Hire Power: 33 Tech Companies Millennials Really Want To Work For
Top In Tech
As more Millennials are entering the workforce, a new study from the National Society of High School students (NSHSS) gives some insight into what they are looking for in an employer. The 2014 Millennial Career Survey took the opinions of more than 12,000 high school students, who were given a list of 220 companies from major top company lists and asked to choose which three, including write-ins, they would most like to work for. Technology companies ranked high on Millennials' wish lists, with 33 landing top spots. Take a look at which companies are the most successful at appealing to Millennials.
CEO: Larry Page
The top tech company on the list is no stranger to the No. 1 spot. While it wasn't the top tech company overall, coming in second to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Google's reputation for a fun work environment, cool technologies and young workforce ranked it very high on Millennials' wish lists for employment.
Apple
CEO: Tim Cook
Up a spot on the list from the year before, Apple came in at No. 4 for Millennials. Apple's sleek products and innovative culture make it an easy choice for device-savvy Millennials to get on board with.
Microsoft
CEO: Satya Nadella
Coming in at No. 11 on the list, the Microsoft brand is still holding strong on the list of desirable jobs for Millennials. Although it was down a rank from the year before, Microsoft seems to be holding onto the Millennial generation as it works to reinvent its mobile strategy, OS and push more into the cloud.
Sony
CEO: Kazuo Hirai
From TVs, computers, tablets, phones, wearables, stereos and more, Sony has worked to stay on the forefront of the mobile technology that often attracts Millennials. The consumer electronics company held strong at No. 15 on the Millennial Career Survey, a spot it also held in 2013.
Amazon
CEO: Jeff Bezos
Known mostly for its behemoth online storefront, Amazon is also on the cutting edge of public cloud technologies and has the Kindle and a rumored Amazon phone in the works. Whether they were attracted to the retail or the technology side, Millennials ranked Amazon high on their list of companies to work for, coming in at No. 22, down two spots from the year before.
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Coming in at No. 31, up from No. 38 the year before, Facebook is a draw for social-media-savvy Millennials looking to get into the largest social network, with more than 1.15 billion monthly average users last year. Whether they are interested in software engineering, advertising, or Web design, rapidly growing Facebook has a place for all sorts of Millennial interests.
IBM
CEO: Ginni Rometty
IBM dropped drastically in rankings for Millennials this year, though it still managed to hold a strong spot at No. 42, down 14 spots from the year before. With engineering and technology listed as one of the strongest interests for a college major, it comes as no surprise that IBM would hold a high spot on the list for Millennial employment.
Intel
CEO: Brian Krzanich
Intel was down on the Millennial employer wish list from No. 40 in 2013 to No. 51 this year. In 2013, the company launched an initiative called the Creator's Project after a focus group showed the average Millennial pictured Intel workers as old men in a lab coats. The Creator's Project holds live music events across the world to join together art, music and technology to help change the perception of the long-successful company.
Adobe
CEO: Shantanu Narayen
Adobe offers an appealing workplace for the creative Millennial with an interest in technology and software engineering. The Creative Cloud developer landed at No. 65 on the Millennial Career survey, tying with Dell. Adobe dropped 19 ranks from the year before.
Dell
CEO: Michael Dell
While the last exciting year for Dell didn't boost its rankings for Millennials, the PC maker still held a strong spot on the list, tying with Adobe for No. 65 on the list. While the company dropped seven spots over the year before, it still ranked higher than some of its competitors, such as Hewlett-Packard.
World Wide Technology
CEO: Jim Kavanaugh
Already No. 13 on CRN's Solution Provider 500 list and a Tech Elite 250, solution provider World Wide Technology has gained another accolade as No. 66 on the Millennial Career Survey. The company is gaining ground with Millennials, as it is up 13 spots on the list from the year before.
Siemens
CEO: Joe Kaeser
As health-related employers ranked high on Millennials' wish lists, with seven of the top 25 spots held by hospitals, health-care engineering and technology company Siemens was a strong contender for Millennials, coming in at No. 70. The German company is Europe's largest engineering company and gets a significant percentage of its revenue from medical device and health-care technology. The company was down one spot from the year before.
BlackBerry
CEO: John Chen
Although its phones are not the most popular with Millennials, BlackBerry was able to beat out many other technology companies, landing a spot at No. 71 on the list. While it did not come close to major competitors Google and Apple, BlackBerry is climbing the ranks, up 11 spots from the year before.
AT&T
CEO: Randall L. Stephenson
Multinational telecommunications company AT&T dropped drastically on the list from No. 54 in 2013 to No. 79 this year. However, it was still ranks ahead of major competitor Verizon in the eyes of Millennials. In March, the company partnered with Vice to launch a marketing campaign directed specifically at Millennials called The Mobile Movement, producing content around the Internet of Things connectivity through documentaries, YouTube videos and more.
Deloitte
CEO: Barry Salzberg
Deloitte's Annual Millennial Survey 2014 found that Gen Y is demanding big expectations from the businesses they work for, in terms of both technology and workplace environment. When they voted for the NSHSS study, Millennials ranked Deloitte as one of the companies they would like to work at, bringing it in at No. 81, down one rank from the year before.
Hewlett-Packard
CEO: Meg Whitman
Computer giant Hewlett-Packard fell behind competitor Dell, but still placed as a top employer for Millennials. Holding strong at No. 82 for the second year in a row, HP proved it is a strong contender for the up-and-coming Millennial workforce.
Cisco
CEO: John Chambers
Cisco has been working to adapt to be more Millennial-friendly by building a more flexible workplace. The company actively recruits from college campuses and more to bring more Gen Y's on board to the Cisco team. While it dropped down from No. 71 the year before, Cisco landed on the 2014 list at No. 83.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Chairman: Dennis Nally
Doing some Millennial research of their own through surveys and reports, PricewaterhouseCoopers managed to use that knowledge to climb up the ranks of top Millennial employers. The professional services company climbed from No. 96 last year to No. 83 in 2014.
Verizon
CEO: Lowell C. McAdam
In March, Verizon's research showed that Millennials were expecting more and more media to be accessible when they want it and in the format they want. In an increasingly mobile world, Verizon has been putting that research to good use, raising five spots in the best Millennial employers to No. 88.
Autodesk
CEO: Carl Bass
Software engineer Autodesk, the maker of popular design software AutoCAD, broke into the top 100 companies for Millennials this year, rising from No. 109 to No. 93 this year. Autodesk's cool Autodesk University uses classes such as helping professors engage students through approaching school like a video game to keep them engaged and excited to learn.
KPMG
CEO: John Veihmeyer
With a big-name reputation and one of the biggest professional services companies in the world, KPMG has jumped up the ranks for Millennials since last year. This year, the consulting company ranked at No. 97, up from No. 132 the year before.
Booz Allen Hamilton
CEO: Ralph Shrader
Strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton rose 45 ranks in the past year in the eyes of Millennials, jumping to No. 110 on the list. The company has won awards for its support of women and veterans in the workplace as well as other awards for a great place for young professionals. The company was also recognized by employer-branding consultancy Universum as the No. 31 ideal employer for computer science students.
NetApp
CEO: Tom Georgens
NetApp broke onto the 2014 Millennial Career Survey for the first time, landing itself at No. 111 on the list in its inaugural year. The $6.3 billion company is no stranger to lists of top companies to work for, most recently ranking No. 3 on the Great place to Work Institute's World's Best Multinational Workplaces 2013 and No. 33 on Fortune's 2014 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
CEO: Jeff Weiner
The networking social media company LinkedIn is clearly listening to its many blogs, lists and articles about how to hire Millennials into the workplace. The company has been making moves lately on lists of best companies to work for, including landing near the top of GlassDoor's Best Companies to Work For list. The company leaped up 45 spots from the year before to land at No. 112 on this year's list.
Qualcomm
CEO: Paul E. Jacobs
Tying with UPS, Nielsen, Home Depot and Cooley LLP, telecommunications company Qualcomm landed a strong spot at No. 117, up 63 spots from the year before. It's no wonder, as the company pays Millennials extremely well, according to a 2012 report, with a median salary of $90,600, the second highest out of all of the Fortune 500 companies.
Cox Communications
President: Patrick J. Esser
Cox Communications is one of the biggest cable and broadband providers in the country, reaching more than 6 million customers. The company has a very diverse culture, which 51.9 percent of Millennials said was important to them as they consider a future employer's work atmosphere and environment. The company came in at No. 118 on the list this year, up from No. 132 the year before.
Accenture
CEO: Pierre Nanterme
No. 3 on CRN's SP500 list, Accenture is not only powerful in the channel, but apparently holds some sway with Millennials. The mammoth company grabbed a No. 119 spot on the list, tying with fellow tech company SAS among others. The company was at No. 108 in 2013.
SAS
CEO: James Goodnight
Business analytics software company SAS has jumped in the rankings to tie with powerhouse Accenture at No. 119 on the Millennial Career Survey. The company jumped up 38 spots from the year before. On the survey, Millennials in particular said that they were interested in STEM-focused companies, such as SAS, both for college major choices and career plans.
EMC
CEO: Joe Tucci
Tying in the ranks with IT staffing and services company TEKsystems, storage vendor EMC has gained esteem in the eyes of Millennials over the past year. The Hopkinton, Mass.-based vendor jumped 63 spots from No. 187 in 2013 to No. 124 this year.
TEKsystems
CEO: Michael Salandra
TEKsystems provides IT staffing, talent management and professional services to clients, deploying more than 80,000 IT professionals to more than 6,000 clients across the globe. The company provides ongoing training and development to its employees, which 89.1 percent of Millennial respondents said is important to job-specific opportunities. The Hanover, Md.-based company tied with EMC for No. 124 on the list, up from No. 186 the year before.
ADP
CEO: Carlos A. Rodriguez
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) builds cloud-based business processing solutions to help businesses run better, including payroll, talent management, HR, benefits and more. Over the past few months, ADP has been doing extensive research into Millennials, including how much they are saving for retirement and their approach to health-care solutions. The company landed at No. 125 on the Millennial Survey.
Ultimate Software
CEO: Scott Scherr
Tying with competitor ADP, cloud-based HCM solutions company Ultimate Software comes in at No. 125 for Millennials, up from No. 172 the year before. The company says it "always puts people first" and invests a lot in its culture as well as its technology, which 72.3 percent of Millennials said was important to their employer perception and image.
Xerox
CEO: Ursula Burns
Xerox was recognized in the survey for having one of the most drastic improvements over the previous year, jumping from No. 153 in 2013 to No. 128 this year. The printer and document management company's recruiting policy is a great example of how to appeal to Millennials, author Chip Espinoza said in his book "Managing the Millennials," touting the idea that "you can be you at Xerox."