Writing Project 2
Part I:
Chu, Johan S. G., and Gerald F. Davis. “Who Killed the Inner Circle? The Decline of the American Corporate Interlock Network.” The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 122, no. 3, 2016, pp. 714–54, https://doi.org/10.1086/688650.
Jayakumar, Uma Mazyck, and Scott E. Page. “Cultural Capital and Opportunities for Exceptionalism: Bias in University Admissions.” The Journal of Higher Education (Columbus), vol. 92, no. 7, 2021, pp. 1109–39, https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2021.1912554.
This study highlights how colleges look for “exceptional” students which favors high-income, privileged students. The authors argue that colleges favor wealthy applicants in their admissions standards, presenting evidence such as high school and college athletics data. This data was used to create a model to measure the advantages certain students had in opportunity, specialization and support. The text’s general strengths include strong results from the statistical model and ample data. However, the study studies socioeconomic status but doesn’t explore race and gender intersectionality.
Binder, Amy J., et al. “Career Funneling: How Elite Students Learn to Define and Desire ‘Prestigious’ Jobs.” Sociology of Education, vol. 89, no. 1, 2016, pp. 20–39, https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040715610883.
This journal explores how university students learn to distinguish certain jobs as prestigious. Binder et. al. argue that students come into college undecided on career paths but on-campus recruiting and what they learn from upperclassmen help funnel them into certain careers like banking, consulting, and technology. This study is based on findings from a survey of 56 students and alumni at Harvard and Stanford. The text offers first-hand accounts of student experiences at two elite universities. However, it lacks perspective in the way that Stanford is highly tech-focused perhaps because the school has access to Silicon Valley close by. Harvard is unique as well in the way that it is one of the oldest universities with a long history and a deep network of powerful alumni.
Bourdieu, Pierre. “Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction.” Knowledge, Education, and Cultural Change: Papers in the Sociology of Education, vol. 3, 2018, pp. 71–112.
This essay examines how the education system contributes to social stratification. Bourdieu argues that the education system reinforces social stratification because it rewards and caters to those with more access to resources. Bourdieu relies on statistical analysis of various factors of students’ backgrounds such as whether their parents went to school or what social class their grandparents belonged to. This essay enjoys the benefit of being the original document that introduced the idea of cultural capital that many other essays in this bibliography point to. However, this is a study done in France and French society has historically featured strong social class distinctions which may culminate in effects that do not apply similarly across cultures.
Reeves, Aaron, and Robert de Vries. “Can Cultural Consumption Increase Future Earnings? Exploring the Economic Returns to Cultural Capital.” The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 70, no. 1, 2019, pp. 214–40, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12374.
This study highlights how cultural capital is related to career earnings. Reeves and de Vries argue that cultural capital is directly proportional to status indicators such as career earnings over time. The study’s evidence comes from examining individual participants in the United Kingdom over time through their academic and career progressions. The time series data offers a comprehensive view of the effect of differences in cultural capital in people over time. However, the study suffers from only having access to a small data set.
Hastings, Charlie. “Elite Hobbies: Examining the Sport Favoured by the USA’s One Per Cent.” University Wire, Uloop, Inc, 2022.
Isopahkala-Bouret, Ulpukka, et al. “‘Some People May Feel Socially Excluded and Distressed’: Finnish Business Students’ Participation in Extracurricular Activities and the Accumulation of Cultural Capital.” Journal of Education and Work, vol. 36, no. 1, 2023, pp. 52–64, https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2022.2162017.
Davis, Daniel, and Amy Binder. “Selling Students: The Rise of Corporate Partnership Programs in University Career Centers.” Research in the Sociology of Organizations, vol. 46, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016, pp. 395–422, https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20160000046013.
This article focuses on corporate partnership programs (CCPs) that offer firms a chance to pay to recruit students from college campuses. Davis and Binder argue that CPPs are replacing career counselors and contradict universities’ missions to cultivate a wide range of student interests. This conclusion comes from examination of commercialization trends in universities, conducting interviews, and studying career centers and career counseling professionals. The general strength of this study is that it offers a comprehensive examination of the economics of CCPs for both universities and firms. However, the study generalizes universities and does not consider differences in the objectives of research universities versus liberal arts universities versus others.
Park, DY, and JM Podolny. “The Competitive Dynamics of Status and Niche Width: US Investment Banking, 1920-1949.” Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 9, no. 3, 2000, pp. 377–414, https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/9.3.377.
In this paper, Park and Podolny study the competitive dynamic of firms that offer similar services in a market. They argue that when faced with a crowded market of competitors, firms must consider their niche and status. They conduct an empirical economic study modeling market competition and resource partitioning. The study’s strengths lie in its integration of theoretical models and development of resource-status space imagery for conceptual visualization. However, the results yield a high amount of unexplained variation, suggesting the absence of one or several relevant variables.
Rivera, Lauren A. “Ivies, Extracurriculars, and Exclusion: Elite Employers’ Use of Educational Credentials.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, vol. 29, no. 1, 2011, pp. 71–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2010.12.001.
Josefy, Matthew A., et al. “Elite Pipelines: How Elite School Ties Are Reflected in Interfirm Employee Migration.” Journal of Management, vol. 49, no. 5, 2023, pp. 1570–600, https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221097896.
Osman, Ali, and Camilla Thunborg. “The Challenge of Recruiting Underrepresented Groups – Exploring Organizational Recruitment Practices in Sweden 1.” Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, pp. 3–18.
Rivera, Lauren A. “Hiring as Cultural Matching: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms.” American Sociological Review, vol. 77, no. 6, 2012, pp. 999–1022, https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122412463213.
This article touches on the hiring processes of elite professional service firms. Rivera argues that employers don’t just hire for skills, they hire people similar to themselves. She uses interviews of 120 employers and observes the decision-making processes of a hiring committee. This study’s general strengths lie in advanced methods of using algorithms the author coded for empirical examination. However, the study focuses on entry-level hiring which is influenced by juniors in elite professions who may not be hired up to influence company direction and strategy. One might argue that a true understanding of culture and expectations is not apparent without studying senior-level professionals.
Ashley, Louise, and Laura Empson. “Understanding Social Exclusion in Elite Professional Service Firms: Field Level Dynamics and the ‘Professional Project.’” Work, Employment and Society, vol. 31, no. 2, 2017, pp. 211–29, https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017015621480.
This article explores various factors about the backgrounds of professionals at six law, investment banking, accounting, and consulting firms. Ashley and Empson argue that although these firms preach DEI, their professionals have strikingly similar backgrounds and characteristics. The evidence comes from a study of the professionals at these 6 firms. General strengths include that they were able to study firms that are regarded as top of their industry and keep their identities anonymous. However, this study notably suffers from a small sample size.
Donnelly, Michael, and Sol Gamsu. “The Field of Graduate Recruitment: Leading Financial and Consultancy Firms and Elite Class Formation.” The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 70, no. online first, 24 March 2019, 2019, pp. 28-online first, 24 March 2019<28, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12659.
This paper studies the backgrounds of graduates at top finance, consulting, and accounting firms. Donnelly and Gamsu argue that even though firms recruit candidates with a diverse background, the ones with more elite backgrounds are paid more due to different career tracks at the firms. They use evidence such as random effects models examining 11,755 graduates and pay hierarchies of 3,260 graduates across 31 leading firms. General strengths include random sampling and reliable statistical methods. However, they only had data data for graduates up to 6 months after graduation.
Woodson, Kevin. The Black Ceiling : How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace. First edition., The University of Chicago Press, 2023.
The subject matter of this book is racial discomfort among black professionals at elite law, investment banking, and management consulting firms. Woodson argues that even in the absence of racial discrimination, racial discomfort is a major source of anxiety for black professionals who receive fewer promotions and have a shorter tenure at elite firms than their White coworkers. Woodson’s evidence comes from his conversations with coworkers who worked in different industries. General strengths include first-hand accounts of people’s experiences. However, there is a potential for the misintended introduction of biases as coworkers at one firm do not represent the state of the industry.
Brint, Steven, and Sarah R. K. Yoshikawa. “The Educational Backgrounds of American Business and Government Leaders: Inter-Industry Variation in Recruitment from Elite Colleges and Graduate Programs.” Social Forces, vol. 96, no. 2, 2017, pp. 561–90, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox059.
This paper highlights the educational backgrounds of senior executives across different industries. Brint and Yoshikawa argue that the graduate business and law schools people go to matter for getting into top senior executive positions. Their evidence comes from a random sample of 3,900 senior executives across different industries. General strengths include a large data set and random selection. However, there are problems with their argument that undergraduate education is not so significant. Their study acknowledges variations in the needs and values of different industries but does adjust for those differences and makes no distinction between colleges that enroll more students versus less.
Bühlmann, Felix, et al. “Elite Recruitment in US Finance: How University Prestige Is Used to Secure Top Executive Positions.” The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 73, no. 4, 2022, pp. 667–84, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12971.
This article explores DEI hiring initiatives by elite law firms, investment banks, and management consulting firms. Rivera and Huffman argue that the people who are in charge of DEI programs should have more power over hiring. Is it not enough to interview diverse candidates, these people need to make it into the firm. The authors use ethnographic evidence consisting of criteria and key terms mentioned in interview transcripts and discussions. They compare such terms with those in statements and materials that are publicly distributed. The general strengths of the study include having a large sample size of 40 firms per industry for three elite industries. However, the interviews conducted were sometimes obtained through relationships such as corporate affiliations and referrals, which allows for the potential of introducing biases.
Rivera, Lauren A. “Diversity within Reach: Recruitment versus Hiring in Elite Firms.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 639, no. 1, 2012, pp. 71–90, https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716211421112.
Kogut, Bruce, et al. “Structural Equality at the Top of the Corporation: Mandated Quotas for Women Directors.” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 35, no. 6, 2014, pp. 891–902, https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2123.
Part II:
Before researching for this project, I only had my understanding of internship recruiting for prestigious firms. I had an understanding of wealth and status signals but did not know how others have examined the topic from an economic and sociological standpoint. I came across an essay written by Pierre Bourdieu that introduced the term “cultural capital” in the 1970s. Cultural capital is the knowledge and skills you gain that is not usually taught in schools. These specific skills are associated with class and help you connect with others similar to you. Cultural capital goes on to uphold systems of social closure and exclusion which leads to social stratification. Many other studies I found during my research were inspired by Bourdieu’s work to examine other facets of cultural capital.
Another surprising discovery is the way that universities still uphold social stratification with their admissions practices. The exceptional activities, leadership, and test scores that they are looking for are easier to achieve for those who have access to ample resources and opportunities. Previously, I believed that holistic admissions had largely done away with these problems. However, the problem goes far beyond admission to funneling students into certain careers and having a significant impact on their professional trajectory.
After researching, I can see a general outline of what I need to write about. My story is that I’m an immigrant. I grew up in Vietnam and came to the U.S. at 7. That comes with a lot of cultural norms and expectations changing and colliding. I specifically want to highlight the contrast between Western individualism and traditional ideas. I want to dive into my peers who are like me in some ways but can pursue creative pursuits and not worry about achievement. I don’t want to end up dismissing creative pursuits and activism but I want to highlight exactly why I think the way that I do.
I want to dive into how being at an elite university has shaped me into the person that I am today and draw on one of my sources that touches on this. I want to talk about the dynamics of elites, elite universities, and the factors at play in the recruiting process for these jobs. I came to understand cultural capital and elite hobbies at USC. By now, plenty of clubs and recruitment guides have drilled into my brain that having things in common with your prospective hiring managers and co-workers will give you a leg up. I think about the famous “airport test” that consultants give you in an interview to determine if they like you enough to be able to tolerate an 8-hour layover in an airport with you.
Moreover, it’s important to dive deeper into why prestige is so important to not only individuals but also firms. As I found in my research, companies want to be prestigious in the face of intense competition to differentiate their business. Therefore, if they hire people from prestigious universities, this will help their firm appear prestigious as well. I want to make the argument that top universities are businesses that sell prestige.
I also want to talk about my personal experience working as an intern for a well-known Wall Street high finance recruiting operation and as a campus ambassador for a top consulting firm. I want to talk about how I came to uphold what I see as a broken system. I want to talk about what solutions I have encountered during my research and why they don’t work from an insider perspective.
My essay will end off completing the cycle of understanding why my peers can pursue what they pursue and finding understanding and acceptance that I am like their parents. One day, my children will be free to enjoy more of the college experience and not worry so much about achievement. At the end of the day, my success looks like paying dividends to the people who have raised me and making sure my children grow up with more opportunities than I had to pursue whatever they want to pursue and to do it to the best of their ability.
I’m excited about this essay because this is the first time I’ve gone below surface level in writing. I’m also excited to explore my voice and what I have to say to contribute to the conversation instead of collecting thoughts and cramming them into the 5 paragraph essay I’ve always done. I believe that an op-ed would capture this very well. However, I want to highlight the studies and evidence I’ve collected so a personal or analytical essay would also be a great alternative.