What’s in a name?: Job seekers prefer not to tarnish their own ‘brand’

A well-known brand is likely to get as much as 20 times more respondents than a relatively unknown brand.

KARACHI:

Visibility is the key. Image is of primary importance now. Perception drives reality. It is not just about who you are, but more about what people see you as. Sounds like a lot of clichéd statements right there but it seems that these clichés are increasingly becoming the primary drivers of employment choices.

A recent survey conducted by ROZEE.PK with the assistance of YouGov indicates that the biggest factor that helps tilt employment decisions in favour or against companies is the strength of their brand. The results of the survey indicate that this is the case especially when younger people or those just entering the job market are making a choice about their careers.

Of course that is not the only factor. Prospective employees still do take into account the strength of the sector they are aspiring to join, or the returns and benefits they will be getting. But now one tends to hear the refrain, “it will look so good on my resume,” more than ever.

But it is by far the biggest factor. According to the results of the survey, a well-known brand is likely to get as much as 20 times more respondents in any category than an entity that is a relatively unknown brand.

Establishing a brand or putting a tangible value on a brand is not easy. Sure, it can be done analytically and there can be a monetary worth attached to it based on the financial worth of the company. But there are also so many intangibles attached to the value of a brand like prestige, visibility, brand recall, trust, and respect. And there is the ‘cool factor’ as well. There is pride.

It is very hard to place a monetary value on these attributes which at times are more important in establishing the worth of a brand.

According to the survey, Telenor is the top employer of 2012, and it is not even the market leader in its own segment, that honour goes to Mobilink. While the survey does not go on to elaborate the reasons for the choices made by the respondents the results do carry some surprises.

For example in the automobile sector as well, Toyota may be the more popular car, but most of the respondents showed a preference to working for Honda. And we have shown, in a previous survey that we reproduced that Honda has much better brand recognition and people attach more prestige with this name.

Reputation is a key factor. A recent study from Corporate Responsibility Magazine found that job seekers will, in many cases, - 90% to be precise - continue their job search rather than accept employment from a company with a reputation for poor business ethics. In today’s uncertain business climate, employees are looking at the future more and more, considering the implications of today’s work on tomorrow’s new job opportunity. Job seekers do not want to tarnish their own personal brand.

One might even assume that there is a certain snob appeal, or elitism that does come into play when people are making career choices, or deciding which brand would look better on their resume.

It is no surprise perhaps that that just one Pakistani private sector company, Engro Corporation Limited - country’s largest conglomerates with businesses ranging from fertilizers to power generation - makes it to the top ten ranking. The draw of ‘vilayiti’ as opposed to ‘desi’ is still strong.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2013.

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