This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/magazine/8187689.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| A scruffy dilemma | A scruffy dilemma |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The recent debate over wider access to the professions opens a whole can of worms, says Laurie Taylor in his weekly column. | |
| I've distrusted interviews ever since the day that I was rejected for a job on the sales counter of a children's clothes retailer. | I've distrusted interviews ever since the day that I was rejected for a job on the sales counter of a children's clothes retailer. |
| Already having contacts in your chosen field can help you get in | Already having contacts in your chosen field can help you get in |
| It was all a very long time ago but I still remember how much I coveted that sales job. Various counters were dedicated to regulation school hats and blazers and skirts. The weekly pay was good. There were long holidays. | It was all a very long time ago but I still remember how much I coveted that sales job. Various counters were dedicated to regulation school hats and blazers and skirts. The weekly pay was good. There were long holidays. |
| My interviewer was a rather strict middle-aged woman in a tight black two-piece suit. She began by asking about my educational background and my reasons for wanting to work in the retail sector. I'd rehearsed all my answers carefully and felt confident that I'd done justice to myself. I certainly couldn't think how I might have done better. | My interviewer was a rather strict middle-aged woman in a tight black two-piece suit. She began by asking about my educational background and my reasons for wanting to work in the retail sector. I'd rehearsed all my answers carefully and felt confident that I'd done justice to myself. I certainly couldn't think how I might have done better. |
| But as we neared the end of the allocated half-hour, a phone repeatedly rang in a neighbouring office and my new friend asked to be excused for a moment. | But as we neared the end of the allocated half-hour, a phone repeatedly rang in a neighbouring office and my new friend asked to be excused for a moment. |
| While she was away, I scanned the form which she'd been completing during the interview. Viewed from upside down it made little sense. | While she was away, I scanned the form which she'd been completing during the interview. Viewed from upside down it made little sense. |
| FIND OUT MORE Hear Laurie Taylor's Thinking Allowed on Radio 4 at 1600 on Wednesdays or 0030 on MondaysOr listen to it here on the iPlayer | FIND OUT MORE Hear Laurie Taylor's Thinking Allowed on Radio 4 at 1600 on Wednesdays or 0030 on MondaysOr listen to it here on the iPlayer |
| But there was one scrawled comment across the top of the form which was clearly legible. I shifted slightly to the left to bring it into focus. And there it was, the verdict on all my smooth talking, on all my shows of interest, on all my engaging smiles and enthusiastic nods. | But there was one scrawled comment across the top of the form which was clearly legible. I shifted slightly to the left to bring it into focus. And there it was, the verdict on all my smooth talking, on all my shows of interest, on all my engaging smiles and enthusiastic nods. |
| It read: "Scruffy. Suggest Stock Room." | It read: "Scruffy. Suggest Stock Room." |
| Since that time I've been required to sit on any number of interview boards. I've interviewed thousands of student applicants for university places, hundreds of aspirants for postgraduate research, scores of academics looking for a university appointment. | Since that time I've been required to sit on any number of interview boards. I've interviewed thousands of student applicants for university places, hundreds of aspirants for postgraduate research, scores of academics looking for a university appointment. |
| During nearly all those interviews, there comes a moment when a repetitive tom-tom beat has broken out somewhere in my head. | During nearly all those interviews, there comes a moment when a repetitive tom-tom beat has broken out somewhere in my head. |
| Scruffy. Suggest Stock Room. Scruffy Suggest Stock Room. | Scruffy. Suggest Stock Room. Scruffy Suggest Stock Room. |
| It was, I realised, my way of reminding myself of the injustices which could so readily be perpetrated by the interview process. It made me reject any prejudices that might have built up because of the candidate's demeanour or accent or posture. | It was, I realised, my way of reminding myself of the injustices which could so readily be perpetrated by the interview process. It made me reject any prejudices that might have built up because of the candidate's demeanour or accent or posture. |
| Sometimes, judgements can be made on the basis of scruffiness | Sometimes, judgements can be made on the basis of scruffiness |
| It made me more determined than ever to give some credit for difference, and awkwardness and lack of convention. In other words, it inclined me to favour candidates who intellectually or sartorially displayed a certain "scruffiness". | It made me more determined than ever to give some credit for difference, and awkwardness and lack of convention. In other words, it inclined me to favour candidates who intellectually or sartorially displayed a certain "scruffiness". |
| After a series of such interviews at the university where I held the chair in sociology I was taken aside by a senior philosopher from the interviewing panel and told that some of my recent judgements had been rather "perverse". | After a series of such interviews at the university where I held the chair in sociology I was taken aside by a senior philosopher from the interviewing panel and told that some of my recent judgements had been rather "perverse". |
| Although I was entitled to my views on candidates I should bear in mind that selecting on the basis of "difference" was a dangerous criterion. "After all," he said, as we walked along the bank of the artificial lake on the way back to our respective colleges, "what interviewing is really about is trying to find chaps who on the whole will fit in well with the existing system." | Although I was entitled to my views on candidates I should bear in mind that selecting on the basis of "difference" was a dangerous criterion. "After all," he said, as we walked along the bank of the artificial lake on the way back to our respective colleges, "what interviewing is really about is trying to find chaps who on the whole will fit in well with the existing system." |
| "You mean people just like us?," I said. "Exactly," he said. I've rarely heard a philosopher sound quite so unambiguous. | "You mean people just like us?," I said. "Exactly," he said. I've rarely heard a philosopher sound quite so unambiguous. |
| It seems that appointing "people just like us" has now become a political issue. A recent report into graduate unemployment suggests that an important reason for the relative exclusion of members of lower socio-economic groups from the professions is not their inability to reach the required educational standards but their lack of "social capital". | It seems that appointing "people just like us" has now become a political issue. A recent report into graduate unemployment suggests that an important reason for the relative exclusion of members of lower socio-economic groups from the professions is not their inability to reach the required educational standards but their lack of "social capital". |
| Those outside the middle classes are less able to call upon contacts, or take advantage of networking opportunities. And if they're lucky enough to get to the interview stage, they may still blow their chances because they lack what are now called "soft skills". | Those outside the middle classes are less able to call upon contacts, or take advantage of networking opportunities. And if they're lucky enough to get to the interview stage, they may still blow their chances because they lack what are now called "soft skills". |
| They are, how can one put this, just a little, well, scruffy. | They are, how can one put this, just a little, well, scruffy. |
| Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |