These employers are the most attractive to students
While the uptick of startups and self-made billionaires may have urged some of the next generation to think twice about pursuing the corporate world, many still favor it – and even have dreams of climbing the ranks at some of world’s biggest companies.
According to global branding firm Universum, which released its 10th-annual World’s Most Attractive Employers (WMAE) report, many iconic U.S.-based employers now look more attractive to students globally than ever before.
After interviewing more than 225,000 business and engineering/IT students from 12 of the world’s largest economies, U.S.-based employers now dominate 52 percent of the top 50 places to work, compared to their European counterparts, at 42 percent.
However, of the top five most attractive employers, only the top two were American, with Google and Goldman Sachs coming in first and second, respectively. Three of the Big Four accounting firms, EY (Ernst & Young), Deloitte and KPMG followed, filling out the top five. EY and Deloitte are based in London, while KPMG is located in the Netherlands.
“It is very important to note that in this year’s rankings we have seen a very strong influence of the Generation Z population weighing in, which explains the strong increase in the importance of working for an employer who offers high future earnings (up 13 percent from 2012),” Claudia Tattanelli, Universum’s Strategic Advisory Board chair, said.
Tattanelli added that younger generations are also especially focused on professional training (up 8 percent from 2012).
“This also explains why banks have really solidified and increased their positions in many markets in the past year, as they are associated very much with offering the high future earnings. This also explains the large increase in popularity of professional services and management consulting firms, which are not only associated with providing good salaries but are also very well known for being great places to launch a career and receive training,” she said.
And while Google and Goldman Sachs managed to retain their first- and second-place positions, Apple fell from third to seventh place and was replaced by last year’s fourth-place holder EY. Deloitte has taken over the fourth place position after climbing two places since 2017, while KPMG leaped from ninth to fifth place, which pushed PwC (also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers) into the sixth-place spot.