"You’d ignore this [information about schools and previous jobs], and go straight to the cover letter? Really? ... Really?"
Yes, really. That's the point. Merely being incredulous doesn't form a coherent argument against it. My angle on this is a little personal, which would probably automatically strip my it of any validity, but let me explain why. Perhaps it would make a compelling case to someone.
I'm originally from Bulgaria and graduated high school there. For obvious political reasons I hadn't traveled at all and I wanted to study in the US. I got into private and public schools, but the difference in the standard of living at the time was such that even with substantial financial aid I could only afford to go to a state school. Still, I'd get to see the US (New York in particular) and the draw of the adventure was enough to get me to go.
After school, like most international students, I took advantage of a program that is essentially an extended internship (OPT). There were hard time constraints, so I needed to find a job quickly. I ended up working at a consulting firm you never would have heard of doing mostly Java with a bit of Rails. It was a great place to work and I learned a lot. If the respect and trust of the people you work with counts for something, I'm fairly confident I got good.
None of this is something I could convey in a resume. Worse, Mr. Olsen would dismiss me outright because I have gone to a state school (because I was poor) and done Java (because I couldn't afford to sift through the market). Feel free to attribute this to cognitive dissonance, but I find his views arrogant, ineffective, and lacking a human approach. His argument is a pernicious over-simplification of a complex, human problem.
Worse, Mr. Olsen would dismiss me outright because I have gone to a state school ... and done Java
Mr Olsen makes no judgement in his post as to which of the two candidates is 'better'. He just asks the question "You’d ignore this information, and go straight to the cover letter?"
You're correct that he doesn't make an explicit judgement, but there are two things to note: (1) he used the rhetorical question to prove a point (he meant something by it), and (2) the obvious answer to the rhetorical question is "No." Therefore, it's fair to ponder what the equivalent statement would be if it weren't written in the form of a question.
The way I interpreted it was "No one could rationally ignore this information. Clearly one should factor it when making a decision about which cover letter to read first, which candidate to interview first, etc." I don't think that's an unfair way to read this, and it clearly implies something about the qualities of former candidate with respect to the latter.
Yes, really. That's the point. Merely being incredulous doesn't form a coherent argument against it. My angle on this is a little personal, which would probably automatically strip my it of any validity, but let me explain why. Perhaps it would make a compelling case to someone.
I'm originally from Bulgaria and graduated high school there. For obvious political reasons I hadn't traveled at all and I wanted to study in the US. I got into private and public schools, but the difference in the standard of living at the time was such that even with substantial financial aid I could only afford to go to a state school. Still, I'd get to see the US (New York in particular) and the draw of the adventure was enough to get me to go.
After school, like most international students, I took advantage of a program that is essentially an extended internship (OPT). There were hard time constraints, so I needed to find a job quickly. I ended up working at a consulting firm you never would have heard of doing mostly Java with a bit of Rails. It was a great place to work and I learned a lot. If the respect and trust of the people you work with counts for something, I'm fairly confident I got good.
None of this is something I could convey in a resume. Worse, Mr. Olsen would dismiss me outright because I have gone to a state school (because I was poor) and done Java (because I couldn't afford to sift through the market). Feel free to attribute this to cognitive dissonance, but I find his views arrogant, ineffective, and lacking a human approach. His argument is a pernicious over-simplification of a complex, human problem.