Reply to St. Albans School - how big a deal?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Isn't the point of all of this that an applicant should consider the employer's culture and make the choice accordingly?  DC isn't Menlo Park, and Menlo Park isn't DC.  Just be strategic, know your audience, and take that into account. 
And to the Google poster, I know many very happy people working at Google in California as well as a few here in DC.  There are, though, good reasons people may not want to work in Google's dc shop given other options.  It's certainly not because the applicants aren't innovative or aren't risk takers, just that they don't think the DC office work opportunity is worth the risk.  Also, the few senior people I know at Google's dc office have all of their kids in private school, so not surprisingly there seems to be some difference of opinion even among those in Blessed Google's lobbying shop.[/quote]

I am another west coast poster, the one who attended a highly-regarded west coast school, and whose classmates never use the school as a resume line.  This is the case even when applying in the west coast region where its mention would certainly open doors, as many of the pertinent industry's most influential people currently have, or have had, connections to that school.

The difference might be that Washington, DC is essentially a small town compared to the other areas of this country where the influence of these peer schools matter.  It is a bit like residing in a small southern town, where the place one attended high school still matters.  In New York or San Francisco it is considered more a peculiar "affectation" to cling to one's high school on a resume, even a highly elite private school, when those cities are so large, with so many people coming from well-regarded private and public high schools from across the region and around the country.  The west coast, in particular, also values and embraces an egalitarian ethos.[/quote]

Exactly, so, when in Rome . . . .[/quote]

Except I hire here, in DC, and I continue to maintain that listing high school on the resume here, at least for professional jobs, is not a good idea.  From reading this thread, it seems the only ones who disagree are those who themselves attended elite private schools.  Perhaps their reality is a little skewed?  They don't hand out humility and common sense with fancy degrees, unfortunately. [/quote]

I am one of the skewed (or if I read these comments from a West Coast perspective, "screwed"). I also hire people. In this town and for almost every job here, having connections is a competitive advantage. Shorthand for connections on a resume in DC is an affiliation with an institution. Maybe it is a DC peculiarity, but a young person (under 30), who lists a top DC high school on his/her resume will not be penalized by most employers. In fact, it will be perceived as a positive. Outside DC, it may not be a good strategy. I have seen this play out for over 25 years.[/quote]

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