Dive Brief:
- Banking and tech companies won over new business graduates in Universum Global's Most Attractive Employer List 2019. The annual survey found that the nation's top 100 banks regained new grads' trust and increased their listing on Universum's ideal Employer Ranking list. The company polled more than 53,000 students from 218 U.S. colleges and universities.
- Respondents named a wide variety of industries within the top 30 business rankings, including financial services, tech, professional services, strong consumer brands and government agencies. Google maintained its top position among tech firms, but its popularity dropped by nearly two percentage points, the survey said. J.P. Morgan Chase ranked No. 1 when respondents were asked how likely they were to submit an application to the bank.
- Banking's popularity was greater among older students, according to the survey. Recent grads chose Google and Amazon in larger numbers. Culture also scored high among new grads, who ranked Spotify and Buzzfeed high on their list of top employers.
Dive Insight:
Employer demand for recent graduates is high, but it's especially so for those who possess strong tech backgrounds and hard-to-find soft skills. A recent Robert Half survey found the vast majority of managers plan to hire recent grads. To satisfy their demand, it's likely employers will need to communicate strong workplace culture to grads searching for work, as this survey indicates. Universum is not the first to point this out. A Glassdoor survey from 2018 revealed candidates are 40% more likely to submit an application if they are familiar with a company brand.
As employers consider which graduates to hire, it's worth noting how educational standards and perceptions have changed. An applicant attending an Ivy League school may no longer carry the prestige it once did, for example. A report from Correlation One found that there are "significantly more" qualified students to be found at tier-two schools, as compared to tier-one schools. Such data may motivate employers to not only take a more critical look at applications from graduates of well-known institutions, but also expand recruiting to a wider range universities.
