But there's a drawback to working for a company where employees want to stay for the long haul, points out one Nestlé Purina employee. "People never leave, so there's not a lot of opportunity to grow or move around," the employee complained anonymously on Glassdoor.
That's likely to change over the next few years, says Steve Degnan, who oversees human resources for Nestlé Purina's North America division. (The company also has nearly 2,500 employees in Latin America.) A high percentage of the company's employees are baby boomers, he says, who will likely retire in the next five to 10 years, offering plenty of room for other employees to grow and for the company to hire new workers.
"I would not mistake being recognized for work-life balance for a lack of intensity," Degnan says. "You walk into our building and you can see and feel a level of comfort, but it's still a passionate, intensively competitive [environment]."
[See The 50 Best Careers of 2011.]
Interested in working for one of these companies? Here are a few ideas for how to get your foot in the door (follow the links for tips on each job-search strategy):
Use your online network. Look up the company on LinkedIn to see whether any of your contacts work there. Do the same on Facebook, using new networking tool In the Door. Having a personal recommendation can go a long way toward helping you get noticed.
If you don't have a contact, make one. Check to see whether the company or their recruiting arm is on Twitter, and work to establish a relationship. Or research the company's employees on LinkedIn to find out where they interact, both in person and online, and show up there to get to know them. (Hint: If you take this route, build relationships before going in for the kill.)
Pitch the company. Rather than waiting for an opening, contact the company and tell them why they should hire you.
Check out the company's advertised openings. Find the company's Careers page on their website or LinkedIn profile to learn whether any of their openings fit what you're looking for. Glassdoor also lists open positions for each company.
[For more job-search advice, visit U.S. News Careers.]
Here's Glassdoor's full list of companies with the best work-life balance:
1. Nestlé Purina Petcare Company
2. MITRE
3. SAS Institute
4. FactSet
5. United Space Alliance
6. Slalom Consulting
7. Facebook
8. Morningstar
9. Susquehanna International Group
10. Colgate-Palmolive
11. Mentor Graphics
12. Autodesk
13. Sheetz
14. Agilent Technologies
15. Turner Broadcasting
16. Dupont
17. Southwest Airlines
18. General Mills
19. Biogen Idec
20. Scottrade
21. Chevron
22. Synopsys
23. MTV Networks
24. Intuit
25. National Instruments
Twitter: @USNewsCareers
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Craig Fery of WA 3:58PM October 25, 2012
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