One Day, One Job » Illinois

Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund

Willy Franzen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:49:51 +0000

Today’s the big game! By the end of tonight there will probably be a new football hero for many fans. Unfortunately, even being the star of one of the world’s biggest sporting events doesn’t guarantee a carefree future. Football is a brutal sport that takes a terrible toll on the body. This is doubly bad for players. First, it causes all kinds of long-term health problems, and, second, it shortens careers significantly. This becomes a major problem for retired players who no longer have a source of income and are dealing with the physical aftermath of a career in football. Nobody wants to see their heroes down and out, which is why Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund was started. They’re based in Northbrook, IL, and they “provide financial assistance and coordinate social services to dire need retired NFL players who are pioneers of the game and have greatly contributed to the NFL’s status as the most popular sport in America.”

A Great Organization

I know that it’s hard to empathize with someone who played a game for a living, but even today’s players with their salaries that are often millions annually have a tough road ahead of them. Imagine if you made all the money that you’d make in your life in your first three years after college. It’d be pretty hard to be responsibly manage the money–especially knowing that there will likely be long-term medical problems. Fortunately, the NFL has realized the problems that life after football can present, and they’ve gotten much better about taking care of players after retirement; however, that still leaves many retired greats without help. Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, which is chaired by Mike Ditka, is helping to take care of these players by “treating them with dignity, and addressing the post-football related issues in their lives.” While Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund doesn’t have a jobs page, you can contact them here. They’ve offered internships in the pat, so it many not be unreasonable to inquire about a job. It’s at least worth trying if you’re a big football fan. You may also want to check out our past posts on the National Football Foundation, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, USA Football, and, of course, the NFL and its teams.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?

Weather Underground

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:53:43 +0000

It’s supposed to reach the 50s today in Chicago, but Phil says that we’re in for six more weeks of winter. That kind of prognostication makes me hungry of groundhog stew (it’s a great cold weather meal). Despite my anger at Phil, I’m a huge fan of Groundhog Day–even if I always seem to forget about it. I think it’s great that we have a holiday devoted to the weather, even if it puts most of the focus on a rodent. That’s why I thought today would be a good day to take a look at Weather Underground (groundhogs live underground and predict the weather). They’re “committed to delivering the most reliable, accurate weather information possible,” and they do that by “providing free, real-time online weather information to millions of Web users around the world.” They’re headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, and they have an office in San Francisco, CA (and jobs in Chicago and NYC). Weather Underground got its start as a Telnet weather service provided by University of Michigan in 1991, and has evolved with the Internet since then.

Underground Opportunities

Everybody has his or her favorite source for weather info–and we all get frustrated by their seemingly poor accuracy. I like Wunderground because of it has a really simple interface and navigation is easy to navigate, yet it provides very detailed technical information. A lot of of other weather sites have too many bells and whistles (or advertising) that interferes with my finding the information that I want. Still, Wunderground does have ads–that’s how they make money in addition to providing premium data services. If you love Groundhog Day for the weather and not the furry critters, then check out the jobs at Weather Underground. Right now they have a few openings that look like good fits for new or recent grads including Marketing Assistant (San Francisco, CA), Junior Sales Planner (San Francisco, CA), Ad Ops Assistant (San Francisco, CA), and Associate Account Executive (Chicago, IL). Oddly enough there’s nothing in Ann Arbor right now, but my guess would be that those would be the meteorology type positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think we’ll have 6 more weeks of winter?

Brafton

Willy Franzen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:10:35 +0000

There’s a reason that web startups with no semblance of a business plan but heaps of traffic continue to get venture capital funding. Consistently driving high quality traffic to a web property is extremely difficult, and almost all businesses need attention to succeed. Quality content is the cornerstone of driving traffic (that’s why I looked for writers when I was hiring interns), and content generation is not a core competency for most businesses. It is for Brafton. They’re a Boston, MA based “online news and content agency that offers integrated content marketing services.” They don’t brag about who their clients are like some other types of agencies (you can request live client samples), which makes sense since clients typically want people to think the content is coming straight from them.

Be Content at Brafton

I doubt any writers from Brafton will be winning Pulitzer Prizes, but I’m sure that’s ok with them. Their goal is to help their clients reach more customers by developing content that grabs attention and performs well on search engines and in social media. Brafton has a section of their website that is devoted to their business model, so I highly recommend that you read through that–including their case study–so that you can get a better sense of how they operate. They also provide information on their different teams, so you’ll probably want to read up on Account Management, Content Writing, and Social and E-mail. If you’d like to join one of those teams, you’re in luck because Brafton’s Careers page shows a ton of entry level opportunities. These include:

Graphic Resource Coordinator (Boston, MA)
Blog and Content Writer (Boston, MA)
Market Research Executive (Boston, MA)
German News and Content Writer (Remote)
News and Content Writer (Chicago, IL)
Inside Sales Representative (Boston, MA)
News and Content Writer (Boston, MA)
Jr. Web Developer (Boston, MA)
Business Development Executive (Boston, MA)
Business Development Executive (Scottsdale, AZ)
Content Marketing Specialist (San Francisco, CA)

You won’t be writing the next great novel at Brafton, but I’m sure you’ll learn a ton about developing content for the Internet with a focus on ROI. That’s insanely valuable these days.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Brafton?

Wolverine Trading

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:32:44 +0000

When I was a kid, I had a huge baseball card collection (actually, I still have it). I never seriously collected any other sports cards, but I did have a phase where I collected a Marvel cards. I haven’t thought about those cards for years, but when I came across the name Wolverine Trading, they instantly jumped back in mind. Unfortunately, Wolverine Trading, which is based in Chicago, IL, doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes–though they may consider themselves financial superheroes. They are a “diversified financial institution specializing in proprietary trading, asset management, order execution services, and technology solutions.” Those are all just big words for making money by combining technology with knowledge of the financial markets.

Be a Glutton

Beyond being the name of a superhero, a wolverine is also a carnivorous mammal known for a gluttonous appetite and strength beyond its size (and the mascot of the University of Michigan). What a perfect name for a trading firm! Most trading firms keep what they actually do pretty close to the chest. If details about their internal operations leak out, then they lose their edge and ability to make money. Still, you can get a pretty good intro to Wolverine Trading from their Careers page. Beyond having their job postings, you can learn about their Culture, Benefits, Top 10 Reasons to Join Them, and FAQs on Trading and Technology. Once you read through all of those, you’ll either want to look at the College Recruiting page where they list a Rotational Trading Program and a Software Engineering Program. You can also check out their normal job postings for positions like Applications Developer, Trading Technical Support, Trading Associate (London), Software Engineer, Database Administrator, Junior Accountant, and Trading Assistant. There appears to be a lot of entry level opportunity at Wolverine Trading, so give them a really close look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Wolverine Trading?

mcgarrybowen

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:11:56 +0000

I really enjoyed watching football last night. I’m not a huge football fan, but those were both great games. I’m also happy to see that advertisers are gearing up for the Super Bowl. They’re breaking out new commercials and actually trying to get viewers’ attention. That means it must be an extremely busy time of the year for an advertising agency like mcgarrybowen. They’re based in New York, NY and Chicago, IL, and they work with big names like Burker King, Chase, Disney, Kraft, Marriott, Reebok, Sears, Verizon, and plenty of others. They also recently landed the Bud Light account, and they’re expected to do some Super Bowl work for them. What a surprise! Bud Light will be advertising during the Super Bowl.

A Better mcJob

Though I don’t typically keep up on the latest happenings in the ad agency world, my research tells me that mcgarrybowen is so hot right now. They’ve been picking up huge accounts left and right, and that led to their being named Agency of the Year on AdvertisingAge‘s Agency A-List. All these new accounts mean lots of new jobs. Just look at mcgarrybowen’s Chicago office that grew from 16 employees when it opened in 2009 to more than 200 now. The folks at mcgarrybowen would probably attribute this success to the fact that they’re “built differently, on the simple premise that clients deserve better.” I’ll take a wager that it also has something to do with their work. If you love the agency’s work and agree with the premise that clients deserve better, then you should visit mcgarrybowen’s Careers page. Right now they have a few openings worth checking out including Digital Account Executive (New York, NY) and Social Media Specialist with PR experience (New York, NY). If mcgarrybowen keeps winning accounts, expect even more jobs to get posted. You can even anticipate this by submitting a general application here

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you like mcgarrybowen’s work?

Benzinga

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:20:45 +0000

I have a simple investment strategy: Buy AAPL. I’ve had a few other winners, but Apple is the reason that my portfolio is up over the past 5 years. I’m not much of a trader, so I typically buy a stock and hold it indefinitely. If I took a different approach to investing, I might want to spend time on Benzinga. It’s “an innovative news and analysis service that focuses on global markets” and is intended for developing “actionable trading ideas.” Benzinga has offices in Chicago, IL and Dover, DE, but it’s very clear from their Careers page that everything important happens in the Southfield, MI office… very clear. There’s something about Benzinga’s site that reminds me of a social gaming site, which I guess is appropriate since stock trading is the ultimate social game.

Zing!

Benzinga has its own editorial and research team, so they’re not just aggregating financial news and spitting it back to you. They actually focus on three key areas: real-time news, actionable trading ideas and insightful commentary.” It’s hard for me to judge how good the content is considering that I’m not a trader, but Benzinga seems to have generated a good amount of buzz in the finance community. I’m pretty sure that I had heard of Benzinga before, but yesterday someone from their team reached out to me to tell me about some of their positions for new grads. I took a look at their Careers page (which is all about Michigan), and saw some great entry level positions. Their current openings include:

Developer/Programmer Ninja
User Interface / User Experience Expert
News Desk
Talented Writers
Business Developer
Public Relations Guru

There are some great opportunities here to dive in deep early in your career. Take a look at the positions and see if Benzinga’s offer of Faygo (why not Vernors?), Bigby Coffee, Moosejaw tees, and U of M or MSU football tickets is enough to woo you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you checked out Benzinga?

360i

Willy Franzen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:11:38 +0000

I can’t tell you how many bad careers sites I’ve seen over the past 4+ years. Companies with beautiful, easy to use websites often have jobs pages that make you want to poke your eyes out. Even the simple ones that just have a few paragraphs about the company and a listing of jobs are disappointing. Why can’t companies actually put some effort into convincing you to work for them? 360i certainly puts in the effort. I recently landed on their newly relaunched careers page via a link from Twitter, and I was thoroughly impressed. 360i is a digital marketing agency, and it’s pretty clear that they’ve actually put some of their in-house talent to work on the 360i Careers page. It tells a story; it provides a great user experience; it introduces you to the company before throwing job postings at you; and it actually makes you want to work at 360i (they have offices in New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; Detroit, MI; San Francisco, CA; and Chicago, IL).. This should be expected, but instead it’s the exception.

Do a 360

I usually say that the most important thing that you can look at in terms of a digital marketing agency is their client list and portfolio, but there’s actually one thing that’s more important. It’s the company’s website. If they’re not doing what they do for clients for themselves, then there’s something wrong. 360i does great work for themselves, and they also serve Bravo, Coca-Cola, J. Crew, Mattel, Oreo, Ugg and a bunch of other huge brands. 360i has done some really great work for themselves and for their clients, which is probably why they’ve been named one of Advertising Age’s “Best Places to Work and one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies.” If 360i sounds like the kind of place that you’d like to work, check out their Careers page first, and then dive into their job postings. Current openings include:

Ad Operations Digital Coordinator (New York, NY)
Community Manager (New York, NY)
Digital Media Planner Coordinator – SEM (Chicago, IL)
Marketing Designer (New York, NY)
Software Developer – UI and Back End (New York, NY)

If none of those positions seem like a good fit, take note that 360i categorizes their talent into: Insiders, Thinkers, Sharpshooters, Socializers, Makers, and Advisors. If you think you fit in one of those roles, don’t be afraid to submit a résumé for an unlisted position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard bout 360i?

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Willy Franzen — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:24:10 +0000

New Year’s Eve is a wonderful holiday for celebrating a great year past and the prospects of a great future. It’s a time that we spend with family and friends and think about how we can better ourselves. Yet for many alcohol plays a prominent role in the celebration, and the new year begins with a hangover. That’s not my style, but you’re free to have a great night however you want. Just make sure that your alcohol use doesn’t negatively affect anyone else. Most importantly, that means don’t drink and drive. That’s the message that Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been spreading since it was founded in 1980 by Candy Lightner “after her daughter, Cari, was killed by a repeat drunk driving offender.” Three decades later MADD, which has national offices in Irving, TX and Washington, DC and chapters all across the country, has made a lot of progress fighting drunk driving, but there’s a long way to go considering that there is an injury from an alcohol-related crash every minute.

Get MADD

MADD is best known for it’s work to stop drunk driving, but they also do a lot of work to prevent underage drinking and to provide victim services. The organization played an extremely prominent role in pushing for the .08 BAC limit in the U.S., and now they’re setting their sights on legislation that requires convicted drunk drivers to “blow before they go” by installing in car breathalyzers. Some criticize MADD for fudging their statistics and being part of the “alcohol prohibition lobby,” but they’re really just about saving lives. For 2012 their goal is to get U.S. drunk driving fatalities under 10,000. It’s hard to argue with that. If you like what MADD is doing, take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for:

Court Monitoring Project Specialist (Chicago, IL)
Court Monitoring Project Specialist (St. Louis, MO)
Program Coordinator (San Diego, CA)
Program Coordinator (Los Angeles, CA)

All of these jobs require some prior experience, but they’re still worth checking out. Have a happy and safe new year!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Drive safely!

Allegiant

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:52:56 +0000

I don’t mind flying; in fact, I kind of enjoy it–especially on smaller planes. Unfortunately, it’s not often that you can hop in a 6 seater and get a sweet view for the entire flight. Usually you are crammed into a 150-seater and spend most of the time looking at clouds. I guess most people are more comfortable with that, but not me. When I’m flying I’m not particularly brand conscious, so I mostly choose my airline by who has the cheapest fare. That means that I end up on flying all different airlines, but I’ve never flown Allegiant. They’re a low-cost carrier and travel company based in Enterprise, NV. They travel to 75 destinations with a fleet of 75 MD-83s and MD-87s. All of Allegiant’s routes begin or end in one of 9 hubs: Bellingham, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Myrtle Beach, SC; Orlando, FL; Tampa Bay, FL; Fort Myers, FL; and Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Show Your Allegiance

Allegiant doesn’t cover a ton of destinations, but if you want to fly to one of the 9 places mentioned above, there’s a good chance that they’ll be offering a good fare. Allegiant is extremely focused on profitably (unlike some other airlines), so they’re constantly tweaking their routes and leaving airports that don’t perform well for them. They’re also constantly finding new ways to generate ancillary revenue. The average Allegiant passenger will spend nearly an extra $35 over the price of his or her ticket. Some of this is for baggage fees and in-flight food, but Allegiant also makes money by selling other travel products and services through their website. They seem willing to try anything, and they even are toying with the idea of variable pricing based on fuel costs at the time of the flight. All of this makes Allegiant sound like an airline that might be a little annoying to fly, but would be really cool to work for. That’s why you should check out their Careers page. Right now they’re hiring a Component Repairs Analyst, an A/C Structures Engineer, a number of Customer Service/Ground Operations Agents (Medford, OR; South Bend, IN; Peoria, IL; Des Moines, IA; Fort Collins, CO; and Laredo, TX), a Financial Analyst, a Materials Coordinator, a Revenue Management Analyst, and a few other positions. Give all the jobs a look and see what looks best for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you flown Allegiant?

OpticsPlanet

Willy Franzen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:25:36 +0000

When I was a kid, I had eyes like a hawk. At my best I had 20/12 vision. Then in high school things started getting blurry, and I eventually had to get contact lenses. Luckily, humans have spent a ton of time and energy in developing technology that helps us see better. Whether you want to see something really small, far away, or in the dark, there’s optical equipment that can help you out. The thing is that microscopes, binoculars, night vision goggles, and even glasses aren’t something that you buy casually–you want to buy from someone who knows his or her stuff. OpticsPlanet is a Northbrook, IL based company that employs a whole bunch of those people. They are “one of the world’s leading online retailers of a wide selection of sport optics, tactical and military gear, scientific products, hunting gear, professional grade products and eyewear.” I get excited when I get a new contact lens prescription, so I bet getting to play with some of OptcisPlanet’s offerings would make me giddy.

Seeing Is Believing

When you end up on OpticsPlanet.com, it looks like a pretty generic e-commerce site. I would have never guessed that they generated $82.6 million last year, but thats’ what the numbers from the Inc. 5000 say. They’ve also been growing at a 113% rate over the past three-years, so they must be gaining a significant share in the optics market. I found a video on their About page that gives a pretty good intro to the company, so check it out below:

If you like what you see in the video and you also like the fact that OpticsPlanet was named one of “The Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces,” then you have to take a look at their Careers page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

User Interface Designer
Communications Designer
Content Project Manager
Junior Web Developer / JavaScript
Accounts Payable Specialist
Call Center Quality Assurance
Risk Management – Order Review Agent
Search Engine Optimization Specialist
Pay Per Click Marketing Specialist
Online Marketing Specialist
Copywriter
Vendor Services Account Coordinator

There are all kinds of opportunities at OpticsPlanet, so take a really close look and see if you like what you see.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What would you get from OpticsPlanet?

Travelzoo

Willy Franzen — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:15:38 +0000

On Saturday I’m heading to Aruba for two weeks! (Don’t worry, you’ll still get your daily e-mails–even on Christmas Day.) I booked well in advance, so I got a decent fare, but it’s still about four times more expensive than traveling at a different time of year. If you want to travel during the holidays, you’re probably going to have to pay through the nose. Still, it’s worth looking for a deal, and there’s no better place to do that than Travelzoo. They’re a New York, NY based company (with 23 other offices all across the world) that has perfected the art of the travel deal. They don’t just go out and find low rates–they actually “research, evaluate, and test thousands of deals to find those with true value.” Although it’s not exactly the same, they kind of do for travel deals what I do for jobs: curate. Though they have 250 experts working on it, which is 249 more than we have.

Take a Trip to the Zoo

Travelzoo’s site is about as basic looking as it gets. It’s simple, clean, and uncluttered. It may not look like the site of a publicly traded company, but it certainly stands out from other travel sites that seem to bombard you with useless offers. I guess that’s why they have 24 million members, though the fact that they require you to be a member to see their deals has to help with that too. Beyond travel, Travelzoo has also moved into entertainment deals and local deals, but travel is definitely their bread and butter. What’s so unique about Travelzoo’s model is that they’re not for sale. Yes, they accept payment from advertisers, but they only publish deals that they are confident will make their members happy. There’s no way to get on Travelzoo except offering a high quality deal. If you’re liking what Travelzoo is all about, then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of openings, and a few look perfect for new or recent grads including: Associate Producer (Chicago, IL), Producer (Chicago, IL) Assistant Producer (Miami, FL), Producer (New York, NY), Assistant Producer – SuperSearch (San Francisco, CA), and Producer (Toronto, ON). Travelzoo’s Producers are “top-notch journalists whose commercial acumen would impress the Donald himself.” In other words they take on a role that includes researching, writing, producing, account managing, sales, and a lot more–they find the deals and get them live on the site. It sounds like an extremely cool role, so check all the positions out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used Travelzoo?

University of Chicago

Willy Franzen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:51:58 +0000

This is a sponsored post for the University of Chicago.

Even though I’m five years out of college, I still miss it. As much as I know many of you would like to stay (or go back), it’s time to get a job and leave the world of academia. Or is it? I’ve recently heard from a number of readers who have found a way to have their cake and eat it too. Some have landed jobs at their alma maters, while others have gone to work for other colleges and universities. If you think that Chicago would be a cool place to live (it is!), then you have to consider the University of Chicago.

The University of Chicago was founded by John D. Rockefeller, and it first offered classes in 1892. They currently serve 5,134 undegraduate students and 10,492 graduate, professional, and other students with a full-time faculty of 2,188. These three groups along with the more than 150,000 worldwide alumni form “a community of creative, demanding, inspired scholars who debate and collaborate to enrich human life through their work.” If you want more info on what the University of Chicago is all about, check out their About page.

Right now, the University of Chicago’s Alumni Relations & Development Division is working with us to fill 5 positions that they think are well suited for the One Day One Job audience. These positions include:

These are great opportunities to start your career while still staying close to the college atmosphere. Give the positions a look, and see if any of them interest you. If you’re interested in other positions at the University of Chicago, be sure to take a look at their Jobs page.

Gorilla

Willy Franzen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:09:04 +0000

Imagine that it’s 1994 and you’ve just started a CD-ROM production company. You’re doing really well because of all of the excitement about a storage medium that hold 600 times more data than the floppy disk. How much courage would it take to abandon what you were doing and start working on something new? Probably more than I have, but that’s exactly what Gorilla did. The Chicago, IL based company saw what was happening on the web and decided to jump in. Today Gorilla is a “web design, development and marketing firm” that focuses on e-commerce. They’re “striving to be the go-to ecommerce agency for mid-size businesses,” and they’re well on their way with clients including Bonobos, INC., Sub-Zero/Wolf, and lots of other big names.

A Smarter Species of E-Commerce

I’m most familiar with Gorilla’s work on Bonobos’ recently relaunched site. It’s fantastic, though it did have a bit of a hiccup due to yesterdays Cyber Monday sales. It offers an excellent user experience, and it definitely makes me want to buy more stuff. If you want to take a look at some of Gorilla’s other work, you should probably delve into their Case Studies. You’ll also want to look over Gorilla’s Services, as they offer a ton of solutions in Design, Development, and Strategy. If you’re impressed by their work and think that you could add value in some of the areas that they work in, then you should check out Gorilla’s Jobs page. Right now they have a few positions that you should check out including Business Analyst, Front-End Web Developer, and PHP Developer. If none of those positions seem suitable for you, you can also reach out to them at careers@gorillachicago.com to see if there are any other opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Gorilla?

CouponCabin

Willy Franzen — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:44:09 +0000

A successful job search is all about improving yourself. One of my favorite places for finding tools and courses to make me a better entrepreneur is AppSumo, and they’re offering amazing 50% off Black Friday deals on gift certificates to use for future AppSumo purchases.

As good as Thanksgiving is for coming up with interesting job search ideas, I prefer Black Friday because it’s centered around commerce and leads to more realistic ideas. Seriously, just open up the newspaper and look at all the ads–you’ll find seemingly endless possibilities. Some of the companies that we’ve featured in the past that are extra relevant today include Amazon, Ernst & Young (you know why they call it Black Friday, right?), Visa, Fatwallet, Slickdeals, Savings.com, LivingSocial, and Groupon. Today we’re going to stick with the discount theme and take a look at CouponCabin. They’re a Whiting, IN based company that searches “tens of thousands of consumer emails, online forums, blogs, and merchant sites each week and even the Sunday newspaper to create a true one-stop-shop for savings.” They were formerly based in Chicago, IL, but they had to move across state lines (they’re still close to Chicago) because of an idiotic tax law that the state of Illinois passed.

Stay at the CouponCabin

CouponCabin is more about everyday discounts than going big for Black Friday, but they did build a Coupon Detector that can help you “be a Black Friday Ninja.” CouponCabin’s key differentiator is their quality control. I’ve used a ton of coupon sites that have expired coupon codes. CouponCabin tests all of their offers at least three times a week to ensure that users aren’t frustrated by dead deals. Their average user saves $19, they’ve saved users $22,005,132 over the past 90 days, and they’ve had 231,597,756 deals clicked since they launched in 2003. It’s no wonder that CouponCabin has been growing at an exceptional rate; in fact, they just raised $54 million in funding last month. That’s why you shouldn’t be discouraged by the fact that their Jobs page doesn’t show any listings right now. I’ll bet that money spurs some hiring pretty soon, so take CouponCabin up on their suggestion that you send a general application. It’s a more worthwhile way to spend a little time on Black Friday than “saving money” by spending money.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Find any good Black Friday deals?

Career Transition for Dancers

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:04:02 +0000

So far our survey says that you find the job search frustrating. Tell us more so that we can help.

You often hear about professional athletes who go broke within a few years of retirement by frivolously spending away the millions that they earned. But what about the athletes that never even earn millions? They have it way harder. They spend most of their lives developing a career that is tied to their physical capabilities, and when they have to retire 20-30 years before most people, they’re left with a pretty tough outlook. This is true for players of nearly all sports that you can play professionally, but it’s also true for dancers. That’s why the non-profit Career Transition for Dancers exists. They’re based in New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Los Angeles, CA; and they “are committed to providing the experience, insight and resources dancers need to define their career possibilities and develop rewarding post-performance careers.” Dancers, much like other athletes, still have a ton of value to offer after their bodies stop being able to keep up–Career Transition for Dancers helps them put their skills to work.

A Career Transition for You

Believe it or not, Career Transition for Dancers has been around since 1985. You can read up on the organization’s history here. Since then they’ve working in a number of program areas including career counseling, national and local outreach projects, scholarships and grants, maintaining a gallery, and providing online resources. They “have provided over 51,650 hours of individual and group career counseling, with a dollar value of over $4 million, and awarded over $3 million in educational and entrepreneurial support,” so they’re having a serious impact. If you love dance and want to help dancers take the next step in their careers, then you should check out Jobs at Career Transition for Dancers on Idealist. Right now they only have one position posted, but it’s a perfect fit for a new or recent grad: Gala and Client Outreach Coordinator (New York, NY). Check it out and see if it moves you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Career Transition for Dancers?

Time Out

Willy Franzen — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:15:42 +0000

We want to do even more to help you land a job. Take our survey and let us know how we can better serve you as we start our fifth year.

One of my favorite things about living in Chicago is the restaurants. There are so many great places to eat, and there are new ones opening constantly. It’s a lot of fun, but it can be overwhelming if you try to keep up with it. That’s why I rely on Time Out Chicago to keep me up to date with what’s going on in Chi-town, whether it’s restaurant openings, cultural events, or things to do. I guess I’m lucky that Time Out chose to cover Chicago, considering that the London, UK based publishing company typically focuses on major international destinations like Bangkok, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Venice for their guides and magazines. As far as I can tell, Boston, MA; Chicago, IL, and New York, NY are the only U.S. cities to get weekly magazines, though a few other like Las Vegas and San Francisco do get their own travel guides. I must say that Time Out’s online presence is quite disjointed, so there’s a chance that there are locations in the U.S. where they might be hiring and I just missed them.

Take a Time Out from Your Job Search

It seems as though the U.S. based Time Outs operate somewhat independently from the parent company. You’ll probably want to bounce around TimeOut.com, NewYork.TimeOut.com, TimeOutChicago.com, and TimeOutBoston.com to get a sense of all of the different sub-brands. You may also want to take a look at Time Out’s Wikipedia entry to get a fuller sense of the business. But really you should focus on digging into Time Out’s content (a lot of which they publish online) and getting a feel for how they cover different locales. Then you’ll want to read up on the specific Time Out that catches your interest and take a look at their jobs (all of the Time Outs seem to hire independently from each other). In the Worldwide office based in London they have a few job openings and also offer what they call work experience. You can use the links below to find the Jobs pages for Boston, Chicago, and New York, and you’ll see that they have a number of interesting opportunities including:

SEO Master (New York, NY)
Copy Editor (New York, NY)
Ad Operations Specialist (New York, NY)
PHP Symfony Web Application Developer (New York, NY)
Account Manager (Chicago, IL)

They’re also big on internships, so if you want to get a position on the editorial side it would probably benefit you to start as an intern. (I have a friend who did exactly that at Time Out Chicago). Here’s a list of all of the internships that they offer:

Photo Intern (Boston, MA)
Editorial Intern Intern (Boston, MA)
Art & Design Intern (Chicago, IL)
Editorial Intern (Chicago, IL)
Online Photography Intern (Chicago, IL)
Online Production Intern (Chicago, IL)
Photography Intern (Chicago, IL)
Web Intern (Chicago, IL)
Admin/Human Resources Intern (New York, NY)
Advertising Intern (New York, NY)
Art – Magazine Design Intern (New York, NY)
Audience Development Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Visual Arts Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Food & Drink Intern (New York, NY)
Public Relations Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Music Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Online Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Shopping & Style Intern (New York, NY)
Marketing & Events Intern (New York, NY)
Online Production Intern (New York, NY)
Photo Intern (New York, NY)
Editorial – Film Intern (New York, NY)
Special Projects Intern (New York, NY)
TONY Kids Intern (New York, NY)
TONY Kids Photo Intern (New York, NY)

They’re all unpaid, but they could be a good way to get a foot in the door.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own any Time Out guides or subscribe to any of their magazines?

PerkSpot

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:23:02 +0000

Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to those of you who served or are serving our country. If you’d like to use today for job search inspiration, you may want to check out jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Every job has its perks. Sometimes you have to look hard to find them, and sometimes they’re made apparent to you on your first day. A big part of the reason that I decided to intern at Orvis was that I knew I’d get a 50% discount off of everything they sold. It was awesome for someone as addicted to fly fishing as I am. As I proved, perks can be a huge recruiting tool for employers. Yet a lot of employers do a terrible job organizing, managing, and letting their employees know about perks. What’s the point in offering something if employees don’t even know it’s available to them? PerkSpot is a Chicago, IL based company that helps employers solve this problem. They have built a “proprietary technology platform” that provides “employees with a single point of access for specialty benefits, personal insurance products, and discounts on consumer goods and services.” It’s all online and in one place.

Perk Up!

I learned about PerkSpot when I met Chris Hill, the Founder & CEO, at a Chicago entrepreneurship event. We had a lot to talk about since we’re both working in the HR industry. What I liked about PerkSpot right off the bat is that they not only help employers organize the perks that they already offer, but they also help them find new perks to offer by linking them up with merchants. Although I haven’t seen PerkSpot’s software in action, it must be pretty good considering that Starbucks, DirecTV, AirTran, Williams-Sonoma, and CDW are all PerkSpot clients. If your ears perked up when you heard about what PerkSpot is doing, then you’ll probably want to check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a C# Web Developer and a Web Designer/UX Ninja. I know that they also have non-technical positions (just none that are open right now) because one of my other friends is a Marketing Coordinator there. So if you’re serious about getting in on the perks of working at PerkSpot’s perks, feel free to e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com and I can make an intro to Chris. He’s a busy guy (and so am I), so please make sure your intro e-mail is something that I’ll feel is worth passing along.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s the best perk that you’ve ever heard of?

YCharts

Willy Franzen — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:46:16 +0000

I had a prolonged job search after I graduated college. After a couple of months of browsing job boards, I realized that I needed to do more than just look at job postings. One of the things I did was decide to get serious about my finances. I got all of my money in one place, and I started investing. There were obvious benefits to doing this, but it also gave me something to talk about in job interviews to show my analytical skills (and to show that I’ve actually been doing something). My friend’s dad wrote a book called Rule #1 that explains a good methodology for picking individual stocks. I used that as my guide, and I used some online resources that it recommended of my research. I quickly found that I had to use multiple sites to get the kind of information I needed to make informed decisions. There was no one-stop shop for the figures that I needed, but now there is. It’s called YCharts, and it offers “the best charts on the web and objective, intuitive information about more than 5,000 stocks.” The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL, but all of the jobs that they’re filling are in New York, NY, which makes sense for an investment focused company.

Chart Your Progress

I spent a lot of time watching CNBC on Friday because I wanted to keep tabs on a certain IPO. I was shocked at how much factually incorrect garbage a lot of the guest analysts were spewing. They were saying things that could have been proven wrong with at two second Google search, yet there are people who make financial decisions on what these people say. If you want to make smart investment decisions, you need to base your actions on objective information. That’s what YCharts is all about, as this video explains:

If you’ve been thinking about investing your money, YCharts looks like a great resource for educating yourself. And if you’re interested in a career with a company that is using web technology to help investors, then YCharts could be a great fit. Right now their job postings only show one job suitable for a new or recent grad: Junior Web Developer. However, there will likely be other jobs in the future (some that don’t require tech skills, I’m sure), so you may want to try reaching out to them even if you’re not a Web Developer.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you do any investing?

Council of State Governments

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:44:41 +0000

A lot of people overlook the importance of state and local governments. They get all excited about federal elections, but overlook the elections that are closer to home. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for this, but I’d generally like to start seeing states taking back some power from Washington (though the thought of the State of Illinois having more power scares me to no end). Anyway, states have a huge advantage in governing in that they have 49 peers (more if you include territories, foreign provinces, etc.) who are dealing with similar issues. State governments can work together, share ideas, and benefit from each other’s experiences. A lot of that is done through the Council of State Governments, which is a nonpartisan non-profit organization that “fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy.” They’re headquartered in Lexington, KY (with multiple other offices), and they work in all three branches of state governments.

Sharing Capitol Ideas

Much of what the Council of State Governments does is done through region-based forums that bring together state officials to give them “opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships.” A state governor always acts as the organization’s President, and a member of a state legislature always act as chairman. CSG’s programming is split into three key areas: Leadership Programs, Policy Programs, and Innovations. The best way to get a better understanding of what is going on at CSG is probably to read their Capitol Ideas Magazine. If you find yourself reading for a while, you may want to take a look at the Council of State Governments’ Career opportunities. Right now they have a few opportunities that might be suitable for a new or recent grad including:

Project Assistant – Just Reentry (New York, NY)
Project Associate – Justice Reentry (New York, NY or Bethesda, MD)
Project Assistant – Justice Reinvestment (Seattle, WA)
Logistics Assistant – Justice Center (Bethesda, MD)

Hopefully one of these opportunities will be a good fit for you. There are also offices in Sacramento, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Lombard, IL; so watch out for future opportunities in those locations.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you get excited about state elections?

Digital Kitchen

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:39:37 +0000

As I mentioned on Monday, I’m all about creative ways to find interesting companies that might be hiring (like looking at Halloween candy labels). Sometimes the ideas that I come up with are way out there, and sometimes they’re pretty simple. As I’ve randomly discovered more and more cool companies in my neighborhood, I’ve realized that walking around town and looking at the nameplates on buildings has to be worth trying. Though I’ve only done it casually so far, I think I probably would have come across Digital Kitchen more quickly if I had taken it a bit more seriously. They’re a Chicago, IL, Seattle, WA, and Los Angeles, CA based company that takes part in “creative mischief for progressive brands and entertainment properties.” In other words they’re a creative agency that has domes some pretty cool work for some pretty big names.

What’s Cooking?

The first thing that you notice when you land on Digital Kitchen’s website is that it’s beautifully designed and intended to direct all of your focus to their work. You can see what they’ve done for HBO (True Blood), AT&T (U-Verse), Discovery Channel (Shark Week), Showtime (Dexter), and lots of other big time brands. Beyond showing off their work, Digital Kitchen doesn’t have a lot to say about itself. If you want to get a look inside their offices, you can check out their Blog, and if you want a more basic overview, you can take a look at their Wikipedia page. If you like what you see, then you’ll want to check out Digital Kitchen’s Careers page, where you’ll see that they have some really cool positions like On-Air Traffic Coordinator (Los Angeles, CA), Web Developer (Los Angeles, CA), and Interactive Content Producer (Seattle, WA). Most of these positions require some previous experience, but I think that new grads with the right backgrounds could be a good fit for all of these positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Digital Kitchen’s work?

Crain Communications

Willy Franzen — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:35:49 +0000

Now that I’ve lived in Chicago for three years, I’m starting to feel more like a part of the Chicago business community. And a big piece of being a part of a community is keeping up on your local news. I rely a lot of sources, but I’ve found that Crain’s Chicago Business consistently does great reporting on the Chicago business scene. Crain’s Chicago Business is published by Crain Communications, which is “one of the largest privately owned business publishers in the U.S., with more than 27 leading business, trade and consumer publications and related websites in North America, Europe and Asia.” Crain is headquartered in Detroit, MI, but their publications are headquartered in a variety of places. Crain was founded in 1916 by GD Crain Jr., and it remains a family owned business to this day despite a few bumps in the road that would be expected for any company in the publishing industry (like layoffs a couple of years ago).

Crain Your Neck

What I really like about Crain Communications is that their lineup of brands serves a lot of different interests. They cover broader business news in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York, and they cover the Advertising and Media Industry with titles like Advertising Age and TelevisionWeek. They publish Waste & Recycling News, and they have 7 publications focused on the Plastics and Rubber industries. High quality publications that target specific niches are great for advertisers, which is why Crain has an advantage over more general business publications. If you’re digging Crain’s approach to niches and you like their “Readers First” mentality, then you should definitely give their Jobs page a look. Right now they have a variety of great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

Assistant Web Producer – Ad Age (New York, NY)
Digital Assistant Managing Editor – Investment News (New York, NY)
Digital Media Analyst – Pensions & Investments (New York, NY)
Digital Reporter – Ad Age (San Francisco, CA)
Editorial Assistant – Pensions & Investments (Chicago, IL)
Editorial Assistant – Business Insurance (Chicago, IL)
Freelance Reporter – Ad Age (Washington, DC)
Marketing Database Administrator (Detroit, MI)
Part-time Editorial Researcher – Tire Business (Akron, OH)
Research Analyst – Staffing Industry Analysts (Mountain View, CA)
Staff Reporter – Plastics News (Akron, OH)
Video Editor – Crain’s Chicago Business (Chicago, IL)
Web Developer – Ad Age (New York, NY)

There are all kinds of cool opportunities at Crain, so hopefully one of them will appeal to you. Ad Age may be a sexy name because you heard about it in Mad Men, but don’t overlook writing for Plastics News or Tire Business–sometimes things that seem mundane are actually pretty interesting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read any of Crain’s publications?

Pawngo

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:20:15 +0000

Sponsored Job: Want to learn all about the technology that makes financial markets work? PEAK6 is a Chicago, IL based proprietary trading firm that specializes in inventory and risk management. They’re developing the next generation of automated trading systems and businesses, and they’re looking for a technically minded recent college graduate to join their team as a Junior Project Manager to build and scale a high speed, low latency stock trading business. Learn more and apply here.

I’ve never stepped foot in a pawn shop, but I am hopelessly addicted to watching both Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn. The two shows offer diametrically opposed views of the pawn industry. The former is all about antiques and interesting merchandise, while the latter is more focused on the people who pawn everyday items. In case you didn’t know, pawn is one of the simplest forms of credit. You give a pawn broker an item to hold as collateral, and he or she gives you a loan based on the value of the item. To get the item back you have to pay back the principal plus interest within a certain amount of time, otherwise the pawn broker can keep the item and sell it. Pawn makes credit available to anyone who owns something of value, and that’s generally a good thing. The pawn model has been around for thousands of years, so it’s about time for someone to take it online. That’s what Denver, CO and Chicago, IL based Pawngo is doing, and they’re taking it one step further. Pawngo is solely focused on the high end of pawn, so they only do loans from $250 to $100,000 (though you might be able to convince them to go higher if you have a really awesome item).

Be a Pawn for Pawngo

Pawngo’s Denver based operations facility looks nothing like your typical pawn shop. It’s truly a state of the art facility, that you can check out in the video below while also learning about Founder Todd Hills’ story (e-mail readers may need to click through).

If you’re still a little clear on how Pawngo works, you can read up on their online pawning process. I’m extremely impressed with what Pawngo is doing, and it looks like they’re growing well–they’ve already “loaned more than $2.1 million in 46 states.” I’m sure they’ll be loaning a lot more as they take in items like diamonds, gold, Apple products, DSLR cameras, and more. Pawngo makes their money from the interest on loans, but they also are working on opening an online pawn shop where you can buy high end items like Rolex watches. If you’re as fascinated by this business model as I am, then you should take a look at Pawngo’s Jobs page. Right now the two entry level jobs they have are Account Executive – Inside Sales (Chicago, IL) and ECommerce Manager (Denver, CO), but they also are looking for a an Appraiser (Denver, CO) and a Digital Marketing Strategist (Chicago, IL). Get a job with Pawngo before you have to pawn all your stuff to pay rent.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you use Pawngo?

Tootsie Roll Industries

Willy Franzen — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:01:21 +0000

I was a master Trick-or-Treater as a kid. I had a plan for Halloween, and it was all about maximizing my candy haul. I laughed at the kids who carried around those stupid pumpkin pails for candy. I had a backpack and an extra bag just in case. If I didn’t get double digit pounds of candy, I was disappointed. The best part was seeing all kinds of weird candy that you don’t see at other times of the year. One of my favorites was the tootsie rolls that came in flavors other than the traditional chocolate (which I hate). If you pay attention to the wrappers you realize not only that there are a ton of different candy companies out there, but also that a lot of the big ones are behind more brands than you’d ever think. One of the big names in the confections industry is Tootsie Roll Industries, which is based in Chicago, IL. They market and manufacture Andes, Charleston Chew, Charms Blow Pops, Dubble Bubble, Junior Mints, Razzles, Sugar Daddy, along with the obvious ones like Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops.

Let Me See You Tootsie Roll!

Before we jump in to talking about Tootsie Roll’s jobs, we’re going to go back to Trick-or-Treating and how it can actually help your job search. While going door to door asking for a job probably won’t work, sorting through a massive pile of different kinds of candy could. Effective job searching is all about idea generation, and a bucket of candy could probably introduce you to a dozen companies that you never even considered working for (or only one if you bought one of those grab bags from the store). You can do the same with cleaning supplies under your kitchen sink (CPG companies) or books on your shelf (publishers). Sometimes you just need to step away from looking for jobs, and start looking for interesting companies. Now, let’s get back to Tootsie Roll Industries. They’re a publicly traded company with half a billion dollars in annual revenue and thousands of employees, but their Jobs page doesn’t really answer any questions. It has the following information:

If you’re interested in applying to join the Tootsie team, you must meet the following criteria:

1. You’re eager to contribute to a long tradition of confectionary excellence;
2. You’re responding to a CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES posting
(Tootsie neither retains nor considers unsolicited resumes); and
3. You’re not averse to sharing your workspace with giant bowls of tasty, complimentary candy.

But then there aren’t any current opportunities posted. There isn’t even a message saying that they don’t have any openings right now. That’s pretty mean after getting us all excited with point #3–I guess it’s a trick and not a treat today. So you can either wait for a job to be posted, reach out to them against their wishes through their Contact page or LinkedIn, or look at some of the other candy companies that we’ve featured like: Russell Stover, Mars, The Hershey Company, NECCO, Charles Chocolates, Jelly Belly, Just Born Quality Confections, and Vosges. Or you could check out other Halloween related organizations like the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners’ Association, Trick or Vote, or Children’s Dental Health Project. I hope all those links didn’t scare you off.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Boo!

Spartz Media

Willy Franzen — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:28:29 +0000

Life isn’t nearly as exciting with no new Harry Potter books or movies coming out. I’m pretty bummed about it, but probably not nearly as bummed as the people who hang out on MuggleNet. In case you’ve never heard of it, MuggleNet is “the world’s #1 Harry Potter site.” It was started by Emerson Spartz when he was 12 years old, and it quickly started generating a ton of traffic. And with that traffic came some serious revenue opportunities. As MuggleNet turned into a real business, Emerson rolled it into a company called Spartz Media and started launching new entertainment focused sites. Some of the bigger names include OMG Facts, Gives Me Hope, and SmartphOWNED. Spartz Media is located in Chicago, IL (about 3 blocks from me), and they’re reaching more than 8.5 million people every month through their web properties. They’ve been at it since 2009, though MuggleNet has actually been around since 1999.

OMG Jobs

I actually learned about Spartz Media from a guy I occasionally play volleyball with who works there (though I’d heard of MuggleNet before that). He made it sound like a pretty cool place to work, and how can it not be when your business is all about making websites that entertain people? You can check out all of Spartz Media’s brand here, just make sure that you don’t end up wasting a few hours. What’s cool about Spartz Media is that it’s not all fun and games–there’s a science to what they do. Whether you want to be part of the fun, the science, or both, you should take a look at Spartz Media’s jobs. Right now they’re looking for a Business Analyst and a PHP Developer, and if you look at their Team page you’ll see that there may be other potential opportunities in Design, Web Development, Project Management, Editorial, Community Management, Business Intelligence, Analytics, and more. If you do end up applying, be sure to let them know that we sent you (and if you want an intro to my fried, just e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com). It’s a really young company, so I bet it’s a great place for new grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Spartz Media’s sites is your favorite?

Ketchum

Willy Franzen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:16:15 +0000

While we’ve featured a couple of companies located in Ketchum, ID (Smith Optics and SCOTTEVEST) and a company with a subsidiary called Ketchum (The Pursuant Group), we’ve never actually looked at Ketchum. They’re a global public relations agency that is headquartered in New York, NY and has more than 100 offices and affiliates in 65 countries. In other words, they’re pretty huge. Ketchum has five globe practices, which include Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food & Nutrition, and Technology, and 25 specialties, so they seem to cover almost everything. Some of their biggest clients are IKEA, Häägen-Dazs, and Diet Dr. Pepper, so that gives you an idea of the scale that they operate on. If you want the full rundown, Ketchum’s Quick Facts page is extremely helpful.

Ketchum If You Can

Some of the most interesting stuff I found about Ketchum isn’t on their website. That’s because they’ve been involved in a few scandals and slip-ups, and you can read up on them on the Ketchum Wikipedia page. PR is an industry where you often have to take risks, so I don’t think any of these issues reflect too poorly on the firm. Ketchum has won PRWeek’s “Campaign of the Year” award for the past three years, so some of that risk taking is certainly paying off. To see the work that Ketchum actually wants you to see, you should check out their Case Studies. There’s a lot more to see on Ketchum’s website, so you’ll probably want to do a little more exploring. If you like what you see, then take a look at Ketchum’s Careers section (which has a ton of content) and their current opportunities. Right now they’re looking for an Account Associate (New York, NY) and a Junior Project Manager (San Francisco, CA). Additionally, they have links where you can apply to future positions in New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA; and Washington, DC.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Ketchum?

Chicago History Museum

Willy Franzen — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:20:57 +0000

I’m starting to get settled in my new place. After living in two moderately new high-rises in downtown Chicago, I’ve moved into a more historic building–it was built in 1921 and served as a Chinese consulate at some point. Now that I’m starting my fourth year living in the city, I feel that it’s only appropriate for me to start learning a little more about the city’s history. That’s why I should probably make a visit to the Chicago History Museum, which is just a mile down the street from me. Ironically, the museum, having been founded in 1856, “is the city’s oldest cultural institution,” though they pretty much had to start over after the Great Fire destroyed their building and most of their collection in 1871. Three years later there was another fire that destroyed most of what remained. Luckily, there haven’t been any more fires, so the Chicago History Museum has had a decent amount of time to build a new collection.

Make Your Job Search History

The Chicago History Museum’s collection focuses on eight specific areas: Architecture, Archives and Manuscripts (including Audio), Books and other Published Materials, Costumes and Textiles, Decorative and Industrial Arts, Fine Arts, and Prints and Photographs. The scope of these collections is limited to items related to Living in the Metropolitan Area, Working in the Metropolitan Area, Governing the Metropolitan Area, The Built Environment, and Individuals and Ideas. Apparently it all adds up to more than 22 million documents and artifacts. If you want to learn more about the specific collections, you should start here. And if you find that Chicago history speaks to you, then you’ll want to take a look at the Chicago History Museum’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Computer Support Technician and a Collection Manager – Costume and Textile (requires M. A. in Costume History, Museum Studies (Costume/Textile), or related field). If neither of those positions interest you, you could also consider volunteering.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you into your city’s history?

Attack!

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:23:54 +0000

If you’re going to plan an effective attack, you often need boots on the ground. This is obviously true in military endeavors, but it can also be true in marketing. Believe it or not, having actual people doing face to face marketing can still be remarkably effective–I’m sure you’ve even seen it on your college’s campus. When companies need temporary staff for event based or experiential marketing, they often go to San Francisco, CA based Attack! (which also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York). They’re yet another Inc. 5000 company, and they’ve seen 180% three-year growth to $7.9 million in annual revenue. If you’re wondering how it all works, you’ll see that it’s mostly based on skydiving sumos.

Attack!

The best way to get a better feel for what Attack! does for their clients is to look through their laundry list of Services. The biggest focus is on Nationwide Event Staffing, but they also offer Experiential Services and Field Support. If you want to see what these services actually look like in practice, then you’ll want to check out the Attack! Case Studies. You can see the work that they’ve done for brands like Nickelodeon, VISA, Jamba Juice, and Canadian Club. If you like how different Attack!’s approach to marketing is from other firms, then you’ll want to take a look at their Careers page. You’ll see that they have a few job openings right now including Producer/Project Manager (Los Angeles, CA) and Account Manager (Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA). Give them a look, you might like the experience.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Attack!?

Phenomenon

Willy Franzen — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:35:14 +0000

When I look at creative, marketing, or design agencies, I usually like to check out their client lists and their work. I’m no expert, but it gives me a much better feel for the company. That’s why I was a bit surprised when I came across Phenomenon on the Inc. 5000–they don’t disclose their work or their clients. In fact, they promise anonymity to their sixteen clients (one of which is a country), and they mostly take on new clients who are referred to them by current or past clients. Phenomenon is based in Los Angeles, CA, and their approach is definitely different, but it does seem to be working. They’re growing like crazy with 1,274% three-year revenue growth to $15 million.

Are You a Phenomenon?

Phenomenon focuses on four key areas: Marketing Innovation, UX Innovation, Digital Innovation, and Cultural Innovation. I haven’t seen their work, but their model of anonymity is innovative, so I’ll trust that their work is too. If you do want to learn more about Phenomenon, you’ll probably want to read their Who We Are and What We Do pages, but it’s more important to read their Hiring Us page. It explains how they’re different and why they’re different. If you’re digging it, then you can just e-mail BecomeA@phenomenon.com and apply for a job (love that e-mail address). Or if you’re looking to apply for an actual position, you can check out Phenomenon’s Careers on LinkedIn. They’re looking for an Events Marketing Specialist and a Freelance Copywriter/Proofreader (Chicago, IL). I have no idea why they don’t also post these jobs on their site.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Phenomenon?

Apparel Media

Willy Franzen — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:00:58 +0000

A lot of people hate all of the advertising in sports. They get irritated by NASCAR cars, billboards in center field, and logos on jerseys. I kind of think it’s cool that sports teams are maximizing their revenue potential. But if I ever saw ads on the Yankees’ uniforms… well that will never happen… right? Advertising on sports apparel has actually been happening for a long time. Local business have been sponsoring teams and plastering their names on jerseys forever. Apparel Media is a Chicago, IL based company that is working to forever change the custom apparel and sports marketing industries at the same time. By working out deals with national advertisers and local custom apparel print shops, Apparel Media is able to give teams access to significantly discounted (20-80% off) merchandise.

Be a Running/Kicking/Throwing Advertisement

The idea of using advertising to subsidize uniform purchases isn’t anything new. What’s new is the way Apparel Media is doing it. Not only are they linking up local teams with national advertisers, but they’ve built an infrastructure that enables them to create these links through the local custom apparel print shops that teams would typically go to get their jerseys. This is an interesting choice, because I could easily see Apparel Media’s trying to do all of the printing and delivery themselves. What’s also cool about Apparel Media is that they enable advertisers to get the exact kind of targeting that they want. If you want to reach ultimate frisbee players in Des Moines with your brand, IA, Apparel Media can help you do that. Or you can get your brand on thousands of little league jerseys. The opportunities are pretty much endless. Additionally, Apparel Media is building out an analytics platform so that advertisers can measure the success of their campaigns. If you’re excited about what Apparel Media is doing, check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for people in UI Design/Development, Program Management, and Account Management. This looks like an amazing opportunity to get in early on something that could be really big.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Apparel Media?

Prophet

Willy Franzen — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:09:15 +0000

One of my favorite sources for company ideas is e-mailing people who unsubscribe from this mailing list saying they found a job or internship. I figure if somebody is hiring them, then there’s a good chance that that same somebody might hire other readers. A while back a reader told me that he landed one of a few coveted internships at Prophet. I’d never heard of Prophet before, but when I checked them out I saw that they’re “a strategic brand and marketing consultancy with offices around the globe.” Apparently, they’re headquartered in San Francisco, CA, but also have locations in Chicago, IL; New York, NY; and Richmond, VA along with a number of international offices. What I find interesting about Prophet is that they seem to lean more towards a management consulting model in how they do business, even though their focus is on areas including Brand, Marketing, Innovation, Design, and Insights & Analytics.

Make a Prophet

To get a better sense of what Prophet does, you should definitely dig into their Client List and Project Portfolio. They work with huge names like Sony, GE, Harrah’s, Visa, Cartier, United, GM, BMW, and Kellogg’s. It’s a big deal when companies like those entrust their brand identity to an outside firm. Prophet does a really great job with their website, so even though “strategic brand and marketing consultancy” can mean a lot of things, you should be able to get a really good idea of what they do and who they are by spending some time on their site. (You definitely want to look at their sections on Brand, Marketing, Innovation, Design, and Insight & Analytics.) After you’ve spent some time digging into what Prophet does, you can head over to their Careers page. Their entry level position is Associate. It looks really interesting, and I’ll bet it’s super competitive. They don’t mention needs in specific offices, but I’ll guess that they’ll find a place for you if you’re a great fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Prophet?