Bengaluru, An online survey conducted among engineering job seekers in the automotive industry between 13th and 18th December 2009 has found that attraction to company culture plays the most dominant part in a job seekers preference of a future employer. While the job seekers were divided about their most preferred future employer, irrespective of the company they voted for, the company culture was a major decision making factor.

The online survey, commissioned by Hyderabad based Options Executive Search, one of Indias most globally active search firms, with Knowience Insights, an online research firm, also found Toyota with 21% preference to be the most preferred future employer, followed by three Indian companies viz., Tata Motors (15%), Maruti (14%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (8%). However, in the top 3 employer preferences, Tata Motors (15.6%) found more mentions than Toyota (14.3%).

Interestingly, apart from culture, the top 4 companies stood for different things in the minds of the job seekers who responded to the survey. (The numbers given are in that order of preference for the respective company - accompanying image shows the respective strengths of the top 4 companies)

Also according to the survey, an opportunity in a city/town of ones choice is the single biggest trigger for considering a job change.

Achyut Menon, CEO of Options Executive Search, said that this survey throws up an interesting facet of how the core engineering professionals are approaching their career now as against how they would have possibly done it a couple of years back. If the nineties and a better part of the decade of 2000 drew the engineering professionals to IT, it appears that recognition is finally coming in the core manufacturing sector for these professionals.

He also felt that perhaps companies have to spend a lot more time and effort in articulating and communicating / selling their company culture to the prospective employees. This would call for a shift in focus for recruiting managers and most definitely, some fresh thinking on how to do it.

Notes to Editor

About Options Executive Search

Started in the year 1992 in Hyderabad, Options Executive Search has grown to be one of Indias most globally active search firms by providing a personalized touch to the professional service of finding the right person for every job, by ensuring the right job for every person. Built on strong ethics of long-term client relationships and quality search services with emphasis on uncompromising thoroughness, integrity, confidentiality and delivery, Options takes the time to listen, understand and match specific position prerequisites and company cultural compatibilities.

About Knowience Insights

Knowience Insights is a young Indian company that specializes in Internet-based research services. Knowience provides critical customer insights to its clients through customised research - strategic and tactical - deployed over the Internet. Knowience is backed by founders with over 45 years of experience in customer relationship and over 9 years of experience in the Internet domain. Knowience also runs Insighto.com, an on-demand online survey software.