The Best Places to Launch a Career

Miranda Azzam's title at Aflac's (AFL) Columbus (Ga.) headquarters is college recruiter, but that doesn't begin to describe what she does for the $16.6 billion insurer. Like all recruiters, she spends a lot of time talking to students and running career fairs. But she also manages a new Web ad campaign and tracks everything from how long it takes to fill each opening to what it costs to bring new employees on board. In fact, she heads the insurance company's entire campus recruiting effort. And, oh yes—she just turned 26.

Oddly enough, Azzam has the recession to thank for her success. She landed a job at Aflac after graduating from the business program at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2006, long before the economy began unraveling. But she assumed her new supervisory responsibilities in March, when her boss moved to another position within Aflac and the company chose not to hire a replacement. Without the downturn, Azzam might have waited much longer for her big break. "We're operating very lean," says Azzam. "When we had a supervisor over our team, she made the final decisions. Learning to lead people and delegate is something I've never been able to do until now."