June 17 (AZINS) Technology giant Google is the top choice as the ‘ideal employer’ for management and engineering students in India, a survey has found. 

In the survey conducted by Universum, Google Google topped the list of 100 ideal employers for India’s business and commerce, engineering and IT, and MBA students, maintaining its position for the past few years.

The survey asked questions to 24,000 students from India’s leading universities about their ideal employer. The findings present a list of top 100 “Ideal Employers”  based on their preferences. 

While most of both engineering and management students look at Google as their first choice, Microsoft was chosen as the second most preferred option as ideal employer by engineer graduates while MBA students give preference to EY (Ernst & Young). Only government company to appear in top 10 choices is the State Bank of India, ranked 10 by MBA students.

Here are top 10 choices as ‘Ideal Employer’ by MBA students:  

1. Google 

2. EY (Ernst & Young) 

3. Deloitte

4. Apple

5. KPMG

6. Amazon

7. Microsoft

8. J.P. Morgan

9. Goldman Sachs

10. State Bank of India

Top 10 choices as ‘Ideal Employer’ by engineering students:  

1. Google 

2. Microsoft

3. Apple

4. Amazon

5. BMW Group

6. Facebook

7. L&T

8. Infosys

9. Audi

10. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

The survey shows that MBA students favour management & consulting, investment banking, and FMCG industries. MBA students’ preferences differed to those of undergraduates, 40% of whom indicated a preference for the auditing and accounting industries. 

Students in India are still highly attracted to international employers, with 46% of all students expressing a desire to work for an international company when asked. Nine of the top ten most desired employers were international companies. Female business/commerce and engineering/IT students presented an interesting contrast, however, as a higher proportion expressed a desire to work for a national organisation, as compared to male students. Companies who can showcase workplace diversity in their employer brand will have a higher success rate in securing top female talent, the survey found. 

While business and commerce students prioritise an employer who will lead them to “high future earnings”, engineering students prioritise a friendly work environment and innovation as their top two most important attributes when assess potential employers, the survey found. 

When asked about the communication channels they use to search for job and to learn about potential employers, students said social media is the preferred medium to access that information. 

LinkedIn was the top-ranked channel used by MBA students, whereas business/engineering students listed Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as their top three channels.

Work/Life Balance top priority 

In terms of their career goals, “Work/Life Balance” was chosen by most respondents. This is a changing scenario among Indian students as this is the first time it was chosen as the top option by Indian students, unlike in almost all other regional and global markets where work/life balance has sat atop the list of career goals for many years. This could indicate a turning point among talent in India who are starting to see opportunities within their domestic market that are able to offer them the careers they dream of.

Mike Parsons, managing director for Universum APAC said, “One thing this shift does is bring the career preferences of millennial talent in India more in line with their regional and international counterparts. For employers who don’t offer much in the way of international opportunity, but who do boast flexible working conditions, a dynamic culture, or other elements connected with work/life balance, this could help elevate their brand. However, this doesn’t mean it’ll get easier for domestic players to compete with international employers for  top talent - the hunger to work for non-domestic employers in India is as hot as ever.” 

“The shift in career preferences is in-line with economic stability and growth that India has seen over the years. This confidence in the market is further strengthened with the recent election results and as India prepares for the next chapter of transformation and growth journey it is no surprise that Indian graduates’ preferences are getting more aligned with preferences of graduates in developed economies,” added Pratik Sabherwal, regional head of advisory for Universum APAC.