The Princeton Review Names Abbott One of the 'Best Companies for Entry-Level Jobs'

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott has been named one of the best companies for college graduates to launch their careers by The Princeton Review in its 2008 edition.

"At Abbott, we believe the combination of the right talent and performance leads to success," said Stephen Fussell, senior vice president, Human Resources. "Abbott is not only a great place to launch a career, but also a place to build a lifelong career. From an on-line mentoring program, leadership training programs and a full tuition reimbursement program, Abbott has something for everyone."

Many entry-level employees come to Abbott through its Professional Development Programs, which are primarily six-month rotational assignments lasting from two to three years in the areas of marketing, information technology, finance/accounting, engineering, human resources and management. Abbott also offers a physician development program for those who have completed their clinical residencies. In fact, some of Abbott's highest-ranking officers worked their way up the corporate ladder by starting their own careers at Abbott right out of college.

"We wanted to find places where people were happy, engaged with their work, nicely compensated, well positioned for advancement, getting great preparation for graduate school or benefiting from any combination of these things," said Ron Lieber and Tom Meltzer, editors of The Princeton Review 2008 "Best Entry-Level Jobs" edition.

About Abbott's internship program

Abbott offers more than 250 internships each year in a wide range of fields including engineering, science, environmental health and safety, manufacturing, quality assurance as well as information technology, finance and accounting and general business.

This award-winning, successful internship program structures internships to provide meaningful, hands-on learning that translates to a true understanding of the challenges and opportunities of a career with Abbott.

More than 40 percent of the interns from Abbott who were eligible for hire were hired on as full-time Abbott employees. Previous on-the-job experience is becoming more relevant in today's entry-level job market.

"My job is constantly changing and I always find myself being challenged to grow my skills in several different businesses around the company," said Fabiola Salcedo, a former intern, who is now a financial analyst at Abbott. Through the company's rotating financial professional development program, she took an assignment in Ludwigshafen, Germany. "It helped me grow and become a more well-rounded professional."

Looking for a job?

Students interested in working at Abbott can visit the career center at http://www.abbott.com/. Recruiters access resumes everyday and fill over 90 percent of available jobs through Internet postings.

About Princeton Review

Published since 2003, "Best Entry-Level Jobs" identifies great workplaces for new graduates based on hundreds of interviews with entry-level employees and employers at companies across the country. For the 2008 edition, The Princeton Review chose 114 companies or organizations. Among them readers will find opportunities in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, as well as across several industries and in many fields from accounting to technology.

"Best Entry-Level Jobs" is one of more than 200 books developed by The Princeton Review in a line published by Random House. The Princeton Review (http://www.princetonreview.com/) is an education services company known for its popular test-prep courses, books, college and grad school admission services, and other education programs. It is not a magazine, and it is not affiliated with Princeton University. The book's profiles provide information about each company's: entry-level job opportunities, average salaries, hiring policies, and benefits. They also include descriptions of first-jobbers' "day in the life" experiences at the companies, quotes from current and former employees, and notes on advancement potential.

About Abbott

In addition to being recognized amongst the country's best employers for college graduates by both BusinessWeek and The Princeton Review, Abbott has also been named by Working Mother magazine's "Top 10" in 2006 and named to the "100 Best Companies" for working moms for six consecutive years. The company has been included on DiversityInc magazine's list of the "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" for many years and has been widely recognized by Scientist magazine and others as a top employer for scientists. FORTUNE also has named Abbott as one of "America's Most Admired Companies" every year since the list's inception in 1983.

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com/.