Does a Southern Alma Mater Limit Opportunities?

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Is an HBCU or all-women's school best for your child? Tell us what you think.

Question:

I have degrees in English and global relations acquired at large schools in Mississippi and Alabama. I now live in New York City and have found it hard to get a job other than administrative because the degrees were acquired in the South. I have received comments like: "Do you want some tea?" and "Oh, you got your degrees from way down there, is it a culture shock for you?" Should I enroll in a school in New York to get a job? 

Answer:

I was recently a guest on Mark Thompson's Sirius satellite radio show; as a surprise to me, he had civil-rights activist and comedian Dick Gregory as a guest at the same time. We discussed the DiversityInc Noose Watch, and Gregory had an interesting prediction: As employers are using the Internet to check people for their backgrounds, he felt that employers would shy away from people who came from places that are associated with intolerance, such as Jena, La. I think you may be facing that now.

It's natural to assume that people adopt the regional values where they live. I'm sure many fine people graduate from the schools you attended; however, at your alma mater, the University of Mississippi, the old mascot, "Colonel Reb," still makes appearances at tailgate parties. The University of Mississippi does not exist in a vacuum: Mississippi did not ratify the 13th Amendment until 1995 and the state flag incorporates the Confederate battle flag. I will not mention the other school from which you earned a degree--it's another state school with a notorious civil-rights era history. To this day, it is not noted for its "global" worldview.

Considering that you are looking for a position in international relations, the people interviewing you probably have very wide mindsets. They are likely to be progressive people in progressive organizations that value diversity.

You don't have to pass judgment on the appropriateness of "Colonel Reb" to understand that if a company or organization is globally focused, and/or if it spends the time and money to become proficient and is reaping the rewards of superior diversity management, it is in the company's best financial interests to seek people who mirror those values. It makes no financial sense to associate with people or places that have a reputation--even if by association--of intolerance. Is that fair? Perhaps not, but it is logical to think that association almost always means acceptance to some degree.

This is an issue if you're seeking a job at any progressive company, not just in New York. Questions such as "Do you want some tea?" are direct analogies to questions including "What kind of name is that?" that I've been asked in the South. Those questions are outward manifestations of tribal behavior. Tribes can be mindset-related and not just geographic. Also, I don't think this is isolated to the North or the South--I'll bet people who have a degree from Seton Hall and a graduate degree from Kean University (both in New Jersey) face a similar problem when applying for jobs 30 miles away in Manhattan. Too much of anything provincial is limiting, especially now that diversity management has become a mainstream business practice.

Even though it's been some time since you graduated with your bachelor's degree, you're seeking a position in a field where your education résumé is critical: Your degree is hyper-regional and that is an issue in today's environment. You may wish to pursue an executive degree at a Northeast-based college, but I would not suggest anything but a first-tier school regardless of its geography. 

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