- New research shows university students prioritize compensation and quality of 
work-life, while desire for "challenging work" plummets. Bumpy road ahead for 
hiring negotiations?

The 2022 World's Most Attractive Employers (WMAE) rankings highlight a growing 
misalignment between students' job expectations and what employers can offer in 
a cooling economy. "Competitive salary" and "high future earnings" are now two 
of the top-three priorities for business, engineering, and IT university 
students — and are among the fastest-growing priorities. 

"Over the last 18 months, employers offered generous contracts and working 
conditions to attract young talent because demand exceeded supply in many 
regions," says Mats Rojdmark, Chief Executive Officer, Universum. "Now that 
hiring is slowing, we expect more realistic employment deals in 2023."

Universum, the global leader in employer branding, surveyed over 
185,067 students in business, engineering, and IT from the 9 largest economies 
between September 2021 and May 2022. The survey asks students which employer 
characteristics are most influential as they consider future employment, and 
which employer brands they most admire. Other key findings:

Google drops to #2 among business students. It was edged out by Apple, which 
rose two places this year to #1. (Google still ranks #1 for engineering and IT 
students.)

Quality of life is still a growing priority. From a list of 40 attributes, 
"work-life balance" rose 6 places to rank as #8 most important in 2022, and 
"flexible working conditions" rose 7 places to #10. 

Evidence of "quiet quitting"? Asked to rank their top priorities in a future 
employer, young people were significantly less likely to choose "challenging 
work" in 2022 — the largest one-year drop of any priority in 2022. 

Universum Global Account Director Richard Mosley says the 2022 study offers 
critical data points for employers' 2023 budgets: "Companies are still hungry 
for young talent in tech, business, and engineering, but budget tightening will 
likely force difficult decisions. Now more than ever, organizations must take a 
data-driven approach to employer branding, messaging and channel strategy." 

Download a full-length copy of the World's Most Attractive Employers 
report:https://bit.ly/3VQJWlv


About Universum 
Universum is a data-driven, insight-led employer branding agency. Founded in 
Stockholm, we are now active in over 60 countries, with key hubs in Paris, 
Berlin, London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai.

Media Contact:
Jonas Barck, Chief Marketing Officer
Jonas.barck@universumglobal.com
+46706933388

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1929119/Universum_Logo.jpg

SOURCE: Universum