One Day, One Job » publishing

Globe Pequot Press

Willy Franzen — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:33:51 +0000

I’m a big reader, so I usually end up getting quite a few books for Christmas. That’s starting to change because I’ve moved the to the Kindle for most of my reading, but I’m still a book collector. In fact, I have an award winning collection on fly fishing. A good number of those books come from a publisher called Lyons Press, which is now owned by a larger publishing company called Globe Pequot Press. They’re based in Guilford, CT, and they focus on four categories: Outdoor Life, Regional Interest, Special Interests, and Travel. These categories are represented by imprints that include FalconGuides, Knack, Skirt!, Insiders’ Guide, Footprint Travel Guides, and Popout Products. When you put all those together, you get a pretty decent sized publishing company.

Take a Trip Around the Globe

Globe Pequot Press published its first book in 1947, and for it remained quite small for its first quarter century. They focused mainly on local topics and worked with local towns and their historical societies. They eventually expanded to cover areas like “New England history, biography, architecture, antiques, genealogy and travel,” and as they grew they started to attract the attention of bigger players. In the 80s a series of acquisitions and changes in ownership began and continued up until 1999. That’s when Globe Pequot Press settled in Guilford, and since then they’ve continued to grow by buying or adding new imprints. You can learn a lot more about the company by browsing their site and taking a look at the titles that they publish, so I recommend that you do that before heading over to their Jobs page. Right now GPP is hiring a Digital Production Assistant and a Business Development Specialist. Take a look at the jobs and see if Globe Pequot Press is the place for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What books are on your Christmas list?

Songtrust

Willy Franzen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:57:13 +0000

Ready to be done with school but not done with college? Take a look at these entry level jobs at the University of Chicago.

We’re almost back to where we were ten years ago in terms of being able to listen to music online. There are finally services that will let you listen to whatever you want whenever you want, and many of them are free (with ads). The big change (beyond the move to streaming instead of downloads) is that most of this listening is actually legally sanctioned. This is good new for artists and songwriters, but it also creates a lot of new headaches. Managing your music’s rights and collecting the royalties that you’re owed is extremely time consuming if you can’t pay a professional to do it for you. Songtrust replaces the need for that professional with a simple software solution. The company is based in New York, NY, and their product ensures that their “writer members keep 100% of their rights, get paid 100% of their royalties and can opt out at anytime.”

Trust in Songtrust

The vast majority of musicians are operating on a small scale, so Songtrust is in their sweet spot. It’s super simple, and it’s also super affordable. Here are the details on their plans, and here’s a video intro to how the service works:

I hear from a ton of readers who want a career in the music industry, and most of them don’t have much expertise beyond liking music. Rights management may not sound like the most exciting part of the industry, but it’s an area where you could build a great career. That’s why you should check out Songtrust’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Lead Designer, a Python/Django Engineer, and a Publishing Associate. Take a look at the job descriptions and see if any of them make sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Songtrust?

O’Reilly Media

Willy Franzen — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:26:08 +0000

Is it just me or are Black Friday and Cyber Monday pretty much the same these days? Online retailers have big Black Friday sales and brick and mortar brands are offering tons of Cyber Monday deals online. Still, I figured it was worth browsing Cyber Monday deals to see if I could find some cool job opportunities. I lucked out as a deal for 60% off e-books from O’Reilly Media popped up in my Twitter feed almost immediately. This deal is doubly relevant for job seekers because in addition to having some cool jobs, O’Reilly Media is a Sebastopol, CA based company that “spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, research, and conferences.” In other words, they provide educational tools that can make you far more employable.

Oh, Really?

While I’ve never owned an O’Reilly book or attended one of their conferences, I know that they have an amazing reputation in the innovation community. O’Reilly Media was started by Tim O’Reilly in 1978 as “a technical writing and consulting company,” but in 1984 they started “retaining rights to manuals” they created and began offering them to the public. The business continued to grow, and now they’re at the point where they’re covering nearly everything important that relates to the web and technology in one way or another. You could spend hours just trying to figure out all of the topics the they cover, and I strongly recommend that you do that if you’re considering a job with O’Reilly Media. Right now they have a couple of positions that look like they might interest new or recent grads including Publishing Technology Engineer, Web Producer, and Sales & Marketing Coordinator. They also take on people for freelance work, so that may be another way to get your foot in the door.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own any books published by O’Reilly Media?

BookRenter.com

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:38:14 +0000

We’ll be wrapping up our survey soon, so speak now and help shape the future of ODOJ.

I’m convinced that textbook publishers are just really expensive money launderers. You spend an outrageous amount of money on some book that you probably won’t even open, and at the end of the semester you sell it back for 15% of what you paid for it. Your money is clean and you’re slightly more educated, yet there’s this sinking feeling that you’ve been had. Academic publishers have built monopolies title by title, and they’ve reaped the rewards for decades. It’s finally coming to an end. There are now open-source publishers like Flat World Knowledge and textbook rental services like Chegg and BookRenter.com that are digging into the publishers’ profits. Today we’re going to focus on San Mateo, CA based BookRenter.com which was founded in 2006 “to make education more affordable for everyone.” From what I can tell, they were the first textbook rental service, and they’ve been growing big time since they launched.

The End of Rent Seeking

You could make a pretty strong argument that textbook publishers are just rent seekers. They use their connections to professors to charge above market prices. Oddly enough, it’s the rental business that might just put an end to their monopoly power; though, I do wonder whether a move to digital publishing will tip the scales back towards the publishers. Anyway, BookRenter.com has built a remarkable business by making a capital investment in tons of textbooks and building out the logistics to get the books quickly to and from students. Now BookRenter.com just needs to get more and more students to try renting. That should be easy considering that they can easily save an average student more than $500 a year. If you’re liking what BookRenter.com is all about, then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of open positions including:

There are all kinds of great options at BookRenter.com, so join their team and help put textbook publishers in their place.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your worst college textbook horror story?

Time Out

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

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

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

Take a Time Out from Your Job Search

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

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

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

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?

Lulu

Willy Franzen — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:56:17 +0000

I realize that a lot of you are looking for something specific. You’re want a certain type of job at a certain type of company in a certain type of industry in a certain geographic location. I know that on most days the company that I write about won’t check all of your boxes. Instead of closing out the e-mail when you see something that doesn’t fit your criteria, use our daily write ups as a jumping off point–something to get you thinking in new directions in your job search. For instance, last week I wrote about Author Solutions. In doing research on them, I came across a few of their competitors. One that stood out was Lulu (not to be confused with lululemon). They’re a Raleigh, NC based company that has built an open publishing platform “that empowers more creators to sell more content to more readers more profitably than ever before.” It’s different from AuthorHouse in that Lulu doesn’t charge any upfront fees–they only get a cut when you make sales.

Are You a Lulu?

What’s a lulu? According to Lulu’s About page the “dictionary defines a lulu as a remarkable person, object or idea.” Lulu chose the name because they aim “to help remarkable people create and share their remarkable ideas with the world.” They’ve been doing it since 2002, and it’s working. Just look at their Success Stories. They best way to get to know Lulu is to play around with their platform. Browse the books that they sell while also walking through their demo. It’ll show you just how easy it is to use Lulu to publish your works–you can even have them put your book on Amazon or create an ebook version. If you like what Lulu is doing, take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they have a few options for new or recent grads including Customer Voice Associate, Product Manager – eCommerce, and UI Designer/Developer. Be a lulu!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever bought a book published by Lulu?

Author Solutions

Willy Franzen — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:55:10 +0000

It amazes me how many people dream of writing a book. I never had that dream, yet when a publisher came to me and pitched a book idea on career development, I jumped at the opportunity. I had no idea how hard it would be, and I ended up backing out because it was sucking up time that I should have been spending on my business. Most people aren’t anywhere near as lucky as I was. Getting a publisher to work with you on a first project is nearly impossible–though I watched a good friend of mine totally hack the process and get a deal for his book. Luckily, you don’t need a book deal to publish a book these days. If you’re willing to take all of the risk, self-publishing can be a great alternative. Author Solutions is the parent to a number of companies that serve this market. They’re located in Bloomington, IN, and they own both the largest and second-largets print on demand companies in the U.S.

A Solution for Your Job Search

When I started doing research on Author Solutions, I came across a lot of negative blog posts and comments. It seems that the self-publishing industry can be extremely controversial, and Author Solutions is a big target because of their size. The term vanity press gets thrown around a lot, as it seems that some people don’t think it’s fair to charge an author to publish his or her book. Others are more direct with their criticism of Author Solutions’ services. It’s hard to say how much of this is accurate and how much is sour grapes from authors who paid a lot of money to publish a book that would never sell no matter who published it. I still think that Author Solutions has built a business that is worth at least taking a look at.

Author Solutions has published more than 140,000 titles, and I’m sure that number will continue to grow. They operate a bunch of businesses, and those include AuthorHouse, AuthorHouse UK, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, AuthorHive, WordClay, lnkubook, Palibrio, and Author Learning Center. Through these different businesses Author Solutions is able to offer a wide range of author services including Editorial Services, Illustrations, Book & Cover Design, Publicity, Promotion, Distribution, Online Sales, and Bookstore Sales. If working in any of these areas sounds interesting to you, then you should take a look at Jobs at Author Solutions. Right now they have a ton of openings that might interest new or recent grads including:

Lots of options here, so give them all a good look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you ever self-publish a book?

Complex Media Network

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:22:09 +0000

I like to consider myself an “influential 20-something male consumer,” but maybe I’m wrong. I don’t read Complex.com or visit any of the sites in the Complex Media Network, and they say that they are “the premier online destination for the most influential 20-something male consumers.” They’re getting nearly a million unique visitors a day across their network, so they’re certainly influential, and I have to think their audience is too. Complex, which is based in New York, NY caters to an audience that is “driven by style, sports, music, games, gear and girls,” and they’re experts at creating content for and delivering advertising to this audience. Complex.com is their main property, but the network extends to dozens of sites that zero in on niches within the niches.

It’s Complex

I had heard about Complex before from some internship postings that I came across, but I only really took another look at them after a reader e-mailed me to tell me that he had landed an internship with Complex Media Network. After taking a closer look, I realized that Complex has done something really impressive. They took a magazine (which always has two covers–one male celebrity and one female celebrity) that was started in Mark Ecko in 2002 and used it to launch a much larger network. By getting publishers who cover similar topics to join they’re network, they’re able to sell advertising on a much larger scale while still staying true to their target demographic. Here are some case studies to give you a better idea of how Complex Media actually leverages their network. If you’re a true “influential 20-something male consumer” or you want work in a business that focuses them, check out jobs at Complex Media Network. While they don’t have any positions posted for new grads, I’ve heard that both applying through their General Inquiries form and tweeting at Complex employees can deliver good results.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Complex?

Goodreads

Willy Franzen — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:01:48 +0000

Looking for a job in North Carolina? Samaritan’s Purse is a non-profit with some great entry level jobs available.

I’m kind of a wannabe bookworm. I love reading, and I read often, but I find that I spend way too much time reading online articles and blog posts and not enough time reading books. I even bought a Kindle to force myself to read more books. It’s helped, but I think that I can do better. One of my big struggles is finding good books to read (if you have recommendation, e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com). I occasionally get a good recommendation from a friend, and Amazon’s recommendation isn’t bad, but I need something more. Goodreads is a service that aims to solve my problem. They’re based in San Francisco, CA (with an office in Santa Monica, CA), and they are “the largest social network for readers in the world” with “more than 5,300,000 members who have added more than 160,000,000 books to their shelves.”

Read Up on Goodreads

Goodreads is essentially a personal book management system. You can give and receive recommendations, keep track of what you’re reading and what you’ve read, and even form book clubs. It seems like the ultimate book discovery engine, which is why I’m definitely going to give it a try. The wonderful thing about what Goodreads does is that it’s super easy to monetize. If your site is all about recommending new books, then you can use affiliate links to take a cut of the books that people buy from sites like Amazon.com and BN.com. Additionally, Goodreads offers the opportunity for authors, publishers, and others to advertise directly to an audience of highly engaged, avid readers. The best thing about it is that the advertising is actually a service to users–it makes their experience better. Who cares if you find out about a really cool book from a friend or from an ad? If you love books and want to be a part of what Goodreads is doing, check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for Software Engineers, User Interface Designers, and Advertising Account Managers, so take a look at the positions and see what fits.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are you reading?

Outbrain

Willy Franzen — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:32:11 +0000

When you’re in the online content business, much like any other business, your goal is to get people to consume more of what you’re producing. There are a number of reasons for that, but the biggest is that more pageviews mean more ad revenue. You obviously also want to help people solve problems, find interesting stuff, and have a reason to keep coming back to your site. That’s why Outbrain offers sites automated “related link widgets” to “increase recirculation & generate more revenue.” There’s a good chance that you’ve seen the New York, NY based company’s widgets across the web. They’re on sites like USA Today, Slate, iVillage, TMZ, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Beast, and lots of others. Honestly, I usually ignore those links, but they must get clicked on considering Outbrain has so many big name partners and $29 million in funding.

Are You Brainy Enough?

Outbrain breaks down what they do into two simple things:

Helping people discover great new content to read online
Helping web publishers and bloggers grow their business by doing right by their readers

It’s easy to see how they do the first by just looking at their widgets, but the second isn’t as clear. They charge publishers to put their links in the widgets to promote content, and then they pay publishers who get their readers to click on the widget links. It’s an interesting model since most people find content by actively searching for it on search engines. It’s not so easy to find content, when you don’t know you’re looking for it. Outbrain is all about recommending online content like Netflix recommends movies. That means contextualization, personalization, and collaborative filtering. If you like what Outbrain is doing, check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a few positions that are worth checking out for new or recent grads including Web Operations Engineer and Account Manager. There are a few other positions (also some in Boston, Israel, and the United Kingdom), but they seem to require more experience.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you click on Outbrain widget links?

GigaOm

Willy Franzen — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:28:21 +0000

I’m a complete Apple fanboy. I have been since since I first touched an Apple IIe in 1990. Today is the keynote of Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, so I’m all sorts of excited. I’ve come to accept that they almost certainly won’t be announcing the iPhone 5 today, but I’m still pumped to hear about all of the software stuff that they’ve been working on. This means that I’ve been anxiously (and irrationally) reading all of the major online tech sites so that I can uselessly speculate about what kind of cool things my phone will be able to do after the next software update. A lot of interesting businesses have been built in the tech news space, which is why we’ve already profiled companies like Engadget, Gawker (Gizmodo), TechCrunch, and gdgt. Today we’re going to look at GigaOm, a San Francisco, CA based company that does the whole tech news thing, but also has a research arm that is growing extremely quickly.

Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm

GigaOm was founded by Om Malik, a guy who “has more than 15 years of experience as a journalist covering technology and business news.” He helped launched Forbes.com as a Senior Editor back in the day, and he continues to lead the GigaOm Editorial Team. Despite doing a great job of covering tech news, GigaOm doesn’t appear to get anywhere near the traffic that some of the sites I mentioned earlier do. That would usually present a problem for a business that is built on covering news to attract eyeballs for advertising, but GigaOm has a slightly different model. They have a paid content section called GigaOm Pro that provides market research and analysis for a fee. This part of the business is doing really well, and must be a major reason for the $40 million valuation that GigaOm just got in their most recent round of investment ($6 million).

By building trust through their free content, GigaOm is able to generate leads for their paid section. It’s a smart idea, and it seems to be working really well. GigaOm intends to spend a big portion of that new capital on hiring to expand GigaOm Pro, so now is the time to start thinking about a career with them. Right now 10 of 41 GigaOm employees do research full-time. Maybe you can help be part of the expected growth in that number. The only position posted right now on the GigaOm Jobs page is for a Webmaster/ Jr. Developer, but that should change soon. You might as well just reach out to the folks at GigaOm now and let them know how you could help with the growth of GigaOm Pro. It’s worth a shot.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read GigaOm?

Network Communications, Inc.

Willy Franzen — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:45:22 +0000

If you had to think of two industries that were hit hardest by the recession, what would they be? Mine would probably be publishing and real estate. (Finance may have been hit harder, but they bounced back almost immediately.) Since I firmly believe that great opportunity lies in taking on difficult challenges, I’m going to tell you about a company in the real estate publishing industry. Their name is Network Communications, Inc. (which tells you nothing about what they do), and they’re located in Lawrenceville, GA (a suburb of Atlanta). They produce a wide range of publications that focus on three specific areas: Home Sales, Rental & Leasing, and Home Improvement & Design. Some of their titles include The Real Estate Book, Apartment Finder, and Mountain Living. They break things down both by vertical and regional, and they’re just as active on the web as they are with print publications.

Making Publishing Real

The real estate publishing business model is pretty simple. The goal is to create content and distribute to anyone who might have a remote interest in buying, renting, or improving property. Then you sell ads alongside that content to help businesses like real estate agents, architects, contractors, and many others reach potential customers. This is a model that lends itself particularly well to the Internet where it’s easy to track lead generation. Based on the numbers, it looks like Network Communications, Inc. excels in every area of this business. Here are some stats on them:

They “distribute more than 13 million magazines each month.”
They serve “500 markets in the U.S. and Canada.”
They work with more than 45,000 advertisers.
Their websites get 10 million unique visitors who view 500 million listings annually.
They have “a proprietary network of over 320,000 distribution points around the country.”

It seems to me that they’ve overcome many of the problems that plague publishing companies by moving quickly to adopt new technology, and now they just need the real estate market to thaw a little bit more. It’s tough when your core advertisers are scared to spend money (believe me, I know). If you’re interested in working at the intersection of media and real estate, then check out jobs at Network Communications, Inc. Right now they have a few entry level positions including Junior Account Executive (Sacramento, CA), Online Product Manager (Lawrenceville, GA), and Sales Coordinator (St. Louis, MO). I imagine there will be a lot more opening up as soon as the real estate market picks up (whenever that may be), and some of them could be pretty cool–think editorial, social media, etc.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about NCI?

Center for Science in the Public Interest

Willy Franzen — Sun, 22 May 2011 14:57:42 +0000

You wouldn’t think that I’m actually happy when people unsubscribe from this list, but if it means that they landed a job or internship, then I’m as pleased as can be. I always try to find out where former subscribers go to work so that I can tell you about opportunities at those places (e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com if you have a recommendation). One reader e-mailed me and told me that she went to work at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is a non-profit organization that acts “as the organized voice of the American public on nutrition, food safety, health and other issues.” They’re based in Washington, DC, and they’ve been acting in the public interest since 1971. The organization’s main goals are to “educate the public, advocate government policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health and environmental issues, and counter industry’s powerful influence on public opinion and public policies.” Most of us forget how important of an issue food actually is, but it’s a major public health issue that is only getting worse.

The Food Detectives

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has an interesting funding model. Instead of constantly soliciting for donations and chasing down grants, they publish and sell subscriptions to the Nutrition Action Healthletter. It’s circulated to nearly 2 million people, and it’s completely ad free. Some people call the Center for Science in the Public Interest the “food police,” but they prefer to be called the “food detectives.” Whatever you want to call them, they’re focused on eliminating many of the negative externalities that are caused by today’s food industry. To learn more about the organization, you should definitely watch this video from the organization’s founder Michael Jacobson, Ph.D (e-mail readers may need to click through).

The video mentions some of the many accomplishments of the CSPI. The list is extremely long, and it includes some really impressive things like winning a “decade-long campaign” to pass “a federal law requiring nutrition labeling of packaged foods and a ban on deceptive health claims.” If you want to be part of future CSPI wins, then you should head over to their Jobs page. Right now they have a few interesting positions open: Project Assistant – Nutrition Action Healthletter, Research Associate, and Policy Associate – Health Promotion Policy. If you’re big on nutrition, this could be a great place to work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about what the CSPI does?

Freedom House

Willy Franzen — Sat, 21 May 2011 14:17:06 +0000

So far it seems that 2011 has been a pretty good year for freedom across the world. We’ve seen dictators overthrown, terrorists brought to justice, and finally got a new mayor in Chicago after 22 years (I kid). But every time progress is made somewhere in the world, it seems that another part of the world takes a step back. Because the fight for freedom is constantly changing, it’s important to keep track of how things are progressing across the world. That’s exactly what Freedom House does. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that “supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights.” As they put it, they’re all about combining analysis, advocacy, and action. The organization was founded in 1941 and has a very interesting history that you should definitely read up on.

Freedom in the House

If you read Freedom House’s About page, you’ll learn that they’ve “opposed tyranny around the world, including dictatorships in Latin America, apartheid in South Africa, Soviet domination of Central and Eastern Europe, and religiously-based totalitarian regimes such as those governing Sudan, Iran and Saudi Arabia,” while they’ve also “promoted the growth of freedom by encouraging U.S. policymakers, international institutions, and the governments of established democracies to adopt policies that advance human rights and democracy around the world.” One of the best ways to get a feel for what Freedom House does is to check out their publications: Freedom in the World, Freedom of the Press, Nations in Transit, and Countries at the Crossroads. If you like what you see, then you should check out Freedom House’s Jobs page. They have a number of opportunities for new grads right now including Assistant Editor (New York, NY), Grants Associate (Washington, DC), and Program Assistant – East and Horn of Africa (Washington, DC). All of the positions look really interesting, so check them out. (You may also want to check out the International opportunities on their Jobs page.)

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about freedom house?

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Willy Franzen — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:41:43 +0000

Ever consider a career in teaching? Here’s some info on how to get started.

There’s a long history of poking fun at Martha Stewart, and it started well before she went to prison. There’s just something funny about someone who takes perfection in domesticity as seriously as she does. My family even played an integral role in the satire of Martha with my little sister’s appearance in the parody magazine Martha Stuart’s Better Than You at Entertaining, which was a follow up to Is Martha Stuart Living? (here’s a picture my sister as young Martha Stewart in the parody). We can keep laughing at Martha Stewart, but she’ll always get the last laugh. She has an amazing track record of reaching the top in nearly everything that she has done–from babysitting for Mickey Mantle’s kids to starting a successful catering company in her basement to building a New York, NY based media empire in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart is apparently now worth well over half a billion dollars, and has used her personal brand to build amazing print, television, online, and merchandise properties.

Are You Living?

Whether or not you’re a Martha Stewart fan, you have to be impressed by what she’s done throughout her career. She’s had an amazing ability to stay relevant, and a lot of that has to do with her media strategy. She easily could have settled with a successful catering business, or a popular magazine, or having her own television show, but she didn’t. It seems that she is obsessed with using every channel possible to reach people with her “unique lifestyle content.” That’s what Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is all about. If you enjoy the Martha Stewart brand and want to work on the media or merchandise side, then you definitely need to take a look at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s Careers page. There are some great opportunities posted in their job listings, and a few seem suitable for new or recent grads including: Assistant Food Editor, PHP Application Developer – Internet Content Management Systems, Front-End Web Developer, Decorative Pillow and Bedding Accessory Designer, Executive Assistant, Freelance Recipe Taster, Retail Merchandising Assistant, Apparel Designer – Martha Stewart Pets and Quilt Designer. You can also apply for an unlisted position if you don’t see something that suits you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a Martha Stewart fan?

Central Intelligence Agency

Willy Franzen — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:52:33 +0000

I was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001. We were told what had happened during our morning announcements period, and a few of who had free periods after went to the beach across the street from our school’s campus. We knew that on a clear day you could usually see the Twin Towers from there, but all we could see was a plume of smoke. We listened on the radio and heard reports of the towers falling and rumors of other attacks in the works. I was deeply affected by what happened that day, and since then I have been waiting for our country to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Yesterday, a group of NAVY SEALs did just that under the command of the Central Intelligence Agency, which is based in Washington, DC but operates all over the world. I am extremely grateful to all of those who were involved–especially for those who risked their lives to make us safer. It’s a reminder of how important it is for our government agencies to have top talent working for them. WIthout great people working at the CIA and in our armed forces, bin Laden would still be at large.

Share Your Intelligence

The Central Intelligence Agency “was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman.” We often think of it as some super secret spy agency, and in some ways that what it is; however, there’s a lot more to the CIA. As the CIA’s About page mentions, the CIA is under the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence, and he or she is tasked with:

Collecting intelligence through human sources and by other appropriate means, except that he shall have no police, subpoena, or law enforcement powers or internal security functions;
Correlating and evaluating intelligence related to the national security and providing appropriate dissemination of such intelligence;
Providing overall direction for and coordination of the collection of national intelligence outside the United States through human sources by elements of the Intelligence Community authorized to undertake such collection and, in coordination with other departments, agencies, or elements of the United States Government which are authorized to undertake such collection, ensuring that the most effective use is made of resources and that appropriate account is taken of the risks to the United States and those involved in such collection; and
Performing such other functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security as the President or the Director of National Intelligence may direct.

The operation that occurred yesterday is an example of the CIA at its best (well maybe at their true best we never even hear about it). Obviously, we can’t know most of the details of the operation, but it appears that the processes that the CIA developed over the past 10 years finally led to this accomplishment of one of the major goals of the War on Terror. If you’re inspired by this success, then maybe you should consider a Career with the CIA. They are a major entry level employer, and the Agency offers a very wide range of employment opportunities. Jobs are offered in the following areas:

Accounting, Budget & Finance
Analysis
Clandestine Service
Contracts & Acquisitions
Cyber Security
Engineering
Facilities Services
Geography & Cartography
Graphics, Multimedia, Publications & Photography
Information Management
Information Technology
Investigations
Legal Services
Library Services
Logistics Services
Medical Services
Science, Technology & Weapons
Security
Support Services
Trades and Labor

The CIA is one of the few government agencies that makes it extremely easy to browse through their job opportunities, and you can do that here. Today is a good day to be an American and a good day to think about career opportunities that will allow you to serve your country.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What secrets do you know about the CIA?

StarChefs

Willy Franzen — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:28:48 +0000

Sponsored Jobs: Love restaurants and looking for an entry level job? SinglePlatform has a ton of positions that are perfect for you. They’re our sponsor this week, and you can check out all of their positions here.

One of my favorite things about living in Chicago is that I am surrounded by some of the best restaurants in the world. Not only does that mean that I can treat myself to the occasional delicious meal, but I also have more celebrity chef sightings than the average person. Since most of you aren’t as cool as I am, you’ll need another way to get “a backstage pass to the celebrity chef world.” Luckily, there’s StarChefs, a magazine “for food and wine-savvy consumers and an essential information resource for aspiring professional chefs.” The New York, NY based publication has been around since 1995 and claims “monthly traffic of over 14.6 million hits” (or 30 million on another page). My analytics tell me that’s an overstatement (hits is an outdated measure that doesn’t really tell you anything), but they do have a sizable community that is extremely well targeted for advertising.

Are You a Star?

What impressed me most about StarChefs was the list of names on their Chef Advisory Board. There are a few that I can’t pronounce, but also a bunch that I recognized like Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Bobby Flay, and Todd English. Much of the content that StarChefs generates “is driven by in-person tastings and interviews across the world,” so they’re really focused on building a community resource where chefs and others in the food industry can learn from each other. Additionally, StarChefs runs StarChefs JobFinder, which is a job board in the food and hospitality space. This makes a ton of sense considering their position in the culinary community. There’s a ton of content on StarChefs.com, so you should really dig into it to get a better feel for the company. Once you do that, you can check out the StarChefs Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Print Designer and a Marketing Associate. Both jobs look like they could be good fits for new or recent grads, so give them a good look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read StarChefs?

Shecky’s

Willy Franzen — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:30:35 +0000

I like writing about companies that I find interesting, which isn’t hard because I have very broad interests. However, I occasionally come across a company that I know is interesting, but it just doesn’t resonate with me. That’s definitely the case with Shecky’s. They’re a New York, NY based company that makes it their “mission to create social experiences that empower and reward women to discover and socialize with their girlfriends.” I think you can understand why that doesn’t resonate with me, but you’ll impressed to learn that Shecky’s was actually founded in 1998 by a Wall Street executive named Chris Hoffman. Despite the potentially ambiguous first name, Chris is a man who is apparently very in touch with “what women want.” He started by publishing the 1st Shecky’s Bar, Club & Lounge Guide in 1998, and then moved on to hosting hosts the “1st Girls Night Out” in New York City in 2001. In 2002 Chris found Claudia Chan and made her president after merging her company into Shecky’s. The business has continued to grow with a focus on improving the interactions that women have with their girlfriends, and I’m sure having a woman at the helm who understands the market better than any man ever could is a big reason for that.

Who’s Shecky?

One of the biggest pieces of the Shecky’s business is Girls Night Out. They hold these events in cities across the country, and they provide an opportunity for women to “discover unique designers, sip our delectable drinks, and cap your night with some pretty pampering and glorious Goodie Bags.” It appears that Shecky’s has finally moved away from the guidebook business, and has instead decided to put far more focus on their digital properties. I’ll bet that is turning out to be a really smart move. With the events and the website, Shecky’s is a marketer’s dream. It should be no surprise that advertising and sponsorships are big parts of Shecky’s business. If Shecky’s resonates with you and you know the importance of having a strong group of girlfriends, then take a look at jobs at Shecky’s. Right now they’re looking for a Sales Account Executive and a Customer Service Rep. Additionally, they often hire freelancers for their events in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hamptons, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, DC. These positions include Photography, Event Staff, Writing/Reporting, and Administrative Assistant opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you familiar with Shecky’s?

Reader’s Digest Association

Willy Franzen — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:48:21 +0000

I must admit that I’ve never known anyone under the age of 60 to subscribe to Reader’s Digest, but I’m sure that there’s at least one college student out there with a subscription. I mean it was the top circulating consumer magazine for a long time up until 2009. They also can claim “more readers with household incomes of $100,000+ than Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Inc. combined. That means that they have some serious advertising power. Now Reader’s Digest is just one of the publications owned and operated by New York, NY based Reader’s Digest Association, which is “a global multi-brand media and marketing company that educates, entertains and connects audiences around the world.” They also have AllRecipes, Every Day with Rachel Ray, The Family Handyman, and quite a few other brands.

Make Your Grandma Proud

We typically like to look at growing companies because they tend to offer the most exciting job opportunities. But sometimes larger companies that are struggling with environmental changes that affect how they do business can offer similarly interesting opportunities. Reader’s Digest Association is in a tough spot. Their big brand, Reader’s Digest, has a dying (sorry to be morbid) subscriber base and increasing competition from web based publishers. That’s why it’s no big surprise that Reader’s Digest Association went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 after five straight years of reporting losses. Still, Reader’s Digest Association has vast resources and significant brand equity. There are certainly some bright spots in Reader’s Digest Association’s numbers. They have 90 magazine titles, worldwide readership over 100 million, 83 branded websites, and annual book, music, and video sales of more than 30 million units. Another bright spot is Reader’s Digest Association’s Jobs page–they have a lot of opportunities posted including quite a few that seem suitable for new or recent grads:

Advertising Sales Assistant – Home & Garden Group (New York, NY)
Marketing Coordinator, Reader’s Digest Ad Sales & Sponsorship Marketing (New York, NY)
Digital Coordinator / Project Management Team (Greendale, WI)
Online Food Editor – Australia Site (Seattle, WA)
Finance Leadership Development Associate (White Plains, NY)
Marketing Coordinator (Greendale, WI)
Account Manager – Home & Garden (New York, NY)

It’s hard to say what the future holds for Reader’s Digest Association, but I think that there’s a big opportunity for entry level talent to help them ensure that their brands are just as popular (or even more popular) when we become grandparents.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you know anyone under the age of 60 who subscribes to Reader’s Digest.

38 Studios

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:19:17 +0000

A few days ago I saw a retweet from Peter Gammons’ account about some job opportunities. That seemed a bit odd to me since Peter Gammons is a baseball reporter and analyst, and the jobs didn’t seem to have anything to do with baseball. I made a note of it and went back to what I was doing. Today I went to check out 38 Studios, and I realized that Gammons was retweeting Curt Schilling, the former Phillies and Diamondbacks pitcher (he may have also played for the evil Red Sox, which is probably why Gammons, the biggest Red Sox homer ever, was retweeting him). Anyway, Curt Schilling is the founder of 38 Studios, which is “an entertainment and IP creation company in development on a broad range of products, including online and console video games, toys, novels, comics, film, TV, and other forms of digital media.” I’m not sure how I’d describe the stuff that they’re putting out, but if I had to pick one word it would be fantasy. Like I said, nothing to do with baseball. 38 Studios was previously based in Boston, MA, but they’re in the process of moving to Providence, RI, and that’s where most of their jobs are now.

No Bloody Socks Here

38 Studios currently has two products: Copernicus and Kingdoms of Amalur. Both are games, but I assume that novels, comics, toys, etc. will be spun out of these games. Curt Schilling’s partners in 38 Studios are Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore and the company bought out Big Huge Games, so they have a ton of creative firepower. If you want to learn more about 38 Studios, the best way to do that is to check out their products and get a feel for how they’re “combining the ages-old art of the story with 21st century interactive entertainment.” If you like what you see, then you’ll have to check out jobs at 38 Studios. Current opportunities that might be suitable for new grads include Administrative Assistant, Cinematics Illustrator, Content Designer, Front Desk Coordinator, Quality Assurance Tester (Baltimore, MD), Recruiting Coordinator, Software Engineer – Platform, Tools Software Engineer, and User Experience Designer. There’s lots of cool stuff here, so take a closer look. Also, this article mentions that they’re aiming to hire 280 people after they complete their move, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see anything that suits you. There are more jobs coming soon.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play any of 38 Studios’ games?

Simon & Schuster

Willy Franzen — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:46:23 +0000

It’s hard to think of an industry that hasn’t been affected by the Internet in some way, but when you think about those that have seen the most change, publishing has to be at the top of the list. Not only has technology changed the way that we read, but it’s also changed what we read. In fact, I bought a Kindle to force myself to read more books, and half of the reading that I do on it is stuff that I sent to it from the web. However, books are still huge business, and the major brands in the book publishing business still seem to be surviving, if not thriving, in a forever changed book selling environment. Simon & Schuster is a great example (and if you’re looking for other entry level jobs in publishing, you may also want to check out Hachette, Sterling, Penguin Group, and Random House). The New York, NY publisher was able to hit their profit targets last year even though they fell short of revenue targets. This article on a letter from Simon & Schuster’s CEO will give you insight into how the company is embracing digital publishing while also expanding its focus on high growth areas like Children’s publishing. The Internet may just be what keeps the big name publishers alive.

Book It

The most recent data that I can find (mid-2008) had Simon & Schuster as the fourth largest trade publisher in the United States. Back then they represented just under 10% of the market share, and there’s a good chance that they’ve grown it since they’ve really started to embrace digital formats and social media marketing. Now, 10% of the trade books in the United States aren’t labeled as being published by Simon & Schuster—they have a wide range of divisions and imprints that specialize in specific interest areas and markets. Each of these acts as “its own publisher with separate editorial and publicity departments,” but they do share “common sales and business departments.” If you’re intrigued by what Simon & Schuster is doing to maintain (or improve) their position in the trade publishing industry, then you should check out their Jobs page—specifically the section on their Associates Program, which is aimed at providing “opportunities for entry-level candidates to gain hands-on experience in different functional areas in order to broaden knowledge of publishing and fast forward careers.” It’s a rotational program that offers focuses in Adult, Children’s Publishing (including but not limited to Editorial, Publicity, Marketing, Subsidiary Rights, and Managing Editorial), Digital, or Corporate Communications. It looks great, and they expect candidates on a rolling basis, so you don’t have to worry about deadlines or being from a target campus. There also some other positions posted on Simon & Schuster’s Jobs site like Human Resources Coordinator, Editorial Assistant (Gallery Books) – Adult Trade, Inventory Analyst (NYC and Riverside, NJ), Logistics Coordinator (Riverside, NJ), and Business Intelligence Analyst, so the Associates Program isn’t the only option.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which books from Simon & Schuster have you read lately?

The Taunton Press

Willy Franzen — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:58:06 +0000

The world of publishing is a pretty crazy place right now. We hear about prestigious brand names struggling to stay afloat, while relative newcomers like Demand Media are IPO-ing. One of the key takeaways from all of the turmoil is that advertisers want results. That means that publishers need to be able to deliver targeted audiences that will respond to ads, whether it be through traditional outlets like magazines and newspapers or online. The Taunton Press is a publisher that has understood this for a long time. They’re based in Newtown, CT (a lovely town where I’ve done a lot of fishing), and they publish magazines, websites, and books for people who have a passion for creative activities. Their titles include Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Fine Cooking, Fine Gardening, Threads, and more. Most of the publications come in both magazine form and an online version, so readers can consume the content however they feel comfortable.

The Finer Things

The Taunton Press reminds me a lot of Prime Publishing, another company that has found success by publishing content for niche markets. The Taunton Press seems a bit more brand focused, which is explained best by a quote on their About page:

We don’t run advertising that isn’t directly related to the subject matter of our magazines. We believe our ad pages serve as another vehicle for passing on educational information. It means our magazines might cost a little more at the newsstand. But it also means every page will be worth the price.

I love that! Advertising doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I often say that you can tell how intelligent your media consumption habits are by looking at the advertising that is targeted to you. If you’re seeing a lot of Shake Weight commercials, you might want to start worrying. Whether you have a specific interest in the topical areas that The Taunton Press covers or you are generally interested in media and publishing, The Taunton Press looks like a great place to start a career. Check out their Careers page and their job listings. Right now they have a couple of positions that might be suitable for a new grad: Assistant Editor – Threads Magazine and Chef’s Assistant. They also offer internships in Editorial, Media Sales, Publishing, and Web Publishing, so there’s the potential for more entry level opportunities in the future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read any of The Taunton Press’ publications?

Seeing Interactive

Willy Franzen — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:55:16 +0000

Ten years ago, who would have thought that both major and local newspapers would be losing money, and small no-name online publishers would be raking in millions of dollars? We all know that the Internet has changed the way that information is distributed and consumed, but far fewer people are aware of the economics behind it all. Newspaper advertising was all about offering the chance to be seen. The Internet came along and now you can know how many views, clicks, and purchases your advertising dollars delivering. There’s still a ton of value in the content that traditional newspapers are producing, but many of them have failed to figure out how to make producing that content profitable in the Internet age. Seeing Interactive is an Austin, TX based company that hopes to change that. They provide web-based products to publishers that cost nothing up-front while guaranteeing customers new revenue. It sounds a little crazy, but it sounds to me like Seeing Interactive has productized what a “web monetization consultant” (if such a thing exists) would do.

Seeing Is Believing

Seeing Interactive has built their business on four relatively simple principles:

We believe that local communities are under-served digitally and that using our software newspapers can be the online hub where communities come together.
Our services should always be available with fast and reliable hosting.
Your data security is a top priority and we will use the latest and best technology to protect it.
We understand the value of your brand and are committed to providing a white-label solution that upholds your reputation.

Right now they offer three distinct products. AdForge converts print ads into a web-friendly format, Marketplace provides a simple white-lable business directory, and Seeing Cars provides a platform for local car ads. If you take a look at each of the products, you’ll see that the Newspapers keep doing what they’re supposed to be doing—producing content that is relevant to the local community and selling ads to local businesses—and Seeing Interactive provides a platform for them to make these activities more profitable. If you want to help the newspaper industry stay viable and continue to be a part of local communities, then Seeing Interactive is the place for you. Right now they’re looking for an Operations Assistant, Account Executives, and Web/Software Developers. The job postings don’t say much about experience requirements, so use that as an entry to tell them why you’ll be a huge addition to their team. Please give it a thought, without local newspapers, I won’t be able to read the local Police Reports and see which of the kids I went to school with (or their parents) is in trouble.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you still read a newspaper?

Alloy Media + Marketing

Willy Franzen — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:47:05 +0000

Marketing is all about targeting. Marketers want to reach specific audiences, and media companies try to develop audiences that marketers want to reach. Typically, the more specific an audience is, the more valuable it is—at least as long as there’s something that you can sell to that audience. Alloy Media + Marketing, which is headquartered in New York City is a company that operates on both the marketing and media sides. They specialize in targeted youth media and promotional programs, and they operate a number of businesses in those areas. Youth marketing is a big deal—not only do young people spend a large portion of their income (even if it’s relatively small) on discretionary purchases, but they also are impressionable. If you can gain an 18 year old’s loyalty, you’ll have a long time to extract value from them as a customer. Alloy leverages “a diverse array of assets and services in interactive, display, direct mail, content production and educational programming” to build relationships with and market to teens and college students.

Be Part of an Alloy

Alloy Media + Marketing’s businesses include Alloy Media, Alloy Access, AMP Agency, Alloy Education, and Alloy Entertainment. Alloy’s businesses really cover a lot of ground, so it’s worth looking at each individually to get a feel for what they do. If you want to take a look at one of the major media properties that they run, you can check out Alloy.com. Once you get a feel for all of the stuff that Alloy Media + Marketing does, you should check out their job listings. There are a wide range of opportunities available including quite a few that seem suitable for new or recent grads. Some of the job postings are a bit outdated and some require a few years of prior experience, but the following jobs are worth checking out: Web Designer – Alloy Education (Chicago, IL), Marketing Coordinator – Media Services (New York, NY), Integrated PR Account Executive – AMP Agency (Boston, MA), Media Negotiator – Media Newspaper Services (New York, NY), Social Media Assistant (Los Angeles, CA), Media Planner – AMP Agency (Boston, MA), Account Coordinator – AMP Agency (Boston, MA), Editor (New York, NY), Sales Representative (Cedar Rapids, IA; Coralville, IA; Minneapolis, MN; Des Moine, IA), Desktop Specialist (Boston, MA), Sponsored Content Producer – Alloy Digital (Los Angeles, CA), Entertainment Sales Account Executive – AMP Agency (New York, NY), Digital Sales Account Executive – AMP Agency (Boston, MA), Web Developer (New York, NY), and Associate Project Manager – Alloy Digital (New York, NY).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Alloy Media + Marketing?

The Elf on the Shelf

Willy Franzen — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:08:46 +0000

Merry Christmas Eve! I have a company for you today that I’ve been saving for months—since we ran through the Inc. 500 looking for great career opportunities. When I saw their name, I knew they’d be perfect for Christmas Eve, and it helps that they’ve seen 1,335% three-year revenue growth to $7 million in 2009 while also growing to 17 employees. The company is called The Elf on the Shelf, and they’re based in Kennesaw, GA. They’re in the business of pretty much everything elf, but it all started with a book. Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell (mother and daughter) wrote a book called The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition with Blue Eyed North Pole Pixie-Elf, which was based on a family story that was part of their annual holiday tradition. An entire product line grew from the story, and now The Elf on the Shelf is bringing in millions of dollars every year.

It All Starts with a Story

It’s amazing how far a simple story can go. That’s why a big portion of your job search energy should go into refining your story and making it compelling enough that people want to find out what happens next (hopefully by hiring you). It may seem that The Elf on the Shelf has a limited market, but most people would have never guessed that they’d grow this big. Along with the books, the company also produces elf toys, elf-sized clothing, and a variety of other holiday themed gifts and products. Now, they don’t have a Jobs page, but you can reach out to them through their Contact page. If your story is good enough, maybe a letter to Santa at santasworkshop@elfontheshelf.com will make your Christmas wish come true.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you read The Elf on the Shelf?

Wetpaint

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:49:53 +0000

I don’t know how many of you are data nerds like me, but I love checking out Google Trends to see what people are searching for. One of the things that I often notice is how much search traffic (especially in the evening) is driven by television. It seems as though everybody is watching tv with a laptop/iPad/iPhone within reach. That’s why Wetpaint, formerly a company that enabled people to make their own wikis, has adapted their proprietary publishing platform “to produce premium branded media destinations featuring professionally authored content” focused on television and fashion. Wetpaint, which is based in Seattle, WA, intends to move into other niches as they grow, but for now they’re extremely television focused. And they’re pretty confident that they can develop, deliver, and monetize this content much more effectively than “traditional web publishers.”

Not Like Watching Paint Dry

I knew the name Wetpaint sounded familiar, but when I landed on their homepage it didn’t feel right. I did a little investigating and learned that they made a major pivot away from their original business model. Wikis weren’t working, so they cleaned shop and leveraged the technology that they had created to take another stab at web publishing. It’s hard to say how successful the change has been, but their traffic does seem to be coming back after a pretty big dip. The best way for you to get familiar with Wetpaint is to browse their site and experience some of their content.

If you like what you see, then you’ll want to check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for Java and Ruby Software Engineers in addition to a Social Media Manager and an Editor II. The Software Engineer positions could be a good fit for a new or recent grad, but the latter two positions require a good amount of prior work experience. Why am I mentioning them? Well, the Editor II listing mentions that one of its responsibilities includes managing Associate Editors, Interns, and Writers. I think you can read between the lines. And if you’d like to write/blog for Wetpaint, they also have opportunities to do that (but I don’t think they’re full time).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you checked out Wetpaint?

Adventure Publishing Group

Willy Franzen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:40:53 +0000

Yesterday I was walking around in a variety/novelty/toy shop. It’s the typical vacation town toy store with all kinds of goofy stuff. As soon as I went through the door I regressed back to about 8 years old. I was picking up everything and playing with it—cap guns, balsa wood airplanes, and the avenging narwhal play set (check it out, it’s awesome). Obviously I’m extremely immature. If you’re like me, but you’d like to do something more mature with your childlike tendencies, then you might want to check out Adventure Publishing. They’re a New York based company that specializes in trade publications—specifically magazines related to the toy and licensing industries. Yes, they make magazines about toys.

They’re Not Playing

Adventure Publishing Group’s titles include Toy Book, Licensing Book, Specialty Toys & Gifts, Toy Report, Total Licensing Report, and The Toy Insider. Obviously toys and licensing are two very different industries; however, they’re both extremely interesting and must have some similarities that have led Adventure Publishing Group to cover both of them. Unfortunately, Adventure Publishing Group doesn’t offer much information about their business online, but if you browse through the links below, you’ll be able to get a feel for each of their publications. This also means that they don’t have a jobs page, but I was able to find a posting on Media Bistro (registration required) for an Assistant/Associate Editor. The position looks well suited for a new grad, and if you’re interested in it, you should probably use Adventure Publishing Group’s Contact page to reach out to the appropriate person.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Adventure Publishing Group?

Hachette Book Group

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:57:41 +0000

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I have quite a bit of traveling ahead of me. I’m hoping to spend a good portion of the time reading books, but I have to admit that I’ve been terrible about reading lately. Running a business makes it hard enough to find time to read, and when I do have time, it seems that my laptop makes it too easy to read articles and blog posts. I’m also torn about whether I should buy more hard copy books or invest in an e-reading device like an iPad or Kindle (it seems the Kindle is the winner for heavy readers). You’re probably thinking about how you don’t care about my reading habits, but they’re actually really important when looked at through the lens of a company like Hachette Book Group. If a big reader like me is reading fewer books, then they have some big challenges ahead of them. And that’s why the publishing industry is an exciting place to be right now. Hachette, which is headquartered in New York City, has a simple mission: “to publish great books well.” From 1837 when Little, Brown and Company was founded (they’re now part of Hachette), up until just a few years ago, the way they went about pursuing that mission didn’t change much. Lately, it’s been changing a lot.

A Hachette Job

Despite all the changes in the publishing industry, Hachette is able to stand strong because of their vision to be “the #1 destination for authors, agents, customers and employees.” They appear to be putting the content above the medium, and that’s a recipe for success these days. I don’t have the inside details of how Hachette Book Group’s business is doing, but I like what I see when I browse around their site. If you feel the same way, then you should check out jobs at Hachette Book Group. They have a bunch of positions posted, and a few seem suitable for new or recent grads including Order Fulfillment Representative (Boston), Data Coordinator (Boston), Subrights Assistant (NYC), Sales Associate (NYC), In-House Floater (NYC), Web Publicist (NYC), Customer Financial Services Representative (Boston), Special Packaging Coordinator (Boston, MA), and Copy Coordinator (NYC). It looks like they have lots of great opportunities available, so see what suits you best.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you finding enough time to read?

Prime Publishing

Willy Franzen — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:54:15 +0000

Earlier this week we took a look at F+W Media, a company that is aggressively targeting niche media markets with books, magazines, trade shows, and digital products. Today we’re going to look at a company that is attacking similar niches, but strictly on the digital side. Prime Publishing is a Northbrook, IL based company that is, as they put it, “building the premiere woman’s lifestyle site on the Web.” I’m not sure I’d go that far, since businesses like DailyCandy and Gilt Groupe seem to be building pretty strong cases for themselves in that regard. Prime Publishing seems to be taking approach more like that of Demand Media. However, that doesn’t mean that Prime Publishing’s business isn’t interesting—”premiere” is just the wrong word. It’s quite obvious to me that their goal is to build easily monetizable digital properties, not to build an overarching woman’s lifestyle brand. When you take a look at their sites, you’ll see what I mean.

Prime or Choice?

Prime Publishing’s web properties include FaveCrafts.com, RecipeLion.com, AllFreeCrochet.com, FaveDiets.com, and quite a few more. If you visit each one, you’ll see that Prime Publishing has a formula for building profitable sites. They may not be taking an artistic approach, but it appears that they know how to make money from content (and that’s a REALLY important thing to learn these days). It’s the web version of direct marketing. I must admit that I was nervous about featuring Prime Publishing because their website looks similar to those of some entry level scam companies. It’s also a bit alarming that they don’t list the names of any of their employees or leadership on the site. With that said, I used LinkedIn to do some additional research and everything appears to check out. The jobs at Prime Publishing aren’t the glamorous Journalism jobs that you might have been dreaming about as a kid, but you will learn a hell of a lot from them about the intersection of marketing and content. Right now Prime Publishing’s Jobs page shows that they’re looking for both entry level and experienced Editors, so check out the job description and get ready to learn fast.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Prime Publishing’s business model?