One Day, One Job » Virginia

The Nature Conservancy

Willy Franzen — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:50:09 +0000

Last night I started watching Planet Earth and ended up staying awake later than I intended. This morning the same channel was on, and I ended up watching documentaries on Yellowstone. There aren’t many things that I find more fascinating than nature, so it’s easy for me to get caught up in these kinds of shows. It’s also why I think the work of The Nature Conservancy is so important. They’re an international non-profit organization based in Arlington, VA that is “the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.” The Nature Conservancy was founded in 1951, and since then they have grown their membership to more than 1 million people. The organization’s huge size gives it a ton of power and has enabled it to do some really amazing work.

Nature Over Nurture

Everything that The Nature Conservancy does is rooted in science. They gather facts first, and then they take action on a local and a global scale. That’s why they’ve been able to protect “more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide.” What strikes me most about The Nature Conservancy is that they take a “non-confrontational, pragmatic” approach that sets them apart from some other conservation organizations. This may occasionally limit their short-term effectiveness, but it ensures that in the long run The Nature Conservancy will have the respect and legitimacy to continue protecting ecologically important lands and waters. If you want to dig deeper into this topic, you should really check out The Nature Conservancy’s Why We’re An Effective Nonprofit page. There’s a ton more to check out on The Nature Conservancy’s website (like How They Work and Where They Work), but I’ll leave the rest of the research to you. If you like what the organization is all about, check out their Careers page. They have some great opportunities for new or recent grads including (sorry I can’t link to the postings, but it’s a bad applicant tracking system):

Burn Crew Technician (Glyndon, MN or Karlstad, MN or Center, ND or Clear Lake, SD)
Philanthropy Coordinator (San Francisco, CA)
Preserve Management Assistant – Prairie Forest Border Ecoregion (Cushing, MN)
Seasonal Field Representative (Keene Valley, NY)
Human Resources Coordinator (Austin, TX)
Stewardship Field Assistant (Brunswick, ME)
Prairie Recovery Specialist (Watson, MN)
Conservation Coordinator (Anchorage, AK)
Preserve Management / Bison Research Technician (Leola, SD)
Grassland Bird Technician (Minor, ND)
Digital Marketing Programmer Analyst (Arlington, VA)
Stewardship Assistant (Choteau, MT)
Communications Coordinator (Oklahoma City, OK)
Assistant Land Steward (Letts, IA)

If you love nature and want to work at a non-profit, it would be hard to beat a gig with The Nature Conservancy. So take a look at these positions, and see if any are a good fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The Nature Conservancy?

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:22:51 +0000

I’ve already opened my presents, and once again Santa was good for me (though I still got some coal in my stocking). Merry Christmas! Unfortunately, there are a lot of kids who Santa passes over even though they’re on the “Nice List.” That’s where the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation comes in. They’re based in Triangle, VA, and they “collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.” I never realized that Toys for Tots program was run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but they’ve been doing it since 1947 with the goal of assisting youngsters “in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.” They’re another organization without a jobs page, but I have seen that some of the local programs have had job and internship opportunities in the past. Enjoy your Christmas, and use it to think about opportunities like Toys for Tots that help brighten the holidays for other people.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Merry Christmas!

American Horticultural Society

Willy Franzen — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:46:11 +0000

I don’t think I realized how much I enjoyed the gardens my parents had in our backyard until I moved to a city and lived in a high-rise. As cool as it is to be 30 stories up and see tiny people going about their business below, I’d much rather be able to open my back door and see blooms, butterflies, bees, and birds. I’ll bet that the people at the non-profit American Horticultural Society would agree with me. The AHS “is one of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country,” and since their founding in 1922 they’ve grown to more than 20,000 members. The AHS is headquartered in Alexandria, VA at a placed called River Farm, which was owned by George Washington. It includes 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens, so I’m sure it’s stunning.

Enter the Garden

As the American Horticultural Society has grown, its mission has evolved to blend “education, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship with the art and science of horticulture.” You can browse through some of their programs on the AHS website, and the key thing to remember is that the AHS puts a really strong focus on providing information to its members–mostly because that’s what gardeners want. If you like the idea of working in a place surrounded by gardens, then you’ll want to check out jobs at the AHS. The one entry levelish position they have posted right now is only on Idealist , and it’s a Member Services Associate job. It looks like a great opportunity for a new grad, so check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have a garden?

Snagajob

Willy Franzen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:13:22 +0000

Some of you have been receiving our e-mails hours or even days after they were originally sent. It’s a problem with our e-mail provider, and I think it’s finally fixed. I hope it hasn’t been too annoying.

I couldn’t find a job after I graduated, so I created my own job helping other grads find jobs. It’s kind of a ridiculous story, but it seems to have worked out. It feels a little weird for me to cover companies that are also in the job search space, but how can I not tell you about a company that was just named the #1 Small Business to Work For? Snagajob is based in Glen Allen, VA, and they were founded in 1999 by Shawn Boyer when he realized that there were no good websites for finding hourly jobs while trying to help a friend find an internship. Shawn started out by building a simple job board, but the business has continued to grow as they have found new ways to serve both employers and job seekers.

Snag a Job at Snagajob

Snagajob’s business still appears to be largely driven by job postings. Employers pay to post their jobs and reach Snagajob’s huge audience of millions of job seekers. However, it does appear that Snagajob branches out with other types of advertising, co-registration offers, coupons, and all kinds of other stuff. These types of revenue streams make more and more sense as Snagajob develops more content that isn’t just job postings. It seems to be working as Snagajob is growing rapidly (I hear they plan to hire 100 more people over the next year). And it’s great to see that throughout that growth, Snagajob is staying committed to having an awesome corporate culture. If you want to become a “snagged,” then head over to Snagajob’s Careers page. Right now they have a number of opportunities that seem suitable for new or recent grads including Product Specialist and Account Executive. And if those positions don’t look like a good fit for you, I’m sure more will be posted in the near future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever looked for a job on Snagajob?

Cvent

Willy Franzen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:30:27 +0000

Yesterday we told you about Blue Chip Career, so here’s another reminder to check them out. They offer personalized guidance from seasoned executives to help you overcome your biggest job search challenges. Get paired with one of their experts and receive the inside scoop on how to land the job of your dreams.

My girlfriend and I are having a housewarming/birthday party this weekend. We invited people by e-mail, and we’re keeping of track of who is coming through a Google doc. That’s about as simple as it gets in terms of using software for event management. I don’t think our solution would cut it for companies like Verizon, Yahoo!, Walmart, and Oracle. They need something a little more… industrial strength. That’s what Cvent offers. They’re a McLean, VA based company that offers comprehensive event, survey, and eMarketing software solutions–exactly what large companies need to make sure that every little detail is taken care of when they put on an event.

Have a Cventful Job Search

The best way to get a feel for the scale that Cvent operates on, you need to look at some of their key statistics. They were founded in 1999, and since then their software has managed more than 275,000 events, sent 850 million e-mail invitations, and managed 30 million event registrations and survey responses. You can learn more about what those solutions look like here. You may also want to dig into some of the Resources that they provide–it’ll give you a better sense of the kinds of problems that they solve for their clients. If you like what you see, then you’ll want to check out Cvent’s Careers page. You’ll see some great openings that seem suitable for new or recent grads including Blogger/Social Media Associate, Business Development Associate, Information Security Analyst, Mobile Application Developer, Product Consultant, Quality Engineer, Sales Associate, Software Engineer, Systems Analyst, Systems Programmer, Systems Support Engineer, and Technical Support Engineer. There are lots of options, so hopefully at least one will intrigue you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Cvent?

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Willy Franzen — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:01:25 +0000

Columbus Day isn’t much of a holiday anymore–it’s become yet another regular work and school day for many. It makes sense considering Christopher Columbus wasn’t really the guy that my 1st grade teacher taught me that he was. Still, I’m amazed by the feats of guys like Columbus (which is why I’ve written about Garmin and Facet Technology on past Columbus Days). Getting in a boat with an uncertain route to a far away destination still seems crazy to me, and these guys did it in a time when navigation equipment was quite basic. Their minds would be blown if they knew what kind of information the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (formerly the National Imagery and Mapping Agency) has. The agency is headquartered in Springfield, VA and has major facilities in St. Louis, MO (I learned about them from one of my awesome interns whose boyfriend works for the NGA). They are part of the Department of Defense, and they are tasked with providing “timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.”

Do You Have Geospatial Intelligence?

If you want an example of what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency does, you’re not going to get a full answer because a lot of what they do is classified. However, they have been identified as playing a “critical role” in Operation Neptune’s Spear, which was the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. The agency’s employees operate in a number of areas including aeronautical analysis, cartography, geospatial analysis, imagery analysis, marine analysis, the physical sciences, geodesy, computer and telecommunication engineering, photogrammetry, and more. The NGA website is ok, but I highly recommend that you check out Wikipedia’s entry on the agency for a really good overview of the organization’s history and what it does.

If you like what you read, then you’ll want to take a look at the NGA’s Careers page. (Remember that we’re dealing with the federal government, so this isn’t going to be simple.) First, you’ll probably want to visit the Occupations page, where you’ll see that the NGA offers the following positions:

Accountants
Aeronautical Analyst
Bathymetrist
Contract Specialist
Counterintelligence Officers
Enterprise Account Managers
Geodetic Surveyors
Geospatial Data Stewards
Geospatial Intelligence Analysts
HD Consultants
Imagery Scientists
Imagery Intelligence Analysts
Information Assurance Officers
Maritime Analysts
Open Source Analysts
Police Officers
Political Geographers
Program Management Execution Officers
Project Scientists
Recruiters
Regional Geographers
Regional Source Analysts
Scientific and Technial Program Managers
Source Strategies Analysts
Systems Engineers

You won’t see most of these positions in the NGA’s Current Opportunities, so you may be better off meeting them at one of their On-Campus Recruiting Events or by reaching out to them at recruitment@nga.mil. You may also want to read through the NGA’s Recruitment FAQs and looking at their Application Process. It’s all complicated, but that’s to be expected with one of our country’s intelligence agencies.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you amazed by what the NGA does?

Bach to Rock

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:05:30 +0000

I started playing the drums in 5th grade. I started with a snare drum, but soon after I got a drum set that filled my entire bedroom. At about the same time I started taking private lessons, and I had a teacher who seem like the coolest guy in the world to my 11 year old self. After taking the summer off from lessons, I came back to my first lesson to find a new teacher sitting in the drum room. I was heartbroken. I never liked the new teacher, and my excitement for playing the drums never returned. I could have been a rockstar if only I had taken my lessons at Bach to Rock. They are “the Music School for students of all ages.” They’re based in Bethesda, MD, and they have a growing number of locations across Maryland and Virginia. They’re also an Inc 5000 company that has seen an even 1,000% growth in their revenue over the past three years.

Bach to Work

Even though the recording industry seems to be struggling with how technology has fundamentally changed their business, music is as hot as ever. The Bach to Rock Method is all about engaging people who love music and keeping them excited about improving their talents. (I love that Bach to Rock’s name says so much so simply.) Last year Bach to Rock generated $3.3 million in revenue, and I expect that number to keep increasing. They’ve adopted a franchising model, so there’s a very clear path to future growth. If you want to be part of that growth, then you’ll want to take a look at Bach to Rock’s Jobs page. It includes listings for all of their locations, which include Bethesda, MD; Gaithersburg, MD; Herndon, VA; Leesburg, VA; McLean, VA; and Chantilly, VA. Most of the positions are for Music Specialists (Voice, Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Early Childhood, Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Obo, and Bassoon), but they also have some Administrative Assistant and Audio Engineer/Composer positions. There’s nothing at Corporate right now, but I’m sure there will be more positions as they continue to grow.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you play an instrument growing up?

Prophet

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

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

Make a Prophet

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Prophet?

Redbox

Willy Franzen — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:40:58 +0000

Want to land a job and save the world at the same time? This week’s sponsor is Samaritan’s Purse, a non-profit organization with some amazing entry level career opportunities.

There aren’t many companies that have as many loyal fans as Netflix. I swear that everybody loves them (check out jobs at Netflix). At least they did until yesterday when Netflix announced a change to their plans. They touted it as a good thing with their “lowest prices ever for unlimited DVDs,” but it really was a price increase for streaming subscribers. I guess yesterday was a good day for Redbox, which is based in Oakbrook Terrace, IL (with a major presence in Bellevue, WA). They operate more than 27,000 DVD and Blu-ray rental kiosks, or redboxes. Believe it or not, rentals aren’t dead, and Redbox has found a sweetspot between Blockbuster and Netflix. There’s definitely something I miss about the old school video rental shops–especially the pre-Blockbuster independent ones. But it’s mind blowing that Redbox is able to fit an entire video rental store in 12 square feet.

Think Inside the Redbox

Redbox has rented out more than 1 billion movies. Back in 2007 the kiosks were averaging nearly 50 rentals a day and almost $40,000 in annual revenue each. That’s pretty amazing considering Redbox kiosksi are typically just filling in empty space in high traffic buildings. Obviously a 12 square foot kiosk can’t offer much variety in terms of movies, but by stocking mostly new releases Redbox is able to stay relevant and serve a significant portion of the demand for in-home movie viewing. Now, we all know that streaming is the future, but there’s still a huge portion of the population that relies on hard media like DVDs and Blu-rays. It’ll be interesting to see how Redbox adapts moving forward, but for now I think they can still find opportunities for growth. If you like what Redbox is doing, you’ll want to take a look at their Jobs page. Unfortunately, it’s just a list of jobs, and there are a lot of them to browse through. Most are Field positions all across the country, but there are a few that seem better suited for recent grads. These include Service Representative – New Ventures (Hayward, CA), Sales & Use Tax Accountant (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), Machine Support Coordinator (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), Web Analyst/ eCommerce Analyst (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), Software Engineer (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), Service Representative – New Ventures (Fairfax, VA), Quality Engineer I (Kent, WA), and Business Analyst (Oakbrook Terrace, IL). There are a lot more mid-level options, so if you have some prior experience, be sure to check those out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Redbox?

Yodle

Willy Franzen — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:50:53 +0000

I keep finding myself talking about local marketing, and there’s a good reason for it. It’s an industry that has taken off in the last couple of years. Previously, the Yellow Pages and newspapers dominated local marketing. The web has eroded large parts of those businesses, but it has taken a while for new options to reach critical mass. Then businesses like Groupon and Yext realized that they could use the same sales strategy that the Yellow Pages and newspapers used, but sell marketing products and services that are results focused. Yodle is another one of these companies. They’re based in New York, NY (with offices across the country), and their mission is “to connect local businesses with consumers so simply and cost-effectively that business owners can’t imagine any other way to advertise.” They aim to achieve this by making online advertising a whole lot simpler for the average small business owner.

Can You Yodle?

Yodle got its start because a kid was helping his dad’s car dealership with online marketing. This kid, Nathaniel Stevens, realized that what he was doing could be applied to lots of different types of small businesses, so he came up with a plan to start a company that would work at a big enough scale to help all kinds of business owners attract new customers. Apparently Yodle is doing a good job, since they seem to keep growing. They do everything from building websites for businesses to running search advertising campaigns to setting up social media presences. You can learn more about their offerings here, and you can read some client case studies here. You’ll also want to be sure to check out Yodle.info, where they put the spotlight on some of their employees. If you like what you see, head over to Yodle’s Jobs page. They have a ton of opportunities for new or recent grads including: Sales Development Representative (Scottsdale, AZ), Sales Representative (Scottsdale, AZ; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Charlotte, NC; and New York, NY), IT Analyst (Austin, TX), Software Engineer (New York, NY), Marketing Associate (New York, NY; Boston, MA; and Scottsdale, AZ), Search Marketing Analyst (Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Scottsdale, AZ), Search Marketing Consultant (Boston, MA; New York, NY; Charlotte, NC; and Scottsdale, AZ), Customer Support Specialist – Temp to Perm (Scottsdale, AZ), Organic Associate – Temp to Perm (Scottsdale, AZ), and Executive Assistant/Office Manager (New York, NY). There are a lot of options here, so hopefully something will fit your interests.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Yodle?

Digital Sandbox

Willy Franzen — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:07:51 +0000

If you watch the news, it’s easy to believe that we’re all constantly at great risk of dying in some sort of disaster. Yes, there are a lot of threats out there, but most of us shouldn’t waste a lot of time worrying about them. There are, however, some people whose job it is to worry about and prepare for the worst. Public Safety Risk Management is a seemingly impossible task, but someone has to do it. Our local, state, and federal governments need to be prepared to deal with all kinds of things–some you could never even dream of if you spent your whole life trying. Digital Sandbox is a McLean, VA based company that helps these professionals by providing “them with the tools they need to mitigate the catastrophic and disruptive threats that can impact them.” Most of these tools are in the form of software, and they are based on strategies and “analytical frameworks essential to effective management, analysis, and assessment of terrorism, natural hazard, and technological accident risk.”

Step into the Sandbox

I’m clearly not the person to analyze how effective Digital Sandbox’s software solutions are, but their client list certainly indicates that they’re a leader in the industry. They have worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the States of North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Maine, and the District of Columbia; multiple directorates and agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, the Departments of Justice and Defense, and members of the Intelligence Community. Digital Sandbox’s software is cloud-based, and it is accessible from mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad (according to the images on the company’s site). To get a better feel for exactly what the software does, you should take a look at Digital Sandbox’s Products and Solutions. If you’re intrigued by what you see, check out Digital Sandbox’s Jobs page. Right now they have a Risk Analyst I position open that looks like a great opportunity for a new or recent grad.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Digital Sandbox?

Avail-TVN

Willy Franzen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:07:26 +0000

We’ve put together some information on how you can prepare yourself for the 500,000 teaching jobs that will be added in the U.S. over the next decade. You can find it here.

There’s no question that the way in which we consume video content is changing. It wasn’t that long ago that watching something meant sitting down in front of the television at a specific time. Now we have DVRs, On Demand, sites like Hulu, and a variety of other ways to consume content on our own schedules. This isn’t just a cultural shift; it comes as a result of (while also being a cause of) significant technological advances. One of the major companies behind this shift is Avail-TVN. They’re based in Reston, VA and they work “with every major studio and television network” to offer “a full content line up of MPEG-4 encoded live programming as well as video on demand content in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 to multichannel video providers throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.” I know this might be a little confusing for the non-techies out there, but the basic gist of it is that they make it possible for you to watch video over IP (internet protocol).

To Your Avail

Avail-TVN’s business is obviously complicated from a technical standpoint, but it’s also pretty complicated from a relationships standpoint. They work with over 200 content providers to secure the rights to delivering a wide range of video content, and then they have to work with a number of parties in between (ending with the cable/satellite/telco provider) to ensure that the content you want can be delivered to you in your home when you want it. I’m sure that I’m missing a lot, but that’s what I’m able to piece together from the Avail-TVN website. It seems like a fascinating business, and it appears to offer opportunities in a range of areas. Avail-TVN doesn’t have many jobs that seem like perfect fits for new or recent grads, but their Jobs page does show a couple of positions that are worth checking out like Jr. Systems Engineer (Kalispell, MT), Project Manager (Sherman Oaks, CA), and Customer Onboarding Program Manager (Sherman Oaks, CA). I also saw on LinkedIn that they recently hired a Marketing Coordinator (which is an entry level position), so you may want to reach out to them and see if there are any other positions that don’t require the type of experience that the positions I mentioned do.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you watch a lot of video on demand?

OPOWER

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:09:39 +0000

SinglePlatform is our sponsor this week. They’re looking to hire new grads from all majors as Outside Sales Consultants in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. They’re also building an Inside Sales team out of their New York City headquarters.

Have you ever heard of a company or industry that wants you to use less of their product? Doesn’t really make sense, does it? It does if you’re in the power industry, at least to some extent. Some of the biggest proponents of energy efficiency are the utilities themselves. The reason for this is decoupling, or the “disassociation of a utility’s profits from its sales of the energy commodity.” It’s a tactic used by many states to create positive incentives for energy companies to be more green. Still, promoting energy efficiency to consumers is no easy task. That’s where OPOWER comes in. They’re based in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, and they use “cutting edge behavioral science and patent-pending data analytics” to enable “utilities to connect with their customers in a highly targeted fashion, motivating reductions in energy use, increased program participation and overall customer satisfaction.” It’s all about helping consumers make better informed decisions (which usually are also better decisions for the environment).

You Got the OPOWER

If I remember correctly, I had a friend in college whose roommates were some seriously nerdy Electrical Engineers. They spent an entire day using voltmeters (or something similar) to figure out the average daily energy consumption of each roommate. They then prorated the monthly electric bill based on usage. OPOWER takes a way cooler approach to doing something similar. You can get a feel for exactly how they do it by taking a look at their Approach, Products, and Results. Because they work directly with utilities, OPOWER is able to get into the homes of millions of consumers through monthly bills. It’s a pretty cool model, and it seems to be working. If you’re excited about what OPOWER is doing, then you need to check out their Careers page at OPOWERJobs.com. They don’t seem big on entry level positions (they like work experience), but there are a few jobs that you should at least take a look at. The Virginia/DC positions include Software Support Engineer, Consumer Marketing Coordinator, Quantitative Analyst, Software Engineer in Test, Policy Analyst, Associate Product Manager, User Experience Prototyper, and Proposal Writer. There are also some Software Engineerings in San Francisco. Take a look at all the jobs, and see if you can match up with the qualifications.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Does your utility work with OPOWER?

Octagon

Willy Franzen — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:19:11 +0000

Usually when readers recommend companies, I put them on my list and cover them soon after if they look interesting and have relevant opportunities. Lately I’ve had two readers mention that they applied to Octagon, but I somehow overlooked the company. My only excuse is that I’m often skeptical of sports and entertainment marketing companies because there are so many sports marketing hiring scams. But that’s very clearly not the case with Octagon, they’ve been around since 1983 and they have offices all across the world. As they put it, they’re “the recognized, global thought leader in passion-based, sports & entertainment marketing.” Some of people they represent are Chris Paul, Michael Phelps, Randy Johnson, John Elway, Elena Dementieva, Landry Fields, Michael Johnson, Anna Kournikova, Apolo Anton Ohno, and many more huge names.

Can You Compete Inside the Octagon?

From what I can tell, Octagon separates their business into four divisions. On their Octagon’s What We Do page, you’ll see links to: Marketing, Marketing North America, Athletes & Personalities, and Events. Within the Athletes & Personalities section you’ll find links to specific verticals like OctagoOly.com, OctagonHockey.com, OctagonBasketball.com. Additionally, there are separate sites for Octagon’s international businesses like OctagonBrazil.com, and Octagon-UK.com. It’s all a bit overwhelming, but it’s indicative of how big Octagon’s presence is in the field of sports and entertainment marketing. In fact, the best overview of what Octagon’s businesses actually do is on their Careers page. Once you read through that, then you can take a look at their current job postings. Right now they have a few positions that seem right for a new or recent grad including Account Executive – Telecom (Kansas City, KS), Non-Profit & Media Relations Coordinator (Portland, ME), Account Executive – Sales Assistant (Norwalk, CT), Associate Producer – Digital (Norwalk, CT), and Account Executive – Multicultural – Home Improvement (Atlanta, GA).

Octagon has offices in the following locations, so you may want to watch out for new postings in any of these places:

Atlanta, GA
Cary, NC
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Los Angels, CA
McLean, VA
Minneapolis, MN
Naples, FL
New York, NY
Norwalk, CT
Ormond Beach, FL
Portland, ME
Richmond, VA
Rogers, AR
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Ottawa, Ontario
Waterlool, Ontario
Adelaide, South Australia
Hobart, Tasmania
Melbourne, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Beijing, China
Mumbai, India
Tokyo Japan
Singapore, Malaysia
Paris, France
Frankfurt, Germany
Doha, Qatar
Moscow, Russia
Cape Town, South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
Barcelona, Spain
Sevilla, Spain
Stockholm, Sweden
Istanbul, Turkey
London, United Kingdom

That’s a lot of locations, so keep an eye on Octagon’s job postings for opportunities closer to home (or further away if that’s what you’re looking for).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Octagon?

Corporate Executive Board

Willy Franzen — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:15:02 +0000

As someone who started a bootstrapped business straight out of college, I’ve had to rely on free resources to learn the tricks of the trade. Sites like Hacker News, SEOmoz, Mixergy have been invaluable to me. But you can only get so much for free. Fortune 500 companies often spend many millions of dollars to ensure that their executives are well informed and well advised. One place that 80% of Fortune 500 companies go for advice is The Corporate Executive Board. They are an Arlington, VA based company that helps “senior executives at the world’s leading organizations… and their teams with actionable insights, analytic tools, and advisory support to quickly and confidently focus efforts on what they need to know, and do, next.” The Corporate Executive Board spun off from The Advisory Board Company (they focus only on healthcare and higher education) in 1997 and has since IPO’d.

Hop On Board

The Corporate Executive Board may sound like a consulting firm (and they do some consulting), but they have a somewhat unique model. Companies pay an annual membership fee to The Corporate Executive Board, and this allows them to access CEB’s resources. The beauty of this model is that member companies also share information with The Corporate Executive Board, so there’s a network effect–the advice that they provide gets better as more members join. The Corporate Executive Board’s services focus on a wide range of areas that include: Communications, Corporate Finance, Corporate Strategy, Customer Service, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal and Compliance, and Sales and Marketing, with additional offerings tailored to the Financial Services, Government, and Midsized sectors. With an eye to these areas, CEB helps executives manage six key challenges:

Assessing Key Performance Trends and Risks
Organizing and Managing Critical Talent
Benchmarking Performance and Plans
Establishing Innovative Operating Approaches
Driving Alignment and Support for Change
Navigating Leadership Transitions

If you’re fascinated by large corporations and how they work, then The Corporate Executive Board would be an excellent place to start your career. I know that they do a lot of on-campus recruiting, but that all happened in the fall. Luckily, CEB has more than 100 jobs posted on their Careers page, and many of them can be considered entry level. Unfortunately, TheCorporate Executive Board’s Jobs site doesn’t allow me to link directly to specific postings. You should start looking at their undergraduate opportunities here, and then move on to their full job listings here. Their locations include Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Needham, MA; Rochester, NY; Scottsdale, AZ; West Chester, NY; Toronto, Canada; London, UK; New Delhi, India; Singapore; and Sydney, Australia.

The Corporate Executive Board has two heavy concentrations when it comes to job opportunities. One is positions that help them put out their products and services. The other is positions that help them sell memberships. Makes sense. You’ll want to look for job titles like Research Analyst, Sales Specialist, Web Designer, Member Support Associate, Meetings Associate, Market Research Specialist, Data and Tools Analyst, Business Development Associate, Business Analyst, Associate – Learning & Development Team, Analyst, Account Management Associate, Account Administrator, Quantitative Analyst, Online Community Specialist, Junior Sales Executive, and lots more. And if you’re looking for another way to catch the eye of the folks at The Corporate Executive Board, you may want to check out their Case Competition that just opened up. It looks like a great way to win a scholarship and possibly get a job.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about The Corporate Executive Board?

Thomas Jefferson Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:14:34 +0000

Want to make a difference in your first job after graduation? MATCH Charter Public School is a great place to do so.

It’d be pretty cool to have your home turned into a museum. Not only would it mean that you lived in a pretty sweet place, but it would also mean that you made enough of a mark on history for people to actually want to learn about your life. There’s no better example of someone worth learning about than Thomas Jefferson. Not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, but he was also the third president and founder of the University of Virginia. It’s no surprise that he ended up on both the two dollar bill and the nickel. Anyway, many might expect Jefferson’s Monticello to be run by the government, but it’s actually managed by a non-profit organization called the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, VA. They’ve been maintaining Monticello and 2,500 of its 5,000 acres for nearly 90 years with a dual mission of education and preservation, which is why they have continued to keep it open to the public.

Are You a Jeffersonian at Heart?

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation considers Monticello to be Jefferson’s “autobiographical statement,” which is why they’ve invested so much time and effort into preserving it. The estate includes “a house, an ornamental landscape, a farm, a plantation, a small mountain, and a large and diverse community, and it encapsulates “the interests, talents, ideals, ambitions, and realities of its creative and complex owner.” Monticello.org has tons of information on both Monticello and Thomas Jefferson, so it’s a great place to get started doing some research. In fact, if you don’t get lost in the excitement of reading up on Thomas Jefferson’s place in history, then a job at Monticello probably isn’t for you. And if you do get lost, hopefully you’ll eventually find your way to their job listings which show that they’re hiring for a number of positions including Garden Guide, Museum Shop Receiver, Reservations Associate, Retail Sales Associate – Garden Shop, and Systems Analyst. Most of the positions are part-time or temporary, but they’re still worth checking out. You might also want to consider their volunteer opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited Monticello?

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?

Golin Harris

Willy Franzen — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:51:38 +0000

It’s been a while since we took a look at a full-fledge PR firm (we’ve covered a ton in the past, check our public relations and communications tags). It’s not that they don’t offer great entry level opportunities, it’s just that they’re kind of boring to write about. As an outsider it’s hard for me to tell what makes one PR firm better than the other—I usually focus on clients lists, but even that’s not enough. You really need to dig deep and do some serious research to get a read on a PR firm. You’re probably wondering what about Chicago, IL (with offices across the world) based Golin Harris made them stand out to me. Well, someone I follow tweeted about the company’s jobs, and then I saw that they were named 2010 “Large PR Agency of the Year” by PRWeek. They were also a 2009 Holmes Report “Best Agency to Work For,” and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to honors and awards.

Golin or Go Home

Oddly enough, Golin Harris doesn’t seem to list their clients on their website; however, the company’s Wikipedia page mentions that they do work for Bristol-Myers Squibb, McDonald’s, Nintendo of America, Dow Chemical, Orange, Texas Instruments, and Toyota. Those are monster names, which makes sense for a company that was recently named Large PR Agency of the Year. The Golin Harris website is a bit lacking when it comes to providing information that can really give you a feel for a company, but their Capabilities section does give some insight into the kind of work they do and how they go about it. If you’re impressed with what you see at Golin Harris, then you’ll want to check out their Careers page. They have a number of entry level opportunities including Assistant Account Executive – Interactive Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA), Staff Writer – Interactive Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA), Assistant Account Executive – Healthcare (Chicago, IL), and Assistant Account Executive (Dallas, TX). Golin Harris’ locations U.S offices in Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Orange County, CA; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; San Juan, PR; and Washington, DC; along with plenty of international offices. So you may want to look out for opportunities in those offices too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Golin Harris?

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?

Crumbs

Willy Franzen — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:00:58 +0000

Depending on where you live, the cupcake thing has passed, reached its peak, or just started. Yeah, you’ve had cupcakes a million times—once for each kid’s birthday that you celebrated in elementary school. (Did you know that they don’t allow that at a lot of schools now? No cupcakes. Wow.) Basically, kids are no longer getting cupcakes, but adults are making up for it in a big way. Just take a look at Crumbs, a chain of bake shops headquartered in New York City. They have more than two dozen locations with quite a few more on the way. Oh yeah, and they’re an Inc. 500 company with a 704% three-year growth rate and $23.5 million in annual revenue. Some bake shop, huh? Apparently, they are “inspired by old-time candy shops and are warm and inviting with wood cases, marble counters and wall to wall treats.” It’s working!

It’s OK to Interview with Crumbs on Your Shirt

What more can I say about cupcakes? They’re delicious. I’ve been to the Grand Central location, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some people say that we’re in the middle of a “cupcake bubble,” and maybe that’s true. I’m not sure that cities even as big as New York can sustain as many cupcake shops as they have right now, but you have to like the chances of a company that is doing as financially well as Crumbs is. With all the growth should come jobs; however, Crumbs doesn’t seem to have a Jobs page. If you use our job search function, you’ll see that you get a number of results for Crumbs jobs. The postings come with titles like “Sweet Freaks Rejoice” and “Sugar Sweet Job Opportunities.” These are all retail positions, but it seems that Crumbs’ corporate function must be growing too. Why not try reaching out to them about their jobs? The only downside is that you might gain a few pounds if you get hired.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Crumbs.com
Jobs at Crumbs (from our job search engine)
Contact Crumbs
About Crumbs
Crumbs Locations

Have you tried Crumbs?

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Willy Franzen — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:16:44 +0000

We’ve all had one (if not quite a few more than one). A bad teacher. It happens. It’s part of school. In fact, everyone should have a bad teacher at some point. It teaches you how to persevere. But many kids get more than their fair share of bad teachers. And that’s why education is seen as such a major issue in this country. There just aren’t enough good teachers. Now, I’m usually leery of standards and certifications because they’re used by insiders to keep new people out and control the labor market, but today we’re going to take a look at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an Arlington, VA based non-profit organization. They are “dedicated to improving the teaching profession and positively impacting student learning,” and they do this by “maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.”

What Are Your Standards?

I still see the education problem in this country as a teacher supply issue as opposed to a teacher selection issue, but that doesn’t mean that the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards can’t help our society better grasp what it takes to make a good teacher—that’s really important. The NBPTS’s first policy statement was called What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do, and that came out in 1987. Since then, they’ve developed The Five Core Propositions, which “form the foundation and frame the rich amalgam of knowledge, skills, dispositions and beliefs that characterize National Board Certified Teachers.” A congressionally mandated study has found that the NBPTS’s work has “a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention, and professional development,” so you may want to consider getting involved with them. Their Jobs page only shows a Research Associate position that requires 5 years of experience and a Masters degree; however, they have a full-time, paid Assessment Internship posted on Idealist right now. It really looks more like an entry level job than an internship, so check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards?

Modea

Willy Franzen — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:47:24 +0000

Believe it or not, after three years I’m still running a one-man show here at One Day, One Job/Internship. I do all the design, web development, marketing, business development, writing, SEO, and everything else that it takes to run the business. I can’t even imagine how nice it would be to have an agency or in-house team of specialists—you know, people who actually are experts in the given field—work on some of the stuff for me. Even though we’re profitable, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon. But if it was, I might consider using Modea. They are a Blacksburg, VA based “digital services agency” that creates “results-driven digital content and campaigns for a diverse group of recognizable consumer brands.” Ok, maybe One Day, One Job isn’t a recognizable consumer brand quite yet, but one day (one job). I’m still running through the Inc. 500, and Modea came in at #221 with 1335% three-year growth to $3.5 million in revenue.

Problem Solved. Interactively.

Modea is all about fusing technology with creativity to deliver results for their clients. They work with big names in a wide range of industries including Hasbro, Rackspace, Elle, T-Mobile, and Advanced Auto Parts. If you want to get a feel for what they do, you can take a look at Modea’s portfolio. It’s really good stuff. You can also read about what life at Modea is like, and if it resonates with you, then you should browse over their Jobs page. They have a ton of positions posted, and a few seem suited to new or recent grads. These include Associate Creative Developer, Associate Project Manager, Quality Assurance Engineer, Quality Assurance & Quality Control Analyst, .Net Developer, Copywriter, and Part Time IT Assistant. The best option, though, is to Choose Your Own Adventure. You have to love a company with a job posting like that one.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Modea?

Public Notice

Willy Franzen — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:23:05 +0000

Your pet would love you even more if you worked for Nestle Purina. Take a look at their entry level opportunities so that you can take the first step towards making that happen.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “fiscal responsibility?” It’s probably some old guy droning on like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Oddly enough, Ben Stein actually has been writing on such a topic lately. But rarely do you hear young people getting worked up about deficits and national debt. Though if you think about it, Ben Stein probably won’t be around anymore when the time comes to pay the bill. You will. I’m extremely worried about how the economic policies of today are going to affect our generation’s career choices over the next 20 to 30 years. That’s why some recent television advertisements for a website called BankruptingAmerica.org have caught my attention. The site is run by a Virginia based non-profit organization called Public Notice, which identifies itself as “dedicated to providing facts and insight on the economy and how government policy affects Americans’ financial well-being.”

Start Working So You Can Someone Else’s Debt

Public Notice is quite obviously a politically motivated organization, and it’s unclear where they get their backing from. I wasn’t able to find much background information on the organization, but here are the executive director’s Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. You’ll probably want to do some more research on your own, and it will likely you lead you to some excellent viral content that they’ve developed. There’s the television ad that caught my attention:

And there’s also a video called “REAL or FAKE: Can you tell which of these government spending projects are real or fake?”:

The organization certainly seems to be using social media in an effective way, which is good because they are an awareness focused organization. If you care about our nation’s debt as much as I do, and you are all about new media, then you should check out Public Notice’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Managing Editor of Online Media which doesn’t sound like an entry level position, but I think a new or recent grad could do very well in it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are your thoughts on fiscal responsibility?

CLEAResult Consulting

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

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

CLEAResults for Your Job Search

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about CLEAResult Consulting?

Clarabridge

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:43:51 +0000

Yesterday AT&T decided to e-mail their customers and ask for feedback in a centralized location: their Facebook page. It didn’t go quite as planned, as an “angry mob” was forced to “Like” the page before they could actually leave their rants. If you want to see the bloodbath for yourself, you can take a look at AT&T’s Facebook page. We all know that customer service is never an easy task; however, it’s become much more difficult to manage as the Internet has grown. Ten or twenty years ago, you had to write a letter or make a call to complain. Most people wouldn’t take the effort, so companies could manage feedback pretty well. Now most companies get feedback online, and they are often faced with more information than their staff can reliably read. That’s where Clarabridge comes in. They’re #101 on the Inc. 500, and they offer text mining software that helps companies with “customer experience management.” That means that Clarabridge, which is based in Reston, VA, enables companies to process tons of feedback with way less manpower.

Put on Your Miner’s Helmet

If you want to get a feel for how Clarabridge works, you need to check out their demo. What it will show you is that the software is able to parse large amounts of data and determine when feedback is positive and negative. It can take a 3 paragraph message from a customer and break it down into the basic issues that the customer brought up. The software will then sort the data so that the company can get an aggregate view of how they’re doing on a variety of issues. This is really powerful stuff, so it’s no surprise that names like AOL, Expedia, Marriott, United Airlines, and Walmart are using Clarabridge (and maybe AT&T should join them). Why wouldn’t you want to “capture the 360-degree view on current customer attitudes and sentiment shifts” instead of settling “for a limited understanding of their Voice of the Customer?” If the idea of text mining for customer experience has you wanting to send rave feedback to Clarabridge, maybe you should consider their Careers. It seems that Clarabridge is pretty active in campus recruiting, so instead of browsing through their jobs, you’re probably better off just contacting them. My guess is that they’ll have opportunities in Software Development, Sales, Research, and quite a few other areas.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How would you use text mining software?

Avalara

Willy Franzen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:54:28 +0000

Who doesn’t love taxes? Why would you want your full paycheck when you can only get a part of it? Why would you want to pay the advertised price when you can pay it plus a percentage (it’s like a reverse sale every time—especially here in Chicago where we have the country’s highest sales tax of 10.25% and sometimes higher)? Obviously, paying taxes is part of being a good citizen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not terribly frustrating. Before you get a job, you should know that you’ll probably spend anywhere from 3-7 months of the year working just to pay your taxes. And by the time you’re in your prime and actually making a decent salary, it’ll be even more since our generation is going to have to pay off all of the debt that our country is accruing right now. Paying tax is bad enough, but imagine being the one responsible for collecting taxes. That’s the case for many business owners, and now that the Internet lets you do business in any state or country, collecting the right taxes can be an enormous headache. Luckily, there’s Avalara, a Bainbridge Island, WA based company that has developed software to “automate statutory tax compliance.”

Making Taxing More Relaxing

I bet a lot of you would actually be excited at the prospect of paying taxes (sales or income), because it would mean that you’re getting paid and have the money to buy stuff. Maybe Avalara can help make your dream of becoming a tax paying citizen come true, but first you should know a little bit more about their business. Avalara has developed a Software as a Service platform that plugs into all kind of financial and e-commerce applications. With Avalara’s software business owners get “accurate tax calculation, painless administration, effortless reporting and, timely remittance.” Avalara has more than 10,000 businesses as customers which means that they run more than 100 million transactions, submit more than 240,000 returns, and remit more than $20 billion in tax filings annually. If you like the idea of taking an entrepreneurial approach to minimizing the headaches of tax collection, then you should check out jobs at Avalara. There are a few positions that seem suitable for new grads including Order Processing Specialist, Tax Notice Associate (Falls Church, VA), and Tax Analyst (Falls Church, VA). There seem to be some other interesting areas where Avalara might offer jobs (like Marketing or Business Analyst), but right now the only postings are for more senior level positions or internships.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you hate taxes?

MITRE

Willy Franzen — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:28:19 +0000

Not many of the companies on Fast Company’s list of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” are non-profit, and not many non-profits generate over $1 billion in annual revenue, but MITRE fits both criteria. I know that many of you responded in our survey that you wanted to see fewer technical jobs, but I’ve also noticed that most of the non-profit jobs that we feature on weekends aren’t very technical. MITRE, which has headquarters in Bedford, MA and McLean, VA offers an exception. They are an “organization chartered to work in the public interest” through “expertise in systems engineering, information technology, operational concepts, and enterprise modernization.” They do this work through “four Federally Funded Research and Development Centers,” with one focused on the Department of Defense, one on the Federal Aviation Administration, one on the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and one for the Department of Homeland Security.

Give MITRE a Try

MITRE serves each of these groups by providing “a unique combination of broad operational knowledge and in-depth technical skills” while also developing new technology that can be transferred when appropriate. What is really astonishing about MITRE is its size. They have over 7,000 employees, and more than 65% of them hold an advanced degree. The organization is a hotbed for technical knowhow and creativity, and it’s great to know that they have thousands of talented people working to ensure the future of our country. On that note MITRE is constantly looking to hire smart people for both technical and non-technical positions. They have a very strong college recruiting program, which you can find out about here. There are nearly 400 positions posted right now on MITRE’s Jobs site, so browsing through everything may be a little tough. It maybe a little hard to sniff out which jobs are considered entry level, so you may want to reach out to Jessica Yu using MITRE’s employee directory to get your questions answered (or you can use the chat box on the Student Opportunities page during working hours).

Job categories at MITRE include: Acquisitions, Artificial Intelligence, Business Analysis & Administration, Communications, Computer Operations, Contracts/Subcontracts, Database Technology Software, Defense & Space Systems, Desktop Support, Digital/Microprocessor Hardware, Domain Operation Analyst, Economics/Business, Electromagnetic & Nuclear Effects, Facilities Engineering, Financial Analysis, General Accounting, General Systems Engineer, Graphics, Human Resources Generalist, Human Factors Engineer, Industrial Security, Information Security, Information Systems Engineer, Integrated Electronics, Legal, Multi-Disciplinary Systems Development, Networking & Distributed Systems, Physical Security, Procurement, Sensor Systems, Signal Processing Engineer, Software Applications Development & Software Systems, Special Security, System Administrator, Technical Project Support, Telecommunications Specialist, and Treasury & Risk Management. There are also a variety of locations beyond MITRE’s headquarters, so you’ll have plenty of options.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about MITRE?

Fantazzle

Willy Franzen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:47:34 +0000

It’s a tough time of year for fantasy sports enthusiasts. The football season is over, and it’s still a bit early to be preparing for your fantasy baseball draft. There’s hockey and basketball, but they’re right in the middle of their seasons. The excitement of the draft is long gone, and the playoffs are still too far away. You need an outlet for all of that fantasy sports energy, and Arlington, VA based Fantazzle might be the perfect outlet. They’ve only been on the scene for a couple years, but they’ve already been acknowledged by The New York Times’ Fifth Down Blog as having the most accurate preseason fantasy football rankings for the 2008 season. I haven’t played any of their games, but it appears that they run weekly games instead of full season games. It’s for players who don’t the attention span to last a whole season (or maybe players who get discouraged by being in last place after a couple weeks).

Dazzle at Fantazzle

When I first came across Fantazzle, I had a few hesitations about featuring them. The only games that they have available today are fantasy golf and fantasy racing. The site also doesn’t seem to be generating much traffic, which means that they’re probably not generating much revenue. They are, however, an early stage startup, and they received $352,000 in funding over the past few months. They do a charge a fee for some games and they do offer cash prizes (hopefully that’s not considered gambling by the government), so they do seem to have a business model that will scale nicely. Despite my hesitations, I think it would be pretty cool to work at a fantasy sports startup. Fantazzle’s Jobs page shows that they’re looking for a Fantasy Sports Social Media Professional. The salary is pretty low, but there you’ll get flexibility (they’ll let you work virtually) along with some perks. You can apply online, but you’ll probably want to do a little more digging to get the full read on where Fantazzle is going first.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play fantasy sports?

Palantir

Willy Franzen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:09:27 +0000

I have to admit that the “jobs” that I’m most concerned with today is Steve Jobs. I can’t wait to find out what Apple is announcing today, and I wish that I had some relevant jobs to bring you. I don’t, but I did come across a really cool list yesterday called 5 Butt Kicking Companies You (Probably) Never Heard Of. The list is exactly what it promises, as it features 5 later stage startups that are growing rapidly and hiring lots of people. The first company on that list is Palantir, a Palo Alto, CA based company (with another office in McLean, VA) that “is working to radically change how groups analyze information.” They were founded by former PayPal employees and Stanford computer scientists. Right now the company is focused on two verticals: Government and Finance. Both areas deal with massive amount of data and information, so it makes sense that Palantir is starting with them.

Analyze This

The cool thing about Palantir is that they still have a startup attitude and culture despite the fact that they’re focused on two industries that most people don’t associate with fun. The types of problem that Palantir is trying to solve include “national security, global finance, cyber defense, regulation & oversight, public health, and disease control.” This isn’t just some Web 2.0 startup—it’s a serious business with clients who expect perfection. That’s why culture is so important at Palantir. They only hire the best: “Less than 3% of candidates who receive a phone interview will receive an offer.” It’s a strict meritocracy, with a family feel. They have the XBOX, masseuse, and on-site gym that you come to expect from startups, but there’s also the expectation that “‘work’ and ‘life’ are not separate universes.”

Palantir appears to do a lot of on-campus recruiting with a focus on engineers from elite schools. They don’t provide any information on college recruiting on their site, but you can take a look at current job openings. The most likely fits for new grads include Business Development Associate, Audio Visual Engineer, Software Engineer, Salesforce Applications Developer, Software Developer in Test, Web Developer, Quality Assurance Engineer, BD Operations IT Analyst, BD Operations Analyst, Facilities Operations Analyst, and Operations Administrative Analyst. There are plenty of entry level opportunities at Palantir, so apply online and see if you can be one of the few that make the cut.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Palantir?