Business grads from HK pick J.P. Morgan and HSBC as most attractive employers

Students prefer companies with a “friendly working environment."

Hong Kong’s new batch of talents from the business and commerce schools has named J.P. Morgan and HSBC as their ideal employers, Universum's survey showed.

Behind the two financial services company were Morgan Stanley, Google, and HKSAR Government.

According to Universum, Hong Kong students are prioritising companies with a “friendly work environment”.

They also prefer workplaces with "professional training & development" and those that encourage work-life balance.

"High future earnings" has fallen in the list of graduates' priorities, dropping to the 4th position, two places lower than the previous year.

The change shows that students now prioritise factors that impact their well-being more than financial earnings.

Meanwhile, the survey also showed a decline in students' expected annual salary upon graduation, decreasing from HK$303.0k in 2022 to HK$292.9k, representing a 3% drop.

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This reversal contrasts with the trend observed in the 2022 survey, which showed a 19% increase in expected annual salary compared to 2021.

This suggests that students are recognising the transition from the “great resignation” period to a more uncertain economic environment, characterised by an increased likelihood of high-profile layoffs.

Consequently, they are adopting a more cautious approach when setting their salary expectations.

Students studying business or commerce also lowered their salary expectations (-6%), only expecting a pay of HK$279.7k per annum.

The survey was based on responses from 4,179 students in business, commerce, engineering, natural sciences, sciences, IT, humanities, liberal arts, education, law, health, and medicine.

The survey period was from October 2022 and April 2023.