Universum held the Universum Awards last Thursday, March 24th, at The Montague on the Gardens in London. The sponsor of the event was Graduate Promotions.

We were proud to invite a number of companies to UK’s number one event for employer branding inspiration, knowledge sharing and recognition of the UK’s Ideal Employers. The Universum Awards was a chance for people to inspire themselves in their employer branding work and network with other professionals and members of university career services. More importantly, it was the time of year to celebrate those companies with the strongest and most sophisticated employer brands.

The afternoon began with thought provoking seminars with speakers from the University of Liverpool, Barclays Wealth and the British Army. In the evening, the awards ceremony and dinner were a great opportunity to celebrate the employer branding success of this year’s most attractive employers, as voted for in the Universum Student Survey 2011.

Below are the employers that are perceived by the students as best in industry and ideal.

Best in Industry
PwC – Auditing & Accounting                       
HSBC – Banking                                                 
L’Oréal – FMCG                                                   
Accenture – Management Consulting                   
Google – Software & Computer Services  

Ideal Employers
Business & Commerce      
1. Apple
2. Google
3. HSBC

Highest Climber
RBS - Business & Commerce  

Ideal Employers
Engineering & IT 
1. Google
2. Microsoft
3. Apple

Highest Climber
Citi – Engineering & IT

Universum Awards UK 2011  – Image Gallery

By Michelle Boyde

Today, The Times reports that the Big Four are recruiting 3,850 graduates in the UK this year. This is an increase of more than 20 per cent on 2009 and surely good news for the UK’s graduates. However, it seems that too much of the UK are lured by the lights of London. PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that 70 per cent of their applicants apply for jobs in the City, making it tougher to fill vacancies in other offices.

This is not only the case with graduates. Some BBC employees have been reported to be unhappy as they are required to relocate to Salford Quays in Manchester, to continue their jobs outside the capital.

However, invention and ideas are rife outside London. In today’s FT, a report from the British Library, home of the national patents collection, reports that north-east generated more patents per person per pound of investment than any other region.

Geographical location will continue to be an important factor when choosing a job. Firms need to build their employer brands to encompass how attractive locations outside of the south-east can really be.

5,800 students from Russell Group universities select their “Ideal Employers”
 Apple and Google were the undisputed winners in Universum’s Ideal Employer rankings this year, released on April 15th, according to a student poll of nearly 12,000 students – yet look at Russell Group’s students only and the choice of employers change. Read the rest of this entry »

The UK Universum Awards took place on April 15th at Regent’s College, situated in the beautiful Regents Park, London. The evening celebrated the top Ideal Employers of business and engineering/IT students in the UK. However, students studying natural science, humanities/liberal arts/education and law also have their favourite employers and the winner are: Read the rest of this entry »

By Christopher Van Mossevelde

Britain’s graduates say they would like to work for an employer that is judged well or is held in high esteem by the community or the public generally. This probably confirms what Dov Seidman wrote, that we’re now in the “Era of Behaviour”¹ – let’s hope that it becomes the era of ‘good’ behaviour.

With Goldman Sachs under current public scrutiny in the UK, the short-sighted focus on shareholder value at the expense of others, the doing ‘more with less’ mantra that has resulted in the recent public calamity at France Telecom with employee suicides, and the general burden that this recession has had upon employees, to say no more… has perhaps, or at least I hope, catapulted students to drastically re-think their career choices. 

Student research reveals that Britain’s students deem ‘good reputation’ as the most important attribute an employer can have, should it strive to be perceived as an ‘ideal’ employer – 49 per cent select this as an attractive employer characteristic.  And if an employer doesn’t have it, they may lose out in terms of their brand perception. Finally, we’ve seen some results in the latest UK ideal employer rankings by Universum, as students have judged the recklessness of the financial institutions and banks have lost out in the popularity stakes².

How employers are viewed by others is important for graduates who are choosing their future employer and thus an important employer branding issue to consider for companies and organisations. Similarly, ‘high-ethical standards’ is highly regarded by 30 per cent of students, yet what are the values they deem important, relating to employer conduct, and with respect to the rightness and wrongness of employer actions, is still to be determined. It’s for us to ask the students to clarify and to remove this ash cloud to let the sun shine through – so be it!

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¹ “Inspirational Shame in the Era of Behavior”, by Dov Seidman <http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/apr2010/ca2010047_343747.htm>

² ”Why apple is a tasty job option”, by Steve McCormack  <http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/why-apple-is-a-tasty-job-option-1944828.html>

Employer Image Rankings

By Christopher Van Mossevelde

With all the talk about the iPad, whether you’re a fan or not, Apple is strongly associated with attractive/exciting products and services, a quality that contributes to their employer brand and lures top talent to want to work for them. Read the rest of this entry »

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is ranked 40 by UK humanties students, climbing from position 58 last year

At BCG, individuals can “grow further”. Flexible career paths are encouraged and employees have a lot of choice around the path that will best support their personal development.

By Michelle Boyde

Interview with Stephen Huntley, UK University Recruiting Director at BCG

“International opportunities are an element of our new branding campaign, Grow Further, which promotes personal growth.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Google is ranked 1 by UK engineering/IT students

Life at Google isn’t just about fun – ‘Googlers’ also work hard. Communicating this duality has become a focus for the company.

By Michelle Boyde

“We’re perceived as a ‘fun place to work’ – which is certainly accurate, but not the whole story. You’ll have fun at Google, but you’ll also have to work very hard.”

Interview with Caitlin Pantos, University Programmes Specialist at Google

Read the rest of this entry »

Goldman Sachs is ranked 3 by UK business students

For senior management at Goldman Sachs, recruitment and employer branding is a top priority. Goldman Sachs considers people to be its greatest asset.

By Michelle Boyde

Interview with Sarah Crawford, Head of Recruiting EMEA at Goldman Sachs.

“Senior members of the firm think about recruiting and employer branding in day-to-day work life.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Morgan Stanley is ranked 14 by UK business students

It is an exciting time for talented graduates to join Morgan Stanley. There will be great opportunities available in the future for those entering the investment banking business now.

By Michelle Boyde

“It is easy to be a star when things are good, but it’s a greater challenge working in today’s markets and it is now when the truly outstanding individuals will shine.”

Interview with Stephanie Ahrens, Executive Director in Graduate Recruitment EMEA at Morgan Stanley.

Read the rest of this entry »