Technology major IBM and software exporter Infosys are among employers that are preferred the most by students pursuing engineering and various other graduate programmes, says a survey.

According to Firstnaukri.com report, part of job portal Naukri.com, IBM and Infosys feature among the top preferred employers by both B.E/B.Tech as well as graduate (BSc, BBA, BA and BCA) students. The survey covered more than 4,500 engineering and graduate students, who were asked about their employer preferences.

Among graduate students surveyed, Infosys and Wipro were preferred as employers by more than 29 per cent and 26 per cent participants, respectively. They are followed by IBM (over 25 per cent), HCL (22 per cent) and TCS (over 18 per cent).

"In case of engineering students, over 35 per cent of them ranked IBM as the most preferred employer. Infosys and TCS share the second position followed by Accenture," Firstnaukri.com said in a statement on Wednesday.

As per the survey, most of the respondents said that brand image of the company and growth prospects were the main factors in deciding on appearing for the campus placement selection procedure for a company.

Regarding their biggest influences during campus interviews, 35 per cent respondents said it was their seniors while about 22 per cent noted that they were influenced by their parents. "It is interesting to note that students hardly have any information about career opportunities or work culture in organisations. This is the reason students rely heavily on feedback from seniors and friends...," Firstnaukri.com's Business Head Deepali Singh said.