In 2019, PwC Hungary surveyed more than 37,000 young prospective job seekers on what they look for in a new employer.

Asked to rank job characteristics in order of importance, prospective hires put flexible work options, stability and base salary at the top of the list. A fixed, predictable base salary is more attractive than performance-based compensation, and the management style of the immediate superior is decisive for young people aged 16 to 28. This year, PwC Hungary asked more than 37,000 high schoolers, college students and recent graduates about their job preferences.

As in previous years, PwC Hungary has once again surveyed the job preferences of future employees. In the 2019 survey, new areas of focus included internationalisation, personal development and corporate transparency. Of the more than 37,000 young people surveyed, 51% are in higher education, 21% are high school students, and 27% are already employed. When asked to rank a list of job characteristics in order of importance, respondents aged between 16 and 28 put flexible work options at the top of the list, followed by stability and predictability, and base salary. Cafeteria dropped out of the top ten this year, despite ranking fourth last year.

“This year, we’ve expanded the survey to help Hungarian companies better understand the job expectations of prospective hires. This is important because, according to PwC’s CEO Survey, the overwhelming majority of Hungarian CEOs identified skills shortages as the greatest barrier to their company’s success,” said Róbert Bencze, Director of People & Organisation, HR Consulting Services at PwC Hungary.

Most respondents (94%) under 25 would consider moving within the country. Csongrád County has the highest proportion (78%) of those who would like to stay in their current place of residence. Interestingly, more than half (54%) of respondents in Heves County would even be willing to move to Győr for an attractive job. However, regional differences are apparent not only in terms of mobility, but also in job preferences: for example, professional training provided by the employer is the fifth most important job characteristic in Hajdú-Bihar County, while in Budapest it only ranks tenth.

The survey also highlights differences in job preferences by industry: telecommuting (5th) and management style of the immediate superior (8th) are important in the IT sector, while challenging work (4th) and rapport with co-workers (9th) are decisive in the pharmaceutical industry. Companies in the automotive sector, a driver of growth in Hungary, can successfully attract Gen Y and Gen Z career starters by offering professional training (4th), and career advancement based on actual job performance (7th).

“The survey results show what job characteristics are important for prospective job seekers, who are still in secondary or higher education or are just starting their career. With these factors in mind, companies can prepare themselves to successfully attract future generations of employees,” said Zoltán Örkényi, Manager at People & Organisation, HR Consulting Services, PwC Hungary.

This year, PwC Hungary presented the Most Attractive Employer 2019 Award in ten industry categories, based on open-ended survey responses.

We assigned each employer that received a predetermined minimum number of votes to an industry category, and presented the awards to the top three finalists. It is therefore possible that there are less than three winners in a given industry.

PwC’s Most Attractive Employer 2019 Award industry category winners:

Automotive manufacturers:

1. AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt.
2. Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft.
3. BMW Manufacturing Hungary Kft.