Where You Work Matters: New Data Reveals Which Employers Actually Build Careers

The Burning Glass Institute, in partnership with the Schultz Family Foundation, has released an expanded version of its Where You Work Matters project, a comprehensive analysis of career outcomes at 1,750 of America's largest employers. Based on a database of 12 million career histories, the research grades companies on promotion velocity, retention, pay growth, and regrettable turnover, offering a data-driven counterweight to employer marketing claims.

In a recent episode of the podcast You Should Know, host William Tincup of WRKdefined spoke with Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Managing Director of the Schultz Family Foundation, about the project's findings and implications. Sigelman explained the methodology: "If two people start in the same role at directly competing firms, how likely are they each to move up? How likely are they each to stay? How does their pay change over time?"

The results are sobering for many employers. Only 22 of roughly 1,750 companies earned Platinum ratings across every category. Among the hundreds of firms employing financial analysts, just 27 rated as great across early career, growth, and stability stages, and only six of those were in banking or financial services. Standouts included General Mills, Liberty Mutual, and Nike. At Whole Foods, food preparation workers fare surprisingly well because prepared foods drive margin.

The conversation also highlighted the concept of "mobility muscle," showing how firms like Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, Salesforce, Apple, and Whole Foods rank role by role. Chandrasekaran cited conversations with CHROs at top-rated firms who point to intentional manager conversations about career trajectory as the practice that separates leaders from laggards.

The research arrives at a critical time, as the disappearance of entry-level jobs (flagged in a recent Harvard Business Review article) threatens the future talent pipeline. Tincup argued that regrettable turnover, not raw turnover, is the metric that matters. Sigelman and Chandrasekaran agreed, adding that transparency benefits workers too.

For job seekers, the project offers actionable insights. The site now includes an occupation finder tool for the class of 2026, surfacing roughly 6,000 highly rated entry-level openings. As AI reshapes hiring and career paths, this data can guide workers toward employers that genuinely invest in their growth.

The full Where You Work Matters dataset is available at whereyouworkmatters.org. The episode of You Should Know is available now wherever podcasts are heard.