What if you are not from an XLRI or TISS and still in HR?

In this article, we attempt this question

“How much of a difference does it make for your HR career if you attended a prestigious name-brand university like XLRI or TISS?”

Let me take a detour and segregate the pool of HR professionals into two buckets:

1. Decided to do MBA in HR and got their dreams fulfilled (Ideally are the ones from the XLRIs and the TISSs of the world, who had filled HR as their first choice on their MBA application forms)
2. Landed in HR by chance. Surveys suggest that almost 50% of HR MBA graduates in the country happen to land in the function by chance and almost 90% of them will continue to be in the function for their entire LIFE! Which means that for possibly an extra 0.5 score or a good interview day, some of these HR MBA grads would probably have been making financial models in an investment bank ore selling toothpaste in an FMCG company.

Now let’s come to the core question of how important is ‘name brand’ in your career.

XLRI, being one of the oldest management schools in South Asia, has witnessed Alumni graduating from way back in 1949. It boats of a 12,000+ alumni working and serving reputed institutions across the world.

The shield logo encompasses

1. The Cross exemplifies all the heroic virtues that motivate an individual to become a \”Heroic Leader\” in his or her specific vocation.
2. The keys which symbolize \”keys to heaven\”. However, in a secular context the keys symbolize knowledge and attaining wisdom.[1]

In a different connotation, they are the keys to the top echelons of a company 🙂

As the logo would seem to suggest, entry into the elite Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) can help you reimagine your future on a new high

There is this upshot- stimulus response of awe and wonder that your college’s name evokes.  The “Ohhh!” by colleagues who asked where you are studying, their exaggerated amazement, instils a subconscious confidence in you.

Students in ‘name-brand’ colleges experience an identity transformation whereby personal identity gets submerged with the larger college created identity. There is a ‘halo’ around you which brings you larger opportunities in the world outside, a game that begins with summer internship. Being termed as ‘crème de la crème’ separates you from the crowd.

The job market also places a great emphasis on brand, just like altering consumer behaviour trends where branded products are preferred. “It’s widely seen that professionals from certain branded institutes have an edge in gaining entry to many marquee companies. Branding has become an important tool for colleges or Business schools to stay ahead of the curve by clearly communicating this differentiation to students as their USP (Unique Selling Proposition),” said Kamal Karanth, Managing Director, Kelly Services India.[2]

As per a survey published in Economic times[3]

1. 57% of respondents believe brand reputation of educational institutes play an important role in job placement.
2. Employers prefer to offer 10-20% more in terms of remuneration compared to a non-branded college pass out.
3. 62% of respondents agree that the alumni of branded institutes have proven themselves in the corporate world throughout their career.
4. Almost 72% of top-paid CEOs in India are from the branded colleges either from India or abroad.

Thus carrying a name-brand MBA gives you the largest boost in credibility right when you graduate, the proverbial \”helping to get your foot into the door.\” Since MBAs in India are mostly freshers, potential employers often use college reputation as a metric of intelligence, work ethic, and technical skill. They feel that since it\’s tough to get into and graduate from an XLRI/TISS, even a mediocre student here might do the job as well as an exceptional student at a normal (lesser-known) university. It is this same philosophy that prompts many leading FMCG companies in India to recruit only CA rank holders at fancy salaries at the fresher level

Studies have shown that if you went to a normal university, even if you were able to land a prestigious job, your peers and managers might harbour a subconscious bias against you (especially if they went to name-brand schools). Whenever the new hire didn\’t go to a name-brand school, they immediately think that he simply got in due to nepotism. That initial stigma might give one performance anxiety, drop the self-esteem, and result in a negative self-fulfilling prophecy coming true[4]

So can one still make it in case he/she has missed this initial brand race?

As one advances in his/her career, guess other attributes come into the forefront.  The researchers Alan Krueger and Stacy Berg Dale began investigating this question, and in 1999 produced a study that dropped a bomb on the notion of elite-college attendance as essential to success later in life. The study summarises that their College and Beyond (C&B) Data Set has proven that payoffs to attending a more selective college diminish significantly later. [5]

Case in point, if we consider technology, could be Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. He did not have a marquee name but still rose through the ranks.

Employers are interested in what skills you bring and how these skills can be used in their business.

Probably this 5 point test is educational agnostic and more crucial to determine your future success

1. Whether you are humble enough that makes you a sounding board to the business leaders?

2. Whether you have attained the credibility in your organisations?

 Situations when you are trying to facilitate change or introduce new interventions, your personal credibility is at stake and it will be  the only trait which takes you forward. Can you imagine your colleagues in the organisation willingly talking with an HR professional whose credibility is in the question? This credibility deficit will be obvious from  the following comments \”oh- HR is only here to gather information\” or \” I spoke to the HR person but there was no response, I am sure there will not be any\” or worse still \” let\’s not talk in-front of HR folks\”

3. Whether you are psychologically equipped to leverage human potential on behalf of the organization so that the latter achieves its MVSG i.e. mission, vision, strategy and goals?

          This mind-set, perspective, or viewpoint is probably more important to your success in strategic HR.

 4. Whether you have the commercial acumen to design HR interventions keeping business context in mind and would really complete the business partnering experience?]

5. Have you been knowing the basics and doing them brilliantly well on the floor when you wear that HR hat?

The \”line\” doesn\’t look at you as a junior resource or fresh MBA or fresh team member in the organisation. Nor does brand name matter when you show ignorance of org processes and policies. Carrying the name of a top-notch college might seem like a burden if it can’t be complemented by their aptitude.

Probably a name-brand diploma will help you get better entry-level job offers at top ranked companies and provide you with more initial respect from your superiors.

However, as you get older, actual work experiences and ability to get along with people are much more important than simply having a name-brand diploma. Have grown into the HR function from other functions, driven by sheer passion for people. The Global CHRO of a leading telecom company in India is a Chartered Accountant having spent 30 years in finance and was Global CFO in the same company before moving to the current role. In other words, it is your personal brand, your personal acumen and how well you can “take care of those who take care of business” that will matter.

[1] http://www.xlri.ac.in/about/our-brand-identity.aspx

[2] http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-07/news/39815254_1_kelly-services-brand-important-role

[3] http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-07/news/39815254_1_kelly-services-brand-important-role

[4] http://pgbovine.net/advantages-of-name-brand-school.htm

[5] http://www.nber.org/papers/w7322.pdf