Ikea, H&M and Google top the list when students in Sweden list their dream employers. But in West Sweden, the economy students have a whole bunch of favourites that differ significantly to the rest of the country, writes GP.
In West Sweden, SAS, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and JP Morgan, among others, have to step aside from the top 30, in favour of companies like SKF, Volvo, Toyota, MQ, and the City of Gothenburg, according to a barometer from the consultancy company Universum.
Clothing company MQ was ranked 16 in West Sweden, and 48 in Sweden. It is the first time the company made the top 200 list.
- I'm grateful just to be mentioned in the same sentence as H&M. We are in a different league. We are a small player on a big market, says the CEO Johan Elfner, to GP.
MQ became a Limited company last summer and Johan Elfner thinks part of the attraction is that it is fun to work in a company that wants to grow.
- MQ still has a journey to make and it is possible to be part of, and influence it. I think that is part of the attraction. I also think it is attractive to work in a small company, where there is space for some entrepreneurship.
- But when the economy students list what they find most important in their career, entrepreneurship is not number one. It is more important to have a balance between work and private life, and to "feel safe and secure in my profession".
The five most popular employers among students in all of Sweden are Ikea, Google, H&M, Ernst & Young and Swedbank.
Eight employers that are particularly popular in West Sweden are the Volvo Group, Volvo Cars, MQ, Åhlens, City of Gothenburg, SKF, Toyota and AstraZeneca.
