Google retains employer top spot among students

Business and engineering students have found Google to be, once again, the most attractive prospective employer in the world.

According to a report by Universum's global ranking, Google reached the top spot amongst business and engineering students. 160,000 career seekers with each respective background were asked which employer they find most attractive, with some surprising results.

Close behind Google, arch-rival Microsoft beats Apple hands down, though the two still appear in the top ten for both business and engineering students. While Intel and Sony feature further down the list, many seemingly popular companies on the web today do not feature at all: Facebook, Twitter, or even AOL -- though, the last one may not be much of a surprise.

As the younger generation have been brought up on Google's technologies, it seems fitting that Google holds onto the title in the business and engineering categories for a third consecutive year. With workplace benefits and a 'chilled out' attitude to working, plus the opportunity to work on technologies that students already live and breath -- from search to email -- Google is winning the hearts and minds of students amongst its competitors.

Today's graduates look at employment differently to their parents. Instead of looking for long-term benefits, from healthcare to a steady pension, the Generation Y instead focus on the workplace environment, starting and continuing salary, and more materialistic gains.

As workplaces change, employers need to appeal their offices in particular to be more attractive and attainable for younger workers. Google set a precedent that others cannot ignore, and as the workplace evolves and ages, employers need to adapt their working environments to be more suitable for productivity, and maintaining a strong internal work ethic.

Global top fifty (business)

1. Google (1)
2. KPMG (2)
3. PricewaterhouseCoopers (4)
4. Ernst & Young (3)
5. Deloitte (5)
6. Microsoft (7)
7. Procter & Gamble (6)
8. J.P. Morgan (9)
9. Apple (18)
10. Goldman Sachs (10)

Global top fifty (engineering)

1. Google (1)
2. IBM (3)
3. Microsoft (2)
4. BMW (5)
5. Intel (6)
6. Sony (4)
7. Apple (10)
8. General Electric (7)
9. Siemens (8)
10. Procter & Gamble (9)

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• Are digital degrees 'useless' without employment skills?
• Looking beyond the doors: A powerful employment motivator