We asked Oxbridge students to rank the decisive factors in choosing an employer. Variety of work, work-life balance, location and ethical business practice were reported as the 4 most important factors.

Work-life balance ranked #1 as the most important factor when considering a career with 74% of students listing it as highly important

The step-change in lifestyle that faces students once they leave University is clearly one they think considerably about:

Ethical business practices ranked at #2 with 72% of students reporting it as highly important.

The survey suggested that well-known corporations cannot dominate the graduate market by brand since less than a third of Oxbridge students were influenced by company brand.

As one out-spoken student mentions:





Location was also an important factor with two thirds of students ranking it highly. If we combine the "Location" results with the "London based" results, we produce an interesting corollary. Of the 64% who cite location as important, 34% of those are presumably those who cite London as important. The data suggests that the remaining 30% (deducting 34% from 64%) regard locations outside of the capital with high appeal. Perhaps the London stereotype of overcrowded trains, rising pollution and highly-priced housing is making graduate jobs in London less desirable, and is turning graduates away from the big smoke. With 52% of respondents ticking the "important" box for international focus, jobs offering international opportunities are also highly prized.

Perhaps surprisingly, salary was "neutral" of "little concern" to half of students surveyed. In addition, three factors which have significant conceptual overlap are early responsibility, rapid advancement for high achievers and an entrepreneurial environment. Given that the respondents are the nation's top undergraduates, it is notable that these all ranked low in the priority list.

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