Music company bans applicants from naming their school on CVs
A Manchester-based digital record label has taken the unusual step of banning job applicants from saying where they went to school on their CVs.
The aim behind the unusual step is to help remove any unconscious bias from the recruitment process and encourage people from more diverse backgrounds to consider a career in the music industry.
Ostereo is taking the novel approach to recruitment in a bid to increase social diversity in the music industry.
The label has banned candidates from mentioning where they went to school or university in their applications.
The MediaCityUK based company, which employs 22 people and is home to Korean star J.Fla and UK producer Brierley, hopes the policy will reduce unconscious bias and encourage people from all backgrounds to feel more confident pursuing a career in the record industry.
The music industry is well known for having a disproportionate representation of privately educated employees.
A 2014 government report found that 44% of people working in TV, film and music were privately educated, compared to just 7% of the UK population on the whole.
Howard Murphy, founder of Ostereo, said: “The UK music industry is one of our strongest export sectors, but sadly, as with much of the entertainment and media sector, it suffers from class bias. Privately educated people are over-represented in our industry.
“Talent transcends class, but so often in the music industry, success is about opportunity and connections as well as talent.
“This not only gives an unfair advantage to some, but it can discourage others, who may feel that without the right background, they don’t stand a chance.
“One way we’re hoping to tackle that is to ban the inclusion of schools, colleges and universities on applications.
“Yes, we want to know what subjects candidates have studied and what they were passionate about, but we don’t want to be biased by where someone went to school or what university they got into – both of which can be class signifiers.
“We hope that this will not only reduce any unconscious bias in our hiring processes, but will also encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.”
Ostero have recently made eight new hires, the majority of whom come from state school backgrounds.
The new hires, who came through the Ostereo rapid recruitment scheme, have been hired into a variety of positions, from finance to A&R.
