• Universum released the very first US professionals Ideal Employer rankings, based on over 10,000 respondents – Google, Apple and the Walt Disney Company in the top 3.
• Management consulting and auditing firms battle to fulfil Americans’ personal requirements of work/life balance and job security – a challenge the industry might have to face.
• Troubled by job insecurity and lack of money…and left craving free time, American professionals need relief. 
• Research is available on US professionals’ preferences of employers and general career expectations – contact us!

Universum questioned in the US over 10,000 young professionals about their career expectations and choice of employers. Below are the key highlights of the needs and wishes of the US labour market.

The current state of the economy has led professionals to re-evaluate their personal priorities. Being an entrepreneur or a leader or manager of people is not high-up on their agenda right now. Instead, the current reality is forcing professionals to think practically – need a stable job, need to earn a decent salary and need free time to spend with family and friends.  Evidently, Americans place a strong emphasis on job security & stability (2nd most important career goal) and their ongoing search for financially strong employers (selected as 3rd most desired attribute within Employer Reputation and Image). Similar to undergraduates, US professionals also seek to achieve work/life balance – the exact meaning of what it means for them is still to be clarified.

Not everyone is well-matched
The ‘flight to safety’ and search for work/life balance challenges some employers that are poorly perceived as satisfying these much needed requirements.  For example, only 33 per cent of young professionals associate management consulting firms with secure employment, and 26 per cent with work/life balance. The Big Four perform somewhat better – 43 per cent of young professionals associate them with secure employment and 31 per cent with work/life balance. However, compare them to the average US employer – where 54 per cent of young professionals associate an organisation with security and 51 per cent with work/life balance – and it’s reasonable to conclude that these are not their strongest attributes. 

Of course, nobody is suited for every company or job. The consulting and auditing firms are indeed a perfect training school for people who wish to kick-start their career and they provide other advantages that  appeal to ambitious graduates, such as working for an organisation that has a good reputation, offers challenging work, and a good reference for a future career… to name a few. It’s true that work/life balance and job security aren’t their strengths, but it might be fair to assume that they aren’t looking to appeal to everyone. 

Money counts more than reputation & image
Although most employer branding experts believe that strong brand affinity will result in employees working for less pay, the research shows that remuneration and advancement opportunities is still what drives Americans – it becomes even more important with level of experience.  On the other end of the scale, employer reputation and image is considered to be the least important factor for Americans and the most basic attribute connected to attractive employers is, as can be expected, long-term job security.

Again the current reality of the market place is forcing Americans to think in very practical and concrete terms. Surely, the employer reputation and image of an employer becomes less important during times of insecurity, when people are primarily concerned about keeping their job and getting their salary to pay their bills. If the money isn’t enough now, opportunities to advance in one’s career is equally important, since it gives promise to better future earnings and employability. 

Professionals are halfway out the door
Although employers that offer job security and stability are deemed attractive by the workforce, many young professionals are already halfway out the door – 25 per cent are interested in changing employer within 6 months and another 28 per cent within 1-2 years.  Also, close to 50 per cent of young professionals have applied for a new job either internally or externally (16 per cent internally, 32 per cent externally), but only 17 per cent have landed a new job within the past 12 months – an indication that the job market remains tough.

It seems to be a paradoxical situation: Americans want job security and stability yet simultaneously half of them are looking for new opportunities. This is the proof of the pudding, that with better economic times, when the supply of jobs is greater than the demand, people will naturally try to fulfil the “what’s in it for me” factor.

All the same, whether good or bad times, however, people still want what is best for them. Employers who fail to address the needs and wants of their top talent will thus risk losing them at some point in time – it’s a good reminder of why companies, even in a favourable labour market where demand for jobs exceeds supply, shouldn’t neglect talent management.

The gender divide continues
Unfortunately, men continue to have higher salaries than women. Female young professionals make on average $51,518 annually, while men earn $64,728 – a striking 25.6% difference! In a country where women will soon account for more than 50 per cent of the American workforce, the time has come for equal opportunities to arise. If anything, the female majority will soon be empowered to dictate their employment terms and gain the upper hand.  

US professionals’ ideal employers
One in four young professionals wants to work at Google. Nearly 25% of survey respondents selected Google, being almost twice as many as those who picked Apple which ranked second.

The top 10 ideal employers for young professionals in the US are:
1. Google, 2. Apple, 3. The Walt Disney Company, 4. U.S. Department of State, 5. Amazon, 6. FBI, 7. Microsoft, 8. Central Intelligent Agency, 9. NASA, 10. Teach for America…click here to see the full ranking.

Respondents could also write-in unlisted companies. The top write-ins were Facebook, followed by the Department of Homeland Security and the United Nations. The world’s most powerful social network, Facebook, might just be the next serious contender for the title of US professionals’ ideal employer – time will soon tell.

Research is available on US professionals’ preferences of employers and general career expectations – contact us!

About the US Professional Survey
Field period: November 2010 – January 2011
Total number of respondents: 10,306
Average age of a surveyed respondent: 27 years old
Data collection: Conducted via an on-line survey. The on-line link has been distributed via professional networks and communities, local and global partners, and the Universum Panel Young Professionals: graduates who have 1-8 years of work experience.