A major Australian advertising firm has questioned the overly-studious approach of many young people.

In a recent column, vice-chairman of the Ogilvy Group Rory Sutherland said “whenever I return to my old university, I am always struck by how incredibly focused, purposeful and studious everyone seems to be. It fills me with despair.”

Sutherland lamented the missed opportunities for those who spend their time at university with their heads down in the library. He says while outstanding results in academia are great, they may not lead to a well-rounded, innovative worker. Sutherland argues that the correlation may be inverse, saying “there are some specialised fields which may demand spectacular mathematical ability, say, but these are relatively few,” he says there is no evidence to prove recruits with first-class degrees out-perform recruits without.

Mr Sutherland warned against using narrow criteria to define talent, saying it could lead to dangerous homogenisation and “competitive credentialism”; where only the privileged and “obsessive weirdos” could be successful according to the limited scope of first-class degrees.

The best strategy for recruitment success according to Sutherland is to hire from those undervalued by the market. He says you get a monopoly on recruits as other companies only want to skim from the top and it can result in a more dedicated worker.