Nepotism is a word that has long been on my radar. As a teenager, I fiercely condemned it and everybody who made use of it. As a young adult, applying for job after job, I started deploring my own lack of connections, and now, I’m a bit on the fence about it. Finding a job can be difficult, especially for those leaving education, due to the amount of people applying for the same roles and having similar qualifications. It can be tricky to make yourself stand out in a sea of applications. This leads to the question: do you use the connections you have to make it easier?
From the offset, nepotism seems to be a conflicting subject based on your own individual situation. If you do have those connections, you could possibly think that it might be worth using nepotism as a means to further your own career trajectory. On the other hand, if you don’t have those connections, then you’re far more likely to condemn the practice. It definitely seems like an issue based on self-gain and the morality of the practice more broadly.
As a brief reminder, Oxford English Dictionary defines nepotism as :"The practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.”
From my personal experience, I think Luxembourg is a particular breeding ground for nepotism. Perhaps because of its general affluence, its small size, and almost circular nature of socialising. I have long maintained that simply by going into Luxembourg City, you are likely to run into someone you know. I think that expands out to the working world and people might be prone to recommending those they know for jobs rather than going through traditional means of recruitment.
My main experience of nepotism in Luxembourg - and completely contrasted to the experience of friends I later met who grew up elsewhere - was as a teenager, looking for a summer job. I started out with the aim that I wanted to gain experience which would complement my schooling. I searched, researched, and tried to see where I could find good work experience, preferably in an office setting.
As my search continued, I realised my options were limited (on another note, I think the summer job landscape has improved slightly since I was a teenager). For one, there didn’t seem to be many institutions offering jobs to students, especially secondary school ones (there is the caveat that some student jobs were simply designed for those in the process of getting degrees in that field).
I managed to get a job as a cashier at Cactus. I have nothing against working in retail - on the contrary, I think it can help build character and make you a decent person, as well as teach you to work hard. I also enjoyed the work to a certain extent. But then I found out a lot of my classmates had worked at banks over the summer and to put it bluntly, basically just scrolled Facebook for those weeks. So how did they get those jobs? Because their parents worked at the banks in question. As a teenager, I did find myself actively resenting those classmates who would have easy rides over the summer, earning money but not necessarily working hard. The issue is that, while morally dubious, nepotism is not exactly illegal and some banks would simply pool potential student workers from the children of their employees. This was innately nepotistic to the extent that anybody whose parents didn’t work for the bank in question would not be considered.
Unfortunately, this opinion piece is not very stats-driven, because nepotism can occur to varying degrees and fall under the radar, especially if businesses allow applications from others, but just don’t consider them. In relation to summer jobs, as seen above, businesses won’t necessarily proclaim that they exclusively hire their employees’ children. Instead, they won’t publish any summer job postings. By contrast, the European Investment Bank’s summer job programme, whilst targeted at final year students or university students, highlights that it draws lots to ensure fairness. There are certainly a number of frustrations to be had around that concept, but at least it doesn’t systematically exclude those whose parents don’t work within the institution.
But does nepotism intersect at all with networking, defined as “interact[ing] with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts”?
I think the line can blur quite easily between the two concepts. In an ideal world, we would all be judged on our merits, but that isn’t the case. Does that mean we should accept nepotism as simply another means of networking? And, is networking inherently nepotistic? If you don’t have that circle of potential connections surrounding you, you are automatically excluded from the possibilities that networking with others could give you.
I think that networking does seem to an involve an aspect of privilege, given that these connections you forge come from your social circle. If your immediate social circle appears to be more affluent, it stands that you may make connections that you can benefit from later in life. This means that those people who may not have that much privilege, or even may be more socially withdrawn, won’t have those same opportunities.
More generally, I believe networking incorporates an element of nepotism. By having connections, you will hear of better opportunities and have the chance to submit a CV. Granted, it may not be the same level as having a parent arrange for you to begin working at their firm, for example, but it seems to be a lesser degree of nepotism. The difference is, I suppose, that you still get judged alongside other applicants, but it certainly becomes problematic if all applicants are sought from a pool of individuals recommended due to who they know. Having begun my own work by an acquaintance telling me about the opportunity, I sometimes question whether that in itself is nepotistic. I did still apply and had the necessary skills, but it does make me wonder about how networking practices can supersede standard application processes and marginalise those who don’t happen to know the right person.
Nepotism, however, remains the main issue at hand. I can’t comment on whether nepotism continues beyond summer jobs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does. My understanding of Luxembourg is that being on the outside of a particular institution can make it feel difficult to actually get inside without the required connections, which include nepotistic practices. And this ultimately leads to the recurring issue of marginalising those, who may be better qualified, for those you know.
Nathalie Lodhi is an editor and translator for RTL Today and can usually be found reading/discussing music, history, and pop culture.
