Article Contributed by: CareerAlley

What is a “blind” application? This is where you send your resume (or register on a company career site) without a specific job match / application (as opposed to selecting a specific job opportunity and applying for that). One ratio to consider when applying “blind” to companies is the volume of applications they get (versus the total number of job opportunities at that company). Obviously the better viewed companies (and that can be any of the companies on a “best” list) have a very high ratio of applications received versus the number of jobs. So, while I do highly recommend registering at company career sites, the hit rate is bound to be very low if you are not applying for a specific job. So, where are those jobs? Read on.

• Stanley – IT Consultant Stanley is ranked 70 (up from 84 last year). With more than 4,600 employees, they added 1,763 jobs last year (amazing) which represents 65% job growth in one year (also amazing). Their career page starts with a brief overview of the company with a link to current jobs openings. On the right hand side of the page are links to view openings, FAQs, culture and employee benefits. Click on View Openings to access the search engine. When I checked, there were more than 170 job opportunities.
• Men’s Wearhouse – Ranked 71 (and new to the list), this retailer has 1,177 stores, over 16,000 employees and added 128 jobs last year. Their main career page starts with a piece on joining their team. On the right hand side is are links to advantages for joining. Bottom center divides the job opportunities into two pieces: Store Positions and Other Positions with further definition of opportunities below each category. There is no overall search function, you will need to click through each of the categories that appeal to you.
• Nordstrom – Another retailer, Nordstrom ranked 72 on the list (down from 36 last year). They have over 49,000 employees and added 2,421 jobs last year. Their main career page has a quick search on the right hand side, Store Openings and Career Paths below with New Opportunities directly below the quick search. A generic search on quick search yield ed 419 jobs when I checked the site.
• Chesapeake Energy – This energy company is ranked 73 (down from 61 last year). Their headquarters are in Oklahoma City and they have over 6,800 employees and added 1,272 jobs last year (23%!). Their career site has links on the left hand side for “Why work for us”, Campus Recruiting, Job Opportunities and more. The center of the page is filled with the job search engine. A generic search returned 51 job opportunities. As with the other sites, you can register on the site and post your resume.
• Alcon Laboratories – Located in Texas, this eye-care company is ranked 74 (down from 60 last year). They have over 14,000 employees globally, with have of them outside of the US. They added 315 jobs last year, roughly 5%. Their career site has several links on company background (as well as jobs at Alcon) on the left hand side of the page which are duplicated down the center of the page (with a brief overview of the company at the top). Clicking on Jobs links to a page with three choices: Jobs in Switzerland, Jobs in the US and links to other country websites. A quick search of jobs in the US returned 91 job opportunities.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.