“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
A picture of the desert (the current job market) and a quote about building a forest from one acorn (that acorn representing the job you will get). The Fortune 500, successful companies by definition. But they didn’t start out in the Fortune 500, they got there one acorn at a time. When conducting your research as to which companies are on your list there are a number of things you need to take into consideration, but you also need to know how to research companies. There is a big difference between evaluating a company for investment purposes versus who you pick as your future employer. So, before we get started on the company reviews, a few links for reviewing companies.
> How to Quickly Research a Company – This article, by emurse.com, provides some good pointers on researching your next employer.
> DotCom VP: Company Research Beyond the Job Posting – A slightly different and interesting approach from IMdiversity.com.
But regardless of what companies you pick in your job search, take advantage of registering on company career sites. This provides the best chance for being “discovered” by a company that you selected. Back by very popular demand, a continuation of who’s hiring from the Fortune 500. The companies covered this week range from financial services to heavy equipment. There were over 400 job opportunities across these companies when I checked their career sites.
- Wells Fargo – Ranked at 41 (and tied with Sunoco), Wells Fargo did better than most in the recent financial meltdown. They also won the prize (over Citigroup) when they successfully bid for Wachovia. Their careers site leads with a company overview followed by four information sections: Life at Wells Fargo, Where You Fit, Undergrads & MBAs and Meet Our People. On the right hand side of the page is where you can find the meat of the job search section with Search for Jobs. There were over 150 job opportunities when I checked the site (150 is the search limit on this site).
- United Parcel Service – UPS, a well known name, is ranked 43 and has been impacted by the economic crisis due to a shrinking of the economy. Their main career page is a simple page where you need to select your location. Once you’ve selected you country you will be led to the welcome page. There is a comprehensive bio on the company in the top middle of the page. Above the company bio there are tabs for Students, Part Time Jobs, Benefits and more. On the left hand side of the page are links for Featured Jobs, Application and appointments. The bottom of the page lists functional opportunities. At the very top of the page are links for Job Search, Careers, Live @ UPS and more. Click on Job Search and pick your state, you are on your way. There is no way to check all available jobs across the US or any other country, you must check by each location. There were 51 professional job opportunities when I checked the site.
- Caterpillar – Ranked at # 44, this company is known for industrial and farm heavy equipment. Their careers page leads with a brief statement on the company followed by background on careers at the company. The top left hand side of the page has links for Job Opportunities, Why Caterpillar, How we Hire and Learning & Development. The center of the page has college internship openings, followed by recent college grad openings (yes, there are jobs for recent grads). Lastly, there is a section on Experienced Professional Positions (and a listing of functional areas). In the right hand side of the page is a link for “Search and apply for a job”. Click the link for search and apply to load the job search engine. There were 8 job opportunities when I checked the site.
- Medco Health Solutions – Medco is a pharmacy benefits manager and is ranked 45 on this year’s list. Their careers page is crisp and simple and leads with Career Opportunities with links for job search and diversity information. This is followed by company background. Click on “Search for exciting opportunities at Medco” and then Medco Career Website to reach the job search engine. There were 130 job opportunities when I checked the site.
- Pfizer – Ranked 46 with 86,000 people worldwide and the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer’s career site is has links to a broad range of information about working for the company including a “University Relations” section with a recruiting calendar and links to additional student resources. The center of their careers page lists a variety (with descriptions) of career opportunities. Clicking on “Working for Pfizer” takes you to a page where you can search for jobs and register.
Good luck in your search.
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