How to Apply to Be Named a Great Place to Work

Carfax, a 2019 Great Places to Work winner, has a work-hard/play-hard culture that includes allowing dogs in the office. Photograph by Dan Chung.

Love the place you spend every 9 to 5? Think it could be one of the 50 best places to work in Washington?

In May 2019, Washingtonian published its most recent list of the area’s Great Places to Work. The magazine does this feature every other year; the next list is scheduled to be published in 2021.

The Great Places to Work contest is open to any company or nonprofit as long as it has an office in the greater Washington area. There is no cost to participate. Companies must have at least ten full-time employees in the Washington area to be considered.

If you would like to have your name added to a mailing list to automatically receive the next Great Places to Work application when it is available, email Lifestyle Editor Daniella Byck at dbyck@washingtonian.com.

The next Great Places to Work application will be released sometime in 2020. Any company that wishes to be considered must fill out an application. Those interested in seeing a sample Great Places to Work application can click here. (This was the 2019 application; the 2021 application will change slightly, but most of the questions should remain the same.)

The Great Places to Work process has two steps: Once the main application is filled out, each company then must distribute a shorter survey to a sampling of its employees. You can also click here to see a sample Great Places to Work employee survey.

Editor in chief

Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.