economists generally agree that eschewing unnecessary degree requirements is a good idea – particularly in an era of degree inflation and a tight labour market.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Sarah Kessler
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If you ask a graduating Master of Business Administration student, a prep school guidance counsellor or the internet how to be hired at global consulting firm McKinsey, you are likely to find a list of prestigious “target schools” where it has consistently aimed its recruiting efforts. You know the ones – Harvard, Yale, Stanford.
But these days, McKinsey would prefer a different answer. “Exceptional can come from anywhere,” its career website says. And then, in case that was not clear enough, “We hire people, not degrees”, and also, “We believe in your potential, regardless of your pedigree”.
