According to the results of the 2007 Universum IDEAL Employer Survey, Google edged out Walt Disney as the number one IDEAL Employer for Undergraduate students. Google also ranked in the top ten of almost all industry-specific rankings—which includes business, consumer goods, and engineering.

44,064 undergraduate students from 184 schools participated in this year’s US Undergraduate Edition of The Universum IDEAL Employer survey. The Universum IDEAL Employer survey is the biggest survey of this type. In the survey, the undergraduate students were asked questions about their overall career expectations—including top industries, career goals, salary expectations, communication preferences, and what are called “IDEAL employers”.

The Peace Corp and Teach for America both were among the employers that debuted in the 2007 rankings, who vaulted into the top ten (previously they were not ranked). Other companies that were in the top ten include Walt Disney, Apple Computer, the US Department of State, the CIA, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Microsoft, and the FBI.

Ideal Employer Rankings - All students, Undergraduate Edition

Company    2007 Percentage    2007 Ranking    2006 Ranking
Google          1                13.37%            2
Walt Disney     2                10.03%            1
Apple Computer  3                 8.47%            7
U.S. State Dept 4                 6.87%            3
Peace Corps     5                 6.87%            -
CIA             6                 6.72%            5
PwC             7                 6.44%           11
Microsoft       8                 6.31%            6
FBI             9                 6.27%            4
Teach for Amer. 10                6.26%            -

The United States edition of the Universum Awards Ceremony was held on May 30 in New York City, and all of the top IDEAL(TM) Employers were honored for their excellence. Over two hundred human resource executives and university career services professionals attended the event, which was co-hosted by Tattanelli and CareerTV anchor Sean O’Grady.

UNIVERSUM is The Global Employer Branding Leader. As thought leaders, we drive the industry forward having focused exclusively on Employer Branding (EB) for close to 20 years. We are a trusted partner to over 500 clients worldwide including many Fortune 100 companies. We help employers to understand, attract and retain current and future ideal employees utilizing our experience, knowledge and services within research, strategic consulting and media solutions.