Companies with a history of market success that are known for their attractive and exciting products ranked highest on a list of preferred employers in a recent survey.
Universum USA, a research firm based in Stockholm that conducted the survey with U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, also found that providing a creative work environment added to a company’s attractiveness.
Undergraduates participating in the survey ranked Google Inc., Walt Disney Co., the FBI, Apple Inc. and Ernst & Young as the top five ideal employers. This is Google’s fourth year in a row winning first place.
More than 30 percent of the 56,900 students surveyed ranked a company’s market success as a preferred employer attribute, up from 24 percent in 2009, Bloomberg Businessweek reported on its website.
An increasing number of students ranked attractive and exciting products and services as a higher priority this year than in 2009. In 2010, 28 percent of students identified this as important, up from 21 percent in 2009.
Students get really excited about Disney, Google, Apple, Lucas Films, etc., said Janice Morand, UC Davis Internship and Career Center project manager. All of these companies are innovative and popular, and students are excited to work for a company where they know and use their product, she said.
Google receives more than 3,000 applications per day, said Google spokesperson Jordan Newman.
“People want to be a part of what’s going on here,” Newman said.
Applicants are attracted to Google as an innovative company that tackles the toughest challenges in the technology field and other realms, Newman said. It is beneficial to work on projects affecting millions.
Google’s unique company culture contributes to its attractiveness, Newman said. The Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, has 16 cafés which provide free food for employees. The cafés are designed to foster collaboration among employees, Newman said. The Mountain View campus also has four gyms and onsite doctors. The benefits are geared toward enabling a good work-life balance.
Google is a flat organization without a lot of bureaucratic layers, Newman said.
In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Google brought goats to their Mountain View headquarters to trim the grass and has a composting system.
On a worldwide basis, Google employed 20,621 full-time employees as of March 31, 2010, up from 19,835 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2009. Employees are organized into small teams.
“We are looking for really smart people who want to work on really innovative projects,” Newman said.
Prospective applicants should express an entrepreneurial spirit and possess collaborative skills, Newman said.
In addition to the desire for financial stability, students desire to change the world, Morand said.
This is UC Davis’ third consecutive year receiving the President Higher Education Honor Roll for UCD students’ completion of over 400,000 hours of service in 2009.
UC Davis has a strong history of recruiting for the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps, No. 8, offers students an opportunity to gain a global perspective while completing two years of service work overseas. The Peace Corps strives to help people improve their quality of life with locations in 76 countries.
“The Peace Corps is a great launch path for a number of careers,” said Nathan Hale Sargent, a public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps.
UC Davis ranks 13th in the country for producing Peace Corps volunteers with 61 alumni now serving. Many skilled agricultural volunteers graduate from UC Davis, Sargent said.
“Our goal is to reach 10,000 volunteers in 2011,” Sargent said. “We hope many come from UC Davis.”
THERESA MONGELLUZZO can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
