After all, when employers broaden their search for the perfect candidate beyond academic achievement, so too must candidates broaden their CVs.
When applicants for a single job position all have good grades, it will be their internship experiences, personal projects, overseas stints, leadership credentials, volunteering experiences, co-curricular activities, networking skills and the like that help them stand out.
The recognition of this fact is trickling down to lower levels of the education system. For instance, since 2021, Raffles Institution has designated Wednesday as a “gap day” for its Year 5 and 6 students to partake in co-curricular activities, volunteer work, enrichment lessons, or just rest and recharge.
Further downstream, the industry for enrichment activities from sports to arts continues to grow. In “This Is What Inequality Looks Like”, sociologist Teo You Yenn describes some of these as “essentially insurance policies”, providing privileged students with other ways to get into their desired schools besides academics.
If mismanaged, “broadening our conception of merit” may end up putting more stress on students to become well-rounded candidates.
MANAGING A BROADER MERITOCRACY
So how can we avoid worsening the arms race for good jobs?
First, employers need to give candidates more opportunities to demonstrate their merit – rather than filter them out based on their CVs.
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