Cables, Sheets & Celluloid

Career Wishlist: 5 Companies That Intrigue Me

The Internet, LinkedIn especially, is filled with advice for job seekers. Some insightful, some conflicting or recycled. One suggestion that struck a chord with me after having submitted 100 resumes to a wide variety of companies was to narrow the job search down to a handful of solid companies, and dedicate energy exclusively toward finding opportunities and networking within them. I have been thinking about the companies that intrigue me most, and in doing so, I’ve established the following guiding principles to help me select my Career Wishlist:

  1. Consistently hiring for positions I’m well qualified for and interested in
  2. Positively impacting society with their products or services
  3. Interesting, challenging work where I can learn and grow
  4. Competitive salary and benefits package
  5. And ideally, I already have connections within and they have a local office


Using these as a starting point, I narrowed down my selections to the following five companies, in no particular order, any one of which I would welcome the opportunity to join and contribute to. This is not to say another company might not come along, and woo me equally. But for the time being, I am going to try this approach – developing relationships and learning more about these companies.

RAND is a highly respected non-profit research organization known for its impactful work on public policy issues. RAND was not originally even on my radar, but after mentioning my job search to a friend, Adam, who has worked for them for seven years, he referred me to a really cool Senior Project Management role. I interviewed with the project’s lead researcher and hiring manager, which both seemed to go well. But ultimately, they selected someone else. Even so, the two women I spoke with left me with a positive feeling about the company, and after doing a lot of research prepping for my interviews, I became enamored with the organization’s values and academic work.

  • Impactful Research: Real-world impact on critical issues facing society, such as national security, healthcare, education, and the environment. This alone excites me.
  • Intellectual Stimulation: Opportunity to work alongside some incredible experts in various fields, engaging in challenging and intellectually stimulating research projects.
  • Collaborative Environment: Interdisciplinary environment where researchers from diverse backgrounds work together to address complex problems. So many opportunities for learning.
  • Professional Development: RAND appears to support professional development, including mentorship, training, and the chance to contribute to cutting-edge research.
  • Work-Life Balance: Adam has confirmed they have a commitment to employee well-being.


BNY is a global financial services company with a significant presence in Pittsburgh due to their merger with Mellon many years ago. My first career passion was finance. In college, I co-founded the Panther Investment Club, interned with two brokerage firms, and started out interested in becoming a stockbroker. But then life happened, and my plans took a major turn. I managed to dip my toes back into the waters in 2000 when I joined a FinTech startup, BillingZone, which was a partnership between PNC Bank and Perot Systems. Sadly, the dotcom bubble burst and two thirds of our company were laid off, me included. After meeting two Senior Vice Presidents at BNY that are also members of PMI Pittsburgh’s Chapter where I serve as VP of Programs, I started aggressively following the company’s job listings. I have since interviewed for a Vice President position in Third Party Governance, but to be honest, they have so many interesting jobs that I’m qualified for, I have submitted my resume for a half dozen roles.

  • Global Reach: My experience at HCL Tech working with employees from over 25 countries and in offices in USA, Europe and India has piqued my interest in global operations. BNY’s global presence in over 35 countries is definitely a highlight for me.
  • Stability: My research turned up a claim that BNY is one of the best positioned financial services organizations if another economic crisis occurs. I am looking for an organization where I can spend the rest of my career so this is incredibly important to me.
  • Professional Development: BNY is an enormous organization with clear pathways for career development and learning. One of my current struggles is that I have stopped learning in my role. While I’ve managed to remain engaged and growing by getting certifications and enrolling in an MBA program, preferably I would also be learning on the job.
  • Hiring: I’ve found a lot of interesting open positions at BNY, making the chance of landing a job much greater.
  • Strong Brand Reputation: They are a well-established and respected name in the financial services industry.


KPMG is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, known globally for its expertise in audit, tax, and advisory services. When I learned two sisters I’ve been friends with for 20 years had an aunt at KPMG, I became more intrigued with them amongst the other large consulting firms. Additionally, KPMG stands out for me amongst other organizations due to their strong focus on tech and innovation, sustainability, and diversity of services. As someone that has been working with machine learning and GAI for over a decade, KPMG’s expertise in these areas and their commitment to creativity and experimentation amongst employees are hugely enticing. Furthermore, their service offerings in areas such as technology consulting, cybersecurity, and risk management are all going to be a critical focus of organizations in the coming years, and all appeal to me. As I mentioned earlier, I am hoping to land a position with a company that is having a positive impact on society, so KPMG’s commitment to sustainability and reducing its environmental impact are admirable.

  • Professional Growth: My understanding is that KPMG is known for its rigorous training programs and professional development opportunities – two things I am eager to have access to. Additionally, there seems to be no shortage of opportunities to grow within the organization and progress one’s career. Finally, I am a huge fan of mentorship so I was excited to learn that KPMG also believes strongly in it.
  • Impactful Work: Similar to project management, consulting work provides constantly new complex challenges and a wide variety of organizations to serve. And KPMG seems committed to social responsibility as am I, demonstrated by the large number of not-for-profit organizations I volunteer my time with.
  • Global Reach: Similar to BNY, KPMG has a global network with opportunities for international work and colleagues from diverse backgrounds, both of which are incredibly important to me.
  • Strong Reputation: My research has proven that in addition to being a highly respected brand, KPMG is consistently a top ranked employer with competitive comp and benefits packages.


Solventum is a healthcare company that was spun off from 3M last year. I’m primarily interested in Solventum’s HIS (Health Information Systems) team as their work is more aligned with my interests and experience. I was introduced by a recruiter I’m friendly with to an HR Solutions Partner within the company, and I immediately took a liking to her. Honestly, she played a major factor in my interest in the organization.

  • Positive Culture: The company culture is described as supportive, encouraging, and focused on employee development. My meeting with Lisa seems like strong evidence supporting these claims.
  • Leadership Team: I’ve read in employee reviews that leadership is committed to employee engagement. Additionally, they appear to emphasize ethics, honesty, and fairness along with patient safety above company profits – ideals I can feel positive about. And the fact that they prioritize risk management for potential threats is going to be critical in the coming years.
  • Professional Growth: From an outsider, it appears Solventum has a culture of innovation and continuous learning. And by recognizing employee contributions and facilitating internal networking, they enhance opportunities for career growth. Their core values, which emphasize putting people first, winning with excellence, solving what matters, advancing together, and living with heart are hopefully not just an artifice.
  • Work-Life Balance: Employee reviews often mention flexibility to manage their schedules and prioritize their personal life. I’ve come to enjoy this in my current position as I am very active in the community.
  • Competitive Compensation: Salaries I’ve seen seem to be in line with industry standards, if not better.


Abridge is doing work I absolutely can get behind – helping doctors focus on patient interaction by transcribing critical health-related conversations, and using AI to document the data. And the industry must agree because it seems like I’m reading about new partnerships with them daily. And employees rate them extremely high as a great place to work, with a strong company culture and a mission-driven approach to healthcare technology. The only downside when considering my guiding principles is that I haven’t seen them post a lot of jobs I’m qualified for, but I’m keeping my hope up because I’m so intrigued with the company.

  • Impactful Work: Developing cutting-edge AI/ML technology that has the potential to revolutionize how healthcare people work and communicate. It would be great to remain in the AI/ML field to put my experience to work, and to remain in the hottest tech development in a long time.
  • Innovative Environment: Fast-growing culture of innovation and experimentation featuring challenging projects where I could learn new skills and contribute.
  • Strong Team Culture: They seem to value their employees with a collaborative, transparent, and supportive work environment filled with talented, smart, and passionate employees.
  • Professional Development: Company encourages continuous learning and provides resources for career growth.
  • Generous Benefits: Comprehensive benefits including unlimited PTO, a home office budget, and remote and hybrid work models, allowing employees to maintain work-life balance.


If you or anyone you know has any leads within these organizations, I would welcome the chance to speak with them. I am interested in and highly qualified for positions including Project, Operations, and Program Management at the Senior or Director level.

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message