Looking beyond the paycheck, here's what new college grads really want

At college job fairs, first impressions count for a lot. That's always been true for students, who do their best to radiate eagerness in chatting up an endless stream of campus recruiters. Lately, these have become tense, high-stakes moments for employers, too.

With U.S. unemployment now at a 50-year low of 3.6%, simply having available jobs isn't enough to dazzle anyone. It's up to employers to stand apart from the pack, by appealing to candidates' bigger goals in life, too. So earlier this year, at the giant UC-Berkeley job fair pictured above, it was quite fascinating to see heroic, aspirational slogans at each company's recruiting station.

"Let's create experiences that matter," Adobe proclaimed. "You can be you at work," ServiceNow countered. And from IBM: "Do your best work ever."

Granted, this was Berkeley, which is doubly famous for its ultra-high academic standards and its social activism. Still, this flurry of messaging about the higher purpose of work made me wonder: Have we moved beyond the days when employers competed mostly on perks and pay? Are we now in an era where students' growing desire to make a difference has become a leading factor in college recruiting?

It turns out my hunch was half-right. Market researchers at Universum recently surveyed 53,000 U.S. college students, asking about their career goals and their top priorities as they look for jobs. In that survey, students at elite, Ivy League-caliber schools said their top career goal is to be competitively or intellectually challenged. Another top-three goal: "To be dedicated to a cause or to feel that I am serving a greater good."

Even so, the literal Ivy League schools (and a few of their peers) are less than 5% of Universum's sample. Add in a full helping of mainstream colleges and less-selective schools, and it's a different story. Among Universum's much larger sample of all college students, work/life balance becomes the No. 1 career goal. Being "secure or stable in my job" ranks No. 2.

Once students are invited to build a longer list of everything they'd like from a job, then the list of desired attributes touches just about every imaginable category. Universum's list of all college students' near-term preferences in a job starts with stable employment and higher earnings. It goes on to include everything from professional training to inspiring purpose, a clear path for advancement and strong ethical standards.

In an interview earlier this year, Kevin Blair, IBM's vice president for global talent acquisition, covered the full sweep of what new hires might be looking for. He's proud of IBM's reputation for strong ethics; he's excited about the tech company's new initiatives to do more "new-collar" hiring of people who might not hold a college degree, but who have strong skills in both technical and non-technical areas.

But the distinction between nice-to-have and must-have shouldn't be overlooked. It's as if we've returned to the familiar pyramid of Maslow's hierarchy. We're in a two-track world where some students will feel secure enough, in terms of life's basics, to press ahead and look for jobs that offer them the most personal growth. For many others, that luxury isn't yet within reach.