Innovation

Who do business and engineering staff want to work for?

85,000 European job seekers ranked their top 20 most attractive employers. Did your company make the list?

Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer Dec. 11, 2012 at 8:56 p.m. PT

It hasn't been an easy few years for job seekers, whether you're seeking a new position or fresh from college.

An unstable global economy, public sector cuts, and the folding of corporations from SMBs to top firms is making job hunting even more difficult. Even if you find a job -- as a recent survey suggested -- you may be spending your spare time hunting for another one. When 48 percent of employees worldwide say that they are still on the hunt for advancement opportunities, more flexible schedules or simply enjoy job-hopping, a problem for the enterprise comes to mind.

How can you ensure that the time, money and effort spent training employees doesn't go to waste? Perhaps take a tip from businesses that are deemed attractive by European job seekers.

According to employer branding firm Universum's new report titled "Europe's Most Attractive Employers 2012," the preferences of over 85,000 job seekers with a background in business or engineering ranked Internet Google and car manufacturer BMW as the top businesses job seekers wanted to work for.

Universum's European talent attraction index separates business and engineering into two categories. Unsurprisingly -- considering the tech giant's benefits and reputation -- Google claimed the top spot. The California-based company is followed by L'Oréal, Ernst & Young, Procter & Gamble and KPMG in the European rankings.

Within the engineering field, BMW claims the top spot. However, the German car manufacturing group is not the only big-brand name to hit the list, as the company is closely followed by IBM and Siemens.

Google and Microsoft both secured a top-ten place within each category.

Check out the top 20 ranking firms below: