Google the coolest of all
Business Grads’ Search For The Coolest Employer Ends Here: Google. The Search Giant Pips McKinsey To Emerge The Most Preferred Employer In 2010, Says The Nielsen Campus Track B-School Survey
Move over McKinsey. Google is now the country’s coolest employer, according to research done by The Nielsen Company after polling 860 students graduating next year from 30 premier B-schools. The survey was done in October-November during the peak of the placement season when hundreds of companies descend on campuses in a countrywide hunt for talent.
The Internet giant had come second in the list of most preferred employers in last year’s survey. Consulting firm McKinsey, which had topped the charts last year, slipped to number five this year. Two other consulting firms, BCG and Bain & Co, also made it to the top ten this time.
TAS,thetalentincubatoroftheTata group, has clawed up from number eight in 2009 to the second slot this year. It was a close race between FMCG heavyweights Hindustan and P&G for the third and fourth spots, respectively. Goldman Sachs, Accenture and the Aditya Birla Group were the other companies in the top ten. “We have worked hard to ensure that people enjoy what they do when working for us,” says Google India managing director Shailesh Rao . “We have a collaborative culture and are purpose-driven.” Google India encourages innovation by allowing people to spend 20% of their time in projects of their interest. It also gives patent bonuses and high flexibility to help employees strike the right worklife balance. “Google is being seen as a company that allows youngsters to come up with new ideas, where they are free to experiment,” says MDI Gurgaon, Dean, (placement) NR Bhusnurmath.
The Nielsen Campus Track BSchool Survey is an annual exercise that studies final year management students to come up with an image ranking of the top 20 recruiters. Each employer is assigned a score on Nielsen’s Campus Recruiters Index. The study also identifies the sectors that students believe offers the best career options. Students are more comfortable seeking jobs in more stable sectors such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) since 2009, unlike in the pre-recession period when investmentbankingwasamongthefirst options, the study found. The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector was the most popular sector, followed by management consulting. The two industries were on top last year too.
The FMCG sector is now growing at 15-17% in both urban and rural markets. Also, emerging markets like India are significant contributors to sales and profits of global FMCG companies like P&G, HUL, Pepsi and Cadbury, among others. “There is still a ‘flight to stability’ with sectors and employers that are seen to offer greater resilience during downturns gaininggreaterpreference,”saysTheNielsen Company Associate Director Arti Verma. “While FMCG retains its top spot, some sectors such as investment banking that were adversely affected by a risk-averse recessionary mindset, are on the path to recovery while others like foreign banks/ FIIs/equity research are yet to regain their preslowdown allure,” Says P&G India managing director Shantanu Khosla: “Our high scores reflect our policies of ‘promote from within’, giving early responsibility & independence at work as well as global exposure.” The survey also found that salary expectations, which had waned last year, have now picked up. On an average, students hoped for a salary of Rs 15.6 lakhs from their ‘dream company,’ a lakh higher than their expectation last year. Banking and financial services (BFSI), investment banking and consulting accounted for 50% of the offers made, followed by 33% from the FMCG sector. The IT sector accounted for only 7%. Says Aditya Birla Group Director, (Human Resources) Santrupt Misra-.”Ninety percent of our group businesses necessitate remote area placements and we present these realities on campuses. So while we may not be attractive to everyone, we are not overtly worried about our rankings as much as getting the right candidates.”
