Is the graduate milkround evil? My response to George Monbiot

"Finance, management consultancy, advertising, public relations, lobbying: these and other useless occupations consume thousands of the brightest students. To take such jobs at graduation, as many will in the next few weeks, is to amputate life close to its base."

The above quote was taken from an article in the Guardian last month, written by George Monbiot. I'd recommend that you read it in full, but his central tenet is that corporate recruiters are luring away our brightest young minds by offering them careers that while financially rewarding, offer little else to the individual and even less to society as a whole. 
 
While it would be easy to play the man rather than the ball, the article brings into focus an internal dilemma that I have silently grappled with during my time as a corporate recruiter. I wholeheartedly believe that most people who go into graduate recruitment do it for positive reasons and take great satisfaction in seeing their candidates secure that all-important first step in their career – but are we actually doing any good?

Myth 1 - Students are encouraged to apply for jobs they don't actually want

"Recruitment begins with love bombing of the kind that cults use [...] They persuade undergraduates that even if they don’t see themselves as consultants or bankers (few do), these jobs are stepping stones to the careers they really want."

In reality, most recruiters spend their time talking to students who already know what their preferred career path is. The focus of the conversation is much more likely to be about the relative merits of the recruiter's organisation vis a vis its competitors; talent is scarce and employers want the very best students to apply to them.  

Let's also take a moment to pause and consider those students who are unsure where they are heading (or who are simply unaware of the opportunities on offer to them in the corporate world) but who hear about opportunities via recruiters and then go on to secure a corporate role. Personally I would prefer for reasons of transparency and social mobility that recruiters are out there promoting their wares, rather than recruitment taking place informally through a closed network based on contacts and privilege.

Myth 2 - The corporate world is soul-destroying

"As far as self-direction, autonomy and social utility are concerned, many of those who enter these industries and never re-emerge might as well have locked themselves in a cell at graduation."
 
The corporate world remains a popular destination, partly because of the money but millennials are less money-motivated than previous generations and these are not drudge jobs. Most corporate schemes offer a high-quality learning environment, intellectual stimulation and important problems that need to be solved - in fact a very similar environment to that which the students have enjoyed at school and university. 

As much as George might hate to admit it, many of our most able students find the work at large corporate employers offers much more stimulation than that found elsewhere. Students are turning away from workplaces that fail to offer self-direction and autonomy to staff; sadly many of these are found in the public sector, where the scope to deliver social utility is stifled by red-tape.

Myth 3 - Joining the corporate world means you cannot make a positive contribution to society

"We have but one life. However much money we make, we cannot buy it back."

Rather than criticising people for joining the corporate ranks and making a few quid, we should perhaps pay closer attention to the incentives that influence how they spend their money. A leading light in the charity sector suggested for those with the necessary talent (and the desire to make a positive contribution to the world) the best thing they could do would be to make a fortune in the City and then give it away to good causes, rather than toil away as a volunteer themselves.  

We need to take responsibility for how we live our lives; it is up to the individual whether he or she wants to work 15-hour days and fritter away his or her wealth on trinkets and baubles. If you want to make a positive contribution (and retire early), you can.

Myth 4 - The City is winning this particular fight

"To seek enlightenment, intellectual or spiritual; to do good; to love and be loved; to create and to teach: these are the highest purposes of humankind. If there is meaning in life, it lies here."

What is more, the students seem to agree - hence in 2012, 10% of all Oxbridge finalists applied to Teach First, along with 6% of all Russell Group universities. They also figured prominently in the list of top 100 graduate employers (as did many other public sector institutions). This is a level of popularity a corporate recruiter can only dream of.  

In other words put something compelling in front of students and they are quite capable of resisting the siren calls of the corporate world. If "more worthy" employers don't receive the applications Monbiot feels that they deserve, then they need to up their game.

This post might read rather defensively, but the lack of balance in the original article meant I have felt obliged to detail some of the positives that a career in the corporate world has to offer. Ideally we could perhaps leave careers advice to impartial careers advisers and take the employers (and their advertising) out of the recruitment equation – but then we wouldn't be able to enjoy some wonderful comedic moments such as the careers fair in the second series of Fresh Meat! 
 

Edward Walker is an experienced graduate recruiter who has worked within the legal sector for many years. If you would like to read his future posts on legal careers, please 'follow' him via LinkedIn.