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Internet search giant Google has been ranked as the best company to work for by management and engineering graduates in two separate surveys, which term the company the world’s ’’most attractive employer’’ of 2011. 

 
According to the survey conducted by global employer branding firm Universum, Google has been ranked at the top of its 2011 list of the top 50 global businesses and engineering companies to work for -- the third year in a row.

The search giant has been dubbed the most attractive employer by more than 160,000 people from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, the UK and US looking for the right place to work.

"For the last three years, we have been seeing Google leading the pack and it will take a strong player with a clear talent strategy to steal this number one spot," Universum Head (Research and Consulting) Lovisa Ohnell said.

The search giant is followed by auditor KPMG, where most B-Schools students want to work, while engineering graduates picked tech giant IBM as their second choice.

For engineering students, software giant Microsoft is the third choice, followed by car-maker BMW (fourth), chip-maker Intel (fifth), electronics company Sony (sixth), tech firm Apple (seventh), GE (eighth), Siemens (ninth) and consumer goods group Procter & Gamble (10th).

The other technology firms that were favoured by engineers are HP, Cisco, Oracle, Nokia, Dell, and Lenovo.

"The software industry is highly dependent on its human capital, hence the efforts to attract and retain the brightest minds in the world," Universum Global Account Director Carlo Duraturo said.

"There’s a new working culture paradigm today -- the relaxed and creative office -- and part of it we owe to this industry. Generation Y feels very comfortable working in this new environment and it’s clearly reflected in the attractiveness of the software industry," Duraturo added.

Meanwhile, in the list of top 50 employers for business students, KPMG is followed by rivals PwC, Ernst & Young and Deloitte at third, fourth and fifth spot, respectively.

In addition, B-Schools students seeking the best employer ranked Microsoft sixth in the list, followed by Procter & Gamble (seventh), financial services entity JP Morgan (eighth), Apple (ninth) and financial services major Goldman Sachs (10th).

Among the other notable names in the list, soft drink major Coca-Cola figured at 12th position in the list, while Citi occupied 29th place and beverages firm PepsiCo bagged 30th place in the list for business students.

"The talent market for business career-seekers is being dominated by the professional services firms, known for being great places to launch a career, and by companies that offer a new working culture in a dynamic environment," Ohnell added.

However, irrespective of the rankings, the top 50 global employers for business and engineering students are very similar, showing that strong employer brands transcend many skill and industry groups.

Notably, financial service organisations such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are becoming more attractive to engineering career-seekers, while traditional IT companies such as Apple, Intel and IBM have gained ground in the business rankings.

Overall, US multinational companies dominated Universum’s list of the best companies for management (28) and engineering (26) graduates to work for. Germany is the second-most represented country in the list, with six companies named as management graduates’ top picks index and eight by engineering graduates.