In order to better serve our members and connect with top corporations, NSHSS gathered with over 1,000 corporate human resource leaders last year at the ERE Expo in Washington, DC. This conference is the leading provider of information and networking opportunities for recruitment and Human Resources professionals. Talent acquisition and management are pressing issues for corporations today as a new generation of students enters the workforce. As a result of the conference, NSHSS began a collaboration with ERE to survey our members regarding upcoming trends and expectations of high school and college students.
"Employers need to understand how their future workforce thinks, for they will be tomorrow’s CEOs and VPs, managers, and front-line employees powering American business," acknowledges Todd Raphael, Editor in Chief, ERE Media. Finding highly qualified, diverse applicants early in their academic careers can be a challenge. In order to help address this need, NSHSS surveyed members in January about their career aspirations and attitudes. Nearly 10,000 responded, and we are publishing an article summarizing the results in the March 2008 Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership. You can read the survey results and check out the top 50 companies selected by respondents as internship preferences.
We asked our members questions ranging from demographic identification to career expectations and aspirations. They identified their top choices of college majors, career fields, and companies; factors they consider key in selecting an employer; their favorite cities; preferred methods of communication; and the extent of their parent’s involvement in their career choices. In addition to gathering demographic data on the respondents, we asked questions about the following:
- Intended or current college major
- Expected future career field
- Importance of various factors in choosing an employer (benefits, commuting distance, corporate social responsibility, diversity, flexibility of schedule, personal interaction with managers, prestige of company, promotion opportunities, salary, teamwork, telecommuting opportunities, travel, vacation, and work environment)
- Ideal cities in which to live and work
- College internship expectations, including top choices of companies in which to intern
- Perceived importance of international experience
- Expectations of when they will become financially independent
- Extent of parental involvement in career decisions
- Technology/communications access and preferences
- Perceptions of what they think employers are most looking for in candidates
Six lucky participants were winners in a random drawing of survey respondents winning gift certificates provided by NSHSS partner Abercrombie & Fitch, and an Apple iPod from NSHSS. See our list of survey winners.
In brief, these 10,000 respondents indicate that their top college major/career fields include medical/health related fields, business, and engineering/technology. As might be expected, they gravitate toward what they perceive as “fun” jobs in entertainment and media (Disney, DreamWorks, and CNN); the Internet (Google and Yahoo); and trend-setting firms (Abercrombie & Fitch and Nike). They reveal a strong interest in participating in internships during college. Although this techno-savvy generation expects to communicate socially through internet networking spots and text messaging, they prefer to communicate professionally through email. They are drawn toward larger metropolitan areas, selecting New York City, London, and Los Angeles as the top three cities in which they wish to live and work. They also indicate that their number one priority in selecting an employer is the workplace environment, including attitudes of the company allowing them to feel accepted, valued, and included. For corporate executives interested in connecting with our students, please contact Carla Maxwell Ray in Corporate Relations.