Google Outshines Apple On the Jobs Front

Google and Apple -- THE two dominant tech titans (does anyone ever talk about Microsoft anymore?) -- fight over everything. They are embroiled in an epic battle waged on multiple fronts, including video distribution across the web and in the mobile world. One critical front is the battle for top talent. And, here, interestingly -- and perhaps a bit unexpectedly -- Google is winning the war for now.

According to a recent report quoted by The Wall Street Journal, an amazing 1 in 4 "young professionals" (defined as college grads with 1-8 years of work experience) wants to work for Google. Meanwhile, only about half that number -- roughly 13% -- consider Apple to be a top choice of employers. Disney comes in third with about 9 %. And, interestingly, the U.S. State Department comes in fourth -- ahead of Amazon and Microsoft, among others. To be clear, the survey doesn't come without its flaws -- only 150 companies were identified (with Facebook being one notable omission). Nevertheless, it is an interesting data point of overall mindshare.