Short answer: it depends.
Experience has taught me that they do weigh in the world of work, especially when just starting out and applying to the best companies in circulation. Due to the competitiveness of their environment, you can sometimes qualify for certain jobs in those companies only if you attended certain universities or business schools (often referred to as targets).
In simpler terms:
Having studied in a known institution allows you the benefit of the doubt, but it is not a golden ticket to your dream job. You will still have to put in the work.
Not having attended a well-ranked university or business school might see your job application being rejected immediately by pickier employers. Though rest assured that it is still doable. A bit more challenging, perhaps. And I know that from personal experience.
In the following piece, I try to explain why that is.
Perception matters
Let’s start from the premise that where you studied gives people an indication of thequalityof youroutput. It significantly impactshow they perceive you. Once you graduate, it will affect the willingness of employers to hire you, clients to buy from you, and investors to invest in your business.
I could extend the same logic to friends, colleagues, journalists, recruiters, and others: they will say, “he/she studied at X university” when introducing you to someone. And that is an advantage worth being aware of. That is not to say, though, that you will have sure success in life. But having yourself associated with a reputed institution will help you get discovered more easily.
Please note that the reverse is also true: I know plenty of people who did not attend renowned universities (some of them did not attend university at all) and still managed to land a great job at some of the most respected companies on the international scene. It is doable, so no worries at all there.
Roughly speaking, we are all familiar with national and international rankings as we look at the same stats: most of us were once in your exact position.
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Now let’s come back to our previous question:
Why do the best employers only target a handful of universities and business schools?
To unfold this, it helps to think about the concept of scarcity. You will probably have heard the saying, “Scarcity provides value,” in the science of economics. The same applies in everyday life. And it is certainly true for the best universities and business schools: most of their value is in the screening before the education starts.
Employers, and people in general, know well that it is tough to get into them and that only a few hundred students get admitted every year: they have to have an IQ that places them way ahead of most of the population their age, and then they have to excel in at least one or two other things. Also, to enter, they must have robust systems that have allowed them to perform in the first place, not to mention valuable attributes such as discipline, resilience, consistency, focus, perspicacity, flexibility, and so on—all sought-after markers of success.
This does not mean that the best universities and business schools will not provide you with an education that is short of excellent. Not at all. But the quality of education they provide is not the deal breaker per se to prospective employers. The reality is that you would get as educated as if you went somewhere else.
Potential employers and clients are reassured by where you studied. They know that for you to have got in, you passed a rigorous admission process, competing against other robust candidates, and still prevailed against the odds: this most likely places you among some of the brightest in the country or even in the international scene should your school be renowned worldwide.
All they have to do now is select from a pool of carefully chosen high-calibre candidates gathered from only a handful of target universities. Such reasoning will see them being left with some of the most promising candidates in the job market, which, once employed, will likely help make their company even more successful through their excellence and conscientiousness.
SUMMARY
It depends on the company and the role you are applying to. Rankings and reputation do weigh for corporates. For smaller companies with greater focus on practicality, not as much.
Having studied in a known institution allows you the benefit of the doubt. Still, it won’t be a golden ticket to your dream job.
Not having attended a well-ranked institution might see your job application being rejected immediately by pickier employers. Though, rest assured that it is still doable with a bit of extra work.
