Employer Branding

The Nordic Top 50 2012

Ernst & Young and Siemens are the Nordic’s Most Attractive Employers

Universum releases the index of the Nordic’s Most Attractive Employers. The index is based on the answers of over 22,000 business and engineering students, from top academic institutions in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Students were asked to select their favorite employers in surveys conducted between October 2011 and March 2012. Below are the highlights.

1. Big Four Rule for Business Students

The global accounting firms dominate the top ten ranking when Nordic business students rank their ideal employers. Ernst & Young keeps the first position from last year, followed by PwC and McKinsey. The other two accounting giants, KPMG and Deloitte, are ranked four and seven. Claes Peyron, Director Nordics at Universum, comments on the dominance of the Big Four: “All of them have a very strong employer brand and they work strategically in order to increase and keep their attractiveness among talents. Their strong presence on campus and their long term engagement and communication with the talent pool enable them to be top-of-mind for business students choosing their ideal employer.

2. Siemens, Rambøll & ABB are Engineering Students’ Favorites

Engineering students from Scandinavia rank Siemens as their ideal employer, followed by last year’s winner, the engineering consultancy company Rambøll, and ABB. The top ten ranking is dominated by the consulting industry, represented both by management and engineering consultancy firms such as McKinsey & Company and Sweco.

3. Differences between Scandinavians

In terms of career preferences, there is a clear distinction between on the one hand the three Scandinavian countries and on the other hand Finland. For the Scandinavian students, supportive leaders, a creative work environment and professional training and development are key factors when selecting an employer. Finnish students, however, tend to prefer companies offering a variety of assignments and a competitive base salary.

4. Focus on Developing Personal Brand

“Looking at the results we see that students nowadays are very aware of what employers can offer them and they make their selections with a long term perspective in mind and with a strong focus on building their career and developing themselves. The ‘Me Brand’, an individual’s personal brand, is much more important now than a few years ago and affects students’ career choices to a large extent”, says Claes Peyron.

To view rankings, click here

To get more information please contact:
Charlotte Olausson, Marketing Manager Nordics
+46 70 717 0016
charlotte.olausson@universum.se