Hey Everyone. As a lot of you probably know (or should know!) each year Fortune magazine goes through a rigorous process of selecting the 100 best companies to work for. It is based on various criteria and if your interested you can look at further break downs by things like company size and industry.
This is a great place to start your job search. I know, many of you snicker at how you would be able to get your resume looked at or, heaven forbid, get some face time at any of these firms, but there is a lot of value in lists like this.
1) It will familiarize you with firms that in some way are making a big impact in the business world. So take some time and take a closer look at some of the firms you don’t recognize. Do 3 minutes of research and learn their industry and strengths, and then move on to the next. It doesn’t have to be any in depth digging.
2) If you are having trouble finding a place to start in your career search, lists like this can be a good place. Go through the list and pick out those companies or particular interest to you, or if you are feeling ambitious about the job hunt APPLY TO THEM ALL. Check out the websites, see what they’re all about, and put yourself out there. Many of these firms aren’t the places that will come looking for you, but you could be what they are looking for. Spend some time crafting quality and specific cover letters and send your resume over to them. Many of these firms are getting thousands of the teir 1 Ivy League applicants, but that isn’t always what they want in this day and age. Diversify yourself and stand out from the bunch. Why are you a better choice.
3) This list in particular will help you to build standards around what you look for in a company. You should be interviewing companies as hard as they are grilling you. Find out why these companies made the cut, and build your short list of what you want to look for in companies, whether it be training programs, pay, benefits, work/life balance, environmental sustainability efforts, etc… Everyone has something different they are looking for, but if you don’t have anything then you have a good chance of ending up in a company you won’t like.
http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/100best-2009/100best-2009-list.php
FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® 2009
Great Place to Work® Institute produces FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® list. The list is co-authored by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz.
The List Publisher’s Site: FORTUNE Magazine
Rank / Company
1 NetApp
2 Edward Jones
3 The Boston Consulting Group
4 Google, Inc.
5 Wegmans Food Markets
6 Cisco Systems, Inc
7 Genentech, Inc.
8 The Methodist Hospital System
9 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
10 Nugget Market, Inc.
11 Adobe Systems Incorporated
12 Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)
13 Devon Energy Corporation
14 Robert W. Baird & Co.
15 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
16 QUALCOMM Inc
17 Principal Financial Group
18 Shared Technologies Inc.
19 OhioHealth
20 SAS
21 Arnold & Porter LLP
22 Whole Foods Market
23 Zappos.com, Inc.
24 Starbucks Coffee Company
25 Johnson Financial Group
26 Aflac Incorporated
27 QuikTrip
28 PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.
29 Quicken Loans
30 Bingham McCutchen
31 CARMAX
32 The Container Store
33 JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
34 Umpqua Bank
35 Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
36 Alston & Bird LLP
37 TDIndustries
38 Microsoft Corporation
39 Paychex, Inc.
40 EOG Resources, Inc.
41 Camden Property Trust
42 Plante & Moran, PLLC
43 Rackspace
44 NuStar Energy L.P.
45 King’s Daughters Medical Center
46 American Fidelity Assurance Company
47 DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.
48 Mattel, Inc.
49 Intuit Inc.
50 Burns & McDonnell
51 Ernst & Young LLP
52 Booz Allen Hamilton
53 Stew Leonard’s
54 Erickson Retirement Communities
55 salesforce.com
56 KPMG LLP
57 Novo Nordisk Inc.
58 PricewaterhouseCoopers
59 SCRIPPS HEALTH
60 Scottrade, Inc.
61 Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
62 Griffin Hospital
63 Mayo Clinic
64 Milliken & Company
65 Texas Instruments
66 The MITRE Corporation
67 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
68 Southern Ohio Medical Center
69 National Instruments
70 Stanley, Inc.
71 The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc.
72 Nordstrom
73 Chesapeake Energy Corporation
74 Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
75 Atlantic Health System
76 Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
77 Northwest Community Hospital
78 Marriott International, Inc.
79 Baptist Health South Florida
80 Bright Horizons Family Solutions
81 S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
82 Perkins Coie LLP
83 eBay Inc.
84 Juniper Networks
85 Arkansas Childrens’ Hospital
86 CH2M HILL
87 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
88 Publix Super Markets, Inc.
89 Herman Miller, Inc.
90 FedEx Corporation
91 Gilbane Inc.
92 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
93 Valero
94 Build-A-Bear Workshop
95 Kimpton Hotel and Restaurants
96 T-Mobile USA, Inc.
97 Accenture
98 Vanderbilt University
99 General Mills
100 SRA International
Jena joined the CSPD as the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Professional Development with over 4 years career services experience including a background in corporate recruiting. She is excited to work collaboratively with the Fox School students regarding career search strategies and hopes students gain some additional insight into the job search through “Opportunity Knocks”.
Kel is an undergrad majoring in Management Information Systems, graduating in 2010. He is very involved and hopes to share some of his experiences with other students. His goal is to motivate others to do their best. He believes that with a little inspiration you can get where you want to be. Through this blog, he wants to show you that opportunities are out there.