These Are The Best Places To Work In The U.S.

I always thought that having at least one terrible job in life was a sort of rite of passage — a way of "paying your dues." I paid my dues at an old job where I was so bored, I spent every morning organizing the granola bars in the kitchen by color and flavor. Luckily for current jobseekers, thoughm they can potentially skip the traumatic granola bar job experience all together thanks to LinkedIn's list of the best places to work. LinkedIn determined the list by sorting through all of its 433 million users and their billions of online actions to determine the most desirable places to work in each country, and these employers are apparently the best when it comes to bringing in and keeping top talent. Time for a career change, perhaps?

There's a noticeable trend among many of these companies: They're focused in the tech field. In fact, the top seven companies in the United States are tech companies. You'll recognize the names as some of the most powerful companies in the world, and it's clear that the way they treat their employees is part of the reason they're so successful — people love working for them. (But fret not, non-techies — there's plenty of room for all kinds of fabulous employees.)

If you're on the job hunt, there's a good reason to start here! Here are the top five companies; and for the full list, go here.

1. Google

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Google comes in first. Google has a laser focus on its employees' happiness, offering tons of delicious food, talks from A-list speakers, and even on-site massages. They fight the gender gap by basing pay on the job, not someone's salary history; additionally, managers aren't in charge of hiring as a method of helping remove bias. Heck, you even get benefits after you've passed: Your family can continue receiving 50 percent of your salary!

2. Salesforce

Salesforce understand that it's the happy and healthy employees who will do the best work. This is why they've added areas and spaces to meditate on every floor, with a serious concern for team members' mental and physical well being. Their pay scale is above market, and they even offer paid time off for volunteering. It's wonderful to see a company that truly appreciates its employees.

3. Facebook

I always think of Facebook as Google's biggest competitor in the tech sector, so it makes sense that this employer ranks in third. In fact, in 2015, Facebook outranked Google on Business Insider's list of the 50 Best Companies to Work for in America. Four-month paid parental leave and serious job security are just a couple reasons this is one of the best places to work. In fact, during the period that LinkedIn was reporting on the best places to work, Facebook experienced a 34 percent growth in new hires. They're actively seeking the best of the best, and they give employees the space to do their work. Their careers page boasts, "We don't have rules, we have values that guide the way we work and the decisions we make."

4. Apple

Apple gets an A++ in my book, largely thanks to the 65 percent increase in women they recently hired — a whopping 11,000! Last year, they also started handing out restricted stock units to most of their employees (which tally in around 100,000), an unusual move for a company of this nature. Employees have reported feeling great job satisfaction from creating important products with incredibly talented people. (P.S. Part-time employees even get benefits!)

5. Amazon

Amazon had some tough competition in LinkedIn's list, but it's certainly deserving of one of the top spots. Perks include a program where they'll pay 95 percent of a college student's tuition if they're studying for an in-demand field. They also support women in tech by providing mentorships. People are so eager to work for Amazon that applications are up 25 percent this year. And here's some really awesome news: Because of the diversity of their needs, they need all kinds of employees — not just tech!

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