The Top Companies for Available Entry-Level Jobs Across America

The job market appears strong, with new listings outstripping predicted numbers. This gives professionals a broader range of options to earn more money — and potentially creates opportunities for career shifts. But applying can feel overwhelming, especially when many jobs ask for experience you might not have yet.

To break into a new industry or simply make a long-desired change, it can help to look at positions that require little or no experience to start. They can give you a foot in the door at a potentially high-paying company, but some may be more competitive than others.

CashNetUSA analyzed entry-level job listings to identify the big companies with the highest proportion of entry-level jobs and the fewest applicants per role. With this information we created a list of companies with the highest percentage of entry-level jobs and produced a ranking of which companies have the most — and least — competition for open positions.

How we did it

We analyzed publicly available data on entry-level job availability (as a percentage of overall vacancies) and the number of applicants from LinkedIn job listings. We focused on the 100 biggest employers, the 50 biggest restaurant and retail chains in the U.S. and the 13 globally recognized big tech companies.

Key findings

• Golden Corral is the U.S. company in our study with the largest proportion of entry-level jobs, with 98.9% of the buffet chain’s LinkedIn listings categorized as such.
• There are 180.9 applicants for every entry-level vacancy at Morgan Stanley, the most competition of any big employer.
• The U.S. companies with the fewest applicants per entry-level role in any category are Dairy Queen (0.14 per vacancy) and Carl’s Jr. (0.16).
• Target is the U.S. retailer with the most entry-level jobs, with 95.5% of listings suitable for beginners.
• Of the tech giants, Tesla has both the highest proportion of entry-level jobs (58.4%) and the fewest applicants per vacancy (23.5).

Golden Corral and Target among big companies with the most entry-level jobs.

Seven of the 10 major U.S. companies with the highest proportion of entry-level job listings published on LinkedIn are restaurants.

The U.S. company in our study with the most entry-level positions is the all-you-can-eat buffet chain Golden Corral, where 93 out of the 94 vacancies at the point of analysis are entry-level (98.9%). Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse have a similar proportion of entry-level jobs to Golden Corral, but based on thousands of job ads rather than a few dozen.

Golden Corral operates as a chain of franchises, so employees work for the franchisee rather than the corporation. All the same, the parent company advertises jobs on behalf of franchises on LinkedIn. Entry-level jobs with Golden Corral include Kitchen Assistant Manager, which involves tasks such as ordering, receiving, storage and menu planning, and requires on-the-job training and certification as well as parallel classroom tutelage.

Morgan Stanley is the major U.S. company with the most competition for entry-level jobs.

Next, we calculated the competition levels for entry-level jobs at major U.S. companies. Competition is stiffest at the global financial services firm Morgan Stanley, with 180.9 applicants for every entry-level role. Only the Walt Disney Company (164.8) has comparable competition.

McDonald’s is the only restaurant among the ten most competitive big firms, and the majority are tech or engineering companies.

Conversely, all ten of the big companies with the least competition are restaurants, and they all receive fewer than one application per entry-level role on average.

Dairy Queen (0.14 application per vacancy) and Carl’s Jr. (0.16) are the surest bets for entry-level applicants. Serving fried fast food but best known for its unique ice cream products, Dairy Queen maintains 7,800 restaurants across more than 20 countries. In the U.S., these are run as franchises.

Domino’s has lots of jobs and few applicants.

Restaurants tend to have the least competition for entry-level positions, and indeed, they are where many people begin their professional journey. Around two-thirds of American adults say they’ve worked in a restaurant, and 51% say this was their first regular job. Additionally, 90% of restaurant managers started in entry-level positions, as did 80% of owners.

CashNetUSA found that seven of the 10 U.S. restaurant chains with the highest proportion of entry-level jobs make more than 90% of their vacancies available to those with no experience. Of those, Golden Corral (98.9%) and Olive Garden (98.8%) have the highest rate of starter jobs.

Of the restaurants with the least competition per role, Domino’s has the most vacancies. There were fewer than 0.6 applicants for each of the 2,003 entry-level jobs available on LinkedIn during our research period.

Target has the highest density of entry-level jobs but tough competition for each role.

Target is the retail company with the highest proportion of entry-level jobs (95.5%). And the company’s full-time entry-level jobs range far beyond the shop floor, with Operations Managers and Executive Team Leaders among those starter roles Target is looking to fill.

Target’s group vice president worked his way up from a part-time hourly role. “It’s like a small family in every building, and it’s why I have stayed with the company as long as I have,” Justin Howells told Business Insider. “There’s a culture of development; a desire to teach and help you improve… if you really want to go far in your career, continue to invest time and energy in the people around you.”

However, Target is one of the hardest retailers to get your foot in the door with, receiving nearly nine applications per entry-level vacancy. The odds are better at retailers like Giant Eagle (0.7) and Hy-Vee (0.8), where you may be the only applicant.

Pittsburgh-based supermarket Giant Eagle employs 36,000 staff across 400 locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Maryland. The company worked to employ laid-off team members from the shuttered Acme Fresh Market store in Parma, Ohio, in December 2025 — but also piloted a robot stock-checker program earlier in the year, insisting that the time freed up for human staff would instead be dedicated to customer service.

Tesla has the most entry-level jobs and least competition per vacancy.

Finally, we looked at the top Big Tech companies in the U.S. to see where hopefuls might get a start. Tesla (58.4%) and Apple (57.4%) offer a significantly higher percentage of entry-level jobs compared to the others. However, Tesla advertised over 2,300 entry-level vacancies on LinkedIn during the research period, compared to just 54 for Apple.

Tesla also had the fewest applicants per entry-level role (23.5) of the six big tech companies with sufficient available data, making it the least competitive American big tech firm to get into. In 2026, Tesla was named a Where You Work Matters Early Career Platinum Employer, putting it among the top 20% of companies for new entrants, based on the provision of “skills and training for internal or external advancement.”

Tips to secure an entry-level job

Entering the world of work or a new industry can be an exciting time — but it can also be draining if you don’t give yourself the best shot at finding employment quickly. Try following these five steps to make an impression and stand out above the competition.

1. Build your network

You’re never too young to start networking. Let family and friends know you are looking for work, and join industry events and online communities. You may find a connection that can provide you with interesting opportunities or even an introduction to an employer.

2. Customize your resume for each job

Employers receive a lot of applications for entry-level positions. Stand out by addressing the hiring manager by name in your letter, mentioning something you respect about the company. And adapt your resume to make it easy for them to spot the parts that are relevant to the position.

3. Highlight your transferable skills

If you lack direct experience or qualifications, draw attention to your other skills and achievements and illustrate how they apply to the job at hand. For example, accomplishments such as captaining a sports team or excelling at school debates demonstrate your confidence and communication skills.

4. Practice being interviewed

If you don’t have much experience in job interviews, a little preparation can help you seem more professional. Ask your school or college careers advisor for help, or prepare a list of common questions and practice answering them with a friend.

5. Follow up with a call or email

Remind the employer that you’re personable and highly motivated by sending a thank-you note addressed to your interviewer by name after the interview. This is also a good time to provide additional information or ask when you can expect a decision.

If everything clicks into place, it could prove a very fulfilling job — and an excellent starting place to move up in the company as you develop your career.

Methodology

We examined the U.S. job market as of May 2026 for applicants looking to get their foot on the first rung of the career ladder, highlighting the most competitive U.S. companies for entry-level roles.

We started by compiling a seed list of the top 100 biggest employers in the U.S., the 50 biggest restaurant and retail chains and the 13 globally recognized big tech companies. Then, we separated the employers by sector before analyzing entry-level job availability and competition across the retail, restaurant and big tech industries, based on data from active entry-level job listings published by the companies on LinkedIn.

We defined availability as the percentage of jobs posted that were specifically advertised as entry-level positions, while competitiveness was measured by the average number of applicants per listing (focusing only on listings posted within the last 14 days).

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, tax or legal advice.