I directly report to a VP in the manufacturing sector who is in charge of tracking revenue for a half a billion dollar company, and I am sometimes privy to knowledge invisible to a regular worker. A recent simple request from him revealed just how deep the class divide exists in our society, but that revelation came in the unlikeliest place: he asked me to convert his Gen Z freshly-graduated son’s CV from PDF to Word.
In form, the CV seemed like a normal, “hard-working” student-graduate’s résumé, listing summer jobs in construction and retail. But in content, a very different picture emerged. Sentences like “Led and managed teams of employees” and “Oversaw the quality of work performed by the crew” were littered all over the résumé, proving that this student already saw himself as–and acted like–a boss!
But that’s not all. The CV had a whole section on personal finances, describing how this student already had expertise in trading stocks, financial markets, risk management activities, “bonds, ETFs, and other investment vehicles to inform decision-making.” What working class student-graduate would even think to put that on their résumé? What stood out in the CV was that this guy presented himself as having “proven ability to lead and manage budgets.” Growing up as a son of a VP, he acquired the consciousness of a boss and with it, a certain skill for serving the main interests of the bosses. He probably stood out on a construction site as someone who can oversee labor, and is likely how he was given a summer job opportunity that was at the managerial level (or maybe he had connections through his dad). Whichever way, one thing is clear: by virtue of his privileged position in society he not only saw himself as a leader, but intuitively behaved as such, and was naturally a fit for leading positions under capitalism.
From the perspective of hiring managers, this guy’s résumé stands out as a “deal.” He will edge out older workers on the labor market as his labor will be cheaper by virtue of not having industry experience, but he will also edge out inexperienced young workers because he will be seen as having leadership capabilities and business acumen. He will not face the same pressures as other Gen Z young graduates looking for work, whose futures are being eroded as AI rapidly automates entry-level white-collar jobs and as more and more lay-offs create a more competitive labor market in general.
There is a clear class divide in job opportunities that manifests itself in something as inane as CVs—and as always the rich have an unfair advantage.
– Anonymous
