Hire Me! Hire Me!

Jobs and the economy are at the forefront of news today and have been for some time. College graduates are feeling the pain of a tough job market and a struggling economy. No one, however, gives up the hope of landing that dream job. What are the companies that every recent college graduate dreams of?

Apple has had a rough time lately with its stock price in a free fall and the widely publicized failure of its Maps feature. However, it remains a financial juggernaut, posting $13 billion in net income last quarter, making it the most profitable company in the world during that period. The company has its fanatical customer base, and it still refuses to compete on price, making the iconic iPhone and iPad products that are still widely seen as prestige devices. Who would not want to be hired by Apple, though?

Google, the Silicon Valley giant continues to be the most attractive place to work, placing first on LinkedIn’s Most in Demand Employers and Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For lists in 2013. Also, this year the Android OS is expected to overtake Apple’s iOS as the number one mobile operating system in the US and Canada; and Google Play is expected to overtake the Apple App Store in total number of apps for mobile and tablet.

There are few competitors in sight for the retail giant that is Amazon.com. With its low prices, efficient customer service and rapid geographical growth, it stands to become the largest beneficiary of the e-commerce industry boom. The company continues to take on a variety of competitors, going after Netflix’s streaming services, Google and Apple’s tablets.

Soda may be enemy number one in the public battle against obesity, but Coca-Cola is still highly desired by all segments of society. The company is tremendously popular overseas. In addition to this, Coke has posted double-digit sales growth in countries like India and Thailand. And if you are a health nut, Vitaminwater has been an extremely popular product for the health conscious.

The world’s largest coffee chain kicked off its astronomical rise in 1971 when it opened its doors as a small Seattle cafe. After the company was forced to close hundreds of stores in the wake of the financial crisis, Starbucks’ celebrity CEO, Howard Schultz, orchestrated a back-to-basics turnaround that led the company big post-recession growth. That momentum hasn’t slowed. Starbucks earned record $13.3 billion in revenue last year, a 14% increase from the year before.

Despite a challenging industry environment, IBM continues to deliver solid revenues across several segments, showing particularly strong growth in data analytics, cloud computing and emerging markets. It also posted an 11% increase in the growth markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China

Being hired by one of these is certainly comparable to “reeling in the big one”. These companies continue to flourish and attract wonderful talent. Good news for the job market but even better news if you are hired by one.

Source: CNNMoney. Cable News Network, Web. 28 Feb. 2013.