Need a Job? 10 Places That Are Hiring Right Now

By Claudine Benmar, PayScale.com

When every day brings new headlines about layoffs and economic disaster, your job hunt may start to feel like searching for a four-leaf clover. In Death Valley. In August.

But many companies are stable and still looking for talent. Some are even expanding. In fact, when asked which of the big companies are still hiring despite the recession, BountyJobs CEO Jeremy Lappin had this encouraging answer: "All of them."

"Even companies in the most pain are hiring," he says. "They're just doing it more selectively. Really, truly talented people are always in demand."

BountyJobs, which connects employers to recruiters, currently lists 2,000 companies that need to hire right now. 

10 Examples of Companies Hiring: Looking for Employees:

Places that are Hiring: Google

http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/
For the second year in a row, Google was named Fortune magazine's top company to work for in 2008. "Googlers" enjoy stock options, gourmet cafeteria food and on-site massages. The company has hundreds of jobs listed for its 27 locations in the United States, including Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Places that are Hiring: Ernst & Young

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/US/_Careers_Home
Accounting firms provide crucial bean-counting services when money is tight. Ernst & Young, named a top employer by Fortune, Working Mother, and Diversity Inc., has more than 500 jobs currently open at various U.S. locations.

Places that are Hiring: Big Fish Games

http://www.bigfishgames.com/company/careers.html
This Seattle-based company, which develops, publishes and distributes online games, has multiple open positions. Peter Anderson, vice president of human resources, credits changing consumer behavior for the company's current growth. Online games are much less expensive than going out to the movies, for example. "If you do your research, you will find these funny, hidden little gems that expand rather than contract in bad economic times," he said. "It's a growth industry -- and a lot of fun."

Places that are Hiring: Guardian Life Insurance

http://www4.glic.com/glife/JobPostingServlet
Wall Street woes could mean a wealth of finance-savvy job candidates for this New York company, which plans to increase its current force of 3,000 financial representatives by at least 20 percent in 2009. These advisers work with clients to find insurance plans that best suit their needs - not only life insurance but also health, dental, 401K plans, and more. Guardian has 100 offices around the United States.

Places that are Hiring: Microsoft

http://members.microsoft.com/careers/default.mspx
It takes an army of software developers, product managers, editors and lawyers to keep Microsoft going. While the recession has prompted a review of hiring plans, according to a Microsoft spokesperson, the company still anticipates adding thousands of new jobs in 2009. "We will continue hiring the talent we need to ensure our ongoing success," the spokesperson said.

Places that are Hiring: Alpine Access

http://www.alpineaccess.com/external/careers/
This company, which provides phone-based customer service, tech support, and collections calls for clients like J.Crew and Office Depot, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, but its 7,500 employees all work from home. Alpine Access plans to hire over 1,200 people in 2009.

Places that are Hiring: Live Energy, Inc.

http://www.liveenergy.com/careers.php
Deregulated energy in Texas means that businesses can shop around for the best prices on electricity. Dallas-based brokerage Live Energy, Inc. provides energy advisors who help clients get those low prices. Since electricity is "undeniably recession-proof," company co-founder St. Clair Newbern IV said Live Energy is expanding and plans to add 100 new people to its sales force throughout the state.

Places that are Hiring: Novartis

http://www.novartis.com/careers/index.shtml
Thanks to the success of its new vaccine against human papillomavirus, this Swiss company is expanding operations in the Boston area, adding 150 people to a vaccine research facility in Cambridge in 2009. All told, the drug company has more than 600 jobs open at locations in the United States.

Places that are Hiring: Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/jobs/?ref=pf
If you've recently been "friended" by people you haven't seen in decades, it should come as no surprise that this social networking company is thriving. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Facebook has six other U.S. offices and dozens of job openings. As the company explains on its site: "We're looking for dynamic people that get excited by big questions and unsolved problems." Is that you? Confirm or ignore.

Places that are Hiring: Meetup

http://www.meetup.com/jobs/
Online social networking is great, but sometimes you just want to meet face-to-face. The web site Meetup.com, based in New York, helps more than 2,000 groups of people get together in real life in their own communities. Meetup has dozens of jobs available for software engineers, testers and bilingual customer service agents. (Parlez-vous Francais? Then apply tout de suite.)