Jobs from the Best, Biggest and Most Admired Companies – Vol I

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” – Harry Truman

My first major in college was music. My “dream” was to be a successful entertainer. The definition of “success”, of course, is much like the definition of “happiness”. It is a personal definition that is particular to the individual (“one man’s success is another man’s hell”). When reality hit and I realized that I was not likely to make a living as an entertainer any time soon, I did the next best thing – I worked for an entertainment company doing an entry level accounting job. To me this was the next best thing – if I couldn’t be an entertainer, maybe I could still be involved in the entertainment industry. In the short term it was an interesting experience. In the long term, it was not a viable career option for me (but that’s a story for another time).

So, if you could work at any company in the world, what would it be? I’m assuming you know, regardless of whether you’ve told anyone else or it is your deep dark secret (I already told you mine). Hopefully, your dream company is on your targeted job search list for the right reasons.  Maybe they specialize in what you do (or what you would like to do). Whatever the reason, there should be some logic behind your choice. Some of us would like to work for the most admired companies in the world, while other prefer the biggest or most innovative. Continue Reading

Top Picks for Job Search – Companies on “The List”

“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.” – Hunter S. Thompson

So when you look for job opportunities, do you just do a search based on job openings or do you have a “list”? If you are now thinking “what list?” then this post is for you. So, just like today’s quote, getting the right job is worth doing right. Part of your plan for job search should include making a list of companies where you would like to work. Not to say that you should only consider the companies on your preferred company list, but the list should form a large part of your foundation for job search. Of course, lots of work goes into coming up with your preferred list. Today’s post is a first in series of “Top Pick” lists and will help with some of your research. Continue Reading

Voted 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2006

It was announced yesterday morning. It was astounding news. It is the grist of retention and healthy corporate culture fundamentals. The announcement was made by Working Mother magazine CEO Carol Evans regarding the 100 best companies to work for in 2006, the most mom friendly.
Now it is true that this site is dedicated to serving the interests of college students and recent college graduates. However, those populations are not entirely your traditional student. With the fact that so many are admitting that a degree is important to one’s career opportunities and advancement, many are either returning to university after a break or embarking on studies at a more mature age. So it’s not entirely unreasonable for us to be interested in companies that address parent-friendly issues. In fact, the criteria for making the list are: (a) flexibility, (b) leave time for new parents, (c) child care, (d) elder care, and the (e) number of women occupying top jobs.
Likewise, college students do start families while in school. Additionally, there are women who have left the workforce in order to raise familites for a time and are now ready to re-enter the workforce. These populations have dual priorities: (a) where to work that will be healthy for one’s career and (b) where to work in order to have an environment that bends to the demands of raising the next crop of responsible and focused workers.

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