One Day, One Job » Oregon

Royal Caribbean Cruises

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:54:31 +0000

I’ve never been on a cruise ship, and I’m not looking to change that any time soon. I realize that cruises are the ultimate vacation for some people, but they’re just not for me (especially after hearing about food poisoning outbreaks and the Costa Concordia disaster). Still, I respect the brilliance of the cruise ship. Travelers can sample a variety of destinations without having to think about logistics or anything else really. When you can combine hospitality, transportation, and gambling all in one, you have pretty good foundation for a business. The second largest cruise company in the world is Royal Caribbean Cruises, which is based in Miami, FL and owns the following cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and CDF Croisières de France. Those all contribute to nearly $7 billion in annual revenue.

Go Cruisin’

There’s no doubt that the cruise business is extremely complicated. There are massive fixed costs (namely cruise ships), and there are also massive marginal costs (fuel, staff, etc). Then there’s the fact that the market for travel is extremely sensitive to economic conditions. That’s not to mention that cruise companies have to maintain massive boats while providing an amazing vacation experience for thousands of people at a time. There are plenty of businesses that I have no trouble wrapping my head around, but Royal Caribbean Cruises is not one of them. If this excites you, then you have to take a look at Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Careers page. From here you can check out shipboard jobs with specific lines, seasonal jobs, internships, and corporate jobs. We’ll focus on the latter, which are posted here. There are a few opportunities that look well suited for a new or recent grad including (I’d link to them but their ATS won’t let me):

Marketing Campaign Analyst
Cruise Rep (Wichita, KS)
Cruise Rep (Miramar, FL)
Cruise Rep (Springfield, OR)
Care Team Specialist
Financial Hotel Operations Analyst
Software Engineer
Accounts Payable Coordinator
Business Analyst
Transportation Coordinator
Casino Database Specialist
Administrative Temporary

Those jobs are just the tip of the iceberg (I shouldn’t say that when talking about cruise ships, should I?), so look through all of Royal Caribbean Cruises’ offerings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been on a cruise?

Amy’s Kitchen

Willy Franzen — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:57:13 +0000

Considering a job in Sales but lacking experience? SinglePlatform is hiring and training 50 new grads.

I don’t think that I’ve had a frozen dinner since I forced my mom to buy me Kid Cuisine in the early 90s. If I’m going to eat something unhealthy, it should at least taste good, right? Clearly I’m biased against frozen meals (maybe because I consider myself a pretty good cook), but I shouldn’t write them all off as unhealthy and unpalatable. That’s especially true because one the nation’s leading frozen food brands is all vegetarian and mostly organic. Amy’s Kitchen was founded in 1987 by a couple looking for a way to provide for a new baby. They started in their home with a vegetable pot pie, and since then the Petaluma, CA based business has grown to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Get in the Kitchen!

The variety of meals offered by Amy’s Kitchen is pretty astounding. You can have Asian Noodle Stir-Fry, Roasted Vegetable Pizzas, Breakfast Burritos, and even All American Veggie Burgers. I can’t vouch for how they taste, but there’s no doubt that they’re all nutritious and convenient. That’s a hard combo to do right, which is why Amy’s Kitchen is so successful (my guess is that they do the taste thing pretty well too). They may be a huge operation, but the brand still gives you the feeling that they’re running things out of their barn. That’s important for the market they serve. If you’d like to be part of the Amy’s Kitchen story, then go take a look at their Careers page. Right now they have a few jobs that could be interesting including:

Food Technologist – Microbiology Program (Santa Rosa, CA)
Food Technologist – Quality Assurance Raw Materials (Santa Rosa, CA)
Ag Field Representative (Santa Rosa, CA)
Territory Sales Representative (Portland, OR)

If you love organic vegetarian food, then you might like the smell of what they’re cooking at Amy’s Kitchen.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried Amy’s Kitchen?

Driscoll’s

Willy Franzen — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:16:09 +0000

In my fiancée’s mind there is no better dessert than fresh berries and whipped cream. I’d probably add a piece of chocolate cake to that, but the biggest variable in the equation is almost always the berries. Good berries, whether they’re strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or snozberries, taste better than candy, while bad berries often taste like dirt. Since I share Jerry Seinfeld’s feeling that fruit is a gamble, I’m not particularly brand conscious, but checking my refrigerator tells me that my most recently purchased strawberries are from Driscoll’s. They’re a Watsonville, CA based berry purveyor that has been family owned and operated for more than 100 years.

It’s the Berries!

The fruit business is tough. Many people see fruit as a commodity, but it most certainly isn’t. We often attribute especially good or bad fruit to randomness, but the truth is that there are a lot of inputs that determine quality. While Driscoll’s doesn’t actually farm the berries that they sell (they partner with independent farmers to do so), they do everything they can to ensure quality and maintain their position as a premium berry purveyor. It’s a surprisingly complicated process to get delicious berries into the hands of consumers all across the world, which means that you’ll find all kinds of jobs on Driscoll’s Careers page. Some opportunities that look well suited for new or recent grads include:

Category Development Specialist (Olathe, KS)
Blueberry Production Specialist (Oregon)
Administrative Specialist (Watsonville, CA)
Production Specialist (Santa Maria, CA)
Business Analyst (Watsonville, CA)
Organic Extension & Grower Support (Camarillo, CA)
Production Specialist I (Camarillo, CA)
Production Specialist (Camarillo, CA)
Organic Specialist (Watsonville, CA)

If you love berries, then Driscoll’s would be a wonderful place to start your career.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite kind of berry?

Entercom

Willy Franzen — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:29:17 +0000

The next car I get will definitely have some sort of iPhone integration. Right now I still rely on one of those tape to AUX thingies, which means that I usually just listen to the radio. I couldn’t find any good stats on the topic, but I have to think that listeners in cars are what’s keeping radio going. But according to Entercom, radio is still going strong. You would expect them to say that though, considering that they’re “one of the five largest radio broadcasting companies in the United States.” Entercom is headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, PA, but they operate more than “100 stations in 23 markets, including San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Sacramento and Kansas City.”

Enter Entercom

While Entercom’s stock performance over the past ten years doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the future of radio, it’s hard to write off a business that reaches so many people. The best way to get a better understanding of Entercom’s business is to read up on their markets and the stations that serve them. To me the most noteworthy point is that Entercom stations are the broadcast partners of the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, Oakland A’s, Kansas City Royals, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks. Sports is huge, and online delivery of radio broadcasts is becoming a big deal (I love listening to baseball games on my iPhone). If you’re thinking about a career in radio, Entercom would be a great place to start. Their Jobs page shows a ton of positions in locations all across the country. Whether you’re interested in working in Sales/Account Management, On-Air, Promotions, Copywriting, Production, Journalism, Marketing, or something else, there’s probably something for you at Entercom or one of their stations.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite radio station?

Dannon

Willy Franzen — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:58:48 +0000

I’ve never been great about eating breakfast, but when I do eat breakfast, I try to get as much protein into the meal as I can. My problem is that I find eggs completely unpalatable. One can only eat so much sausage and bacon, so I’ve had to find some other protein sources. Sometimes it’s a glass of milk and a scoop of peanut butter, and other times it’a bowl of yogurt. Yogurt’s certainly nothing new (it’s essentially been around since bacteria and milk mixed, but humans have been producing it for millennia), but it’s experienced quite a spike in popularity lately. Probiotics and Greek yogurt are probably the two biggest trends in the industry right now, and they’re part of the reason that Dannon is “one of the fastest growing consumer products companies in the U.S.” While based in White Plains, NY, Dannon is a subsidiary of a multi-billion dollar French company called Groupe Danone). That shouldn’t matter all that much to you, though, as Dannon seems to operate mostly independently.

Yo Yo Yo

The name Dannon is indelibly tied to yogurt. They rank #2 on Google for the keyword “yogurt” just behind the Wikipedia entry on the topic. That’s actually an article you should read if you want to consider a job at Dannon. I can’t imagine working for them and not knowing the basics on their product. Dannon has been around since 1942 (only a tiny fraction of yogurt’s history), and in that time they’ve innovated a lot. Just take a look at Dannon’s product lines to get a sense of what’s possible with yogurt. What I find most interesting is that in every product there’s a purpose–a story that helps Dannon expand their market. If these stories appeal to you, then you may want to consider a job at Dannon. Their Careers site is called SomethingSpecialInside.com, and on it you’ll find some great opportunities including:

Assistant or Associate Brand Manager
Associate Marketing Manager – Innovation
Automation Engineer (Minster, OH)
HR Generalist (Minster, OH)
Key Account Associate (Bentonville, AR)
Quality Control Laboratory Technician (Portland, OR)
Revenue Specialist (Cottonwood Heights, UT)
Sales Analyst (Bentonville, AR)

There are some pretty interesting opportunities at Dannon, so browse through them and see if any get you excited.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Dannon.com
SomethingSpecialInside.com (Dannon’s Careers Site)
About Dannon
Dannon’s Products
Working at Dannon

What do you eat for breakfast?

Urban Airship

Willy Franzen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:41:44 +0000

I really like the idea of push notifications, but I find that they’re often inconsistent in terms of being delivered. I also hate it when apps try to trick me into accepting push notifications that I will find annoying. Still, it seems pretty clear that push notifications are going to become an increasingly important part of our life (as sad as that may sound). As more and more apps start pushing us information, more companies are going to need to solve the technical challenges associated with delivering push notifications. Urban Airship is a Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA based company that provides technology that powers “mobile engagement, monetization and reporting.” Beyond push notifications, they also do subscriptions, in-app purchasing, and reporting.

Push Your Luck

There’s no doubt that Urban Airship has developed a compelling line of products–just look at their list of customers. It’s loaded with big names like ESPN, Fox, Accenture, The White House, The New York Times, and plenty of others. There are also some great case studies on how clients have used Urban Airship’s technology to achieve business objectives. If you really want to dig into the nitty gritty of Urban Airship’s products, then you’ll want to take a look at their Resources page. Eventually you’ll want to head over to the Urban Airship Careers page to check out their opportunities. Right now they’re looking to fill a number of technical positions including Implementation Engineer (Portland, OR), Solutions Engineer (Portland, OR), API Engineer (Portland, OR or San Francisco, CA), JavaScript Engineer (Portland, OR), Messaging Engineer (Portland, OR), Systems Engineer (Portland, OR), and Engineer in Test (Portland, OR). They’re also looking for an Account Development Representative (Portland, OR), which looks like a great non-technical position for a new or recent grad.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you get push notifications?

Outward Bound

Willy Franzen — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:52:46 +0000

I went to small, private middle and high school. They were really big on outdoor education, so almost every year we took some kind of class trip to promote bonding and a kind of learning that can’t be done in the classroom. The trips were wonderful–even when 20 of us got lost in the woods with one teacher overnight. I was lucky to get these kind of experiences through my school, but if I hadn’t, there’s a good chance I would have done something like Outward Bound. They are “a non-profit educational organization and expedition school that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through active learning expeditions that inspire character development, self-discovery and service both in and out of the classroom.” Outward Bound is headquartered in Golden, CO (but operating across the country), and “was founded in 1941 in the tumultuous waters of the North Sea during World War II, to provide young sailors with the experiences and skills necessary to survive at sea.” They got their start in their current state in 1961.

Job Bound?

While Outward Bound may no longer be about teaching survival skills to people who are actually likely to use them, they still do some really important educational work. Outward Bound’s programs serve all kinds of people ranging from “at-risk youth” to corporate employees, and they stretch across all kind of activities including Canoeing, Rock Climbing, Dogsleeding, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, and more. I know that Outward Bound has an extremely strong connection with alumni, and that speaks to how truly great their programming is. If you want to be part of the Outward Bound family, take a look at their Careers page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new and recent grads including:

Backpack/Canoe Instructor (Baltimore, MD)
Backpack/Canoe Instructor (Philadelphia, PA)
Canoe/At Risk Instructor (Ely, MN)
Backpack/Canoe/At Risk (Newry, ME)
Course Director (Omaha, NE)
Field Instructor (St. Paul, MN)
Insight Facilitator (Baltimore, MD)
Insight Instructor (St. Paul, MN)
Logistics Coordinator (Midpines, CA)
Logistics Coordinator (Newry, ME)
Logistics Coordinator (Wheeler’s Bay, ME)
Logistics Coordinator (Redmond, OR)
Logistics Coordinator (Moab, UT)
Mountain Instructor (Leadville, CO)
Mountain/Raft Instructor (Redmond, OR)
Program Manager (Omaha, NE)
River Instructor (Moab, UT)
Sailing Instructor (Wheeler’s Bay, ME)
Urban Center/Field Instructor (Omaha, NE)

If you love the outdoors and want to work in the non-profit world, it’d be hard to beat a job with Outward Bound.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you do Outward Bound?

Allegiant

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

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

Show Your Allegiance

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you flown Allegiant?

QuinStreet

Willy Franzen — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:03:36 +0000

In March of 2009 I got an e-mail that looked a lot like the spam you typically see when you’re a webmaster with a publicly listed e-mail address. When someone refers to my site as onedayonejob.com, it gives me the hint that the e-mail was probably automated and that I should send it to my Junk folder. But I was still intrigued by the following sentence: “I am reaching out to see if you will be interested in selling your site and would like to discuss potential acquisition opportunities with us,” so I followed up. Over the next few months I traded e-mails with a guy who works at QuinStreet about potentially selling the site, but we never even made it to the offer stage. The reason that the Foster City, CA based company was interested in One Day One Job is that they’re one of the leaders in vertical marketing and online media. They have tons of online properties, and they use them to market and generate leads for other businesses. They’ve been at it since 1999, so they’ve been around the block a time or two.

Take a Ride Down QuinStreet

QuinStreet’s main areas of focus are in Education and Financial Services (two extremely lucrative markets for lead generation), but they also work in Home Services, B2B, Medicine/Health, and Premium Brand Advertising. You won’t see QuinStreet promote their properties on their home page like some other online media companies do, and you won’t get too many details about what they actually do. Online lead generation is extremely competitive, so secrecy is really important. They do have a What We Do, but it’s extremely limited in its explanation of QuinStreet’s business (you’ll find a little more on their How We Do It page). If you really want to learn more about QuinStreet’s business, their Investor Relations site is probably the place to go. What might even give you a better sense of what they’re working is their Jobs page. By investigating the positions they’re hiring for, I’ll bet you’ll get even more insight into the business. You’ll also see some great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

Employee Benefits and Compliance Assistant
Client Strategy & Development Associate
Data Services Associate (Reno, NV)
Inside Sales Rep
Inside Sales Rep – Home Services (Portland, OR)
Jr. Java Developer
Jr. Vertical Manager (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Jr. Web Producer (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Marketing Analyst
PPC Media Associate
SEM/PPC Media Associate (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Media Associate
Media Associate – Home Services
PHP Developer
Vertical Manager – Online Marketing
Web Designer

If you’re interested in online marketing, QuinStreet would be a great place to learn, so give these positions a look and see what appeals to you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about QuinStreet?

TaskRabbit

Willy Franzen — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:33:30 +0000

Want to try TaskRabbit? Here’s $10 to get started. (The link only works if you’re setting up a task, but you can sign up and then use it.)

We all have stuff that we don’t want to do, don’t know how to do, or don’t have time to do. We’d love to pay someone to do it for us, but finding someone to hire to do it is on that list of stuff that we don’t want, know how, or have time to do. TaskRabbit is a company that wants to help people overcome this predicament. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they’ll get you “in touch with friendly, reliable people who can help you get just about anything you need done, and put some free time back into your life.” Through the power of the Internet, they’ve been able to build a network of “TaskRabbits” and connect them with people who need stuff done. It’s the same basic marketplace with a fee model that has made companies like eBay, Craigslist, and Airbnb huge successes. Here are the details on how TaskRabbit works.

TaskRabbit Get Me a Job

My biggest questions about TaskRabbit surround quality and safety. If I invite someone into my house to mount my tv on the wall, I want to be sure that they’re a) not a serial killer, and b) going to do a good job (a tv falling through the floor would be a bummer). TaskRabbit covers both of these bases by background checking their TaskRabbits and having a feedback and rating system on the website. Here’s a video on how TaskRabbit “puts some free time back in your day” (e-mail readers may need to click through to see it):

TaskRabbit is already operating in Boston, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Orange County, and they’re expanding to Portland and Seattle soon. They’ve also set up some partnerships that allow people to join together to get Whole Foods shopping, IKEA delivery, donation pickup done. I’m definitely going to try it out, though it doesn’t look like anyone has had a tv mounted in Chicago yet.

So what can TaskRabbit do for your job search? I’m sure there are tasks like printing resumes that you could offload, or you could even become a TaskRabbit to start earning money on the side. However, the most interesting option is probably a career with TaskRabbit. Right now they’re looking for a couple higher level Engineers and Founding City Managers in Portland and Seattle. None of these positions are explicitly entry level, but the right amount of experience from internships and college could make you a good fit. And one last option is to browse through TaskRabbit’s team page to see what other kinds of positions they might offer in the future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried TaskRabbit? Use this link to get a $10 credit.

BankSimple

Willy Franzen — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:11:29 +0000

Samaritan’s Purse is this week’s sponsor. They’re an international aid and development organization that has a bunch of jobs for new and recent grads.

When I was job searching after graduating from college, one of my big projects was getting my finances in order. I opened accounts, closed accounts, cashed out savings bonds, started investing, and made sure that I knew where all my money was. I also started using Mint to track everything. It worked well until my bank updated their online banking software and killed Mint integration. It eventually got fixed, but there was no way to merge my old Mint data with my new Mint data (I essentially had to set up another bank account in Mint). This was pretty minor in terms of banking nightmares, but it was still a huge pain. Otherwise, I’m happy enough with my current bank, but I’d love to have a bank that is focused on delivering a superb online experience. BankSimple (also known as the Simple Finance Technology Corp.) wants to be that bank. They’re based in New York, NY and they’re all about customer service and user experience.

WorkSimple

Some people may be skeptical about a startup bank, but the 50,000+ people on BankSimple’s wait list likely realize that it can’t get much worse than all of the hassles, fees, and rudeness that you get from today’s big banks. It’s unbelievable that we actually trust some of these companies with our money. BankSimple is starting from scratch, so they fully intend to earn their customer’s trust by first launching an amazing product and then living up to their promises of simple banking and stellar service. You can learn more about what they’re promising on BankSimple’s Home page–they pretty much put all of their information on there. BankSimple may not have launched yet, but they have rolled out bank cards to some of their employees. Hopefully this is the start of some big changes in the banking industry.

I’ve been watching BankSimple’s Jobs page for a while, and it seems that they’re starting to pick up steam in terms of hiring. They have a few new positions posted: Analytics Engineer (Brooklyn, NY), Backend Engineer (Portland, OR), and Support Systems Engineer (Brooklyn, NY). None of these are really entry level, but there is a paid Writing position that they call an internship, but that could be a good way to get your foot in the door. Additionally, they introduced a class of interns, despite the fact that I never saw the internships posted. That means that you should definitely reach out to them about potential jobs, even if nothing listed matches up with your qualifications.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you try BankSimple?

Chegg

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:31:16 +0000

During my Freshman year at Cornell, I took Econ 101. Since I was planning on being a good student, I bought the textbook and went to class diligently. Then I realized that the professor only gave multiple choice exams which were based on the slides from the class lecture. Those slides were posted online after every class, which made attending class and taking the textbook out of its plastic wrap completely unnecessary. I still went to class because I liked the professor and it helped me learn, but I’m pretty sure that I still have the $100+ textbook with CD-ROM sitting on a shelf at my parents’ house in its plastic wrap because the campus store wasn’t buying that book back. What a waste. If I were going to college now, there’s no way I’d buy textbooks. I’d rent them. That’s exactly what Chegg offers. They’re a Santa Clara, CA based company that is saving students a ton of money. When you buy books and then sell them back, you might as well be renting them, so why not actually rent them? According to Chegg, the average college student spends $1,000 a year on textbooks–using Chegg will save them half of that.

Rent Yourself to Chegg

Chegg is a really interesting business to me. They’ve raised a ton of capital because it’s extremely expensive to build the kind of business that they’ve built. They not only have to invest in buying all the books, but they also have had to build a distribution system that can get students books at a cheap enough price. My only question is what will Chegg do when college textbooks move to Kindles, iPads, and other similar devices? They do have a new E-Textbook service, so maybe that’s the answer. If you like what Chegg is doing for college students, check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a number of opportunities including Customer Program Specialist (Portland, OR), Product Designer (Santa Clara, CA), Front End Engineer (Santa Clara, CA), Software Engineer – Cramster (Pasadena, CA), Marketing Business Analyst (Santa Clara, CA), and Accounts Payable/Payroll Specialist (Santa Clara, CA). Not only can you land a job with them, but you can exact revenge on those campus bookstores that robbed you blind.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you rented textbooks from Chegg?

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?

One Economy Corporation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:13:21 +0000

We’re extremely lucky to be coming of age in a time when the Internet is opening up so many economic opportunities. When I graduated from college, I had no idea what was possible. As I became more and more frustrated with my job search, I started to look at online business models. Five years later I’ve built a profitable business that has helped people land awesome jobs and internships. Without today’s technology, I never could have built what I did so cheaply, which is why I’m convinced that making new technologies available to the masses at affordable prices is the key to economic growth. That’s why I’m so interested by the Washington, DC based One Economy Corporation. They’re “a global non-profit organization that leverages the power of technology and connects underserved communities around the world to vital information that will improve their lives.”

Where Do You Fit in One Economy?

One Economy works in a number of areas, but their big focus is on making the Internet and all of the information it provides access to available to all people. One Economy separates what they do into a few categories: Public-Purpose Media, Access Services, Digital Connectors, Broadband Mapping, Global Initiatives, and Sustainable Broadband Adoption. It’s amazing how many societal problems Internet access can help with–health care, education, and unemployment are just a few of them. I just hope that the broadband access that One Economy provides blocks the single greatest threat to economic prosperity: Farmville. But seriously, One Economy has been working in this space for a long time, and they’re having a serious impact. To learn more about their results, you should really read their most recent annual report. If you’d like to be a part of One Economy, then head over to their Jobs page. Current postings include Accounts Payable Clerk (Washington, DC), Guam Regional Staff Person (Guam), and Network Design Engineer (Winston Salem, NC). They also have some positions posted on Idealist including Web UI Developer (Portland, OR) and Community Technology Associate (San Jose, CA). There’s lots of variety here, so give the positions a closer look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about One Economy?

Wieden + Kennedy

Willy Franzen — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:31:58 +0000

I don’t know when people started to think that other people care what they think of Super Bowl commercials, but it seems that everyone with a Twitter account is now an advertising expert. Considering the fact that I have a Twitter account, I guess I should give you all my opinion on some of last night’s ads (at least I’m kinda sorta in the advertising/media industry). First, I really liked the Groupon spots—I thought they were hilarious and did a great job of poking fun at consumerism. Still, they didn’t explain the joke as well as they could have, and it backfired (but all that press is great for brand recognition). However, my favorite ad was Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit.” Maybe it’s just because my family ties give me a soft spot for the Motor City, but I think that Portland, OR based Wieden + Kennedy knocked it out of Comerica Park with this one. It was two minutes long (which costs $8+ million) and featured Eminem. Even better, it told a story and made me want to buy an American car—maybe even a Chrysler.

“Imported from Detroit” Made in Portland

In case you didn’t see the ad, I’ve embedded it below (e-mail readers need to click through).

Awesome, huh? Obviously, the best way to get a feel for Wieden + Kennedy is to take a look at more of their work. Their website is organized by office location, so you can check out the work from each office: Portland, New York, London, Amsterdam, Delhi, Shanghai, and Tokyo. They also do this with their Company Blogs and Client List. The Client List includes names like Chrysler (duh!), Old Spice, Nike, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Levi’s. It truly doesn’t get any bigger than those brands. But it’s not all about the big names at Wieden + Kennedy—they also have an Incubator that is aimed at creating “environments for entrepreneurial partnership and mentorship that drive culture and innovation.” You can also get a feel for the people who are behind all of the cool stuff that Wieden + Kennedy does here. Wieden + Kennedy sounds like an amazingly cool place to work, so if you’re up for the challenge (they’re obviously only looking for the best), then start thinking about a job with them. They don’t have a Jobs page, but each of their offices’ Contact pages includes an HR contact. Additionally, they have a Media Planner job in NYC and a Financial Analyst/Risk Management Coordinator position in Portland posted on LinkedIn. You can apply for one of these, or you can just reach out to them and tell them where you think that you’ll fit in.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which Super Bowl ad was your favorite?

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?

Dachis Group

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:52:18 +0000

Do you know what I hated most about college? Group projects. Even if I had a good group (and I usually had at least one slacker and one know it all), getting everyone together and communicating about who was doing what over the course of the project was a pain in the butt. Technology has come a long way in the five years since I graduated college, but I’m sure that group projects are still a pain. Now, imagine doing it in a corporate environment on a daily basis with some outdated technology platform that you’re required to use. There is some really cool stuff happening at the nexus of work, technology, and relationships, but most companies are missing out on the potential gains. Dachis Group is a company headquartered in Austin, TX that helps “businesses to create and capture value from emerging trends in technology, society and the workplace.” They do “social business design,” and they do it well.

It’s About Connections

Business is all about connections, whether it’s with your clients, co-workers, or strategic partners. Dachis Group “helps companies reinvent themselves into dynamic, socially calibrated organizations that gain constant value from their ecosystem of connections.” They seem to take a similar approach that of many management consulting firms, but Dachis Group’s focus is very specific. They work with names like ESPN, Coca-Cola, Foursquare, Intel, Sprint, and Yum! Brands. The idea of social business design is probably a new one for you, so you should definitely spend some time on the Dachis Group website looking at their Approach, Practice Areas, and Results. It’s pretty cutting edge stuff, so don’t worry if you don’t fully grasp it right away—I don’t fully get it yet. Anyway, if you’re intrigued by what Dachis Group is doing, you should check out their Jobs at Dachis Group“>Careers page. They don’t have much that is explicitly entry level (and their Jobs site is annoying to use), but positions like Social Business Consultant, Contract Designer (Indianapolis, IN/Portland, OR/St. Louis, MO), Interactive UI Engineer (London, UK), and Informational Designer (Portland, OR) are all worth at least looking at. The Social Business Consultant/Analyst position in Sydney, Australia actually looks like the best fit, but it’s, unfortunately, half a world away.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about social business design?

The Cadmus Group

Willy Franzen — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:02:31 +0000

I’m sure that you keep hearing about the green job revolution and how environmentalist ideals are actually going to start fueling economic growth (instead of hindering it), yet you’re probably wondering where all of these opportunities are. Most of the green entry level jobs that I come across are either in the non-profit or energy sectors. However, if you look a little more closely there are a lot more options—some of which have been around a lot longer than you would have expected. Take The Cadmus Group in Watertown, MA for example. They were founded in 1983 to “take advantage of a change in how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) procured contractor support,” and they’ve evolved into a leading environmental consulting firm. They’ve done this by gathering “the best minds across a variety of disciplines to help address the nation’s most pressing environmental, energy, and health challenges.

Cadmus Was a Phoenician Prince

The Cadmus Group works in a variety of areas that include Water, Energy Services, Social Marketing and Communications, Green Building, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Strategic Environmental Management, and International Development. There’s a lot there, but they’re a decent sized consulting firm, so it makes sense for them to cover a lot of service areas. To get specifics on the kind of work that they do in each of these areas you can look at this section on their website. You may also want to read through their blog, although it hasn’t been updated in quite a while. Although Cadmus doesn’t get specific about client projects on their website, they provide plenty of information for you to be able to figure out where you might fit in. Their Careers page says that they generally seek applicants with backgrounds in Engineering, Public Policy, Public Finance, Statistics, Economics, Ecological Modeling, Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecosystem Analysis, Media and Marketing, Public Relations. You can find their current openings listed here. In terms of entry level positions, you’ll want to look at the following jobs: Entry Level Communications Professional (Arlington, VA), Part-Time Computer Support Technician (Watertown, MA), Part-Time Environmental Research and Policy Analyst (Watertown, MA), Research Analyst (Arlington, VA), Research Analyst (Watertown, MA), Research Analyst – Energy Services (Watertown, MA), and Research Analyst/Analyst (Arlington, VA). And in addition the locations that I mentioned, they also have offices in Portland, OR; Boulder, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; Los Angeles, CA; Helena, MT; and Madison, WI.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about The Cadmus Group?

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?

Trick or Vote

Willy Franzen — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:12:24 +0000

Now, Halloween isn’t the most job search friendly holiday. Not only do you have to worry about incriminating pictures of you in your costume will be posted on Facebook, but you can’t exactly walk around from employer to employer and say, “Trick or Job!” Still, Halloween is a $6 billion industry by itself, so you shouldn’t completely ignore it in your job search. However, it’s a Sunday which means that we’re looking at non-profit jobs. It’s not as easy as you might think to find a non-profit that you can tie into Halloween. Last year we took a look at Children’s Dental Health Project, and this year we’re going to take a look at Portland, OR based Trick or Vote. They are a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that has volunteers “dress up in costume on Halloween and knock on doors in their neighborhoods reminding people to vote.”

Trick or Job!

Now, this idea may seem a little weird, but it makes sense. Apparently, “knocking on doors increases voter turnout by a whopping 8-12%, more than any other method,” yet most people are uncomfortable knocking on strangers’ doors—except for on Halloween. It’s all about getting out the vote, and Trick or Vote has found an extremely effective way to do that. In 2008 they had “30 organizations operating in 35 cities,” and “costumed volunteers knocked on 100,000 doors on that single night.” And the plan was to go even bigger in 2010. Obviously Trick or Vote’s operations are extremely time sensitive, so now is probably the worst time to think about getting involved, but you should still reach out to them and see if there will be any opportunities in the future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you dress up for Halloween?

Groupon

Willy Franzen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:46:22 +0000

If you’re not already a Groupon member, here’s an invitation link.

In February of 2009, when I had only been in Chicago a few months, I got invited to an event for Chicago tech startups hosted by a local incubator named midVentures. I felt awkward when I walked in because I didn’t know a single person, but I quickly got to meeting people. One of the people I talked to was named Andrew Mason. He started a collective action site called The Point that allows you to put up money for big ideas with the qualification that you only have to pay if a certain threshold is met. That way you can put up money to build a collapsible dome over Chicago for the winter, but not have to worry about shelling out the cash unless the project is actually going to happen. At that point Andrew was working on an offshoot of The Point called Groupon. In some ways it was much like One Day, One Job. Instead of offering its readers a new job every day, it offered a deal. It was growing really fast, and he and I both knew that he was on to something pretty neat, but I don’t think either of us appreciated how big it could be at the time. Now, a year later, Groupon is valued at over $1 billion dollars. That would be nine zeroes if you ignored the fact that their actual valuation is around $1,350,000,000 (only 7 zeroes, ha!). The company is growing at an insane rate, and they always seem to be hiring. I’ve pinged Andrew and one of his recruiters a couple of times to let me know when they have positions to feature, but I get so many requests on Groupon that I’m just going to pull the trigger.

Get Your Groupon

For those of you who don’t know what Groupon is, it’s pretty simple. Every day they offer a new deal from a local business—it’s essentially a heavily discounted gift certificate. The business gets new customers, you save money, and Groupon gets a big cut of the sale. That’s what is so impressive about Groupon. Their growth is based on real revenue. Most startups as early as Groupon are losing money, while Groupon would probably be less profitable if they had a money printing machine. They’re not hiring people on a hope and a dream. They’re hiring people because they’re leaving money on the table otherwise. This may make them sound like they’re all serious, but Groupon also happens to be one of the goofiest startups out there. Humor is a key part of the company, and that clearly comes from the top, as Andrew is a pretty goofy guy.

Another key to the company is sales. Groupon is all about helping local businesses reach customers, and that means that their sales force has to kick butt. That’s why you’ll notice that most of Groupon’s postings on their Jobs page are Account Executive positions. They have Inside Sales positions in Chicago, and Outside Sales positions all across the country including cities like Birmingham, AL; Boston, MA; Cincinnati, OH; Denver, CO; Honolulu, HI; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, KS; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; New Orlenas, LA; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Raleigh, NC; Sacramento, CA; San Diego, CA; San Franisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. The Inside Sales positions seem better suited to new grads that the Outside Sales positions, but I bet that they’ll happy to talk to you if you’ve proved that you can sell. Groupon also has a variety of other positions that might interest new or recent grads like Copywriter, Factchecker, Reviews Researcher, Customer Service Representative, Recruiter, Loyalty Marketing Coordinator, SEM Specialist, Affiliate Manager, Front-end Developer, QA Engineer, Software Developer, User Experience Designer, and Visual/Graphic Designer. There are a ton of jobs, and I’m sure there will be plenty more in the near future. It may seem like you’re too late, but remember that Groupon hasn’t even been around for two years.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a Groupon member?

The Advisory Board Company

Willy Franzen — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:54:31 +0000

Consultants are typically seen as hired mercenaries. Sometimes they get a bad rap, but at least they’re compensated well for it. I have to think that those who work at The Advisory Board Company have at least a somewhat better reputation since their company’s clients are all mission driven. What does mission driven mean? Well, most of The Advisory Board Company’s clients are in the healthcare industry (think hospitals and health systems, not insurance providers), but they’ve recently moved into working with universities too. I hadn’t heard of The Advisory Board Company until a One Day, One Job reader e-mailed me (you can reach me at willy@onedayonejob.com if you want to share a tip or success story) to tell me that he recently received a job offer from them. Apparently they do a ton of entry level hiring, and they’re continuing to grow well beyond the 5 employees that they started with in 1979. Since then they’ve grown to more than 1,000 employes, and they’ve served “more than 2,800 leading healthcare and higher education organizations.” Additionally, they’ve grown beyond their corporate headquarters in Washington, DC to having offices in Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; Portland, OR; Nashville, TN; London, UK; and Chennai, India.

Join The Board

Introducing The Advisory Board Company as a consulting firm wasn’t fully accurate. They actually operate quite differently from most consulting practices. Instead of serving clients on an engagement basis, they do most of their work as a membership organization. Hospitals or universities can become The Advisory Board Company members and gain access to the company’s different offerings, which include things like Strategy Research, Clinical Research, Leadership Development, Business Intelligence Analytics, and more. They also provide Management and Consulting services, but it seems that those aren’t the main focus. Still, if you’d consider a career in consulting, The Advisory Board Company could be a nice alternative. Their Careers page goes into a lot of detail about the company’s culture and benefits, and obviously it also has the job listings. Right now there are just over 40 jobs posted, and I’ve picked out the following as being ideal for new grads: Account Management Associate, Syndicated Research Analyst, Business Intelligence Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Associate, Paralegal, Partner Services Associate, Recruiting Coordinator, Higher Education Research Associate, and User Support Specialist. From what I can tell, all of these positions are located in DC, but the company does seem to offer some location flexibility and opportunities to work from home. The Advisory Board Company does a really nice job with job descriptions, so you shouldn’t have trouble deciding whether these jobs are a good fit for you or not.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about The Advisory Board Company?

AEG

Willy Franzen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:54:32 +0000

I swear that half of all college grads want to work in sports and entertainment. Unfortunately most of the job postings you’ll find in those industries are actually scam jobs. Getting a position at a legitimate sports and entertainment company is not easy, but with AEG you have a shot. They call themselves “one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world,” and although that sounds broad, it’s a good description. AEG operates in a number of business areas including Facilities, Sports (Teams and Events), Music (Events), and Merchandising. They own/control arenas like the STAPLES Center, Conseco Fieldhouse, and the Prudential Center, while also owning professional sports teams like the LA Kings and Los Angeles Galaxy (can you tell that AEG is based in Los Angeles?). They’ve also “promoted tours by artists including Britney Spears, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Christina Aguilera & Justin Timberlake, The Dixie Chicks, Yanni, Paul McCartney, Usher, Kanye West, Prince, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Nickelback, and PopTarts Presents American Idol.” And that’s not even half of it. AEG is a major player in sports and entertainment, and a great place to start a career.

Join AEG’s Team

Describing AEG’s business in a few paragraphs isn’t easy, so I guess that the best way to put it is that if it has to do with sports or entertainment, they’re probably involved in some way. That means that AEG offers job opportunities in a wide variety of areas. They actually have a halfway decent job search function on their site, so you can narrow things down by AEG Company, Area of Interest, Location, or Facility. They have nearly 100 jobs posted (a lot of them are internships though), and they’re in locations all across the country. I’m not going to list entry level opportunities for you, so you’ll have to do the searching yourself, but you should note that AEG’s job offerings are typically in areas like Accounting & Finance, Administrative & Clerical, Box Office, Creative Services, Event Services, Facilities Operations, Guest Services, Merchandising & Retail, Player Operations, Real Estate, and Sales & Marketing. You can apply for any of the positions that you find through their online application process.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about AEG?

WebMD

Willy Franzen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:03:02 +0000

If you woke up this morning with a sore throat, what would you do? I bet many of you would get on the computer, type your symptoms into Google, and probably end up on WebMD trying to self-diagnose. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing (maybe we should leave the diagnosing for the doctors), but it’s how most of us operate these days. We have a remarkable amount of medical information available at our fingertips, and WebMD, which is based in NYC with a significant presence in a number of other cities, is responsible for a lot of it. They consider themselves “the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, other healthcare professionals, employers and health plans.” If you read that closely, you probably noticed that WebMD’s business goes well beyond their consumer facing website.

A Prescription for Your Job Search

From what I can tell, WebMD’s Consumer Network is ad supported, while they also offer paid Professional Networks, Private Portal Services, and Publishing Services that provide additional sources of revenue. I’d expect their business to continue to grow well because of their unique position. They are in the business of providing information, so they can grow as our consumption of healthcare increases, but they don’t have to worry about the threat of legislation killing their business model. One indication of this expectation for growth is the fact that they have 85 jobs posted right now. Some of the positions that seem best suited to new grads include Associate Project Manager (Montreal, Canada), Customer Service Representative (New York, NY), Health Educator (Indianapolis, IN), iPhone Application Developer (New York, NY), Onsite Health/Wellness Coordinator (Puerto Rico), Sales Planner/Account Specialist (New York, NY), and Web Designer (Portland, OR). It appears that WebMD was actually posting more jobs as I was writing this, so you’ll want to look for yourself and see what they have. There appears to be a good mix of jobs (tech, health, writing), so see if there’s a good fit for you and apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you use WebMD?

Educational Testing Service

Willy Franzen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:07:46 +0000

You thought that you were done with standardized tests. No more #2 pencils and filling in bubbles for you. Guess again. A career with the Princeton, NJ based Educational Testing Service would take you right back to Junior year in high school with all the standardized tests. They are “a private, nonprofit organization devoted to educational measurement and research, primarily through testing.” They’re behind AP Tests, the PSAT, the SAT, the TOEFL, the GRE, and plenty of other tests that you may have taken during your academic career. Their aim is to “advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research,” and I’d say they’re doing a pretty good job. A lot of people have a strong distaste for standardized tests, but it seems that we are yet to find a better way to measure and compare achievement across groups. I was surprised to learn that the ETS is a non-profit organization, but it’s probably better for the people who take the 50 million tests that the organization administers annually.

Put Yourself to the Test

Few people realize how important assessment is, at least until they get into the job search process. Standardized tests are a great source of feedback for students—even though most student just seem them as a measurement of whether they’re good enough to get into this college or that program. I bet most job seekers would willingly take another standardized test if it gave them an idea of where they stood in comparison to other applicants. If you’re intrigued by what the ETS does, you should check out their Careers site. It has good information on a day in the the life at ETS, along with a ton of job openings. They have 86 positions posted right now, so you’ll have to search through those to find something that fits your skills. If you don’t come across something, you can always try their résumé submission form. Their locations in addition to Princeton, NJ include Ewing, NJ; Hato Rey, PR; Portland, OR; San Antonio, TX; Sacramento, CA; and Washington, DC.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are your feelings on standardized tests?

SurveyMonkey

Willy Franzen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:06:05 +0000

One of my goals with One Day, One Job is to get more interactive. I’d like to get more feedback from you, the readers, on what you want to see, and I’d also like to use the collective wisdom of thousands of college aged job seekers to develop better content. The best way to do that is through reader surveys, which is why I recently signed up with SurveyMonkey. They’re a Menlo Park, CA (formerly Portland, OR) based “startup” that has been helping people run online surveys for the last decade. While most Internet companies that started in 1999 have since flamed out and most companies started in the 2000s have relied on flashiness to bring in venture capital money, Survey Monkey and its outdated look have been laughing all the way to the bank. By providing a dead simple way for business owners (they’ve worked with more than 80% of the Fortune 100) to collect data, SuveyMonkey has built an insanely successful business.

SurveyMonkey Says…

As TechCrunch reported last month, SurveyMonkey has finally taken on some outside money and started to take growth seriously. They’ve more than doubled their staff over the last year, and they’ve revamped their management team. You won’t find a lot of information about SurveyMonkey online, but you will find a lot of people who have used their software. SurveyMonkey has never seemed to care much for flash or attention. Instead they have used the “Freemium Model” to bring in thousands of paying customers. If you’ve always wanted to work at a web startup, but were wary of the “scene,” then SurveyMonkey might be the right place for you. They have a number of job openings posted, and a few seem suitable for new grads. The most likely is Front-end Engineer, but they also have some positions in Marketing, Product Management, Technical Operations, and User Experience Design that might be work looking at. And if you don’t see anything that suits you, you can always use their online form to apply for an unlisted position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever responded to a SurveyMonkey survey?

Fleishman-Hillard

Willy Franzen — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:57:25 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.

When I was in college, I wanted nothing more than to work at Fleishman-Hillard. Renowned for their corporate culture, Fleishman-Hillard is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has 80 offices throughout the world, does business in more than 20 languages and has 29 practices areas. In 2008, the firm’s work and culture earned them the “Best Agency to Work For” by The Holmes Report. But their list of awards hardly stops there, including “103 Silver Anvil Awards, 90 CIPRA/SABRE Awards, and numerous other national and international awards.”

And Fleishman-Hillard doesn’t just win awards outside the organization, but also with its own employees. In 2007, 98 percent of Fleishman-Hillard employees called the firm an organization “of which they can be proud,” according to an employee satisfaction survey. Fleishman-Hillard rewards their employees in return, giving out two awards annually – the “team player” and John D. Graham – recognizing “individuals in various geographic regions for unparalleled commitment to the client, the agency and their team.” Managers also give awards at their discretion for “their heroic efforts.” I’ve known many individuals who’ve worked for Fleishman-Hillard over the years, including one of my college mentors, and I’ve heard nothing but good things.

Be Rewarded at an Award-Winning Agency

Fleishman-Hillard is currently seeking a Coordinator in its Boston office. (Fleishman-Hillard also has offices in Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO; London, England; Los Angeles, CA; Melbourne, Australia; Miami, FL; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; Montreal, Canada; New York, NY; Potland, OR; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Sacramento, CA; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; St. Louis, MO; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada, and Washington, D.C.) This position is a mix of “traditional” and “new” public relations in a large agency setting. Beyond administrative and office duties, the Account Assistant also conducts media relations, media monitoring and reporting, research and other junior-level account activities. The best way to land this position is to have had a prior agency internship while in college, preferably with Fleishman-Hillard itself or another large agency.

Interested? Apply for the job online here. Even though the position is in Boston, much of the recruitment process originates in the St. Louis office. I recommend reading their blog, Stand Out, and the biographies of some of the folks in charge of talent development.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Need help with your cover letter and résumé—or your entire job search? Heather offers low-cost coaching packages specifically for students and recent graduates seeking careers in public relations. Click here to learn more.

National Wild Turkey Federation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:00:23 +0000

My thoughts about Thanksgiving are still lingering like leftovers in the fridge, so we’re going to look at some more turkey related jobs today. The National Wild Turkey Federation is a “non-profit conservation and education organization with a mission dedicated to conserving wild turkeys and preserving hunting traditions.” They’re not talking about the turkeys that you had for dinner (at least not most of you), these are the ones that you may have seen in your backyard. It wasn’t too long ago that seeing a wild turkey was a rare occurrence, but these days it seems like they’re all over the place. That doesn’t mean that the work of the National Wild Turkey Federation is done, though. In fact, their numbers are expanding faster than those of wild turkeys. Since the Federation was founded in 1973, wild turkey numbers have increased from 1.3 million to more than 7 million, in the same time the Federation has grown from 1,300 members to almost half a million. That’s called success.

Bringing a New Meaning to the Job Hunt

It may seem counterintuitive that hunters are the ones who are trying to save the animals that they hunt, but it makes sense when you think about it. The individuals who utilize a natural resource are also the most likely to want to protect it. I guess that analogy doesn’t work for job hunters though. I’m sure that you’ll be more than happy to take another job off the market, and that’s why you should check out jobs with the National Wild Turkey Federation. Their Jobs page shows a number of available opportunities, and a couple of them seem perfect for entry level candidates. There are seasonal positions in the NWTF’s Warehouse, Frame Shop, and Customer Service departments in Edgefield, SC, but those aren’t what caught our interest. The Regional Director positions in Wisconsin and Oregon are. They look like awesome opportunities for new grads who are ready to take on a lot of responsibility. If you love wild turkeys and want to do everything in your power to conserve the resource, then head over to the NWTF’s Jobs page, read the job descriptions, and apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Any turkey hunters out there?

Garmin

Willy Franzen — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:43:43 +0000

Ok, it may be politically incorrect to celebrate Columbus Day, but it’s just about the only holiday that I had off in college. Maybe it just happened to be a convenient weekend for Fall Break, but I still can’t believe that I didn’t have class on Columbus Day, but did have class on Labor Day (when I went to a School of Industrial and Labor Relations). Anyway, Christopher Columbus wasn’t much of a navigator. He had no idea where he was going, and he tried to take the long way around the world. Still, his ineptitude was the reason that he “discovered” the Americas. Had Garmin been around in the 1490s, Columbus never would have ended up where he did. Then again, the existence of a company built on GPS technology would have changed a lot of things for famous explorers five centuries ago. (Much like the existence of iPods – like the one we’re giving away – would have changed the world for musicians back then.)

Find Your Way to Garmin

Since Garmin started in 1989, their goal has been to “create navigation and communication devices that can enrich their customers’ lives.” GPS has certainly enriched my life, and I’m sure it’s done the same for you. Getting lost is a thing of the past, right? Ok, maybe not yet, but we’re getting there. I can say with certainty that with a GPS system I never would have started my first drive home from college during Columbus Day Weekend by driving for 45 minutes in the wrong direction. Garmin keeps improving their navigation devices, and they rely heavily on new grads to help them do it.

Garmin has a great recruiting site for college students called GarminU, although it’s easy to miss when you visit their Careers site. It’s just a little link on the left side of the page, but it’s well worth visiting. It includes behind the scenes videos with Garmin’s entry level employees, interview preparation tips, internship testimonials, and info on why you should pick Garmin. There’s also a link to Garmin’s campus recruiting schedule. You should definitely check that before applying for a job online, since campus recruiting is usually a much more effective way to make your first contact.

If Garmin isn’t visiting your campus, or if you’ve already missed them, then you’ll have to browse Garmin’s online job listings to find the right opportunity for you. They don’t have specific listings just for entry level opportunities, but we’ve identified which jobs that we think will be good fits for new grads. The listings are easy enough to browse, but we can’t link specifically to the jobs. We’ll list the titles, but you’ll have to search for them yourselves. Most of Garmin’s job opportunities are at their Olathe, KS headquarters. These include Cartography Technician, Web Content Writer, Web/Interface Designer, Test Software Engineer, General Accountant, Component Engineer, Software Engineer – Development Tools, and Software Engineer. There are also opportunities in San Francisco, CA (Software Engineer – Web Services and Web Developer); Minneapolis, MN (Software Engineer – Information Services and Web Software Developer); Salem, OR (Aircraft Systems Engineer); Tempe, AZ (Software Quality Engineer – Applications); and Los Angeles, CA (Software Quality Engineer – Automotive OEM). Garmin accepts online applications, so you’ll have to find the jobs that interest you and apply from there.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do any of you have any embarrassing travel experiences that would have been prevented by having a Garmin GPS unit? Please share in the comments.

Chill

Willy Franzen — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:50:49 +0000

With the first day of fall just two days a way, you can definitely feel a chill in the air (at least if you’re in the Northeast like me). The leaves are already starting to change colors, and before you know it there will be snow on the ground. For many this is a depressing picture, but for those of you who love snowboarding, the coming of winter is filled with excitement. Snowboarding is all about seeing hope in the desolate bleakness of winter, and that’s the kind of attitude that Chill is looking for in Local Coordinators. The Chill program is a nonprofit learn–to-snowboard program for underserved youth run by Burton Snowboards.

Can I Chill?

Beyond sounding like a lot of fun, the Chill program seems to be doing a lot to enact positive change in the lives of young people.

From the Chill website:

Every year, we take over 100 youth from each of our sites to the slopes. We provide them with everything they need to learn to ride: lift tickets, lessons, transportation, and head-to-toe gear. Snowboarding is fun and a great activity for the youth we serve, but it takes several lessons and plenty of hard work to learn. We use board sports to motivate youth to accomplish goals they never thought they could, while teaching them some of the most important lessons in life about patience, persistence, responsibility, courage, respect, and pride. With positive adult role models, engaging activities, and incredible mountain environments we build self confidence and raise self esteem.

This is a truly unique

Am I Chill Enough?

Chill is currently looking for 2 Local Coordinators at 13 of their sites. That’s a lot of entry level jobs. These aren’t permanent, full-time positions, but they are a perfect way to transition from the student life to the working life. They’re looking for college graduates who have at least 3 years of snowboarding experience along with experience working with kids. Chill’s sites include Baltimore, Boston, Burlington, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Prince George, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington D.C. The program runs from November through the end of March. You can find the job description for the Chicago Coordinator here (.doc) and the Chill Fact Sheet here (.doc). The pay scales, dates and hours very depending on location, so you’ll have to e-mail Jason Hirsch for more details. He’s also the person that you should apply to, so when you’re ready, send your cover letter and resume to jasonh@chill.org. The application deadline for the Chicago position is October 6th, but we’re not sure if the deadlines for other sites will vary as well. Your best bet is to apply as soon as possible.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you snowboard?