WSJ.com recently ran a report about research conducted by Universum regarding where young people want to work. Over 10,000 young college graduates, in the work force for under 8 years, were asked to pick their top 5 dream employers from a list of 150 potential companies. Almost 1 in 4 want to work for Google. Apple comes in a distant second with under 15% wanting to work there.
A lot could be, and has been, said about why these companies top the list. Google’s 20% personal project time for engineers, lavish cafeterias, on staff barbers and oil changes at the office are easy candidates for reasons young people want to work for this online juggernaut. However, a look at the rest of the top 10 may reveal something else. Included are the U.S. Department of State, FBI, CIA, NASA, Teach for America and #11 is the Peace Corps. Looking at the larger picture it looks like young people may want to work for large institutions that are pursuing ‘bigger than me’ goals and have a purpose rather than a bottom line to look after. Even Google, ideological to the core, could easily fit into this category.
Take a look at my overview below and let me know what you think- do young people want to chase the money or are many looking to contribute to a perceived cause bigger than themselves? Let me know what you think.