ABSTRACT
Recruitment into managerial, professional and other highly paid jobs is a decisive determinant of a persons material life chances. Thus the question of who gets appointed to such positions is central to our understanding of the social reproduction of the class structure. This issue is particularly important, because we are interested in understanding the impact of the shift from bureaucratic to adaptive organizational paradigms on the articulation between higher education and the labour market. To what extent have changes in organizational models affected recruiters’ criteria of the necessary competences required for professional, managerial and executive positions? Within this context, how important are educational credentials in the recruiting process and how far has the shift to adaptive models of organization enlarged the range of opportunities available to university graduates?
