Sony Corp. is the employer of choice for Japanese students preparing to graduate from North American colleges and universities, according to a recent survey conducted by a U.S. human resources firm.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consultants Co. ranks second while NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. share third, the survey conducted by New York-based Disco International Inc. shows.
Disco conducted the survey in early October on 2,193 Japanese students expected to graduate from colleges and graduate schools in the United States and Canada during the 2001-2002 academic year. The poll is the first to gauge the job preferences of Japanese students overseas, said Disco spokesman Hiroyasu Ichikawa.
IBM Japan Ltd. came in fifth, followed by Andersen at sixth and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. at seventh, the survey reveals.
Of the top 20 firms cited, four are investment banks, six consulting firms and five information-technology-related firms.
Only six of the 20 firms in question, however, are Japanese. These include Dentsu Inc., which placed eighth, and Toyota Motor Corp., which was 16th.
About 77 percent of the 620 survey respondents said they consider corporate culture factors when choosing prospective employers, while 68.2 percent cited salary and other benefits. Only 37.7 percent said they consider corporate brands when making their choice, according to the survey.