Dream Jobs: College Students Get Real

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Gillespie, who will be working for ORIX USA in its leverage finance group after graduation next month, says the problem his generation has is uncertainty. Many Millennials can't find work in a job market crowded with still-unemployed graduates from the Class of 2009, he says, adding that many expect to live with their parents after college.

While such practical matters as financial stability have to take precedence when times are tough, Millennials haven't completely given up on making a difference, nor do they expect recruiters to ignore the world's challenges. The U.S. State Dept., Peace Corps, Teach for America, National Institutes of Health, and the American Cancer Society all made the top 20, which speaks to undergraduates' desire to do good. "I look for a company that has values that align with my own," says Catherine Soler, a sophomore at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business (Mendoza Undergraduate Business Profile) who will be interning at the New York office of Deloitte in auditing. Soler was introduced to Deloitte, which came in at No. 12 in the Universum ranking, when she participated in its Maximum Impact program, which the company bills as an "alternative spring break." The program sent Soler to Houston for a week to help to clean up after Hurricane Ike.

Online Dimensions

The shifting sentiment among Millennials has recruiters changing their approach. For starters, every company must have a significant online presence, because that's how Millennials communicate. Ernst & Young, which ranked fifth, is considered a pioneer in recruiting online and was among the first to have a Facebook page. Now the page has 40,000 fans, says Dan Black, the Americas director of campus recruiting for Ernst & Young. The company offers virtual roundtable discussions with members of the firm and communicates via Twitter, too. "We also have several radio stations on Pandora," says Black. "Why? Because that's where the students are."

The most successful recruiters are creating smaller, more intimate events on campus. Microsoft (MSFT), No. 11 on the list, hosts Xbox competitions and Guitar Hero nights in addition to its information sessions. Many companies, including Ernst & Young, are giving students the opportunity to volunteer with them as a way of getting to know the culture. Disney, says Universum's Kelly, has been among the best at having ambassadors talk up its internship program.

One employer after another will tell you that this new group of employees is also more globally minded than any before it and opportunities abroad strike a chord. Both the Peace Corps, No. 8, and the U.S. State Dept., No. 6, boast of offering opportunities to learn a foreign language and live and work overseas. "It's a life experience. It's not a job," says Luis E. Arreaga, director of the Office of Recruiting, Examination, and Employment at State. "You're in it 24/7, but you're not a slave to it. It becomes part of your life."

Still, work-life balance has always been important to Millennials. New employees are looking to have well-rounded lives. "I'll be committed to a job," says Soler, the student at Mendoza. "But I need an employer to realize that there are other things I like to do."

When it comes to corporate social responsibility, recruiters say Millennials want companies with a real track record. "They want to see action," says Holly Paul, U.S. recruiting leader for No. 10 PricewaterhouseCoopers. "We have to show them we're more than just talk."

Di Meglio is a reporter for Businessweek.com in Fort Lee, N.J.

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