Winner of Great Place to Work Honors Hiring in Southern California

IRVINE, Calif. (Map) - IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Californians eager to work at a growing company that has earned accolades for its unique benefits and culture now have an opportunity to apply for jobs at Verizon Wireless.

"Verizon Wireless has been named one of Working Mother magazine's '100 Best Companies for Working Mothers' for six years in a row," says Verizon Wireless director of Human Resources, Christina Brysacz. "We've also been named among the '50 Best Companies for Diversity' by DiversityBusiness.Com. In fact, in southern California, over forty-four percent of Verizon Wireless employees are of Hispanic descent." Health Magazine has also cited the company as one of 10 U.S. employers that best help women balance their professional and personal responsibilities.

Some of the creative work-life balance benefits Verizon Wireless employees enjoy include:

-- Education Reimbursement Program encourages employees to further education and helps lessen the burden of paying for school and working simultaneously. This year alone, more than 470 employees in southern California, of which more than half are Latino, have already benefitted from this program.

-- An additional $1500 in pay to bilingual employees in key sales and customer service jobs.

-- Volunteer matching program will donate $750 to a non-profit organization of the employee's choosing for time spent volunteering

-- The Verizon Foundation offers scholarships to employees' children for education

-- Annual Winter open house invites families to get together on the Verizon Wireless campus and play games together, show off their children's art and mingle with one another

At larger locations, like the company's Irvine, California campus, the company also offers:

-- On-site health club with affordable dues and bathrobes for members

-- Dietician-approved healthy lunches in the cafeteria to help employees maintain optimum health

Verizon Wireless holds regular open house career days with on-the-spot interviews in its never ending search for the next excellent Verizon Wireless employee. This month, Verizon Wireless will hold four job fairs in southern California:

          Wednesday - August 20, 2008
          Courtyard by Marriott
          4994 Verdugo Way
          Camarillo, CA, 93012
          10am - 2pm
          Thursday - August 21, 2008
          Marriott Los Angeles
          333 South Figueroa St.
          Los Angeles, CA, 90071
          10am - 2pm
          Tuesday- August 26, 2008
          Marriott Los Angeles
          333 South Figueroa St.
          Los Angeles, CA, 90071
          10am - 2pm
          Wednesday August 27, 2008
          Marriott (Warner Center) Woodland Hills
          21850 Oxnard Street
          Woodland Hills, CA, 91367
          10am - 2pm

For more information, please contact a Verizon Wireless representative or visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/careers for a full listing of open career opportunities and job fair locations.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.