Best Places To Launch A Career Special Report

Best Places to Launch a Career 2007

To determine which employers are best for entry-level workers, BusinessWeek used a three-part method. First, we surveyed career services directors at U.S. colleges to learn which employers were tops on their list. We then asked those employers to complete a survey on their hiring, pay, benefits, and training programs, which we then compared with others in the same industry. Finally, we obtained from Universum Communications, a Philadelphia research company, the results of its 2007 survey of 44,000 U.S. undergraduates who were asked to identify their five most desirable employers. The employer survey counts for 50% of the final ranking, while the career services and student surveys count for 25% each.

Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.

2007 Rank	2006 Rank	Employer	Ticker	Industry (1)	2006 Entry Level Hires	Top Degree Among Entry-Level Hires	Most Desirable Trait	Employer Survey Rank	Career Services Survey Rank	Student Survey Rank⁽²⁾	Average Pay (thousands)	Management Training program⁽³⁾

51	-99	Wachovia	WB	Financial Services	275	Business	Communication Skills	58	22	46	$45-$50	No
52	40	Booz Allen Hamilton	160233	Consulting	240	Business	Communication Skills	47	64	48	$50-$55	No
53	37	Progressive	34036339	Insurance	2858	Other	Communication Skills	38	70	57	LESS THAN $35	Yes
54	-99	Liberty Mutual	162456	Insurance	667	Business	Communication Skills	46	53	54	$45-$50	Yes
55	-99	Nike	NKE	Consumer Goods	null	Other	College GPA	73	67	14	NA	Yes
56	-99	Aetna	6497782	Insurance	null	NA	Leadership Skills	41	62	NA	$40-$45	Yes
57	-99	Hewlett-Packard	HPQ	Technology	257	Business	College Major	52	64	43	$70 AND ABOVE	Yes
58	19	Ameriprise Financial	AMP	Financial Services	2335	NA	Communication Skills	43	79	NA	$35-$40	Yes
59	26	AT&T (15)	T	Telecommunications	212	Undeclared	College Major	52	34	NA	NA	Yes
60	52	Protiviti	29414454	Consulting	333	Business	Communication Skills	50	NA	58	$50-$55	No
61	-99	Dell	DELL	Technology	null	Business	Communication Skills	63	53	30	$55-$60	No
62	-99	Nestle	NESN	Consumer Goods	28	Engineering	Leadership Skills	64	45	39	$40-$45	No
63	-99	Walgreen	WAG	Retail	17359	NA	Communication Skills	54	59	NA	NA	No
64	-99	Sherwin-Williams	SHW	Consumer Goods	780	Business	Leadership Skills	55	56	NA	LESS THAN $35	No
65	-99	Deutsche Bank	DB	Investment Banking	278	NA	Communication Skills	66	51	33	$60-$65	No
66	-99	Procter & Gamble	PG	Consumer Goods	323	Engineering	Analytical Skills	83	31	16	NA	No
67	-99	Bear Stearns	BSC	Investment Banking	null	NA	Analytical Skills	66	46	49	$60-$65	No
68	-99	Union Pacific	UNP	Transportation	null	Business	Analytical Skills	61	41	NA	$40-$45	No
69	-99	Calif. State Auditor		Nonprofit/Government	29	Intl Relations, Public Policy, Poli. Sci.	College Major	56	80	NA	$35-$40	No
70	39	IRS		Nonprofit/Government	null	Business	College Major	72	56	34	$35-$40	No
71	-99	BlueCross BlueShield	160225	Insurance	46	Other	Communication Skills	60	73	NA	$45-$50	No
72	30	Wolseley (16)	WOS	Manufacturing	1250	Business	Communication Skills	74	24	NA	$35-$40	No
73	34	Grant Thornton	102027	Accounting	570	Business	Leadership Skills	65	62	NA	$50-$55	Yes
74	-99	Unilever	UN	Consumer Goods	null	Business	Analytical Skills	69	81	53	$45-$50	Yes
75	35	SunTrust Banks	STI	Financial Services	211	Business	Analytical Skills	70	56	NA	$45-$50	No
76	-99	Ingersoll Rand	IR	Manufacturing	null	NA	Leadership Skills	68	76	NA	$50-$55	Yes
77	-99	Cisco	CSCO	Technology	343	Engineering	Communication Skills	78	50	37	NA	Yes
78	-99	DHL	4204536	Transportation	420	NA	Communication Skills	71	NA	63	$40-$45	No
79	46	Southwest Airlines	LUV	Transportation	2304	NA	Fun-loving attitude	80	70	29	LESS THAN $35	No
80	-99	Duke Energy	DUK	Energy	null	Science	Leadership Skills	76	70	NA	$35-$40	No
81	-99	AIG (17)	AIG	Insurance	87	Business	Analytical Skills	75	84	NA	$45-$50	NA
82	-99	Nationwide	2117325	Insurance	null	NA	Communication Skills	77	68	NA	LESS THAN $35	NA
83	55	BearingPoint	BE	Consulting	1344	Business	College Major	81	35	62	$45-$50	No
84	45	Northwestern Mutual (18)	6949027	Insurance	1619	Business	Entrepreneurial Spirit	84	36	NA	$45-$50	Yes
85	-99	Aramark	34812306	Hospitality	425	Culinary, Food Svc. Mgmt., Hospitality	Work Experience	82	76	60	$40-$45	No
86	36	Shell	23899432	Energy	157	Engineering	College Major	87	48	38	NA	No
87	-99	Motorola	MOT	Technology	null	Engineering	College Major	88	37	35	$50-$55	No
88	54	C.H. Robinson	4168460	Transportation	1058	Other	Communication Skills	86	NA	64	LESS THAN $35	No
89	44	Kraft Foods	4155690	Consumer Goods	null	NA	NA	89	78	42	NA	Yes
90	-99	Norfolk Southern	3678976	Transportation	277	Business	Communication Skills	NA	NA	NA	$50-$55	Yes
91	-99	CareerBuilder.com	26115	Internet	1050	Business	Analytical Skills	NA	NA	NA	LESS THAN $35	Yes
92	51	U.S. Patent & Trademark Office		Nonprofit/Government	1275	Engineering	College Major	NA	NA	NA	$60-$65	Yes
93	-99	Constellation Energy	CEG	Energy	42	Business	College Major	NA	NA	NA	$50-$55	No
94	53	Navigant Consulting	NCI	Consulting	99	Business	Analytical Skills	NA	NA	NA	$50-$55	No
95	-99	MetLife (19)	MET	Insurance	4253	NA	Communication Skills	NA	NA	NA	LESS THAN $35	Yes

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Note: All data are self-reported by employers. Eight employers ranked in 2006 were not ranked this year. Bain & Co. declined to participate; National Instruments, Pepsi Bottling, MTV Networks, NASA, CapGemini, the Comptroller of the Currency, and Progress Energy were not selected by career services directors as top employers for new college graduates.
(1) Comparison group for employer survey.
(2) Data provided by Universum Communications.
(3) Only training programs of more than a year, excluding analyst programs at investment banks and financial services companies.
(4) Entry-level hires for fiscal year (July 1-June 31); excludes 5-year accounting students working toward BS and MS simultaneously. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Deloitte Consulting as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(5) Entry-level hires for fiscal year (July 1-June 31).
(6) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified IBM Consulting as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(7) Walt Disney footnote: Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified ESPN and ABC as top employers for entry-level hires.
(8) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified GE Healthcare as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(9) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified JPMorgan Chase as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(10) Entry-level hires include Foreign Service Officers, Foreign Service Specialists, and Civil Service employees.
(11) Entry-level hires for campus recruiting only; based on academic year.
(12) Ranked as Federated Department Stores in 2006. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Bloomingdale's and Federated Department Stores as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(13) Entry-level hires includes salaried employees only; unionized hourly employees excluded.
(14) Top degree for agents only.
(15) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified BellSouth and Cingular as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(16) Ranked as Ferguson Enterprises in 2006; Wolesely is Ferguson's parent company. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Ferguson Enterprises as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(17) Entry-level hires includes only those hired into entry-level training programs.
(18) Entry-level hires are independent contractors affiliated with branch offices; their compensation is commission-based.
(19) Pay data for non-sales positions only.

Data: BusinessWeek, Universum Communications Inc., Cambria Consulting. Research by: Lindsey Gerdes, Louis Lavelle, Frederick F. Jespersen, Sophia Asare, Jenna Goudreau, Ben Levisohn, and Erica Pelzek.

Best Places to Launch a Career 2007

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