Chinese college graduates' career choices: Huawei becomes the most attractive employer for science and engineering students, while state-owned enterprises remain the top choice.

According to the latest employment attractiveness survey results, Huawei has become the most sought-after employer brand among current Chinese business and engineering students.

Well-known workplace research firm Universum recently released for the first time the China data from its 2026 Global Talent Survey. This year's survey collected nearly 50,000 valid questionnaires from students at 130 key Chinese universities, covering young people from different academic backgrounds and stages of study, making the data highly valuable.

In addition to continuously tracking the real career aspirations and job preferences of China's future young talent, this survey also directly revealed the ranking of ideal career destinations for current Chinese university graduates after graduation, clearly reflecting the significant shifts in employment trends over recent years.

Huawei performed exceptionally well this year, reclaiming the top spot on the list. Not only has it maintained the number one position as the most attractive employer for engineering and science students for several consecutive years, but it has also made a strong return to the top of the list for business students, demonstrating a remarkable advantage in talent recognition across multiple disciplines.

The top rankings in other disciplines also align with general public perception. Tencent secured first place as the most attractive employer for humanities and social sciences students, while Hengrui Pharmaceuticals topped the list for the pharmaceutical discipline.

Survey data shows that for the first time this year, the overall recognition of state-owned enterprises surpassed that of private and foreign enterprises, becoming the most preferred first job destination for contemporary university graduates.

When comparing the respective advantages of the three types of enterprises, surveyed students noted that state-owned enterprises have established an excellent market reputation through stable job security systems and competitive benefit packages; private enterprises stand out with high-quality products and services and impressive market performance; while foreign enterprises have long attracted talent through technological innovation advantages and relatively flexible working conditions.

This year, Chinese university students' expected monthly salary for their first job after graduation saw a notable decline after two consecutive years of growth, with the overall average falling back below 10,000 yuan. This clearly demonstrates that contemporary students have adjusted their job expectations in line with the current employment market reality, adopting a more pragmatic approach to job seeking.

There is also a highly encouraging detail: the average salary expectations given by male and female participants in the survey showed virtually no gap, with no significant gender-based expectation difference.

This employer attractiveness ranking is entirely based on the genuine feedback of nearly 50,000 students across five major discipline categories—business, engineering, science, humanities and social sciences, and medicine—from the 130 key Chinese universities that participated in the survey, accumulating over 200,000 valid employer image assessments for nearly 300 mainstream companies.

Each participant answered in detail a series of questions related to their career preferences, development expectations, and future employment needs. The survey results also indirectly reflect that the career values of China's young talent are increasingly leaning toward pragmatism, with a greater willingness to choose platforms that can provide stable support for long-term personal growth.