Lauren A. Rivera is associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
By demonstrating how leaders of firms select upon educational status, traits they already find in their midst, and prefer applicants that mirror their own pasts, trajectories, and skills, Rivera has provided important evidence for mechanisms of the (re)production of inequality. Those interested in the sociology of culture, in labor markets, and in elites and stratification will find Rivera's book necessary reading. --Shamus Khan, American Journal of Sociology Sociologist Rivera has written an exceptionally useful study of how hiring for elite starting jobs is actually done in the US. This insider study shows how the top investment banks, law firms, and consulting companies hire only from a double handful of leading universities, law schools, and business schools. . . . This significant sociological study will also likely be read as a how-to manual. --Choice [Pedigree] provides an insider look at how top-notch places hire, and explores how their processes serve those with the most privileged and affluent backgrounds. --Bouree Lam, The Atlantic [Rivera's] richly described account is mesmerising--and horrifying. --Gillian Tett, Financial Times Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs is an academic book with the requisite references to gender theory and Marxist concepts of inequality. But read it carefully and it becomes something far more useful--a guide on how to join the global elite. --Economist Winner of the 2016 Max Weber Book Award, Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section of the American Sociological AssociationWinner of the 2016 Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book, Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological AssociationCo-Winner of the 2016 Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological AssociationCo-Winner of the 2016 Silver Medal in Career (Job Search, Career Advancement), Axiom Business Book AwardsOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015 Winner of the 2016 Max Weber Book Award, Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section of the American Sociological Association Winner of the 2016 Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book, Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological Association Co-Winner of the 2016 Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association Co-Winner of the 2016 Silver Medal in Career (Job Search, Career Advancement), Axiom Business Book Awards One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2015 Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs is an academic book with the requisite references to gender theory and Marxist concepts of inequality. But read it carefully and it becomes something far more useful--a guide on how to join the global elite. --Economist [Rivera's] richly described account is mesmerising--and horrifying. --Gillian Tett, Financial Times [Pedigree] provides an insider look at how top-notch places hire, and explores how their processes serve those with the most privileged and affluent backgrounds. --Bouree Lam, The Atlantic Sociologist Rivera has written an exceptionally useful study of how hiring for elite starting jobs is actually done in the US. This insider study shows how the top investment banks, law firms, and consulting companies hire only from a double handful of leading universities, law schools, and business schools... This significant sociological study will also likely be read as a how-to manual. --Choice