Best Companies to Work For

FORTUNE is out with its annual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Six of those companies are either headquartered in Massachusetts or have a large office in the state. They are as follows:

• Bingham McCutchen
• Boston Consulting Group
• Bright Horizons
• Genzyme
• MITRE
• Nixon Peabody

If your goal in 2006 is to change employers, why not work for the best? A more comprehensive listing of Best Places to Work is available from the Boston Business Journal. Three of the employers -- Brigham McCutchen, Bright Horizons, and Genzyme -- appear on both lists.

A few of the benefits that elevate an employer to Best Company status include the following:

• Health care
• Child care
• Work-life balance
• Telecommuting
• Sabbaticals
• Unusual perks

The best way for worker to be attractive to a Best Company is to set goals to become a Best Worker at your current company. Here are three things you can do to improve your employment prospects in 2006:

• Identify one way in which you add value for your current company -- either by generating revenue or reducing expenses -- and then document your performance.
• Issue a press release about a recent award you've won for your superior performance -- every one of the six Best Companies have posted press releases about their FORTUNE award.
• If you don't have a personal Website to post your press release, build one!

When you are ready to begin contacting companies, the Web Apprentices Career Center stands ready to help with your efforts.