Students Seek Career Development, Personal Growth and a Balanced Lifestyle According to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Survey

Business Wire, June 2, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1999--

Graduating business students around the world are seeking career development and personal growth while expecting to balance work and life responsibilities according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' second International Student Survey. Students rate career development (56 percent) and personal growth (55 percent) as their first and second life priorities with attaining a balance between work and personal life as their most important career goal.

Though 57 percent of the respondents state that balancing work and personal life is their primary career goal (up from 45 percent two years ago), they don't believe that this desire competes with their long-term career development and personal growth goals. The question is not whether personal development is more important than career, but rather how these goals can be achieved in tandem.

"The corporate world today is a demanding one and the students' concern is a reflection of the juggling act that employees all over the world have to perform to meet their work and personal obligations as they build their careers," said William O'Brien, global leader of human capital at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The International Student Survey examined student views on future career goals, life priorities, international careers and desirable characteristics in first employers. Universum International conducted the survey of more than 2,500 students from 36 of the world's leading universities across 5 continents in 11 countries for PricewaterhouseCoopers. The findings of the first such survey were released in April 1997. PricewaterhouseCoopers intends to conduct the survey on a regular basis.

A key factor that respondents believe would facilitate a balance between personal life and career is a working schedule that allows them to see their family and friends on a predictable basis.

"Increasingly, both employers and employees realize that work is one part of life and that work and personal life cannot be treated as separate entities," added Mr. O'Brien. "Which is why we believe in working together with our people to provide choices that will enable them to have fulfilling professional and personal lives not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is a business imperative."

While students all over the world make balancing work and personal life their top career priority, they are willing to work hard for it. The survey found that on average respondents expect to work at least 47 hours a week at their first jobs.

In addition to balancing career and personal life, 42 percent of the students rate a company's reputation for offering a good future career reference as "crucial" when choosing their first employer and they anticipate making an average time commitment of four and a half years to that employer. The factors that most frequently would motivate the respondents to extend their anticipated time commitment to their first employers include a higher salary, ability to balance work and life and rapid promotion.

International Experience

The survey findings indicate that approximately a quarter of the students have studied in a foreign country and slightly less than a fifth have worked abroad. Most consider themselves to be proficient in two foreign languages. More than 70 percent of respondents surveyed are interested in an international career and 81 percent in working and living abroad for at least one year.

"As 'globality' becomes a business imperative for the coming millennium, it is encouraging to see future business leaders keen on expanding their horizons. At PricewaterhouseCoopers we believe in providing our people, members of the world's first truly global generation, with an opportunity to live and travel abroad so that they are equipped to not only service our clients efficiently but have fulfilling professional careers," said Mr. O'Brien.

The students who express an interest in an international career most often associate this type of career with frequent international travel, adapting to foreign cultures and business practices and project-based work abroad.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com) is the world's leading professional services organization. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of 155,000 people in 150 countries, we help our clients solve complex business problems and measurably enhance their ability to build value, manage risk and improve performance.

PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the US firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and other members of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization.

Note to Editors: The name PricewaterhouseCoopers is one word, with upper case P, upper case C, and all other letters in lower case.

Universum is one of the world's leading providers of information about graduates and students, including their opinions on work and education and their priorities in life. We assist our clients in understanding what motivates today's students and graduates around the world. Our mission is to help companies to increase their profitability by attracting, recruiting, and retaining top talent.