One Day, One Job » Michigan

buildOn

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:49:24 +0000

It’s easy to think of the developing world as having completely different problems from the ones we have in the U.S. But when you look more closely, you start to realize that the link between poverty and a lack of good education is consistent across the world–our inner cities and the developing world have similar problems that require similar solutions. buildOn is a non-profit organization based in Stamford, CT that aims to break “the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education” by “putting youth in service and building schools in developing countries.” Most non-profits either focus on education abroad or domestically, buildOn is unique in that they believe that they can better solve both problems by working on them at the same time.

Build Something

You’ll probably want to start your research on buildOn by reading Founder Jim Ziolkowski’s story. After that you’ll want to dive into the “buildOn Is a Movement” video:

buildOn’s domestic programs are based in Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Oakland/San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; and Stamford, CT. The goal is to engage 100,000 U.S. based students every week by 2031. In the same time period, they want more than 1 million students to be attending schools built by buildOn. It sounds like an amazing movement, so if you want to get involved, head over to buildOn’s Careers page. Right now there are a few positions posted worth checking out:

Program Coordinator (San Francisco, CA)
Program Coordinator (Stamford, CT)
Program Coordinator (Philadelphia, PA)

These look like amazing job opportunities, so give them a close look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about buildOn?

Chloe + Isabel

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:59:07 +0000

There are essentially two completely different jewelry businesses. There’s the high-end business that is centered around gold, platinum, diamonds, and other gemstones (I know all about that having recently bought an engagement ring). Then there’s the fashion focused business that is more about completing an outfit. The latter is where Chloe + Isabel is focusing. They are a New York, NY based startup that targets 18 to 28 year old women with jewelry in the $18 to $200 price range. That’s not all that unique. What is unique is that Chloe + Isabel is approaching this market by combining direct selling with web-based social technology. Essentially they’re bringing affiliate marketing to a group of people who may not even know what affiliate marketing is.

You + Chloe + Isabel

I tend to be skeptical of direct selling “opportunities,” but I know that they can be great for developing entrepreneurial skills. I think Chloe + Isabel really gets it right with their online platform. You don’t need to make an initial investment in inventory to sell for them–you can just use their “personalized online dashboard” to put together your “own boutique shopping experience.” To get a better sense of Chloe + Isabel’s style, I recommend that you take some time to browse their jewelry. Then you probably want to read up on their Merchandiser opportunity and watch this video about it:

Even if direct selling isn’t for you, it will help you better understand how the Chloe + Isabel works. Once you start to get it, you can take a look at Chloe + Isabel’s Jobs page, where they list their non direct selling opportunities including:

Customer Care Representative (San Francisco, CA)
Sales Development Manager (San Francisco Bay Area, Utah, Florida, Texas, and Michigan/Illinois)
Graphic Designer
Web Designer
Ruby Developer
User Interface Designer

Whether you’re interested in a full-time job or want to do some direct selling, Chloe + Isabel has some great opportunities for new and recent grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you purchased anything from Chloe + Isabel?

Millward Brown

Willy Franzen — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:39:07 +0000

If you’ve watched Mad Men from the beginning, you’ve probably noticed that research goes from completely irrelevant to getting marginal respect over just a few years. The progression has continued, and research has become a huge part of marketing and advertising. While Millward Brown hasn’t been around since the Mad Men days, the New York, NY based research agency has been “specializing in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research” for the last 35 years. All of Millward Brown’s research is focused on building stronger brands, which is why their 82 offices across 52 countries are able to work with 90% of the world’s top 100 brands (not sure whose list they’re using).

Head Millward Brownward

The thing I love about advertising is that it’s truly a combination of art and science. The best research in the world can be more effectively applied with wonderful creative, and the best creative in the world can be made even better with research. To get a better understanding of how that works, you need to check out Millward Brown’s Case Studies. You can learn about things like how neuroscience can be used to improve direct mailings and how a South American country used research to promote wine consumption. It’s fascinating stuff, so if it convinced you to look into a career in research, then take a look at Millward Brown’s Jobs page. Right now they have a few opportunities for new or recent grads including:

Account Manager (San Francisco, CA)
Account Manager (New York, NY)
Associate Client Analyst (Chicago, IL)
Market Research Executive (Lisle, IL)
Part Time Client Service Support (Fairfield, CT)
Part Time Client Service Support (Detroit, MI)
Presentation Specialist (Santa Monica, CA)

They also have a ton of international opportunities, so you may also want to take a look at those.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Millward Brown?

ForeSee Results

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:30:19 +0000

Reasoning Mind is an education focused non-profit that uses the web to teach kids math, and they’re hiring 30 new grads as Program Coordinators. Learn more about these amazing entry level opportunities.

Yesterday we looked at a company with a terrible applicant tracking system (that’s the software that they use to post their jobs on their web site). If you’ve been job searching for any time at all, you’ve been frustrated to tears by how unusable some ATSs are. The companies that develop these terrible products obviously don’t use “customer experience analytics.” Or if they do, they’re focusing on the customers who are paying the bills (HR) and not the customers who are using the product. For companies that care a little bit more about how they interact with customers, there’s ForeSee Results, an Ann Arbor, MI based company that helps “clients deliver even greater satisfaction to their customers.” They do this by collecting “millions of satisfaction survey responses annually, quantifying voice of customer and putting it in context to support strategic and tactical decisions.”

ForeSee Yourself in a New Job

I don’t think I’ve ever heard from a new grad who wants to work in customer service. Yet we constantly hear about companies that are successful because of their amazing customer service. Where’s the disconnect? It seems to me that an ambitious young person who developed really strong expertise in customer service could build a pretty remarkable career. Or you could build a remarkable business. That’s what ForeSee Results has done. By developing a platform to continuously measure customer satisfaction “across channels and customer touch points, including websites, call centers, brick-and-mortar locations, mobile sites and apps, and social media initiatives”, ForeSee Results is able to deliver actionable information to their clients–information that can drive sales, decrease refund, and otherwise materially affect the business. If you’re excited by what ForeSee Results is doing in customer experience analytics, check out ForeSee Results’ Jobs page. Right now they have a few positions that you should make note of: Administrative Coordinator, Product Manager, Satisfaction Research Analyst, and Marketing Representative. Not all of the jobs can be considered “entry level,” but check them out and think about how customer service can play into your career plans.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about ForeSee Results?

Urban Science

Willy Franzen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:26:44 +0000

I’ve only purchased a car once in my life. It was in 2001, and it was my first car–a ’97 Ford Explorer. I definitely did some online research, but most of my time was spent going to dealers and actually looking at cars. It seems that more than a decade later, the car buying process hasn’t changed all that much, even though so many other business models have been upended by the Internet. That’s not to say technology isn’t becoming a tremendous asset in the automotive retail business. Managing dealer networks and marketing cars can get extremely complicated for auto manufacturers, and that’s where Urban Science steps in. Though they may sound like a non-profit that teaches inner-city kids science, they’re actually a Detroit, MI based “consulting and software solutions” provider that helps “automotive clients increase market share and boost profitability through high performing retail networks.” It all started in 1977 with a Wayne State University professor named Jim Anderson, who was disappointed to hear that Cadillac was told one of their marketing problems “couldn’t be solved.”

Are You an Urban Scientist?

Since its founding Urban Science has grown from one guy to 750+ employees, and they serve all of the biggest names in the auto world. Just look at their Client Showcase. Every name you could ever want to see on there is: Audi, Bentley, Ford, GM, Land Rover, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Chrysler, Honda, and it keeps on going. It’s hard to understand what it is that Urban Science does if you’re not in the automotive industry, but you can start to understand by looking at their four step process for clients:

I highly recommend that you read through those pages, as they dig into the exact value that Urban Science provides to clients (and understanding that will help you understand how you can offer value to Urban Science). After you do that, check out Urban Science’s Careers page. They have quite a few jobs posted, and a bunch are “Recent College Graduate,” and they include:

Client Services Associate
QA Associate
Analytical Services Associate
Associate Developer
Information Technology Operations Associate
Analytical Services Associate (Long Beach, CA)
IT Associate (Long Beach, CA)
Client Team Associate (Long Beach, CA)
Associate (Herndon, VA)

Urban Science looks like a fascinating company, so look over these positions and see if any of them make sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

When was the last time that you bought a car?

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?

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?

Zingerman’s

Willy Franzen — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:20:00 +0000

I spent the weekend in Ann Arbor, MI visiting some friends, and today I’ll be doing office hours at The Career Center at University of Michigan from 3 – 5 PM (if you’re a UMich student, you should definitely stop by and say hi). I’ve already been to Zingerman’s twice, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my girlfriend forces me to go one more time (not that I’m complaining). In case you’ve never been, Zingerman’s is an Ann Arbor institution. Their flagship store is a deli, but they also have the following businesses: a bakery, a workforce training consulting firm, a caterer, a mail order company, a creamery, a sit-down restaurant, a coffee company, and a confectioner. The whole business generated nearly $40 million in revenue in 2009, and the deli alone generated more than $10 million in revenue. The really remarkable thing is that they’ve stayed local throughout. It’s not about taking the concept and growing it into a chain.

Zing!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered a sandwich (always modified to exclude the disgusting substance known as mayonnaise) and had no confidence that the person taking my order actually listened to what I said. At Zingerman’s that’s not an issue. Their staff is phenomenally well trained and extremely attentive. It’s not what I’ve come to expect when I deal with businesses in the service industry. It all has to do with Zingerman’s approach to people. They hire selectively, they train well, and they offer amazing benefits. Most of their jobs aren’t of the type that we’d typically cover, but “the Zingerman’s experience” changes everything. So take a look at Zingerman’s Jobs page, and see if any of the positions appeal to you. There’s a ton to be learned at Zingerman’s, and I’m sure that they do a lot of promoting from within.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever had a sandwich from Zingerman’s?

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?

Mango Languages

Willy Franzen — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:54:59 +0000

I’ve come to accept that I’ll probably never learn a foreign language (maybe I’ll try a new computer programming language one day). I think my crazy high school French teacher ruined me, but I must admit that technology is making the idea of learning another language more and more attractive. The problem with most language learning software is that it can be really expensive? Mango Languages is a Farmington Hills, MI based company that has solved this problem for a lot of consumers. They provide online language learning services mostly to libraries, schools, government agencies, and corporations. That means that they get the guys with deep pockets to foot the bill for the people who are actually learning the new languages. It’s a smart approach that works considering that Mango Languages made the Inc. 5000 with 629% three-year revenue growth to $3.8 million in revenue.

Do You Like Mangoes?

Now anybody can go sign up for one of Mango Languages online courses (and the prices actually don’t look bad at all), but they’ve made a conscious decision to target multi-use accounts. That means their sales approach is likely different from other companies that offer similar products. Speaking of the product, you’ll probably want to check out what Mango Languages offers. You can read up on their methodology, check out some of their videos, and even do a free trial. That should answer all your questions, but if it doesn’t, you can take a look at the Mango Languages FAQs. If you’re digging the product, then you may want to consider working at Mango Languages. The video below is a quick intro to life at Mango Languages:

If that looks good to you, continue on to the Mango Languages Careers page. They have a bunch of job openings including Bilingual Project Coordinator, Help Desk Support, Human Resources Generalist, Integration Manager, Interactive Designer, Operations Coordinator, Sales Representative, Software Developer, and Web Developer. As you can see there are lots of options, so it’s pretty likely that one of them will be suitable if you’re a language lover.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What languages do you speak?

Hamilton Farm Bureau

Willy Franzen — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:53:35 +0000

Somehow my Dad and I forgot to get the proper cord to hook up my iPhone to his car speakers. That’s a big mistake when you’re doing two 13 hour drives in less than a week. We really could have used a book on tape considering that NPR is pretty much the only non-music station that comes in reliably in Northern Maine (and the CBC once we get close to the border). I know I’ll catch a lot of flack for this, but I’m not an NPR fan (it bores me to tears, and the CBC is even worse); however, there was a segment this morning that caught my attention. It was on Hamilton Farm Bureau and how they’re having trouble hiring qualified people. Considering that the company is based in Hamilton, MI and has locations across the state of Michigan, you’d think they’d be able to tap into the nearly 20% of state residents who are under or unemployed. Who knew that a cooperative that “sells fertilizer and propane gas, packages and ships eggs, and helps farmers market what they raise” would have so much trouble finding good people?

Cooperate with Hamilton Farm Bureau

I get a lot of complaints from readers who think that I cover too many companies in tech. I realize that a lot of people don’t have the skills for those kinds of jobs, but that’s where the jobs are. I’m waiting for the day that someone e-mails me and asks me about resources for learning the kind of skills that might make them a fit for these kinds of jobs. Hamilton Farm Bureau is facing a similar problem to many tech companies. I guess there just aren’t a lot of people who have strong sales skills and an interest or background in agriculture. If you went to an ag school, you could be a great fit–and if you didn’t, maybe there’s some way you could position yourself to become one.

I must admit that I am a bit frustrated with Hamilton Farm Bureau. Wade Blowers, their COO, was quoted extensively throughout the NPR piece on how the cooperative has had to slow down its growth (they currently have 130 employees and $130 million in revenue) because it can’t find the right people for jobs. He goes on to mention a few ideas for why this might be such a problem (but he never dives into exactly what he is looking for). I have a way better idea than he does. THEY DON’T HAVE JOBS POSTED ON THEIR JOBS PAGE. I’m not joking. They just had a huge PR win for their employment branding efforts, and they are completely unprepared. All they have posted are two delivery positions. I don’t see any postings for sales people who “typically take on a heavy consultative role in the farm.” I don’t see any positions related to agricultural technology. So how you should respond? Do some research. Learn more about Hamilton Farm Bureau and their business. Then track down Wade Blowers and tell him how you can help grow the business. It’s worth a try, right?

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you hear the NPR segment on Hamilton Farm Bureau?

MyBuys

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:15:26 +0000

Baseball is considered a tough sport because even the greatest players fail about 60% of the time (taking a walk is never a failure!). I think that means if e-commerce were a sport, nobody would play it. Failing 97% of the time on average doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? (I guess that’s why a lot of people hate the job search.) If most e-commerce companies could get to even a 96% failure rate, they’d be thrilled. MyBuys is a company that aims to help online businesses sell to the 97% of people who don’t buy (they call them “Group97″). They’re headquartered in Redwood City, CA, and they also have a large presence in Ann Arbor, MI. MyBuys’ focus is on personalization. They believe that by learning more about customers every time that they don’t buy something, you can craft a personalized message or offer that is more likely to convince them to become buyers. What’s really cool is that MyBuys has developed technology to automate this.

Get out of Group97 for Job Seekers

The difference between a 96% and 97% failure rate doesn’t seem all that big, but it would actually represent a 33% increase in sales. Can MyBuys deliver those kind of results? I’m sure it depends on the client, but here’s the MyBuys pitch:

MyBuys offers a better way to engage with Group97, consistently and over the entire customer lifecycle. We get to know shoppers; match their interests to the products in your catalog; learn more about them every time they interact with your business; and present them with the most compelling offers coordinated across all touch points.

I know we’ve talked about retargeting recently, MyBuys offers a different approach for convincing non-buyers the error of their ways. If you want to see what this looks like in action, you can read up on some of MyBuys’ Case Studies along with their Solutions Overview. If you’re intrigued by what MyBuys is doing, then I recommend that you take a look at their Careers page. They have a number of opportunities that seem suitable for new or recent grads including Business Development Associate (Ann Arbor, MI), Client Success Associate (Ann Arbor, MI), Client Success Analyst (Ann Arbor, MI), Media Analyst (Ann Arbor, MI), Financial Analyst (Ann Arbor, MI), and Software Engineer Associate – Engineering Development Program (Ann Arbor, MI). Oddly enough, all of the positions in Redwood City, CA require more experience.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you part of Group97?

Mobilize.org

Willy Franzen — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:46:06 +0000

Looking for a job in the non-profit world? Samaritan’s Purse has a number of great opportunities for you.

Yesterday we looked at an organization called Youth Service America that encourages youth to get involved in their communities. Today we’re going to look at an organization with a similar, but slightly different approach. Mobilize.org is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that aims “to improve the way democracy works by investing in Millennial-driven solutions.” I kind of hate the term Millennial, but it is important that our generation makes an effort to act together in our shared best interest. It all started with a guy named David Smith who was a student at UC Berkeley. He learned of another tuition increase, and instead of taking it, he mobilized some peers and made some noise. It worked, and David decided to make the movement national by starting Mobilizing America’s Youth, which eventually became Mobilize.org.

Get Mobilized

Often when we look at non-profits, we see that they call themselves “non-partisan.” Sometimes this is true, but often it’s pretty clear that the organization leans one way or the other politically. Mobilize.org describes itself with a term that I’d never seen before: “all partisan.” What does that mean? It’s a little hard to explain, but the best explanation that I could find was here. As far as I can tell, Mobilize.org isn’t as much focused on specific issues as they are focus on equipping our generation to engage in the political process and make things happen. If you want to be part of that, check out Mobilize.org’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Community Mobilizer. They’re specifically looking for someone to cover San Jose, CA, but they also have these positions in Detroit, MI, Miami, FL, Charlotte, NC and Philadelphia, PA.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about Mobilize.org?

YuMe

Willy Franzen — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:26:48 +0000

Who would have thought that video advertising would be the new thing? It’s only been around for more than 50 years. But as consumption of video moves from watching what is broadcasted over air/cable/satellite to watching what you want when you want to over the Internet, advertising has to change with it. People will click away from a website in an instant if they’re annoyed by the ads, while tv viewers are much slower to change the channel (even if it’s one of those commercials where the volume is twice as high). Yet, there’s so much more potential online–you can actually get someone to take an action by clicking on the ad. Television doesn’t offer that. YuMe is a Redwood City, CA based company that was founded in 2004 to encourage the growth of online video content by making it easy to monetize. The founders recognized “that the nascent broadband video sector was going to need a strong ad model and technology platform to generate revenue,” so they built it.

You at YuMe

If you’re like me, you probably hate online video ads. There are ones that slow down your Hulu viewing There are ones that automatically run for 30 seconds before you watch a 15 second video of some guy getting hit in the crotch. There are even ones that cover an entire page and start playing as soon as you open a new web page. You can get as annoyed with online video ads as you want, but they’re the cost of watching free content. YuMe has built an exceptional platform for both advertisers and publishers, and that’s why they’re serving “millions of in-stream video ads per day” and working with top publishers like MSN, Hearst, and Fox News. If you’re fascinated by how advertising is fueling the growth of online video, then you should definitely check out YuMe’s Jobs page. While most of their jobs require some level of prior experience, you should still check out the following positions: Business Operations Analyst, Sales Development Account Executive (Redwood City and New York), Sales Planner (Chicago and New York), Support Engineer – Mobile, and Technical Support Engineer. You may also want to check out some of the internships they have listed, because a few seem to be tailored to grads. And if nothing looks like great fits for you, they also welcome applications for unlisted positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about online video ads?

Wolverine World Wide

Willy Franzen — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:04:01 +0000

Today’s a big day–not only is it St. Patrick’s Day (in past years we’ve taken a look at General Mills, Luck Stone, and Shamrock Boats) but it’s also the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And what ties those two things together (besides being excuses for drinking during the day)? Shoes! It’s a little-known fact that all leprechauns are shoemakers, and we know that all basketball players are obsessed with shoes. That’s why we’re going to take a look at Wolverine World Wide, a multi-brand shoe company based in Rockford, MI. Their brands include Bates, Cat Footwear, Chaco, Cushe, Harley-Davidson Footwear, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, Patagonia Footwear, Sebago, Track ‘n Trail, and Wolverine, almost all of which are targeted towards rugged, outdoorsy customer bases. Most of the brands don’t offer great footwear for playing basketball, but they have plenty of shoes for leprechauns that wants to cause mischief and trek to and from the end of the rainbow.

Wolverines and Leprechauns

Wolverine World Wide was founded in 1883, and since then they’ve been making high quality leather products. At first it was pigskin work gloves, then horsehide shoes. Now their products have high-tech materials like those that come from Vibram. Wolverine World Wide has come a long way over the past 125 years, and I’m not just talking about their footwear. As they’ve added brands, they’ve been able to expand their reach to the point that they now have sold products in 190 countries. That’s no surprise considering the respect that Wolverine World Wide’s brands command in the world of footwear (Sebago is my favorite). If you love shoes, but more from a functional standpoint than a fashion standpoint, then check out careers at Wolverine World Wide. They don’t have a ton of positions that seem suitable for recent grads (they do offer a bunch of internships), but the following positions are worth taking a look at: Designer, Corporate Accounting Analyst, Global Web Content Producer, and Customer Service Representative. There are also a bunch of retail positions posted.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own shoes from any of Wolverine World Wide’s brands?

Exa

Willy Franzen — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:53:50 +0000

Everything that I know about aerodynamics I learned from MythBusters. Ok, that’s not completely true–AP Physics taught me a little bit too, but MythBusters does a remarkable job of explaining how different objects (from bullets to cars) react to the drag forces of air and water. Today I found a company that puts MythBusters to shame, at least when it comes to aerodynamics (but definitely not when it comes to explosions). Their name is Exa, and they’re a Burlington, MA based company that “develops, markets, and supports simulation software for the fluids engineering marketplace along with a full suite of engineering consulting services.” They typically work with companies in the “automotive, aerospace, architectural, environmental, electronic, and heavy equipment industries,” so I’m sure that you can imagine what kind of cool projects they’ve been involved with. Think optimizing the USA 4-man bobsled that won the Olympic Gold Medal or providing simulations for a Discovery Channel TV show called Ultimate Car Build-Off (ok, it’s not MythBusters).

Are You Dynamic Enough?

Since I’m only TV educated, I’m obviously not the best person to judge Exa’s offerings. But their clients are. Since companies like Audi AG, BMW AG, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai, Kenworth, MAN, Nissan, Peterbilt, Renault, Scania, Volkswagen AG, Volvo Trucks and many others trust Exa to help them “create competitive designs” and shorten “product design cycles and improving time-to-market,” I have to believe that Exa is a leader in the field. In addition to aerodynamics, Exa also focuses on thermodynamics, aeroacoustics, and how they interact with each other. I’d tell you more, but I’m already in over my head. Obviously, Exa is looking for people with very specific types of knowledge, but they do offer some opportunities that could be appropriate for a new grad (though many require Master’s Degrees or higher and some prior experience). If you look at their Jobs page, you’ll see positions like Application Engineer (Livonia, MI), Field Application Engineer (Livonia, MI), Aerodynamics Application Engineer (Burlington, MA), Geometry Expert (Stuttgart, Germany), Praktikant (Stuttgart, Germany), Application Engineer (Stuttgart, Germany), Aerodynamics Application Engineer (Livonia, MI), Computational Aeroacoustics Engineer (Brisbane, CA), Thermal Engineer (Livonia, MI), Application Engineer(s) – Heavy Vehicle North America (Burlington, MA), Software Engineer – Geometry (Burlington, MA), Computational Aeroacoustics Engineer (Livonia, MI), and Application Engineer (Munich, Germany). All of these job postings have very specific requirements, so it’s hard for me to determine what might be appropriate for recent grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How aerodynamic are you?

Nissan

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:52:28 +0000

If you haven’t already taken a look at our profile on MATCH Public Charter School, now is the time to do it. They’re changing the world of education, and they’re hiring a ton of new grads.

I don’t know about you, but my college never gave me Presidents’ Day off. At it’s core it’s an important holiday, but it’s pretty much become a reason for car dealerships and furniture stores to have sales. Since it’s a day for cars and I’ve been going through Fast Company’s list of The 2011 Most Innovative Companies, I decided it’s only appropriate that we take a look at Nissan USA, which came in at #4 on the list. While Nissan is headquartered in Japan, their US group is based in Franklin, TN with a number of other locations across North America. Now, the reason that Nissan is getting so much buzz is that they recently released the Nissan LEAF Electric Car, the “first mass-market all-electric car.” With the release of this automobile, Nissan went from an industry laggard to a leader in sustainability. It’s hard to say whether electric cars are truly the future, but you have to give Nissan props for going all out.

Plug In to Nissan

It’s really interesting to think about careers in the automotive industry. In some ways it seems super risky–there’s a ton of change going on. On the other hand it has to be a good bet–cars aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The big question for car guys and girls is where do you go? Do you take a risk on a newcomer like Tesla Motors? Or do you play it safe (or not so safe) with one of the Big Three? Maybe somewhere in between? It’s really hard to say which car manufacturers will be on top in ten years, but you have to like Nissan’s chances. Their slogan is “SHIFT_the way you move,” and they say that they want to make “cars that are more efficient, more beautiful, more inspiring and more human than ever before.” If that gets you fired up, then you’ll want to check out Nissan.jobs. The site includes a section on Student Opportunities, but it really only tells you that they offer internships, entry level jobs, and an MBA rotation program. It’s completely unhelpful, and their job search function isn’t much better.

Despite Nissan’s claim that they “have many exciting opportunities for recent undergrads,” I don’t see them posted. My recommendation is that you take a look at their internship postings, and use the information in those to inform you on what might be available. Then send a general application from here. Nissan’s current internship offerings include (can’t link to them because of the way their site works): Communications Intern (Franklin, TN); Manufacturing Intern (Smyrna, TN); NTCNA Engineering Intern (Farmington Hills, MI); Production Control/SCM (Smyrna, TN); Parts, Service, & Accessores Intern (Mt. Juliet, TN); Purchasing Intern (Farmington Hills, MI); NMAC Dealer Review Coordinator Intern (Irving, TX); Sales & Marketing Intern (Franklin, TN); NMAC Collections Intern (Irving, TX); Infiniti Business Unit Intern (Franklin, TN); Finance Intern (Franklin, TN); Social Media Marketing Intern (Franklin, TN); and Engineering Intern (Canton, MS). I wish that I could be more helpful, but Nissan needs to get their campus and online recruiting acts together.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever driven a Nissan?

Volunteers of America

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:22:13 +0000

When you’re job searching, volunteering is a great way to both put your skills to use and develop new skills. There are countless non-profit organization that put volunteers to work in situations where they can really make a difference. One of our country’s largest volunteer organizations is Volunteers of America, which is a faith-based non-profit headquartered in Alexandria, VA. With their staff of 16,000 paid employees and 70,000 volunteers, they’re able to help “more than 2 million people in over 400 communities in 48 states.” Since the organization was founded in 1896, they “have supported and empowered America’s most vulnerable groups, including at-risk youth, the frail elderly, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions.” An organization that has been around as long as Volunteers of America has must adapt to changes over the years. While they continue to remain focused on providing neighborly aid to all people, it looks like Volunteers of America is putting more emphasis on helping the growing population of aging Americans.

Volunteer for a Job

Volunteers of America has a nice video on their About page that goes more in-depth in describing how they work and what they do. I’ve embedded it below (e-mail readers need to click through).

Volunteers of America also has this Overview sheet that provides some really specific information about the organization’s work. If you’re moved by their mission, then you’ll want to check out Volunteers of America’s job opportunities. They separate these into three groups: National Office, Nationwide, and Health Services. The Nationwide section actually has over 200 positions posted, along with 25 entry level opportunities, so it probably makes the most sense to check out. They have a wide range of opportunities, and they’re in a variety of locations, so you should be able to find something that piques your interest.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Volunteers of America?

ePrize

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:56:58 +0000

Now that we’re entering the holiday season, it’s time for all kinds of promotions, sales, and contests. The holidays can be financially stressful for a lot of people, which is why so many companies offer promotions that try to ease that burden a little bit. Black Friday sales are probably the most visible way that retailers do this, but you also see plenty of interactive promotions this time of year. If one of your favorite brands is doing a holiday promotion, there’s a decent chance that ePrize is behind it. They’re a Detroit, MI based company that offers a wide range of solutions—from sweepstakes to collect & win to loyalty programs. I’ve run contests on this site before, and it’s not easy to do effectively—especially if you don’t have experience. ePrize brings more of a decade of experience to the table, so they can ensure that their clients get a serious return on all of the free stuff that they’re giving away.

Your ePrize Could Be a Job

ePrize is constantly working with big names. Their client list includes GM, Gap, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mattel, Facebook, Sony, AT&T, J. Crew, WWE, Domino’s Pizza, and plenty more. If you’re not impressed with that list, then you’ll never be happy. To get a better feel for what it is that ePrize actually does, you should look at the company’s portfolio. It includes recent promotions like Bob Evans’ Super Spud Sing Along and Mint’s Drop Your Debt Challenge. There’s a lot of stuff to look at, so spend some time getting familiar with how ePrize works. Then head over to their Jobs page . Right now they’re looking to fill the following positions: Talent Coordinator (Detroit), Interface Developer (Detroit), Promotions Manager (Detroit), Sales Prospector (Detroit), Account Coordinator (New York), Project Coordinator (Detroit), Software Engineer (Detroit), Web Developer (Detroit), and Flash Developer (Detroit). There are lots of cool opportunities, so give them a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you won any contests run by ePrize?

Environment America

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:44:36 +0000

Want to connect with me and other One Day, One Job readers? Join our LinkedIn Group.

Now, I’m not one to worry much about Global Warming, especially when I’m enjoying a snap of 60-plus degree weather in Chicago in mid-November, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about the environment. There’s no doubt that our way of life has numerous negative impacts on the natural world around us, and we’re not doing enough to minimize those impacts. Environment America is a nationwide, non-profit “federation of state-based, citizen-funded environmental advocacy organizations” that is headquartered in Washington, DC. Their strategy is focused on combining “independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for the environment.” (Yes, they’re another special interest that is fighting special interests.) They’ve been around for 30 years, and I’m sure that they’re going to keep on going as long as mankind is harming the environment.

Try a New Environment

While much of Environment America’s work is focused at the state level, some of of the broader initiatives that they’re currently working on are Repower America (Green Energy), Stopping Global Warming, Our Rivers, Lakes & Streams, and Stop Toxic Pollution. As you can see, Environment America spreads their work across a lot of issues, which means that they have a ton of different job opportunities. You can find the full rundown here. For students and recent grads, their Fellowship Program is probably the best fit (and I believe potential locations include Mobile, AL; Little Rock and Fayetville, AR; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Washington, DC; Miami and Tallahassee, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Des Moines, IA; New Orleans, LA; Portland, ME; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Ann Arbor, MI; Minneapolis, MN; St. Louis, MO; Gulfport, MS; Missoula, MT; Las Vegas, NV; Concord, NH; Trenton, NJ; Albuquerque, NM; Albany and New York, NY; Raleigh, NC; Columbus, OH; Portland, OR; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Austin, TX; Richmond, VA; Seattle, WA; and Madison, WI), but you may also want to check out positions like Communication and Development – Grants Associate (Los Angeles, CA), Financial Assistant (Washington, DC), Executive Assistant (Boston, MA or Washington, DC), Communications Associate (Boston, MA or Philadelphia, PA), Web Associate (Boston, MA), and Online Organizing Software Developer (Denver, CO). There are all kinds of options, so give everything a good look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What environmental issues are you most concerned with?

MacUpdate

Willy Franzen — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:51:06 +0000

I’ve been a Mac user since the early 90s. No joke. I remember the days of trading floppy disks with shareware on them back before the Internet. There weren’t a lot of Mac users, so we had to band together. In fact, I used an Apple IIe before I had a Macintosh, so I’ve been through all of the ups and downs with Apple. It’s a great feeling to walk into a college library and see more Macs than PCs. Even when I was here at Cornell, PCs were still dominant with college kids. Obviously the Internet along with the insane growth of Apple’s market share has made Mac software way easier to find, but Apple still doesn’t have an “app store” for programs to run on your desktop/laptop. That’s where MacUpdate comes in. They are “the number one, Mac-only software website on the Internet.” They not only make it easy to find great software for your Mac, but they also have software that automates updates to third-party applications.

Keep Your Mac Up to Date

You may think that desktop software is dead and that the future is on mobile and web-platforms. That’s not necessarily wrong, but MacUpdate came in at number 233 on the Inc. 500. That means that they’re growing revenues at a ridiculous rate. I guess that happens when your website gets nearly 10 million visits per month. They’ve built an incredible platform for promoting great software, and it’s obviously very profitable. If you still get excited about downloading the newest applications for your desktop Mac, then you should consider a job at MacUpdate. Right now they have a few positions posted. The one that seems most suitable for a new or recent grad is App Store Guru. It sounds like an awesome opportunity for a Mac lover, and it’s location flexible. You can work from anywhere, although they’ll give preference to people in Austin, TX; Ann Arbor, MI; and Traverse City, MI. Check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use MacUpdate?

Forensic Fluids Laboratories

Willy Franzen — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:51:32 +0000

Do you like animals? Need a job? If you said yes to both, then you need to check out entry level opportunities at Nestle Purina. They’re our sponsor this week.

While on a fishing trip last month, I met a guy who was telling me about his daughter’s coursework in forensics. He mentioned that her college’s program has its own house for practicing crime scene investigation. Apparently, it’s filled with all kind of carnage—you know, bullet holes, blood stains, and other—ahem—bodily fluids. I told the guy that I didn’t understand how this house was any different from most college housing after a good weekend, but he didn’t seem to appreciate the humor. My point is that the area of forensics is growing, and Kalamazoo, MI based Forensic Fluids Laboratories is a perfect example of this. They’re an Inc. 500 company with 1,680.7% three-year revenue growth and $2.8 million in annual revenue. Forensic Fluids Laboratories specializes in testing oral fluids—in other words, spit—with a heavy emphasis on drug testing.

Salivate Over These Jobs

There’s a decent chance that once you land a job, you’ll be subjected to a drug test. It’s become a common practice, mostly because it helps companies limit their liability and reduce turnover costs. The problem with drug tests are that they’re extremely invasive. Both urine and blood samples are difficult to collect, and can only be 100% accurate if the samples are collected under supervision by a reliable source. Hair tests provide another alternative, but apparently they’re quite expensive. Forensic Fluids Laboratories offers the opportunity to test for drugs with a simple swab of the mouth. Within 72 hours they can identify a positive test for a laundry list of drugs, and within 24 hours they can identify a negative test. Forensic Fluids Laboratories’ are extremely reliable, and they’re even court approved. It truly is disruptive technology for the drug testing industry. If you’re fascinated by this kind of stuff, you should check out jobs at Forensic Fluids Laboratories. Right now they’re looking for a Laboratory Technologist, and it seems like a perfect entry level opportunity for someone with a background in “chemistry, medical science, biology, biochemistry, microbiology, toxicology or equivalent.” That’s all they have right now, but they’re growing fast and will likely be hiring more people in the near future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever had your spit tested?

CLEAResult Consulting

Willy Franzen — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:59:24 +0000

Maybe you’ve jumped on the energy efficiency bandwagon. You changed out your lightbulbs, unplugged your chargers when you’re not using them, and opened the windows instead of using air conditioning. But let’s be real, individually you’re not going to save the world by yourself (but you might save a bunch of money). That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of power in collective action, but energy efficiency measures are way more effective when they come from the top. That’s why Austin, TX based CLEAResult Consulting works with utility companies to maximize efficiency. They’re “an energy efficiency consulting firm with expertise in utility program design, development, implementation, and evaluation.” Apparently their programs are pretty successful considering that they were #144 on the Inc. 500 with 1860% three-year revenue growth to $21.6 million. Not only are they improving environmental outcomes, but they’re also saving businesses and consumers money.

CLEAResults for Your Job Search

The word on the street is that CLEAResult Consulting is going to keep growing at a crazy rate. They’ve signed a deal to triple the size of their headquarters by the end of the year, and they plan to double their staff by the end of next year. I guess all the buzz about green jobs isn’t a myth. A lot of what CLEAResult Consulting does is the development of programs for industrial, commercial, and residential energy customers that can be implemented through the utility provider. It’s a great distribution network for making meaningful change. If you’d like to be part of CLEAResult Consulting’s growing team, you should check out their Jobs page. They’re a little light on entry level opportunities right now, but still take a look and see what’s available (their should be more jobs coming soon). Beyond their headquarters in Austin, TX, there are also CLEAResult Consulting offices in Little Rock, AR; Reno, NV; Fairfax, VA; Irving, TX; Houston, TX; Oklahoma City, OK; New Orleans, LA; Detroit, MI; and Okemos, MI.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about CLEAResult Consulting?

Organic

Willy Franzen — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:04:24 +0000

I hope the title of today’s post didn’t make you hungry, because we’re not talking about jobs in organic food. Organic is a San Francisco based interactive marketing agency with a brand that has gained a lot of keyword competition over the past 16 years. Yes, people were eating organic back in 1994, but the word wasn’t nearly as common as it is today. Doing research on Organic is tough because the organic search results (excuse my SEO pun) have all kinds of other stuff in them (at least they own Organic.com). Either Google needs to get inside my head to discern my intent, or Organic is going to have to hope that artificial packaged, processed foods go back in vogue. Ok, enough of my ripping on their name—Organic was ranked by AdWeek as the #1 interactive agency in 2007. That fits in perfectly with my impression of Organic from browsing their website and looking at their work. In fact, I’m blown away by how good Organic’s website is. It’s easy to use, it’s full of information, and it’s gorgeously designed. Their corporate mantra is “Exceptional Experience,” and they certainly live up to it.

Live Organic

I’ve found that interactive agencies sometimes go too far with their websites. They get too fancy and end up making an unusable piece of garbage. The way Organic has built their website shows that they’re good at what they do. Beyond San Francisco Organic also has locations in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Toronto. The company’s clients include Bank of America, Jeep, Nike, Guitar Center, and plenty more. I could tell you more about Organic, but you’re much better off visiting their website, because it does a great job of telling their story. Organic even does a great job with their Careers site—they even make a usually crappy applicant tracking system look good. The interesting thing about Organic is that most of their 40 job openings are at pretty Senior levels. Their only real entry level job is Interactive Strategist (San Francisco). You might also want to check out Contributor Mktg Intelligence (Detroit), Associate Producer (San Francisco), Associate Delivery Management (San Francisco), and Recruiter (Toronto), but they all require some prior experience. You can apply online for any of these positions, and you can also submit a résumé for general consideration (this might be the best tactic, as they do list college recruiting as one of their sources). Finally, Organic seems to allow new grads in their paid internship program, so that might be another option.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Organic’s name?

TechSmith

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:49:20 +0000

One of the more effective ways that I’ve found to teach online job search tactics is to use screencasting. I do a number of screencasts in Found Your Career, and they seem to work really well when walking people through how to use sites like Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook for job search. TechSmith is an Okemos, MI based company that is “the world’s #1 provider of screen capture and screen recording software for the individual and professional user.” They’ve been in the business since 1987—which is an insanely long time for a company in their industry, and they’ve actually been doing screen capture for most of that time. I’ve never used any of their products, but I’ve heard from a number of people who rave about Camtasia, TechSmith’s main screen recording software.

ScreenCast Your Way to a New Job

Although Michigan got some bad news last night with the Tigers’ loss, you have to like seeing tech companies that are doing their best to revitalize the state’s economy. TechSmith is doing just that. Although they may appear to be a small software company, they actually have about 200 employees and are hiring more. In fact, they even do on campus recruiting at a few select schools. Most of their entry level jobs seem to be geared toward people with a tech background; however, some of their internships are a little less techie—that may mean non-tech jobs will be available in the future. Of the jobs posted on TechSmith’s site, the following appear to be suitable for new grads: Mac Developer, Software Engineer, Software Test Engineer, User Experience Designer, and Web 2.0 Developer. They go into a lot of detail about what they’re looking for, so read the job descriptions carefully. You can apply online; however, if I were apply for a job at TechSmith, I’d probably find a way to get them to watch a screencast of why they should hire me. That’s just me, though.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used TechSmith’s software?

College Hunks Hauling Junk

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:52:17 +0000

Today is the last day to enter our Maghound Your Way to a New Job contest. With so few entries so far, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll win a one-year subscription to an awesome new magazine subscription service (3 monthly magazines for free!).

I’m still on my Inc. 5000 kick, and today we’re looking at a company whose name immediately caught my eye. They’re called College Hunks Hauling Junk, and that’s exactly what they are. Omar Soliman wanted to make some money during the summer, so he borrowed his mom’s cargo van to start hauling away people’s junk. He then entered his business plan in the Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition and won the $10,000 first prize. He realized that he had a business that he could grow, and now College Hunks Hauling Junk is doing $2.9 million in revenue. Guess that’s why Omar and his co-founder Nick were named (also by Inc.) as Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30. College Hunks Hauling Junk is headquartered in Tampa, FL, but through expansion and franchising they now operate in Anne Arundel, MD; Baltimore/Howard County, MD; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Richmond, VA; San Francisco/San Jose, CA; Tampa Bay, FL; and Washington, DC Metro.

Are You Hunky Enough?

College Hunks Hauling Junk certainly has a provocative name, but that’s part of their success. Finding someone to haul away your junk isn’t that hard, but it’s really easy to go with the brand you recognize. College Hunks Hauling Junk is all about grabbing attention so that they’re the company that you choose when you need to get rid of some junk. It doesn’t hurt that they can call themselves green, as they recycle 60% of the junk that they collect. Now, College Hunks Hauling Junk obviously has plenty of jobs available. If you want to get in the business of hauling junk to pay your way through college, they can help, but they’re also a growing company with growing needs. They have a bunch of corporate job postings that consist solely of titles. Since they’re a college startup, it’s hard to say how much experience they’re looking for with each position, but you’ll have to apply to find out. The posted job titles include Truck Captain/ Wingman, VP – Franchise Development, Client Loyalty Associate (Inside Sales Rep), Operations Manager, VP – Marketing, VP – Public Relations, VP – Finance, VP – Business Development, and VP – Information Technology.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used College Hunks Hauling Junk?

Priceline.com

Willy Franzen — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:39:36 +0000

My first introduction to William Shatner was watching Rescue 911. Little did I know that his body of work extended far beyond narrating a show about real life heroes. I imagine today’s children will have an equally narrow view of William Shatner’s career, as they’ll know him as “Priceline Negotiator.” (Can you read those words without hearing the corresponding tune? I can’t.) Anyway, the whole idea behind William Shatner’s newest role – besides his doing the commercials in return for stock – is that Priceline.com will negotiate the best deals on travel-related items like hotels, car rentals, and airline tickets. They also have a “name your own price” model that used to be the core of their business, but now Priceline has widened its focus to discount travel in general.

Entry Level Job Negotiator

Don’t you wish you had someone like William Shatner to negotiate your entry level job for you too? Ok, that’d be a little weird. Sometimes learning negotiating skills is better than having someone do the dirty work for you. I think that I’m glad that the way we find jobs online is different from the way that we find travel deals online. With that said, you can go to the same place for both if you’re interested in a job in travel or e-commerce. Priceline.com has a number of jobs that seem like they might be well suited to new or recent college grads. In their Grand Rapids, MI office there are jobs for a Japanese Translator and Customer Service Executives, while at their Norwalk, CT headquarters they’re looking for an Associate Regional Revenue Manager – Hotels. You can figure out how to apply from the job descriptions that I’ve just linked to. Priceline.com doesn’t have an About page, so there’s not a ton of information about who they are and what they’re about as a company, so you might want to do a little Googling to get more info.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Priceline.com to book your travel?

U.S. Census Bureau

Willy Franzen — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:48:34 +0000

Every 10 years our country does a census to collect demographic data about our populous to drive public policy decisions. It’s an extremely big deal, and it temporarily creates 1.4 million jobs (according to government figures). But those aren’t typically the types of jobs that we talk about here, at least not the ones that send you door to door asking how many people live at a given residence. Luckily, the U.S. Census Bureau does a lot more than its once every ten years nationwide census. They are “the leading source of quality data about the nation’s people and economy,” so you’d be amazed by all of the things that they track. For instance, much of the economic data that you have been hearing about in the news lately – as in “Stocks plunge on weakened Monthly Retail Sales” – comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re fascinated by data or just love counting things, there aren’t many places that offer a more interesting work experience that the Census Bureau.

Everyone Counts at the U.S. Census Bureau

Ok, I’d like to go on about the cool things that the Census Bureau does, but we don’t really have time. Navigating the Census Bureau’s job offerings is kind of a hassle, so I want to make sure that you can find what you’re looking for. On their main Jobs page they have links to four sections – Headquarters Opportunities, 2010 Census Taker Opportunities, Regional Office Opportunities, and Student and Research Opportunities. You may be tempted to check out the Student Opportunities, but you actually want to check out either the Headquarters or Regional Office Opportunities. If you check out the Headquarters Opportunities, you’ll find job listings like Statistician / Analyst, Mathematical Statistician, Information Technology Specialist, Geographer, and Cartographer. These links will take you to more specific listings where you’ll find a link titled “How to Apply.” If you click that, you’ll find even more information and another link to the specific job descriptions on USAJobs.gov. You can also skip ahead and just search all of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 90 current openings. If you decide to check out the Regional Office Opportunities, you’ll just have to select a region, and you’ll be shown a list of opportunities. It’s a lot simpler.

As for locations:

The U.S. Census Bureau headquarters is located in Suitland, Maryland, just outside the District of Columbia.

The National Processing Center (NPC) is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The NPC also has two call centers located in Hagerstown, Maryland and Tucson, Arizona.

The Census Bureau has 12 Regional Offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.

The Census Bureau has a ton of jobs, and there are a lot more coming. Many of these offer extremely interesting entry level work, but you’re going to have to show off your data parsing abilities to find and apply for the jobs – they don’t make the process easy at all.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you excited for the 2010 Census?

Condé Nast

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:47:33 +0000

I know that despite the fact that I keep ripping on the traditional media – the old guard – I keep featuring their jobs here. I’m not being a hypocrite. I promise. I know that taking entry level jobs with companies that might not be around in 5 years isn’t the best decision, but if anyone can save the old media, it’s you. The new media has been created by the masses and has originated from young people with new ideas, which is just what these media behemoths need to survive. Of course these companies probably don’t realize how much they need you yet, but they do. Well, if you’re going to get a job in old media – like the magazine industry – you might as well go with the best. Condé Nast has a list of brands that is rivaled by few and includes Vogue, W, style.com, Glamour, Allure, Self, Teen Vogue, GQ, Details, men.style.com, Architectural Digest, Brides, Modern, Bride, Elegant Bride, Brides.com, Lucky, Domino, Cookie, Golf Digest, Golf World, Vanity Fair, Gourmet, Bon Appétit, epicurious.com, Condé Nast Traveler, concierge.com, Wired, Wired.com, Condé Nast Portfolio, Portfolio.com, WWD, FN, and The New Yorker. There’s still a lot of uncertainty in the industry, but those are still great names to be associated with.

Keep Reading for Condé Nast Jobs

There’s not a lot more that I can say about Condé Nast. They’re one of the most respected names in the media, but they’re facing struggles just like everybody else in the industry. With that said, they’re still doing some hiring. Their Careers site provides a lot of information on what it’s like to work for them, and their Job Listings show 18 openings. Of those opening a few appear to be suitable for new college grads, although it’s hard to know for sure because Condé Nast’s job postings are so paltry. We can’t link to their job postings because of the Applicant Tracking System that they use, but you should look out for job titles that include Sales Assistant (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit), Promotion Copywriter (New York), Promotion Coordinator (New York), Online Marketing Data Entry Temp (New York), and Executive Assistant (New York). You can apply for all of these jobs online from the job postings that you find using their search function.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What is your favorite Condé Nast publication?