Profiling the Personal: Configuration of Teenage Biographies to Employment Norms

Schoolchildren at the ages of 15 and 16 routinely complete documents called Records of Achievement (ROA) that can be used for reference purposes and presented/adapted to potential employers. This article examines the content of the personal statements of these documents to illustrate the way personal qualities, lifestyles and experiences are reflected upon, adapted and marketed in the current employment setting. The value of exercises such as ROAs is questioned, not in terms of whom they exclude, but for the underlying rationale of self-objectification as a means to remain competitive/’employable’.The elaborate ways that students highlight the value of their experiences is presented through different categories of identification with and orientation to an employment market characterized by an ‘enterprise culture’ and neo-liberal socio-economic framework.