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

Phone interviews are often misread as being an easy alternative or substitute for a face-to-face interview. The argument can go both ways, but regardless they should not be underestimated for the significance they can have in your job search. Here are a few things you can do to step your game up on phone interviews:

• A mistake I made the first few times was trying to conduct the interview from my cell phone. Often times this is the only phone line college students have, and it seems like a natural decision. Do yourself a favor and find a land line to use for the interview. The service is far clearer and therefore one less distraction or thing to worry about in the moment. Try asking CSPD or a mentor or professor you have a close relationship with if you could borrow their office for 30-60 minutes. Tell them what it is for, they should be understanding.
• You obviously don’t need to worry about dress during a phone interview as much as you would with a face to face. However, often times I would still dress up in at least business casual or a tie to help get into the mental state. I’m not saying you need to suit up (although it might not hurt), but you would be surprised how much more focused and confident you will feel when dressed for the part.
• Bring the right tools. Just like a normal interview, you need to have all the right materials. Be sure to have a copy of your resume, a notepad and 2 pens for note taking and a list of typed questions for the interviewer. You might want to print out some high-level facts about the company in case they ask what you know about the company.
• An easy mistake to make is to not record the interviewer’s name. It is often the first thing said and is in one ear and out the other. Before you even dial the phone number, write on the top of your notes “NAME:________” and be ready to write it down. If you don’t get it at the beginning it is often hard to capture later on. At the end, you will want to ask for their email address as well so that you can follow up with a thank you for their time.
• Always have questions. For any type of interview this is crucial, but awkward silence over the phone seems to last about 10 times as long, so don’t get caught empty handed.
• Be confident. Sit up straight and project your voice. It is harder to express yourself and personality over the phone rather than in person, but it is not impossible. Avoid going too over the top but don’t sound like a monotone rock either. Sound excited about having the opportunity - the enthusiasm and sense of professionalism will let them know you want the job.
• Take notes so you can reference them throughout the interview if necessary, but also to reference for later interviews or in follow up thank you letters.

Throughout my four years at Temple I’ve accumulated a few hundred business cards, and most anyone that knows me has seen, borrowed, or utilized my binder stash collection. Collecting business cards must be done with tact. When you meet someone, you can’t just walk up and request their business card. You need to give them a reason to want you to have their business card.  Begin my building some type of relationship. Introduce yourself and let them know if you are interested in something they are offering - a job, a product, a contact, a mentor, a friend. Ask about them - their position, location, experience, history, alma mater - anything to get them talking and build conversation around. Be sure that when you finally ask for the business card, let them know why you are asking for it, whether it be to follow up about an interview or to involve them in a speaker presentation for the organization you’re an officer of. After you leave the interaction, write down on the back of the card the date, time, and place that you met this person for later reference. Later that day, if the contact is someone valuable, email them and let them know you enjoyed the conversation you had. You may want to reference some part of the conversation to both remind them who you are and let them know you were engaged.  If your relationship is stretched over a period of time, reach out to this person every once in awhile to maintain the relationship you developed. Let them know skill sets you’ve built since the last time you talked or significant activity in your professional development.  And what about giving out your business cards? This is a grey, situation-by-situation topic. My recommendation is try to collect more than you give out. I think it is great to have business cards with your contact information on it, but there aren’t too many reasons a recruiter needs one. All the information they need about you is on your resume. Business cards are great for giving to colleagues and peers and to help build your brand, but it is not recommended to pass them to recruiters unless they specifically ask to see one or have one. Get some, and take them to conferences or speed networking sessions, but at job fairs don’t be too free with them. You are better off passing your resume around.

Whether it be a networking session, an information session, a dinner or cocktail hour, something formal or un-formal - it doesn’t matter, you need to be there. From the internships I’ve had and job I’m in, I’ve talked to recruiters and know the importance of this interaction touch point. If you don’t yet have an interview scheduled, this is the perfect time to meet the recruiters and people that will be interviewing you. Get on their good side. Let them hear your career interests and experience. Get them a copy of your resume. Let them know that you want their job. I know these events don’t always fall on the most opportune times, but you need to understand that they are committing their time as well. You need to sacrifice and prioritize your schedule to make these events, because there is no doubt they are keeping track of who they see. If for some reason you absolutely can’t make an event, reach out to the appropriate resource and explain why you could not and that you are still very interested in speaking with them and learning about their opportunities. This is a huge step in getting your name and resume into their heads and hands.

I fully understand what life is like on the often minimal budget of a college student. Furthermore, I know that for most of us, spending a significant amount of money on dress shoes does not seem too appealing. Trust me on this one, you are doing yourself a disservice but not suiting up with the proper footwear. As a sophomore, I saved for about a month to buy a pair of dress shoes for about $300. They are black Johnston & Murphy shoes that I got with the Temple discount at Jos Banks in center city. Even my parents almost fainted when they found out, but these shoes are still supporting my professional endeavors nearly 3 years later. When kept polished, they are the perfect blend of professional and sharp. They are not overwhelming. Most importantly though, they make me look like I could be doing a job 3 levels higher than the one I’m applying for. They instill confidence that helps shine through in interviews and business interactions. Whether the interviewer notices your nice kicks or not, it is something you know you will not need to worry about and can only help you. And yes - I have talked to plenty of recruiters that will not hire you if your shoes are scuffed. Shine your shoes before every single interaction.

Okay, so for any of you that haven’t seen this episode of South Park, I apologize for the reference, and hopefully I’ve brought at least a hint of humor to those of you that have seen it. But I digress…let’s talk jobs.I have written thus far mostly about my experiences entering the real world, and at this moment it’s about 7:00am from a satellite office in Washington DC, where I will be working on a project for the next few months. Pretty exciting stuff, but I’ll have plenty of time to tell you what business travel is all about.

In this entry, I wanted to talk about what, in the business world, are called “Best Practices”. These are the steps that lead you to accomplish whatever it is your undertaking in the highest performing fashion and hopefully end in you achieving your goal. As good of a month as October is for drinking too much Oktoberfest, it is the time you need to start thinking about finding your job or internship for next summer.

Whoa…seriously? 7-8 months in advance? Talk about an over-achiever. I know it sounds ridiculous, and I say this without any formal documentation to back it up, but I would bet from experience about 85% of the best companies have already started looking. By Christmas most of those companies will have their entire lineup of internships or new-hires in stone. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of companies that will still be hiring in the spring, but you will be very much limiting yourself by not beginning to look now.

So what steps should you be taking right now to find that right job? Sure there are lots of career fairs that help a great number of Fox students get jobs, but don’t be afraid to be active in your pursuit. There are thousands of companies hiring across the country for every type of job you could imagine. From my time at Temple, from talking to friends at other schools, and from emails I get daily about professional development, the problem I see most is that people get so stressed out. The key is to own this part of your life. You have worked hard (or not worked hard…) to get to where you are, and now is the time to present yourself and get a job that wont leave you comatose for the next XX number of years.

Take some time, and think about what you want to do. Spend an hour a day for a week brainstorming what your dream companies are. This is truly as simple as creating a list in Microsoft Word. Think about interests, locations, values, company size, industry, and past experiences to help you come up with ideas. When I did this at the beginning of my senior year, I came up with 127 companies that I could see myself working for. I didn’t do much research, but rather just off-the-cuff notions. I had a lot of companies in the music industry, outdoors industry, entertainment industry, fashion industry, consulting world, technology….I had every aspect of my interests covered. I kept this list open and still added to it and crossed things out up until I signed my offer letter.

Once you have your dream list prepared, spend some time going through them once again. You might reevaluate some, cross some off, add a few more, and all of that is okay. At this point the serious work starts. Make sure your resume is up to date and flawless, and then draft a general cover letter. There are examples on the CSPD website you can use as a basis. The key to a cover letter is making it relevant to the employer. So start going down your list of companies and visit their website, read about them in the news, and see what job opportunities there are for you. In a lot of cases you will be able to apply right on the website. I was always weary of this process, so sometimes you need to get creative. I would print my cover letter and resume and sometimes just mail it to a senior marketing figure or the head of HR if I could find the contact information. You never know what could come out of going the extra step. With each company, pick out what they are looking for in job candidates or what specific positions are requiring. Incorporate your relevant skill sets or experiences in your cover letter to tell them you’d be a good fit.

This takes serious dedication but it pays off. I remember spending every waking moment doing this, it was a full time job on top of my school work and internship, but it paid off. Whenever you have free time (or just make the free time…this is your career after all) try to pump 5-10 of these out. Just when you think nothing is coming through, you’ll begin hearing back. If you continue doing this in addition to attending Temple and Philly job fairs you are taking the right steps. Next thing I knew I was scheduling trips to NYC, Boston, and San Francisco. Never give up, if you’ve worked hard things will pay off for you. It is just a matter of getting yourself out there, jobs hardly ever come to you.

If you have any questions about this or anything else, feel free to email me at Andrew.J.Hagerman@gmail.com and I’d be glad to help.

The cab was floating at around 80mph at the ripe hour of 3:30am, as any good Philly cabbie would be on I-95 towards the airport. It was time. The real world was beginning after 3 months and 17 days of unpaid, unadulterated summer. I was en-route to Orlando for 2 weeks of training, before I’d spent anytime in my base Philadelphia office. Admittedly I was feeling a bit nauseous; perhaps it was the nerves finally striking as I metaphorically drove into my future; more likely though is that it was those hot dogs I’d been grilling up until about 12:30am the night before, struggling to live out the last crucial hours of freedom before I suited up. (more…)

Hello, my name is Andy Hagerman and I will be graduating in May 2008 with a BBA in marketing and international business. Wait a second…May 2008? Doesn’t that mean? Strike that…

Hello, my name is Andy Hagerman and I ALREADY graduated in May 2008 with a BBA in marketing and international business. I’m a nostalgic guy, so the whole closing one chapter to open the next thing never worked out so well for me.

I grew up in York, Pennsylvania and declared marketing and IB (international business) my second semester freshman year. I got involved in a lot of different activities and tried to take on a lot of leadership roles, mostly to get a better grasp on what direction I wanted to go. (more…)