Jobs Galore: Top Employers Have Thousands of Openings

Corporate America is sending out a hiring call.

By
ALAN FARNHAM
January 24, 2011, 11:30 AM ET
3 min read

Jan. 24, 2011 -- Need a Job? Corporate America is hiring.

That's the good news from Fortune magazine. As part of its annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the magazine profiles 25 companies that have openings for 700 or more new hires each--a total of 137,000 jobs. All told, the top 100 firms on the magazine's list have 150,000 openings.

These include high-paying jobs, jobs with great perks and others just plain wacky.

Though many of the openings are in high tech, traditional industries are hiring, too. Wegmans Food Markets, for example, has current openings for 2,000. The company ranks No. 3 on Fortune's list overall. The chain plans to open three new stores in 2011, with jobs in customer service, manufacturing and distribution. They're also hiring chefs. Kevin Stickles, Wegman's vice president of human services, says, "We look for people who smile, are enthusiastic, eager to learn and in turn want to teach others."

Data storage company NetApp, No. 5 on Fortune's list, has openings for 2,500. All kinds of jobs are open, but the company especially needs engineers and sales people. Software engineer is the job title with the most openings (350). NetApp's director of global staffing tells Fortune she is looking for people who have shown an ability to go above and beyond what's expected and who will feel comfortable working in a collaborative culture. She urges anyone thinking of applying to do their homework by acquiring an understanding of NetApp's product lines, culture and history.

Of the 25 companies on Fortunes' list, the best-paying jobs include these:

  • Senior Account Executive, Salesforce.com: $318,323. The software provider, No. 52 on Fortune's list, pays hefty bonuses to its salespeople. These include a twice-yearly Mahalo (Hawaiian for thank you) bonus of up to 140 percent of the target payout. Top performers get perks that include a $5,000 "Breakfast at Tiffany's" shopping spree.
  • Senior Oncology Sales Specialist, Millennium: $166.354. The Cambridge, Mass., biopharma company (No. 56) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's Takeda Oncology Company and rewards employees with stock as well as cash. Perks include a tuition benefit of up to $10,000 a year, food deliveries from a farm, and an unlimited sick-pay policy that says "if you're sick, stay home until you feel better."
  • Analyst, Goldman Sachs: $160,000. A high salary is just one of the rewards. Nearly 40 percent of employees have access to "wealth creation opportunities" that let them profit from the firm's investments. Every year for more than 65 consecutive years, Goldman has funded employee retirement plans. The current contribution is 401(k) matching contribution of up to 4 percent of salary, capped at $9,800.

    • Got a mole you'd like removed? Gas producer Chesapeake Energy (No. 32) offers employees an onsite medical center with a full range of dermatology services, including cancer screenings, Botox injections and lesion removal. A fitness center has seven tanning beds—which would seem to be at odds with lesion removal, but what the heck.

    Fortune's list also includes some dream jobs and others just plain silly.

    The former include being a Field Test Analyst for REI (No. 9 Recreational Equipment, Inc.). Adam Hockey, who gets to wilderness-test the company's sleek gear, including ski and climbing equipment, calls his job "supercool." And this time of year, it certainly must be.

    Not so cool is the Duck Guy's job at insurer Aflac (No, 57). A quacking duck appears in the company's commercials, and six real live ducks inhabit the company's campus in Columbus Georgia. It's the job of security guard Bill Zimmerman to look after them. He feeds them, waters them, and puts them to bed at night. He cleans their pens. "It's like caring for a kid," he tells Fortune. "That's what I call them is my kids. If I have to leave Aflac for any reason, hopefully they'd let me take one of the ducks with me."