MBAs prioritize the factors which influence career choice into three tiers. The top tier is about people and the position. The second tier includes basic issues about performance. The third tier covers the company’s broader brand and values agenda – including activities which fall under the umbrella term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), such as ethics, community involvement and environmental responsibility.

While social responsibility and environmental policies are not the dominant factors, they are nonetheless important to this talent pool. The best candidates are clearly thinking about more than just paychecks when deciding on job offers. Social responsibility/community involvement is considered extremely or very important by nearly half (49%) of MBAs in their job choice, and environmental/green policy is similarly influential for one-third (34%) of MBAs.

This consideration to community outreach and green activities is significant. One would expect that very few MBAs would choose a job on CSR considerations alone. However this survey shows clearly that large sections of the talent pool place high emphasis on areas that previously would have been considered non-core to a business’ operation. This suggests that when corporations approaching these MBAs have very similar job offers, social responsibility efforts can tip the scales in a firm’s favor.

But does poor performance as a corporate citizen hurt a firm’s recruiting efforts? Yes, certain aspects of poor CSR can lead to the rejection of a job offer. Not treating employees well is by far the leading detractor with 87% of MBAs saying it would lead them to turn down an attractive job offer. One-third of MBAs say that not seeking to reduce its environmental impact (32%), or not having a useful role in society (32%), or not supporting good causes in society (27%) would also lead them to reject an attractive offer from a firm.

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