We know: Looking for a great new gig is tough. Even if you find positions that fit the bill, who's to say that the company will be the place you want to spend 40+ hours each week?
Well, we're here to help. In fact, that’s precisely why we created The Muse—a peek into some of the most inspiring places to work across the country. But to give you a head start, here are 10 companies that we know you'll love. How? Their employees told us so.
Chegg
Where: Santa Clara, CA
What: Founded by a college student grappling with high education costs, Chegg provides students with textbook rentals, online homework help, scholarship tools, and everything else they need to take control of their education.
Why Employees Love It: Besides the fact that they truly believe in the work they’re doing, staffers love Chegg for its an open, collaborative atmosphere, close-knit team, and unlimited time off policy.
Work at Chegg
Where: Menlo Park, CA
What: Everyone’s favorite social network. Enough said.
Why Employees Love It: Facebook wants creativity and productivity to thrive, so it offers tons of benefits to make employees’ lives easier in and outside of the office. Team members are provided with free transportation and dry cleaning, financial assistance with childcare, and a state-of-the-art-gym—not to mention free meals and unlimited snacks.
Work at Facebook
Squarespace
Where: New York
What: Squarespace makes creating beautiful websites easy—even for inexperienced web users.
Why Employees Love It: When Squarespace employees say they call their co-workers family, they mean it. Everyone on the team gets taken care of—right down to the office mini Schnauzer, Panda. And the team works together and plays together—whether they’re making funny slideshows for support meetings or recognizing an employee’s birthday.
Work at Squarespace
Groupon
Where: Chicago
What: What began as a humble daily deal site has grown into much more, with new products like Groupon Getaways, Groupon Now, and Groupon Rewards.
Why Employees Love It: Not surprisingly, Groupon’s an entertaining place to work. From a corporate “humor team” to conference rooms named “No Diggity,” to embroidered green track jackets for each employee, the company infuses fun into everything it does.
Work at Groupon
Uber
Where: San Francisco
What: Uber’s an on-demand car service that’s shaking up transportation in 20+ cities around the world. Customers use an app to connect with the nearest driver—and have their ride show up within minutes.
Why Employees Love It: Workdays are interspersed with games of ping-pong or foosball, and happy hour is rarely missed. But staffers work just as hard as they play: “You want to be exposed to as much as possible, as early on as possible in your career,” says one employee. “You get that at Uber.”
Work at Uber
LivingSocial
Where: Washington, DC
What: Working with local businesses to bring them new, enthusiastic customers, LivingSocial fosters partnerships that it translates into great deals for its members.
Why Employees Love It: “LivingSocial is a great place to work for many reasons, but I think the people make it truly amazing! Smart, passionate and more!” said a recent tweet. “Even when the clock stops, people are still here socializing, helping each other out, and enjoying the atmosphere,” adds Account Manager Nicolle McCarty.
Work at LivingSocial
Xero
Where: San Francisco
What: Xero is revolutionizing the way small businesses view accounting. With a beautiful, cloud-based product suite, the company makes it easy for business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers to manage their finances.
Why Employees Love It: Despite working in the traditionally buttoned-up industry of accounting, the Xero makes fun a priority. Co-workers regularly catch sunshine in a nearby park, plan golfing trips, attend happy hours, and plan inter-departmental ambushes with Nerf guns.
Work at Xero
Method
Where: San Francisco
What: Method is on a mission to fight dirty: The company makes a line of household cleaners and personal care products that are safe for people and for the planet.
Why Employees Love It: Because it’s weird. (Think an annual prom night and office banana suits.) Method’s team members embrace their unorthodox sides, and even ask interviewees the question, “How will you keep Method weird?” Explains Arts & Crafts Designer Mia Croft, “At Method, awesome grows from weird.”
Work at Method
TNTP
Where: New York
What: TNTP helps America’s kids get the education they deserve: The organization helps schools, districts, and states hire and hold on to great teachers and build systems that prioritize effective teaching.
Why Employees Love It: The company values openness (it encourages all employees to give feedback to leadership) and diversity. “TNTP is a place where anybody can thrive regardless of what your background is,” says Site Manager Sara Bokhari. “As long as you’re passionate about education.”
Work at TNTP
Intel
Where: Arizona, Oregon, and more
What: Intel is a world leader in computing innovation, building the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices.
Why Employees Love It: At Intel, it’s not at all uncommon to take one job, and then find it leads to another one—without ever leaving the company. “Intel feels very homegrown, it feels very small, and you feel very agile,” says staffer Greta Yin. “You’re not burdened with the bureaucracy that people might assume.”