One Day, One Job » innovation

New America Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:01:46 +0000

There’s no question that America’s future is filled with challenges, and we’re going to be the ones who have to rise to them. It’s a huge opportunity, but it’s also a bit daunting. The New America Foundation is a non-profit organization that “emphasizes work that is responsive to the changing conditions and problems of our 21st Century information-age economy — an era shaped by transforming innovation and wealth creation, but also by shortened job tenures, longer life spans, mobile capital, financial imbalances and rising inequality.” They’re based in Washington, DC (and Sacramento, CA), and they’re working to ensure that every American generation is able to live better than the one that came before it.

Are You Part of a New America?

The New America Foundation has ideals that pretty much everyone can get behind, but how do they actually go about achieving their goals? They have a wide range of Programs and Initiatives that cover a number of areas including College Savings, National Security, Open Technology, Economic Growth, and lots more. These programs “combine ongoing research and publications with working groups, conferences and public events” to “bring innovative, cutting-edge policy solutions to the fore of the national debate.” The New America Foundation’s approach is broad, but if you think that you could help them build a better America, then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a number of positions available that look suitable for new or recent grads including A/V Multimedia Producer, Innovation Policy Research Associate, Program Associate – Global Assets Project, Research Associate – Global Assets Project, Schmidt Family Foundation Fellow, Events Associate, Field Analyst – Open Technology Initiative, and Research Associate. There are lots of options, so hopefully one of them will be a good fit for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your vision for a New America?

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?

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?

Innovations for Poverty Action

Willy Franzen — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:20:05 +0000

Want to be part of the One Day, One Job/Internship team? Here’s your chance!

When I hear the word innovation, I usually think high-tech. It’s really just about finding new things that work, even if they’re old ideas. Innovations for Poverty Action is a New Haven, CT based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to discovering what works to help the world’s poor.” By using the scientific method in everything that they do, Innovations for Poverty Action is able to optimize their programs for maximum return on investment. That means they’re able to help more people with less money, which is absolutely essential when you’re fighting poverty. It’s pretty cool that they’ve been able to create a system for reliably developing new innovations.

Be An Innovator

Innovations for Poverty Action describes itself as bridging “the gap between cutting-edge academic research and action by nonprofits, governments, and firms.” That’s an important role because theory and practice can often be far apart. The best way to get a feel for what Innovations for Poverty Action actually does is to look at their work. You can read about in-depth studies like their project evaluations of a Girls Scholarship Program in Kenya and The Impact of Microcredit in the Philippines. You’ll also want to take a look at their blog post on zero-energy lights, which are the perfect example of low-tech innovation. Once Innovations for Poverty Action figures out what works, they shift their focus to Scaling It Up. It’s all about making the most of the resources available. If you like what IPA is doing, check out their Jobs page. They have a ton of opportunities posted and some seem appropriate for new grads including:

Data Coordinator (New Haven, CT)
Fall Research Assistant (Washington, DC)
Human Resources Associate (New Haven, CT)
Survey Programmer – Part-Time Independent Contractor
Project Associate (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Analysis on Agriculture, Savings and Social Networks (Evanston, IL )
Project Associate – Researcher Outreach & Communications (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Survey Programming (New Haven, CT)
Project Associate – Various Projects (New Haven, CT)

They also have positions in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. If you’re analytically minded and want to put your skills towards erasing poverty, then Innovations for Poverty Action would be a great place for you to work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Innovations for Poverty Action?

Minimal Inc.

Willy Franzen — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:58:41 +0000

There are two ways to go about your job search. You can push or you can be pulled. You can seek out companies that you want to be a part of, or you can wait passively for companies to blast their job openings out to the world. The former will lead to far more rejection, but it can be well worth it. This is why I occasionally like to cover companies that don’t appear to have any opportunities posted for new or recent grads. If they’re doing something fascinating, they’re worth looking at regardless of what they have posted. One of the coolest things that I’ve seen lately is the iPod Nano watch made by LunaTik. It’s simple, elegant, and totally awesome. Basically it’s a watch band that you can slip a 6th generation iPod Nano into–totally putting calculator watches, game watches, and every other kind of watch to shame. Not only can you tell the time and use it as a stopwatch (with a multitouch interface), but you can listen to music and track your runs with Nike+. If I didn’t hate wearing watches, I’d totally buy an iPod Nano just so that I could get one of these watches. Now, LunaTik is the brand that these watches come from, but it seems that the whole product line came out of a Chicago, IL based product design shop called Minimal Inc.. Both are founded by a guy named Scott Wilson, so they seem to be very closely related if not formally connected.

Watch Out for Minimal Inc.

The whole TikTok + LunaTik thing started when Scott Wilson saw the newest release of iPod Nanos. As the former Global Creative Director for Nike Watches he was inspired by what Apple had done, so he riffed on the design and came up with a really cool way to make the product even more functional (and achieve what watchmakers have been trying to achieve for a long time). He went to a site called Kickstarter to raise some money for the project so that he could build it out and start selling it. His goal was to raise $15,000 in 30 days, but he ended up raising nearly $1 million (making it the most successful project in Kickstarter’s history). His idea was validated, and he went to work producing watches and expanding the product line. Here’s a good video on the whole story (e-mail readers may need to click through):

Minimal Inc. is about more than just these watches, but this project is a perfect example of the kind of work that they do. They’ve designed all kinds of cool products with the same care and style that you see in TikTok + LunaTik. I have to think that the popularity of the watches may have somewhat altered the direction of the business. Like I said before, it’s unclear how intertwined Minimal Inc. and LunaTik are, but they both seem like they’d be cool to work for. Minimal does have a Jobs page (which I can’t link to because it’s a Flash site) that lists a Senior Designer position while also encouraging “talented product designers, image designers, engineers, and project managers” to “send a resume and samples to: info@mnml-jobs.com.” My guess is that things are changing quickly at Minimal, and now might be the right time to reach out to them about working for them. They also have offices in Portland and Milan, so there could be options there too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you buy one of these watches?

Weight Watchers

Willy Franzen — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:53:50 +0000

A little known fact about me is that I earned “The Speed Limit” as a nickname during my Senior year of high school. It wasn’t because I drove slowly; it was because I somehow managed to lose 55 pounds between the end of Junior year and the beginning of Senior year. I still don’t know how it happened–I wasn’t even trying to lose weight–but it did (I’ve since gained much of it back, but part of that is because I don’t have the body of a scrawny 17-year old anymore). Apparently, there’s some mysterious weight loss secret out there that I used, but don’t know about. Unfortunately, weight loss isn’t usually that easy, and for most people it’s a huge struggle. I’m a big proponent of “the slow-carb diet” and other methods from Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Body, but it’s all about finding what works for you. For many it’s Weight Watchers. The New York, NY based company was started in Queens during the early 1960s by Jean Nidetch who “began inviting friends into her Queens home once a week to discuss how best to lose weight.” Now more than a million people across the world go to Weight Watchers meetings every week.

Jobs to Watch Out For

The Weight Watchers business is based on providing “information, knowledge, tools and motivation to help you make the decisions that are right for you about nutrition and exercise.” Everybody knows that the science of weight loss is easy. If you’re burning more calories that you take in (or at least absorb), you will lose weight. Putting that scientific fact to work is what’s so difficult. Weight Watchers is really about overcoming the psychological obstacles that prevent people from losing weight. The meetings are one way that they help people achieve this, and their Points systems is another. By simplifying healthy eating into an almost game-like system, Weight Watchers makes it easier for people to make the right decisions. In a way, weight loss is a lot like the job search in that you almost have to trick people into doing the right things because they’ll rarely do what you tell them to do. Anyway, the weight loss industry is about as competitive as it gets, but Weight Watchers seems to continue to do well. They’re expanding their online presence, and they also seem to be hiring some new people. You can learn more on their Jobs page, where you’ll see positions like Administrative Assistant (Jericho, NY), CHAMP Reconciliation Specialist (Jericho, NY), Part-Time Collections Clerk, Corporate Sales Operations Coordinator, Field Coordinator, Program Innovation Developer, and Tally Clerk.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried Weight Watchers?

Conrad Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:30:34 +0000

When I was in high school, I got good grades, did community service work through my church, played baseball and basketball, and ran a fan website about my favorite rapper (it was a long time ago, and it was profitable). It may sound like a lot, but I can’t believe how much time I wasted. High schoolers are capable of a lot, and they need to be challenged. That’s exactly what the San Francisco, CA based Conrad Foundation does. They’re a non-profit organization that challenges “high school students to create innovative products using science, technology, and entrepreneurship to solve real-world, 21st century problems.” They do so through the Spirt of Innovation Awards, which is a competition put on in honor of Pete Conrad (whom the foundation is named after), the astronaut who commanded Apollo 12. Pete was expelled from a prestigious high school because he couldn’t read or spell. It turned out that he was dyslexic, and the headmaster at his new school was able to help him make the most of his genius. After high school he went to Princeton and the moon. Not bad for someone who couldn’t read or spell in high school.

Making the Most of High School

High school is the time to start getting serious about life, yet many talented students don’t get on the right track because they’re not engaged at school. The Conrad Foundation and the Spirit of Innovation Awards is all about giving students an alternative setting to pursue their interests. The Foundation’s vision is three-fold—they envision:

An education system where every student is engaged in and excited about learning.
An innovative, 21st century STEM workforce capable of solving society’s grand challenges and sustaining our knowledge based economy.
A movement in transformative education where innovation and entrepreneurship play an integral role in developing leadership & thinking skills.

The main activity of the Foundation is The Spirit of Innovation Awards Competition, which focuses on three specific areas: Aerospace Exploration, Clean Energy, and Cyber Security. You can read about all of the specifics of the competition on the Conrad Foundation site, and if you like what you see, then you may want to consider Getting Involved. They’re looking for Mentors and Supeheros on the volunteer front, but their Jobs page doesn’t show any opportunities. Luckily, I checked on Idealist, which says that they’re looking for an Administrative Assistant and a Fundraising Manager. If you are a fan of innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, there couldn’t be a better place for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’d you accomplish in high school?

Idealab

Willy Franzen — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:53:46 +0000

Usually, when you start a company, you do it with a specific purpose in mind. Maybe you want to create and sell a line of products or offer a suite of services. When Bill Gross started Idealab in 1996, his approach was a little different. For him and his Pasadena, CA based company, products are actually new companies. In just under 15 years, Idealab “has created and operated more than 75 companies with 30 IPOs and acquisitions.” I’m sure you’ll recognize many of the names—there was eToys in 1997 and Picasa in 2002. They also had NetZero, PetSmart, Tickets.com, Citysearch, Commission Junction, and lots more. You may not be familiar with many of Idealab’s current companies, but you will be if their track record is any indication. Idealab continues to generate and test ideas, and the best ones get more attention and are eventually turned into companies.

Share Your Ideas

The best way to get a feel for Idealab is to take a look at their full companies list. They have profiles on each of the companies that they’ve started, so you can really dig in and learn a lot. Before doing that, though, you may want to read their Introduction, their Corporate FAQ, and their Timeline. After you do that, you should have a pretty good feel for what Idealab is all about. If you like what you see and feel that you’d thrive in a “world where no idea is too crazy and yet solid results are expected,” then you should check out Careers at Idealab. Their job postings show a variety of opportunities, and a few seem suitable for new or recent grads. These include Controls & Software Engineer (San Diego, CA), Prototype Software Engineer, Software Engineer, Web Developer, and Associate Product Manager. If you don’t see anything that fits you, you can always e-mail careers@idealab.com and tell them how you think that you’d fit in.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Idealab?

Fahrenheit 212

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:50:02 +0000

I was flipping through the June issue of Fast Company to take a look at their list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business (Lady Gaga is #1) because I figured it would probably lead me towards some new companies to feature. Oddly enough, the profile in magazine that caught my attention first wasn’t even from the list. It was a short profile of Geoff Vuleta, the CEO of New York City based Fahrenheit 212. He’s building a new type of consulting firm—one where IDEO meets McKinsey. He thinks that most innovation firms ignore the fact that the products and ideas that they create need to make money, and he thinks that traditional consulting firms rarely have ideas good enough to serve the markets that they so easily identify. Fahrenheit 212 focuses on helping major companies find new areas for growth—areas that will provide in excess of $100 million in new revenue. But what might be the most unique thing about Fahrenheit 212 is their business model. They only get paid if their ideas work, as they “put up to two thirds of [their] fees at risk, subject to hitting agreed commercial milestones on the initiative.”

Get These Jobs Before They Boil Over

I usually look skeptically at people who say things like “I’m an idea person.” It’s very rare for someone to succeed on an idea alone. Geoff Vuleta is very much an idea man. He came from the advertising industry, and that’s one place where you can get by on ideas (after spending many years executing your way up the ladder). However, it isn’t Geoff’s ideas that scored Fahrenheit 212 clients like LG, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and NBC Universal. It’s the fact that Geoff’s ideas are only executed on when there’s a real market opportunity. There are plenty of innovation firms churning out new ideas every day, and there are plenty of consulting firms getting paid big bucks to try to help corporations do what they’re already doing better. Fahrenheit 212 is combining those two approaches with the thought that 1 + 1 = 11 (here are some case studies). If you like the way that math looks, then you need to check out jobs at Fahrenheit 212. I’d imagine that most of Fahrenheit 212′s hiring is done above the entry level; however, their job postings seem to be more focused on talent than experience. Right now they’re looking to fill positions like Graphic Designer, Video Designer, Innovation Associate – Idea Development, and Innovation Associate – Commercial Strategy. You can reach out to them about any of the positions at careers@fahrenheit-212.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Fahrenheit 212′s approach?

Aruliden

Willy Franzen — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:56:12 +0000

I feel as though I’ve been coming across a lot of innovation design firms lately. I guess it must be a growing field, which makes sense considering that design-focused companies like Apple are making a killing lately. Today we’re taking a look at Aruliden, a New York City based “brand strategy and product design consultancy formed by Rinat Aruh and Johan Liden in 2006 to bridge the gap between design and marketing.” They’re a small firm, but they make up for it by working with big name clients like Motorola, Jaguar, MINI Cooper, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Volkswagen. And not suprisingly, the work that Aruliden has done for these clients is just as impressive as the names of the clients. There’s the Motorola Sparrow and there’s retail strategy for Starbucks. Then there’s Areaware Clips and Scoot, Hydrogen Scooter. As you can see, Aruliden is always working on cool stuff.

Are You Aruliden?

If I had to compare Aruliden to some of the other innovation firms that we’ve featured, I’d say that Aruliden leans a bit more towards the marketing side than most. If you take a look at their capabilities, you’ll see that they list Strategy, Marketing, Product Design, Brand Identity, Packaging, Research, and User Interface (all done in eight languages) in that order. Still, it seems to me that Aruliden is very much in the camp of people who believe that the product is the marketing. Aruliden doesn’t get specific about what kind of jobs they offer, but their Contact page does encourage interested people to apply to jobs@aruliden.com. Usually with these kinds of firms you’d want to have a product design background, but I think at Aruliden that may not be necessary. (For instance they’re currently looking for a Strategy Intern, a position that doesn’t require design skills.)

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Aruliden’s projects do you like most?

Ammunition Group

Willy Franzen — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:59:36 +0000

I still haven’t quite worked through all of the companies that I want to cover from the Fast Company World’s Most Innovative Companies list. It really is amazing how helpful magazine lists can be for job seekers. One company from the list that stuck out to me was Ammunition Group, which came in as the 5th most innovative design company. The reason that I’m so impressed with them is that they can claim Apple as a client. If Apple hires you to help with design, you’re doing something right. In addition to Apple, the San Francisco based product, interaction, and brand design firm has also worked to develop the Barnes and Noble Nook and some really interesting Lady Gaga headphones. Whether it’s designing products, identities, or interactions, Ammunition Group is one of the best at what they do.

Arm Yourself

Once you take a look at both Ammunition Group’s work and their client list, you’re going to impressed. They’re constantly working on unbelievably awesome projects. The problem with innovation firms like Ammunition Group is that they’re typically small and really hard to land a job with. It’s just the nature of the business—innovation comes from the best and the brightest. Ammunition Group only has a couple dozen employees, and they don’t even have a Jobs page. They do, however, mention on their Contact page that anyone interested in a career should reach out to Meghan Durney at Durney@ammunitiongroup.com. A simple cover letter and résumé probably won’t do it, so you’re going to have pull out all the stops if you want get the attention of the people at Ammunition Group.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Ammunitiion Group’s designs do you like most?

Corporation for Enterprise Development

Willy Franzen — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:40:16 +0000

It’s tax time, which means that I’ve spent some time looking over my records from last year. This year is already looking better than last year thanks to our sponsor mentioned above. Hopefully it will mean that when I do my taxes in 2011, I won’t consider myself a “low-income entrepreneur.” But if I still do, I’ll at least have the option of getting some support from the Corporation for Enterprise Development. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that is “dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for low-income families and communities.” The program that I’m alluding to is the CFED’s Self-Employment Tax Initiative, which helps to provide free tax preparation services for people like me (though I haven’t actually taken advantage of any of these resources). That’s just a small slice of what CFED does, though. Their broader goal is “working at the local, state and federal levels to create economic opportunity that alleviates poverty.”

Watch What Develops

What’s interesting about CFED is that their programs span across many different interest areas. They help people with tax preparation, they work to make manufactured housing a more practical option, and they manage Individual Development Accounts, which are “are matched savings accounts that help people with modest means to save towards the purchase of a lifelong asset. “CFED’s “think-do-invest approach grounded in community practice, public policy and private markets” is unique because it focuses on creating opportunity, not providing assistance. It’s about teaching people how to fish, not giving them fish. If you want to be a part of it, you should check out CFED’s Jobs page along with their Idealist page. Right now on the Idealist page there are two positions that might be suitable for new grads: Special Assistant to President and Policy & Research Assistant. Check out the full postings for all of the details on how to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about CFED?

PopTech

Willy Franzen — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:50:06 +0000

It’s an exciting time to be in your 20s. We’re living in a period where technological innovation is constantly in our hands. It’s not in some spaceship that we see on tv or behind closed doors; it’s all around us. Beyond the tangible stuff, it’s never been easier to share and spread ideas. PopTech is a perfect example of this. They are a Brooklyn, NY based non-profit organization that has created a “a global community of cutting-edge leaders, thinkers, and doers from many different disciplines, who come together to explore the social impact of new technologies, the forces of change shaping our future, and new approaches to solving the world’s most significant challenges.” Even if you don’t end up working for PopTech, hopefully you can be a part of that thriving community as you move forward into an exciting career.

PopJobs

PopTech operates in a number of different areas. They run an annual conference in Camden, ME every October that brings the PopTech community together. PopTech also runs a Social Innovation Fellowship program and PopTech Labs. Then there’s an Accelerator and, of course, PopTech’s web media. They’re using every way that they can to spread ideas and to get people interacting about important issues. If that sounds exciting to you, then you should check out PopTech’s Jobs page. They don’t actually post positions, but they ask that “people passionate about changing the world” drop them a line. You can find all the info there.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of PopTech?

Propeller

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:34:47 +0000

I’m fascinated by the field of industrial design. As much fun as it is to build virtual products like this website, I wish that I had the talent and creativity to develop something tangible. Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that, because it seems that there are more and more industrial and innovation design firms popping up lately (or maybe I’m just starting to discover more of them). It makes sense. Look at what Apple has done since it refocused and reemphasized beautiful industrial design. More and more companies are using design as their point of differentiation, yet most of them need outside help. That’s where firms like Hoboken, NJ based Propeller come in. As they put it, they “create products, packaging, and modes of visual communication that elevate human experience.”

Propel Yourself

Getting into industrial design without a background in engineering or design, is extremely tough. Even with the right background, the competition for jobs at the hottest firms can be fierce. That’s why you need to work to find the firms that are up and coming and not as widely known. That seems to be the case with Propeller, because my Google-ing didn’t turn up much additional information (although that could be because they chose to use a name that is a very common word). Their website is pretty sparse, but it’s well-design and shows off some of their work. The only problem is that it’s all in Flash, so I can’t link you to specific sections. What you’ll probably want to look for is their Careers section where they offer opportunities in Industrial Design, Graphic Design, and Mechanical Engineering. If you want to apply, you should send them an e-mail at careers@gopropeller.com It should tell them a little bit about yourself while also showing off your best work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

GoPropeller.com

What’s your favorite industrial design?

RKS

Willy Franzen — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:10 +0000

Apparently the hot dog is a killer. Who knew? I had heard that the preservatives in hot dogs might cause cancer, but I read yesterday in this Fast Company article that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently “called for the redesign of hot dogs” because of the choking hazard. One of the Academy’s doctors even went so far as to say that, “If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child’s airway, you couldn’t do better than a hot dog.” The article went on to discuss how RKS, a Thousand Oaks, CA based industrial design firm, was playing with ideas on how to redesign the hot dog. That’s a big task to bite off, but RKS was able to come up with some pretty cool concepts in their brainstorming. It shows why they can claim companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Nissan, and HP as clients.

Bite Off More Than You Can Chew at RKS

Despite their work on sausage design (did I ever mention that I took a Meat Science course in college?), RKS actually isn’t usually focused on food. While they seem willing to work on any type of project, their areas of focus include: Product Definition, Consumer Research, Market Analysis, Brand Strategy, Brand Communications, Industrial Design, Engineering, Prototyping, Human Factors, User Interface, Manufacturing Liaison, Packaging Design, Web Design, Channel Strategy, and Experience Design. RKS says that they “create designs that harmonize function, aesthetics, and emotions,” and that’s the key to what they call Psycho-Aesthetics®. Those are all nice words, but to really see what it all means you need to look at RKS’s portfolio and case studies. The RKS website is filled with great information about them, so you should definitely spend some time getting to know what their business is about. Once you do that, you can check out their Jobs page. They don’t post any positions on there, but they do allow you to apply for a job in the following areas: Industrial Design, Design Strategy, Graphic Design, Engineering/Innovation, Project Management, Model Shop, and Business Development. I’m not sure what it takes to get an entry level job at RKS, but you can be sure that you have to be very good at what you do. In addition to their web submission form, you can also reach out to RKS about employment opportunities at careers@rksdesign.com or by contacting Amalia Azzam Human Resources at amalia@rksdesign.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How would you redesign the hot dog?

Agency Nil

Willy Franzen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:58 +0000

Considering that I do this nearly every day, I see a lot of companies and a lot of jobs, but today I came across something that I’ve never seen before. It’s called Agency Nil, and it’s an full-service advertising agency, except it’s nothing like any ad agency that you’ve ever seen. They don’t have a physical location, they don’t have a salaried staff, and they don’t have set fees. It’s almost as they don’t exist (I think that’s where the “nil” comes in), but they do. As PSFK puts it, Agency Nil “hopes to channelize the skills of experienced but laid-off talents from the advertising industry, as well as that of graduate students from advertising programs – people who just can’t seem to lay their hands on that elusive job.” In other words, they’re trying to put the glut of available talent to good use. It’s brilliant.

Will Work for All It’s Worth

The whole idea behind Agency Nil is that clients pay what they think the work they get is worth. They do have to cover any expenses, but beyond that the billing is completely discretionary. It allows them to put all of the risk on the agency, and that means the client is likely to get a lot more creativity than they would ever get in house. Ageny Nil’s slogan is “cheaper than freelance, better than interns,” and I think it’s pretty obvious why. Agency Nil was started by Hank Leber, a recent grad of the graduate program at VCU Brancenter, and he’s looking for more talent to join him at Agency Nil. If you’re interested in working in a pure meritocracy with a lot of uncertainty, send something impressive to audition@agencynil.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the Agency Nil concept?

Invention Machine

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:49:03 +0000

A lot of people think inventing is easy. You see those guys like Billy Mays screaming on tv, and you think to yourself, “I could have thought of that.” Believe it or not, even those stupid infomercial products aren’t easy to come up with, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the world of invention. Inventing a new product is a long, arduous process that requires a ton of resources. Invention Machine is a Boston based software developer that “drives sustainable innovation by enabling global organizations to consistently generate breakthrough ideas that accelerate product development.” It’s hard for a non-inventor to understand how software can help the inventing process, but judging from the number of large corporations that are using Invention Machine’s software, there’s something there.

Become a Part of the Machine

Since Invention Machine has a corporate video that goes into more detail about what they do, I’m going to give you a little break from reading.

If you head over to Invention Machine’s Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of job openings right now. None of them scream entry level at me, but you should certainly take a look at both the Inside Sales Representative and User Interface Designer positions to see if they might give you an idea of where you can fit in at Invention Machine. They do offer a number of internships, so they clearly value young talent. They say that you “may submit your resume for a specific position, multiple positions or general employment by emailing a resume to jobs@invention-machine.com,” so don’t be shy about reaching out to them about a job opportunity.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever invented something?

Root Cause

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:51:30 +0000

If there’s one criticism that I often hear about the non-profit world, it’s that they’re plagued by inefficiency. It’s certainly not true across the board, but taking the profit motives out of an organization can certainly create efficiency issues. Additionally, things like organizational structure, egos, and political agendas can disrupt for-profits and non-profits alike. Root Cause is a Cambridge, MA based non-profit strategy consulting service that “envisions a world in which the public, private, and nonprofit sectors work together to invest and re-invest in the most efficient, effective, and sustainable solutions to social problems.” In other words, they want to find the absolute best way to solve the world’s social problems, and then work with social innovators and social impact investors to make things happen.

The Root to Success

Beyond consulting, Root Cause has 5 other initiatives: Knowledge Sharing, Social Impact Research, InnerCity Entrepreneurs, Social Innovation Forum, and Public Innovators. Each of these initiatives is focused on achieving Root Cause’s values:

Focus above all else on the social problem being addressed, regardless of organizational structure (government, for-profit, nonprofit), ego, or political agenda.

Take a rigorous, thoughtful, and creative approach to work that integrates a broad range of perspectives.
Strive to integrate practice, applied research, and public policy.

Take an entrepreneurial, goal-oriented approach to work, with a commitment to integrity, diversity in all forms, and learning by listening, acting, and on-going self improvement.

Collaborate to support new and existing systems, institutions, and infrastructures in order to provide all types of organizations with access to the information, capital, and tools they need to develop enduring solutions to social problems.

It’s a refreshing approach that sounds like it has the potential to truly change the way non-profit work is done. If you agree, you’ll probably want to check out Root Cause’s Jobs page as well as their job postings on Idealist. Right now they have an opening posted on Idealist (but not on their Jobs page) for for a Consulting Research Associate. It looks like a fantastic opportunity for a new or recent college grad. If you’re interested, send a cover letter and resume to Abby Fung at afung@rootcause.org by June 19, 2009.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about Root Cause’s philosophy?

?What If!

Willy Franzen — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:41:54 +0000

We’ve seen some companies with funky names. Weird made up words. All upper case or lower case. Odd punctuation. And then there’s ?What If!. It kind of looks like someone’s software project gone wrong. It’s definitely not a software project, and I’d say ?What If! is more like a consulting firm gone right. Their business is built on 5 key values: freshness, passion, action, love, and bravery, which sounds a bit different from the values of most companies. The reason that ?What If! deviates from the norms both in name and values is that they’re an innovation company. It’s all about developing new ideas and putting them into action, whether the ideas be products or customer experiences. ?What If! has a long and impressive list of clients, so they’re not just some off the wall company that is all ideas and no action. They’re based in the UK, but they also have offices in New York and Shanghai.

Don’t Leave Yourself Asking ?What If!

Whether it’s innovating to increase the value of research or to help a high-tech business enter the hospitality industry, ?What If! is constantly working on cool projects, and this is obviously reflected in their jobs. ?What If! offers jobs in the UK, Asia, and the US, but we’re only going to focus on their job opportunities in the US today. They have a nice interactive map on their recruitment page, so it’s really easy to view all of their jobs if you’re interested in working abroad. In New York, open positions include Capability Consultant, Innovation Consultant, Creative Coordinators, and Training Consultant. The job descriptions aren’t like most job openings, so it’s hard to get a read on how much experience is really required for each position, but the way that I read the descriptions tells me that the the Creative Coordinator job is most suitable for new grads. Just as the job descriptions are a little different, so is the application process for jobs at ?What If! You can apply from the specific job descriptions, and you’ll get an online application form with questions like “What is the best idea that you’ve ever made happen?” and “If I was on a 12 hour flight with you what would I love about you? And what would irritate me?” You can also apply for an unlisted position, so if you think that you have the talents for innovation consulting but don’t know where you’d fit in, that’s probably the best way to go.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

?What If!

Gravity Tank

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:14:25 +0000

If you Google “gravity tank,” one result tells you that “A simple, inexpensive gravity tank in a swine manure liquid-solid separation process will help producers control hog odors.” Another says that in a rooftop water gravity tank the gravity pressure is .434 times the height of the bottom of the tank from the fixture in feet. The Gravity Tank that we’re looking for is very different. It’s a Chicago based innovation consulting firm that combines research, strategy, and design to push their clients in new directions. Their staff consists of “anthropologists, former architects, filmmakers, engineers, graphic designers, industrail designers, MBAs, quant researchers, professors, brand strategists, and more.” They’re small, with only 35 employees, but they’ve already some very cool work with some very big names.

Get Pulled In by the Gravity Tank

As Gravity Tank puts it: “Companies call us when they want to enter new markets, reinvigorate existing brands or redefine their customer experience. They don’t want business as usual. They want meaningfully different.” If you have the same feeling about your job searching – wanting “meaningfully different” – then you need to check out Gravity Tank. I’m always fascinated by innovation consulting firms, as they look like some of the coolest places to work in the world. I wish that I could scatter links to Gravity Tank’s site throughout this post to show how cool they are, but their site is entirely Flash based, which means no links. Actually, we can link to some of their job descriptions because they’ve posted them in PDF (and they’re some of the best designed job descriptions that I’ve ever seen). Gravity Tank is currently looking for a Motion Designer and a Receptionist / Event Planner. Both positions have some work experience requirements, but they still look they might be of interest to new and recent grads. Additionally, Gravity Tank is always looking to hear from talented people, so you can reach out to them at career@gravitytank.com. They have a “Meet the Team” link on their About page, which will show you all of the positions that they currently have staffed, so you can use that to be a little more informed if you decide to cold call.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Gravity Tank?

Inventables

Willy Franzen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:38:45 +0000

Over the weekend I was having a conversation with some friends about what kind of bagged lunches we used to take to school. A common theme was the popularity of Lunchables and how it was a rare occasion for most of us to have our parents actually buy Lunchables at the supermarket (I didn’t care for Lunchables, so I was scorned by the group). Lunchables have absolutely nothing to do with today’s company, except that whenever I hear the name Inventables, I immediately think of Lunchables. Inventables is a Chicago based (I think that I can actually see their office from my window) company that helps companies innovate by making sourcing and selling materials and technologies easy. In other words they go out and find the newest, most innovative materials and provide a subscription service that provides information to companies that are looking for new materials to use in their products. They look for materials like we look for entry level jobs.

Are You Inventable?

It’s hard to explain how cool the idea behind Inventables is. You really need to check out their Innovation Center product to see what it’s all about. You’ll also want to check out Inventables’ Customer List and Case Studies. You’ll see exactly how Inventables is changing the face of many companies’ products. One example is with Fossil watches – Inventables provided Fossil with “Inventables’ item ele.222, a combination LCD and push-button switch” which inspired the idea of creating a stop watch that can be slapped to start and stop (so you don’t have to push that tiny little button). Another example of Inventables’ driving innovation is when they provided Micro-Suction® Surface tape to Palm to provide a base for their Treo docks that won’t slip. If you’re fascinated by materials and love innovation, then a job at Inventables is just what you’re probably looking for. Right now they have job openings for a Research Coordinator (may require experience), a Supplier Advocate, and a Client Specialist. There are also always freelance Technology Hunter jobs available with Inventables. To apply for any of the jobs with Inventables, you should head over to the individual job descriptions and scroll down to the bottom – there’s a link to an application form.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did your parents let you get Lunchables? Will your boss let you get Inventables?

frog design

Willy Franzen — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:51:42 +0000

We’re big on innovation here. We don’t like talking about companies that are doing things the way that they’ve always done. They’re not only boring, but they’re also destined for failure. Look at the auto industry. You can blame the downfall of the Big 3 on a lot of things, but a lack of innovation has to be a big part of your argument. We’re trying to bring innovation to the way that you find jobs, and there are hundreds of startups out there that are defined by innovation. It’s all around us. frog design is a global innovation firm. They “work with the world’s leading companies, helping them create and bring to market meaningful products, services, and experiences,” and they’ve been doing it for almost 40 years. They’ve worked with clients as vaired as Disney, GE, HP, Logitech, Microsoft, MTV, Seagate, Yahoo!, which goes to show you that they’re not easy to pigeonhole. frog design is based out of San Francisco, and they have offices (or as they call them, studios) in Austin, New York, San Jose, Seattle, Milan, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, and Shanghai

These Jobs Might Give You Warts

It seems that on most days the companies that we feature need a little help telling their story, so we do our research and try to make it easier for you to understand what exactly they do. That’s not the case today. Frog Design tells their story perfectly on their About page with the following image. That’s why we’re just reposting it.

I have nothing to add, except of course what kind of jobs at frog design might appeal to new college grads. Considering that they have a ton of internships, you might expect them to have some sort of college recruiting program, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Their Internships page actually says that they “occasionally have internship opportunities for entry-level,” but that’s in reference to internships. It seems like they might do all of the entry level hiring through internships, so you may want to check out our post about frog design’s internships on One Day, One Internship.

On the other hand, if you’ve developed some serious skills relevant to frog design’s core strengths, you might want to take a look at some of their “mid-level” jobs that could be attainable for top entry level candidates. Online Marketing Specialist / Web Developer (San Francisco), Digital Designer II (San Francisco), or Temp Model Maker (San Jose). These are probably stretches for new grads, so go read the Top 10 Reasons to Work at frog to get yourself amped up before you apply. Maybe you’ll just blow them away with your passion.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you love innovation as much as we do?

Visde

Willy Franzen — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:04:21 +0000

When we review companies, we always like to look at their client lists. It’s a good way to see what a company has done and what kind of reputation they have. Visde’s client list speaks for itself. It includes Apple, Boeing, Disney, Intel, Macromedia, and Yahoo!. If Visde were an accounting firm or a waste management company, you’d probably nod your head and say something like, “Oh, that’s nice.” The reason this client list is so impressive is that Visde is a product experience design firm. They help some of the biggest names in product design with… product design. Some of their latest projects include a personal hearing aid remote control and a national ethnographic study of parents, teachers, and school administrators for online standardized testing. These are just two types of things that you might end up doing at Visde. Their main areas of expertise are Innovation Strategy, Design Strategy, Conceptual Explorations, User Research, User Experience Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, Visual Design, Industrial Design, Package Design, Web + Software, and Kiosks.

Working at Visde

We’re not going to lead you on – getting an entry level job at Visde is probably a longshot. They’re a small company and it seems that they mostly hire people with significant work experience. With that said, working at Visde is just the type of opportunity that is worth taking a risk on. It’s the type where you need to forget about the resume and cover letter that you’ve been sending out to most companies, and try something new that will blow them away. It’s a potential dream job, and it’s worth shooting for if you have knowledge and/or experience in any of the ares that we mentioned at the end of the previous paragraph.

Visde doesn’t have a jobs section on their site, but they do have a Who We Are section. At the end of the page is a photo with a question mark in it, and a note asking interested candidates to send a resume to jobs@visde.com. In other words they encourage cold calling. There isn’t much more information about working at Visde, but they have locations in San Jose, CA and Evanston, IL. They also have posted two jobs on various job boards in the past month – one for an Interaction Designer and another for a Sr. User Experience Designer. The former seems like it’s probably been snapped up, and the latter is clearly not intended for new college grads, but it shows that Visde has been actively looking to hire recently. Hopefully that will encourage you to take a chance and make them want to hire you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Visde.com
Visde’s Team (Closest thing to a Jobs page)
What Visde Does
Visde’s Work
Visde Labs’ Blog

Have you heard anything about working at Visde? Leave a comment and let us know.

Menlo Innovations

Willy Franzen — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:30:55 +0000

A company’s home page should make it instantly clear what the company is about. For many companies this is not the case. There’s all kinds of fluff that fails to give potential customers a proper brand introduction. Menlo Innovations doesn’t make this mistake. Their home page introduces a problem: “In 2004, the U.S. wasted over $55 billion on failed and poorly run software projects.” Then it identifies the cause: “These failures can be traced to a lack of understanding of the business issues being addressed and the wrong implementation methodologies being used.” Finally the home page poses their solution:

Menlo Innovations applies High-Tech Anthropology® to help our clients fully understand their business problems and opportunities. If the solution requires software, Menlo either develops the software within our Menlo Software Factory or The Menlo Institute trains your staff to use proven methodologies to develop the software themselves.

It’s clear. It’s concise, and it gets to the point. There’s no misunderstanding about what The Menlo Institute does.

A Seriously Cool Place to Work

We first came across Menlo Innovations when we were reading about 10 Seeeeeriously Cool Workplaces. We were impressed by their “software factory” setup, so we just had to check and see if they have any entry-level opportunities. What we found is that Menlo Innovation’s job postings are almost as cool and unique as their office space (which you can get a tour of). Menlo’s current openings include a short, entertaining description and then a list of “Recommended Reading.” We’ve never seen anything like it before, but being book nuts, we love it.

Menlo Innovations appears to have two types of job opportunities listed on their site, all of which are located in Ann Arbor, MI. First, there are specific job listings. Menlo is looking for a Project Manager / Camp Counselor / Customer Service Representative, a User Experience Designer / High Tech Anthropologist® / Empath, a Software developer / Perpetual Student / Mentor, and a Quality Assurance Specialist / Experiment Designer / Enabler. Second, Menlo is also always looking to hear from talented Software Developers, Business Analysts, Project Managers, and Quality Assurance Pros to work on a contract basis. Menlo’s Careers page includes a note that says, “At this time Menlo is only accepting resumes for contract positions.” We’re not sure if this also applies to the specific jobs that they have listed, but it doesn’t matter, you just want to get your foot in the door of their exceptionally cool office.

There’s no mention of required experience in any of the job descriptions, and it seems like Menlo Innovations is the type of place that focuses on talent over experience. It’s hard to tell which of these jobs are best suited for someone who is considered entry-level, but if you’re a new college grad who has the talent, we’ll bet that Menlo Innovations will give you a shot. You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to Carol Sheridan, Software Factory Floor Manager at careers@menloinnovations.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Trivia Fact: Menlo Innovations is so named as a hat tip to Thomas Edison.

Lund and Company Invention

Willy Franzen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:25:22 +0000

The other day, we came across an article about a toy design studio that has come up with technology to create variable-speed bullets. They’re called Lund and Company Invention, but they eerily remind us of Zevo Toys from the movie TOYS with Robin Williams and LL Cool J. Ok, they haven’t been taken over by a military general who is using child labor to fight wars through video games, but Lund and Company did create a toy rocket that is so technologically advanced that it has the Army drooling. We have no idea what kind of jobs Lund and Company offers, nor do we know if they ever hire recent graduates, but it’s Friday, and we like giving you research projects on Fridays.

Bang, Bang, You’re Dead!

Many a child has made that exclamation, whether playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians, although that was back when a finger to point at someone was the only toy that you needed. Lund and Company has taken children way past that with a toy rocket that is “powered by burning hydrogen obtained by electrolysing water.” Despite the fact that this technology is now being weaponized (to make guns less, not more, lethal, we should add), Lund and Company Invention is a toy company at heart. Their portfolio is full of fun things like Color Etch-A-Sketch, Luminator Sports Equipment, and Baby Alive Sip-n-Slurp. If you always dreamed of a job like Josh (Tom Hanks) had in BIG, then Lund and Company Invention would be the place to work.

Are the Jobs Top Secret Too?

Lund and Company has a section of their website that is top secret and requires a login and password to enter. Information about jobs with seems to be almost as well guarded. Their Contact page does say that they invite prospective new hires to contact them, but that’s it. We tried to do some more research on Lund and Company, but we couldn’t come up with much. One site says that they have 5 employees, while another says that they have between 250 and 1,000 employees. We did a LinkedIn search for the company name, and only found the company’s owner, Bruce Lund, listed (use that information wisely). By the way, Bruce went to Duke, and here’s an article on him from their Alumni Magazine. We’re not sure what to make of it all, but we do know that they’ve been growing for almost 25 years and they just expanded into a bigger office (photos of the move here).

Researching Lund and Company can be somewhat confusing, so you might just want to bite the bullet and contact them. You can send a general inquiry first, or you could just send them a resume with an amazing cover letter on why you want to join a company with the world’s funnest client list (don’t really use the word funnest). Lund and Company is located in the Chicago, IL area, and they’re at least open to getting cold called. We have no idea what kind of jobs they might offer, but you can probably make some guesses. We’re sorry that we don’t have specific details on jobs, but Lund and Company is way too cool of a company not to tell you about.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

LundAndCompany.com
Contact Lund and Company Invention (Essentially Their Jobs Page)
About Lund and Company
Lund and Company’s History
The Lund and Company Process

What toy from Lund and Company’s portfolio do you like the most?

Ziba Design

Willy Franzen — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:38:25 +0000

Judging from the attention that our post about IDEO’s jobs received, a lot college students must be fascinated by process of innovation and its reliance on design. We certainly are. Whether it’s the way the office is laid out at your first entry-level job or the comfort of the chair at your first desk, design will have a huge effect on your productivity in life. In fact, good design is often what separates what you like from what you don’t like. Ziba Design is a Portland, OR based company that is obsessed with “understanding people, brands and technology.” That actually sound a lot like yesterday’s company MindShare’s mission statement, but don’t worry, Ziba is looking to do something very different with this understanding.

Ziba Means Beauty in Farsi

Ziba’s vision of beauty is “a moment in time when social, human, economic and technical considerations are resolved in a single expression.” Ziba uses this definition to guide everything they do: Environmental Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Communication Design, and Research & Planning. Each of these areas of Ziba’s business is guided by 5 factors: Ideas, Design, Experiences, Education, and Inspiration. You can learn more about Ziba’s work processes by watching this YouTube video on research and innovation. Ziba’s website does a great job of explaining what the company is about and how they work. You should also take a look at their client list and project archive to get a better understanding of their approach.

Ziba’s Careers page says they’re always looking for great design talent, and they’re open to unsolicited resumes and portfolios. They do have two jobs listed now, but one is an internship and the other is for an Industrial Designer Level II, which requires 2-4 years experience. We’d imagine that they sometimes at the entry-level for the presumed Industrial Designer I position. Your best bet is to send a top-notch portfolio along with a cover letter and resume to Jobs@ziba.com. If “you’re interested in a culture sustained by original thought and a deep passion for creating design with meaning,” take a look at Ziba. They have offices in Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What design inspires you?

IDEO

Willy Franzen — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:00:50 +0000

Are you fascinated by innovation? Do you run out to the store when BusinessWeek publishes their issue on the 50 Most Innovative Companies? (Blatant Self-Promotion: Read our new article on how magazine lists can help you find a job.) Almost all of the companies on BusinesWeek’s list are companies that deal directly with consumers, whether they provide products or services, but IDEO is different. They serve businesses by helping them innovate through design. You’ve probably bought many products that IDEO has had a hand in, but you likely attributed the innovations in the product to the manufacturer. Think again.

IDEO is truly a different kind of company, and we don’t feel we can do it justice with just a little blurb. For an introduction to IDEO, read this BusinesWeek feature article on IDEO from 2004. After you get through that, visit the IDEO home page and poke around for a while to get a better feel for the company. Be sure to look at their locations, their portfolio, and their about page. Each of these pages has a multitude of links for you to visit with engaging text and photographs. You may also want to check out how IDEO is working to build a better bicycle or what life looks like through the eyes of an IDEO consulting design engineer. IDEO truly is a fascinating company with amazing ideas; we could read about them all day.

As for jobs, IDEO’s actual Careers page does not have a lot of information. Hopefully browsing around IDEO’s home page will give you a pretty good sense of what it’s like to work at IDEO. Many of the positions that are listed on their Careers page require 1-3 years of experience, but especially in the design industry, it’s possible that you have developed significant relevant experience while in college. These are the positions that we think may be worth a shot for someone who is about to graduate.

Palo Alto
Web Developer
Junior Interaction Designer
Key Client Coordinator

San Francisco
Entry Level Desktop Support

Boston
Business Development Coordinator

Chicago
Entry Level Desktop Support
Recruiting Coordinator

Shanghai
Renderer (Dead Link)

IDEO is currently transitioning to a new online applicant tracking system, so there may be some confusion on their careers site. In the past they’ve welcomed applications for unlisted positions, but we don’t see that on their site anymore. It’s probably still worth a try.

We think getting a job at IDEO is probably a long shot, especially for someone fresh out of college, but if you love innovation in design, a career at IDEO is something to aspire towards. Why not try now and see what happens?

Note: On April 21st we revisited entry-level jobs at IDEO.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about IDEO and its innovative ideas? Tell us in the comments section.