Consulting and banking may be very popular career choices, but it was Google that was chosen as the most desirable company to work for by MBA students for the second year in a row. These are the results of a new survey by Universum Communications.

Almost a quarter of the 5,769 students who participated in the survey named Google among the top five most desirable companies to work for after graduation. The survey covered students at 52 business schools. Mc Kinsey and Co. and Goldman Sachs came in second and third.

Google's director of global university programs Yvonne Agyvei says that what attracts so many MBA students to Google is that they “really get a lot of responsibility right at the outset. MBAs are looking for the opportunity to make an impact.”

Even though competition for a job with Google is fierce, with MBA students applying in thousands, Google hired hundreds of new MBAs last year alone.

Claudia Tattanelli, CEO of Universum North America, says that the search engine has become a “worldwide name, it is global and it recruits only the best,” adding that the company also treats its employees very well and in fact “has revolutionized how employees are treated. They are famous for keeping employees happy.”

Here are the top 10 companies and percentages of MBA students who listed them: 

1. Google 23.65%

2. McKinsey and Co. 15.84%

3. Goldman Sachs 14.98%

4. Apple 13.68%

5. The Boston Consulting Group 12.12%

6. Bain & Company 10.81%

7. Walt Disney 8.83%

8. Nike 8.82%

9. Deloitte 8.11%

10. J.P. Morgan 7.94%

Consulting firms in the top 100 include Merrill Lynch (#18), Ernst & Young (#22), Booz Allen Hamilton (#25), PricewaterhouseCoopers (#35), Accenture (#38), KPMG (#51), Mercer Management Consulting (#83) and A.T. Kearney (#96).

To apply for the latest consultant roles, please visit our IT consulting job board.

A considerable number of senior executives are starting careers in consulting and considering this to be a good way to transition into retirement, according to a recent survey by California-based staffing firm Robert Half International.

The firm surveyed 1,400 chief financial officers from randomly selected U.S. companies. 75 percent of them said that they considered consulting to be a viable post-retirement career choice, mainly because of the shorter working hours and additional retirement income.

48 percent of the CFOs included in the survey thought that the idea of moving to consulting was “somewhat attractive” and 27 percent found it “very attractive.”

Paul McDonald, executive director at Robert Half Management Resources, said:

“Consulting enables experienced professionals to maintain many of the benefits of work, including challenging assignments, competitive compensation and intellectual stimulation, while still allowing time to pursue personal interests,” adding that the expertise and industry experience of former executives is something employers could definitely benefit from. 

Find the latest career opportunities in consulting on the TopITconsultant.com job board.  

Management consulting careers website Top-Consultant announced the launch of a new consulting careers guide this week.

The definitive careers guide for the consulting industry in the UK will be produced in cooperation with Kingsham Press.

The publication will be launched in the late summer in hardback and as a PDF document.

As invaluable resource for consultants, the consulting careers guide will feature a directory of consulting employers in the UK – both high profile consulting brands and boutique consultancies.

Some of the biggest names in the consulting sector – more than 60 consulting firms – have already submitted entries in the directory section and the number is expected to exceed 150 consultancies by the time the careers guide is published.

Top-Consultant Founding Director Tony Restell says:

“Nowhere else can consulting candidates find such an exhaustive list of employer details, making the guide a must-read in our industry.”

Along with the directory, the guide will contain a number of articles that will provide insights into the consulting market and recent industry trends in the UK, advice on writing a good CV and job interview techniques.

Top-Consultant's careers guide will be updated every two years.

IBM and Oracle are teaming up to produce specialized, easy-to-use enterprise application solutions for their midmarket customers.

The new project will be developed by the IBM Oracle Consulting Practice, the branch of IBM that already implements Oracle solutions for its clients. The two companies have collaborated many times, but this is their first joint project that is aimed at the midmarket and at delivering the much needed functionality to midsize businesses.

Forrester Research analyst Ray Wang says: "In companies of 1,000 employees or less, IBM has made significant inroads from a hardware perspective, but IBM Global Services has been more focused on the high end of enterprise consulting and rarely focuses on the midmarket."

The first Oracle-based application to come out of the project will be the IBM Express Industrial Manufacturing Solution for Oracle Accelerate. It will be followed by several other solutions for Oracle Accelerate for high technology businesses.

The applications will be developed and implemented by IBM and they will run on the company's hardware. Other than being easier to use, they will also be simpler to implement and maintain.

Brian Mitchell, Global and Americas Oracle Leader at IBM Global Business Services, says: 

"This agreement represents an important milestone in IBM's continuing commitment to deliver targeted industry solutions to our valued midsize clients. We look forward to teaming with Oracle to bring innovative business solutions to this important joint client base."

The global business consultancy Bain & Company has announced the opening of its new, 38th international office in Dubai.

The office will be the base of operations for Bain's business dealings in the Middle East, where the company has had a growing number of clients in recent years.

Jean-Marie Péan, who has worked in the region for several years, has been appointed managing director of Bain & Company Middle East. Péan has chalked many successes with Bain for almost two decades. He opened the company’s Brussels office in 1990 and helmed the Paris office until 2001.

“Bain has had the privilege of working with some of the leading companies in the region, helping generate enduring business results while strengthening our client teams,” said Péan.

“Our Middle East office will allow us to better serve the growing needs of the region. I am confident that with our teams’ passion for results, global capabilities and expertise, we will help create outstanding stories for our clients in the Middle East.”

Two senior partners will join Péan in the Dubai office. Julien Faye has been appointed as the Head of the Middle East Financial Services and Private Equity Practices and Naji Sourati the Head of the Middle East Telecommunications, Media and Technology Practice.

"Opening an office in the Middle East is a natural step in our continuing expansion in the GCC and Egypt. We have been working with companies in the region since the mid-90s and have a strong client base and local knowledge. Opening our office in Dubai is an important milestone in our commitment to the region," said Bain’s worldwide managing director Steve Ellis.

Top-Consultant has recently published the 2008 Recruitment Channel Report, which contains the results of a survey of more than 250 consultancy recruiters and over 1,150 candidates (including IT/technology consultants), conducted in recent months. Among other things, the survey covers application trends, candidate preferences, hiring expectations for this year, the most frequent reasons why consultants changed jobs and an assessment of different recruitment strategies.

In December and January, consultants and candidates were asked to vote on the best recruitment agencies. The full results of the poll can now be seen in the Recruitment Channel Report.

Here are the top ten recruitment agencies (by reach/percentage of applications):

1. Consulting Point (12.0)

2. EM Consulting (9.0)

3. Michael Page (8.6)

4. Prism (6.0)

5. BLT (5.8)

6. Aston Carter (5.4)

7. Selecture (4.6)

8. Astbury Marsden (4.5)

9. The Shilston Partnership (2.8)

10. Hays (2.7)

To see the results of other recruitment polls, please visit Top-Consultant and download the Management Consultancy Recruitment Channel Report for 2008.