Booz Allen Ranks High on 2005 Universum MBA List

Firm improves position on "employer of choice" rankings.

Booz Allen Hamilton is number 7 on Universum's 2005 MBA Rankings of employers of choice among MBA candidates—bettering its positions of #10 in 2004 and #26 in 2003.

For the past 9 years, Universum has conducted extensive research to measure students' perceptions of specific companies and organizations with which they would like to work. The Universum rankings—similar to the Kennedy Report for the Campus Recruitment—have become widely recognized among employers, students, and career service organizations.

Booz Allen also ranked #7 among female MBA candidates and #8 among male MBA candidates.

The firm ranked high in diversity MBA hiring as well:

#2 employer of choice among African-Americans (up from #15 in 2004)
#3 among diverse sexual orientation groups (first time studied)
#5 employer of choice among Diverse MBA candidates (up from #9 in 2004)
#10 among Asian-Americans (up from #12 in 2004)
#11 among Hispanics (up from #17 in 2004)

To compile the 2005 list, Universum surveyed more than 4,700 MBA students at 46 of the leading universities, including all of Booz Allen's core schools.

From a list of 157 companies, Universum asked students to choose the five companies for which they would most like to work. Information from the Universum studies is published each year in magazines such as Fortune and MBA Jungle.

"Dream Jobs" Have Practical Foundations

In a May 2005 article in CollegeJournal.com, Wall Street Journal news editor and senior writer Ronald Alsop said that most MBA students seem to take a pragmatic view of their dream jobs, preferring management consulting and financial services companies that offer the greatest number of jobs and the largest paychecks.

The Universum study also listed the factors that most influence the decision of the MBAs to accept a job offer. The top five factors: Compensation package, "challenging role," corporate culture, potential for advancement, and work-life balance, according to Alsop.

Universum is a research, consulting, and media relations organization that helps companies recruit and retain MBA and undergraduate students by providing unbiased information on specific markets. It was founded in Stockholm, where its European operations are still managed, with U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia.

story posted June 17, 2005