Looking for a job and wondering where to apply? Here's a handy list of companies with bright futures.

For the third year in a row, The Wall Street Journal has compiled its annual list of top venture-capital-backed companies.

Voice-over IP technology manufacturer Genband Inc. topped the list, followed by Xirrus, which makes wireless networking tech. Rounding out the top three is Tabula, which makes programmable semiconductor chips.

This year marks the first time a healthcare company wasn't in first place, and no energy companies appear on any of the 50 spots on the list.

In order to qualify for consideration, companies must be U.S. based, worth less than $1 billion, and have received venture capital within the last three years. Nearly 6,000 companies were eligible.

Companies were ranked by recent growth, product performance, competition, funds raised, and the track record of prominent people at each organization.

Of the 50 companies on the list, 29 are new this year, emphasizing the volatility of the economy. The first-place winner last year didn't make it on this year's list.

Thirty-seven of the companies are based in California, where venture capital is easier to come by.

Genband, in first place on this year's list, has raised $500 million. Based in Frisco, Texas, and founded in 1999, it is an outlier on the list. Genband has raised more money than any other company on the list, impressive considering it's based far from California, and at 13 years old, it is one of the oldest.

Familiar names include Etsy, the handmade goods marketplace, at number 17; and Cheezburger, the owner of wacky internet sites like ICanHazCheezburger and FailBlog, at number 28.

Social media company Glam Media and video game network Machinima also made the list. Machinima manages more than 5,000 Youtube channels covering more than 2.1 billion videos.

Cheezburger will be the focus of a reality show on Bravo, which will focus on its employees. Currently, the site receives 15,000 photo and video submissions each day.