Each year, Universum surveys hundreds of thousands of students to rank the world’s most attractive employers. From December 2012 to March 2013, it gathered responses on 103 939 companies from 34 160 French students, enrolled in some 5 304 universities. The questioned students come from grandes écoles and universities, and are targeted separately according to their main field of study: Business/Management and Engineering/IT.

For the 8th consecutive year, students from commerce and management grandes écoles have elected LVMH as the number 1 employer, making the group the undisputed leader in terms of attractiveness. In second position comes L'Oreal, which occupied that position already in 2012. Google managed to reach the 3rd position, while Apple slid down one place and came in 4th. For commerce and management university students, the result is slightly different, with L’Oreal in first position, followed by LMVH, Air France and Apple.

In the field of engineering and IT, the landscape is more diversified, with EADS coming in first and Google second for grandes écoles students. Thales is overrun by Dassault Aviation, which jumped two positions since 2012, showing the increasing attractiveness of aerospace and defence for engineering students. University students elected Thales number 1, jumping up five places, followed by EADS (+2), Google (-2) and Air France.

Looking at the trends over the past few years, it seems that the automobile, banking and telecommunications sectors are less highly ranked, a direct consequence of the crisis. The crisis also has an impact on the mobility of students and graduates, as they value job security and balance between work and life more than international mobility. "Students are sometimes worried about their future, and even though going abroad is still attractive, they are increasingly looking for security and stability of employment. Going abroad, why not, but if the job of their dreams exists in their home country, they will push the call of the international to the background. Just like having responsibilities, being international entails risks and is less attractive in times of crisis," says Julie Giraud-April, Universum’s Western Europe University Relations Manager.

Universum France 2013