The top 20 companies grabbing the attention of job seekers in 2018

The hottest companies for job seekers to pursue in 2018 cover a wide range of industries, according to a Thursday blog post from job search site Indeed. Based upon the average amount of job-seeker interest for all job titles at all companies, as well as online interest in each company, Indeed determined the 20 most popular companies people wanted to apply to in 2018.

SEE: Hiring kit: Technical writer (Tech Pro Research)

With unemployment at a lower rate than in previous years, competition exists for both companies and job seekers, said the blog post. Not only is there competition for job seekers to land sought-after jobs, but companies must fight to gain the attention of the right talent, added the post.

Here are the 20 hottest companies for job seekers in 2018:

1. Tesla
2. PepsiCo
3. Enterprise Holdings
4. Microsoft
5. Facebook
6. Honeywell
7. Sysco
8. Apple
9. Morgan Stanley
10. Cisco
11. Booz Allen Hamilton
12. IBM
13. Aetna
14. Lockheed Martin
15. Ryder
16. NBCUniversal
17. Abbott Laboratories
18. Thermo Fisher Scientific
19. Siemens
20. Medtronic

While Tesla does incorporate tech with car manufacturing, other major tech firms have been pushed down past the top three, revealing a shift in interest for job seekers, said the blog post.

In order for companies to attract and keep the attention of job seekers, they must follow four key practices, said the post. These practices are helpful for companies not as high on the list as they may have liked, or for companies that didn't make the list at all.

1. Respond to every inquiry
2. Write like a human. Leave out high-level jargon.
3. Maintain transparency with applicants
4. Offer meaningful and creative benefits

Check out this TechRepublic article for more tips on how to win the war for talent, and click here to learn how SMBs can compete for enterprise tech talent.

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

• The top 20 hottest companies for job seekers cover a wide range of industries, but no tech companies made the top three. -- Indeed, 2018
• Companies must be personable, accessible, and maintain transparency with applicants if they want to attract the right talent. -- Indeed, 2018

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• How to keep your staff motivated and engaged (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Hiring managers say AI will change how we work within five years (ZDNet)
• Cheat sheet: How to become a data scientist (TechRepublic)
• Samsung hires AI experts for research boost (ZDNet)
• The No. 1 asset for job seekers of the future: The ability to learn (TechRepublic)