GUEST COMMENT: Observations on the advantages of having been to Oxbridge
One of my teachers once ticked me off for referring to Oxbridge and insisted on the long form; however I am going to use the diminutive and he'll have to forgive me if he is still alive.
People often ask whether I think having been to Oxbridge confers advantages. My answer is that, of course it does. But it also has some subtle drawbacks, not the least of which is that everybody you come across who hasn't been there is defensive and out to get you. In an organisation, much of the everyday interaction in the workplace is a subliminal expression of people's prejudices and their defence of their status within the organisation.
Conversely, the first advantage is that you get a shot at the best jobs because wherever else the big firms go recruiting, they always go to Oxbridge.
The second advantage is that the networking and the alumni system is powerful. Unfortunately, for the first 20 years of your career you are by and large competing against your peer group. People only get round to being properly helpful when they are in their forties and don't feel they have to be competitive any more. At this point, they have either become successful - in which case they can exercise their power of patronage, or they haven't - in which case they can call upon that patronage without being a threat.
But incalculably, the main advantage is that at Oxbridge you receive a proper university education. Inter alia, it teaches you to express yourself clearly, so that you can do things like write a letter or a report correctly. You are often taught by the people who actually wrote the books, which, apart from making you feel smug, gives you more of an incentive to read them!
Moreover, graduates of Oxbridge tend to have a higher level of intellectual curiosity than normal. They may be selected for that trait by the university, or it is inculcated in them by the environment. Either way, one can be reasonably sure that they will have the ability to think for themselves.
Oxbridge produces thinkers in a way that other universities produce people with skill sets. Skill sets are useful, but the world of work is always moving forward as new technology and new modus operandi replace the old ways; people need to be able to adapt and the people most adept at this are those whose minds have been taught to think for themselves in a disciplined manner.
The author is a senior headhunter who has also spent some time in the industry
