The author considers Anglo-American studies of academic labor market to show that declared principle of meritocracy in science isn’t so important. Prestige of the department in which an applicant received a doctoral degree plays a crucial role in the recruitment to different university positions. The role of scientific publications is not so important in analyzing the reputation of the department as well. High publication activity alone is enough neither for a graduate to get a position at a prestigious department, nor for the department to improve the reputation rating.