One Day, One Job » web development

Forbes

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:36:53 +0000

I’m a big fan of magazine lists. They can be a great tool for your job search, and I’m not just talking about the “Best Place to Work” lists. One list that you may not think to use but you should is the Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires. Take a look at what the world’s most successful people have done to get where they are today–it might just lead you in some interesting directions. Forbes is a company that is best known for its lists. The New York, NY based publisher goes by the motto “The Capitalist Tool,” though that sounds like something a NATO protester called me this weekend (just kidding). But seriously, when you hear the name Forbes, you think money, right?

Start Your Way to the Forbes List

Forbes made their name with their magazine Forbes, but they also have Forbes Asia, ForbesLife, The Forbes Investors Advisory Institute, and The Forbes Newsletter Group. But my favorite Forbes business has to be the Social Register Association, which “is considered by many to be the only reliable, and the most trusted, arbiter of Society in the United States.” In other words, it’s a directory (complete with addresses and phone numbers) of the country’s elite. I bet getting your hands on one of those could really help your job search (too bad you can only get one if you’re listed in it). Obviously, a big part of Forbes’ business has moved online. You’ve probably tried to read an article on Forbes.com, but decided against it after being hit with an interstitial ad. Forbes also owns and operates ForbesWoman.com; RealClearPolitics.com; RealClearMarkets.com; RealClearSports.com and RealClearWorld.com.

If you want to join an old media name that is trying to make it work in the digital age, then take a look at Forbes’ Careers page. Right now they’re hiring for the following positions:

Forbes has some great opportunities for new grads, so check them out and get started on making that billionaires list.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Forbes?

Doximity

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:25:06 +0000

If you haven’t heard something about the Facebook IPO in the past few days, you must have had a really good weekend. What annoys me about successful startups is all the knockoff attempts. A lot of people think that a good idea is enough to build a business on, so they copy the successes and usually fail miserably despite having a “good idea.” A much better approach is to take inspiration from the big successes and apply what you learn to a more focused niche. Doximity has done exactly that–they’re a social network for doctors and healthcare professionals. The San Mateo, CA based company has picked a great market in that a big part of being a doctor is communicating with other doctors. It’s also a market with amazing monetization possibilities.

Increase Your Proximity to Doximity

Let’s be honest, most of the things that most of us do on social networks is pretty frivolous. Doximity avoids this problem by focusing on specific things that are important to healthcare professionals. They offer the typically features to allow people to connect socially and professionally, but they also make it easy to find contact information for other doctors’ offices, provide a free digital fax line, and offer opportunities for doctors to earn more money through “research, 2nd opinions, and medico legal consulting.” While you won’t be able to sign up for Doximity since you’re not a healthcare professional, you can tour their product. If you’re excited by what you see, then go take a look at Doximity’s Jobs page. Right now they’re hiring a Marketing Coordinator, an Automation Test Engineer – Quality Assurance, a Ruby on Rails Engineer, and User Experience Designer. Check these awesome jobs out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Doximity?

Fareportal

Willy Franzen — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:48:35 +0000

It’s supposed to be in the 80s and sunny all weekend here in Chicago. This is the weather that we wait all year for, yet I”m starting to think this may have been a good weekend to get out of town. Why? The NATO Summit is in Chicago this weekend, and so are the protesters. If I was going to get out of town, I might try one of the services offered by Fareportal to book something. They’re a New York, NY based company that has a “technology platform which enables millions of travelers to book a myriad of travel products from almost every corner of the world.” They operate a number of consumer brands including CheapOair (I’ve used them at least once), CheapOstay, HotelPricer, and Clubmiles. Fareportal also has travel trade brands including Fare Buzz, Travelong, Fareportal Media Group, and Dukes Court Travel.

Fare Enough

The easiest way to describe Fareportal is travel + technology. They are the “7th largest online travel group in the US” and the “4th largest online travel agency.” When you add it all up, they get more than 30 million travel searches every month. That’s pretty impressive for a company that is just 10 years old, but what’s next? Fareportal’s home page proclaims that they are “one of the fastest growing travel companies in the world,” so clearly what they’re doing now isn’t enough. That’s why Fareportal is hiring big time–you can see their full Careers page here or you can go straight to the job listings for their New York City headquarters. Here are the current postings that look well suited to a new or recent gard:

If you love travel and technology, then it would be hard to find a better place to work than Fareportal.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried any of Fareportal’s brands?

Treehouse

Willy Franzen — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:38:42 +0000

What have you done in the past week to make yourself a better candidate for the jobs that you’re applying for? E-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com and tell me. Seriously. Developing new skills isn’t just about being better qualified for a job–it’s also about showing employers that you’re constantly trying to better yourself and willing to invest time and money to do so. Companies love people who show a desire to grow into new roles. Luckily, there are more and more companies that offer online education with the purpose of actually teaching you applicable skills, not giving you a worthless piece of paper. One of these companies is Treehouse, which is based in Orlando, FL. Their “goal is to teach Web Design, Web Development and iOS, to everyone in the World who wants to learn.”

Climb Up to the Treehouse

I know this isn’t reassuring, but the stats say that most grads take many months to land a job. That’s more than enough time to learn some extremely valuable technical skills with Treehouse. Think you can’t afford it? Think again. Treehouse costs $25 a month (and they had a student plan at $9 a month, though I don’t see it on their Plans page). If you can’t scrounge that together, you’re not trying hard enough (and even then Treehouse offers a lot of their video content for free). I’ve actually used Treehouse to improve my coding skills, and it’s fantastic. The content is top notch, but it’s the code challenges that really help you make the most of it. There’s a reason that people pay for Treehouse when there are decent alternatives out there for free. Just like you (hopefully), Treehouse wants to keep getting better, which is why they’re hiring. Not all of their roles are a great fit for a new grad, but some are. Here’s what they’re looking for:

Video Teacher
Content Expert
Sales Rep
Lead Generator
Video Pro
Audio Pro

Whether you’re a good fit for these jobs or not, Treehouse could completely change your job search, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you try Treehouse?

FindTheBest

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:38:30 +0000

I know some people who research their purchases to death. They end up never buying anything because new versions of the products come out before they can make a decision. It’s a never-ending process. I’m all for doing my due diligence before buying something expensive, but I try to make it as quick as possible. FindTheBest is a site that makes comparing anything super easy. They’re a Santa Barbara, CA company that offers “a powerful tool for making quick and informed decisions.” Whether you’re looking for the best breed of dog for your lifestyle or the best financial advisor in your area, FindTheBest offers you just the facts “stripped of any marketing influence.”

AreYouTheBest?

FindTheBest calls itself “an unbiased, data-driven comparison engine.” They rely on three sources for all of their data: public databases, primary sources (manufacturer websites) and expert sources. They pull it all together and put into an easily digestible format that is sortable and allows head to head comparisons. FindTheBest also offers what are called “SmartRatings”–one overall score compiled from a multitude of ratings. They give you all of the information you need to make a decision, no matter how deep you want to dive into the details. While FindTheBest does offer advertising (there’s the business model), they are very clear that they will not make it “difficult and time consuming to distinguish objective information from paid placements.” If you think FindTheBest might want to list you as one of their best, take a look at their Careers page. Right now they’re looking for a Software Developer/Engineer and a Front End Web Developer/Engineer. They also have paid internships in Business Development and Product Management, so those could be decent alternatives for non-techies.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried FindTheBest?

Chloe + Isabel

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

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

You + Chloe + Isabel

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

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you purchased anything from Chloe + Isabel?

Pop Labs

Willy Franzen — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:18:18 +0000

These days it seems that just about everyone claims to be an expert on things like social media and SEO, but very few people have a track record that shows a repeated ability to deliver results. Why is that? Because online marketing is really hard. We see stupid things go viral and think that anyone can do it, but we overlook the fact that getting someone to look at something is very different from getting someone to buy something. Pop Labs is an interactive marketing agency in Houston, TX that is known for getting results. I’m not just talking about for their clients either. Pop Labs nearly tripled their revenue between 2007 and 2010, which shows that what they’re doing works for them as well as for their clients.

Make It Pop

Pop Labs’ main focuses are SEO, Social Media, Conversion Optimization, and Advertising, but it’s really all about ROI. That’s why Pop Labs’ Case Stuides talk about numbers that can be directly tied to revenue. Pop Labs doesn’t have a long list of client names on their website (which is often how I judge big agencies), but that’s ok. It’s a lot harder to do good work for a “Consumer Services Retailer in Nevada” or a “National Marketing Information Provider,” than some big brand who already has resources that you can leverage. If you want to dig in and really learn about online marketing, then you should take a look at Pop Labs’ Jobs page. Right now they have some great positions for new or recent grads including:

Sales Executive
Business Development (San Francisco, CA)
Project Coordinator
Web Designer
Production Specialist
Marketing Specialist

These look like great opportunities to learn, so give them a good long look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Pop Labs?

Highlights

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:05:50 +0000

Yesterday I almost got highlighted. I was in a boat, on a river, fishing with my Dad and a guide. A thunderstorm came up behind us, and we decided to tuck the boat in a cove under a bunch of trees and take cover. It wasn’t the best spot, but there wasn’t anywhere else for us to go. When it started hailing, I got a little nervous. And then BANG! A bolt of lightning hit the water about three feet to my right. You and I are both lucky that you’re reading this today. This story has nothing to do with today’s company except for the fact that yesterday’s near death experience made me want to regress back to being a little kid–the kind that reads Highlights. If you’re not familiar, Highlights is a Columbus, OH company that develops products for children with a common theme: “Fun with a Purpose.” It’s all about “wholesome fun” that “is dedicated to helping children grow in basic skills and knowledge, in creativeness, in ability to think and reason, in sensitivity to others, in high ideals and worthy ways of living.”

Share Your Highlights

I definitely had a subscription to Highlights at some point in my life, but even after it lapsed I still picked up the magazines in places like doctor’s offices. You can get a feel for what Highlights looks like today by taking a look a their Favorite Characters and Features page. My favorites were always the What’s Wrong and Hidden Pictures. I truly hope that these somehow find their way into Highlights’ hiring process. It wouldn’t be right any other way. You may also want to check out Highlights’ State of the Kid 2011 Report. It will help you get in touch with today’s Highlights reader. If “Fun with a Purpose” describes your approach to life, then you have to take a look at Highlights’ Jobs page. There are a few positions worth taking a closer look at including:

Administrative Assistant – Accounting & Finance
Analyst – Campaign Management
Web Production Associate

Before you apply, you probably want to pick up a recent issue of Highlights and get reacquainted.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you read Highlights as a kid?

Instructure

Willy Franzen — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:20:32 +0000

When you’re a kid, you think that teachers have an easy job. They have good hours, lots of vacation with summers off, and they get to stand in front of a room and tell you what to do. As you get older, you start to realize that teaching also includes grading papers, planning lessons, communicating with parents, writing comments for report cards, and a whole lot more. A grade book just isn’t a good hub for managing all of this. Teachers need something industrial-strength, and that’s what Instructure provides with their Canvas Learning Management System. The Sandy, UT based company offers a suite of tools that enable teachers to spend way less time on administrative stuff, and more time teaching and working directly with students. They serve educators at all levels–from Kindergarten to some of the world’s top universities, which shows you just how flexible the Canvas platform is.

Follow Instructure

What do teachers want from a Learning Management System? Something that just works. Here’s Instructure’s video explanation of why the technology behind Canvas offers exactly that experience:

Go take a look at the product. You can sign up for an instant demo and get a feel for exactly how it works. There’s no better way to get to know a company than by using their product. If you like the feel of Canvas, then take a look at Instructure’s Careers page. Right now they have some great jobs for new or recent grads including:

UI/Web Designer
Database Admininstrator
Professional Services Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Marketing Web Developer
Marketing Writer
Search/Marketing Analyst

If you get excited about the nexus of education and technology, then a career with Instructure might be just what you’re looking for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have any experiences with Learning Management Systems?

Spongecell

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:45:52 +0000

Ads make the Internet go ’round. Most of the content that you consume (including what you’re reading right now) wouldn’t be possible without advertising. The problem is that most ads are annoying–they interrupt you from doing what you want to do–so you start to ignore them. As you ignore more and more ads, advertisers are forced to find new ways to catch your attention. Sometimes that leads to ads that are actually interesting, and sometimes it leads to ads that are more interruptive. Spongecell is a New York, NY based company that allows advertisers to “transform standard banner ads into dynamic flash ads with rich media-like functionality.” That may sound more interruptive, but the ads that Spongecell enables are no bigger than a typical banner ad–they just come to life when you hover over them with your cursor.

Be a Sponge

I’m really impressed with the different types of functionality that Spongecell offers in a standard ad unit. There are video, maps, social feeds, coupons, carousels, lead generation, and more. These ads allow you interact with them before you leave the page that you’re on, which immediately makes them more effective. You can see what the ads look like in Spongecell’s extensive gallery. They’ve worked with all kinds of big names to develop rich media ads that target a specific behavior, whether it’s watching a video or getting you to find a bank’s nearest location. If you don’t mind ads and you’re intrigued by what Spongecell is doing, then head over to their Jobs page. Right now they have some interesting positions open including:

Recruiting and HR Coordinator
Marketing Designer
Rails or HTML5 Developer (San Francisco, CA)
Interactive Production Designer
Interactive Production Designer (London, UK)
Sales Associate
Advertising Operations Analyst (London, UK)

These look like great jobs, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you mind online ads?

Work Market

Willy Franzen — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:56:08 +0000

In college I studied Industrial and Labor Relations, which means that I spent four years focusing on the world of work. The curriculum covered everything from slavery and indentured servitude to unions and the movement of capital to find lower cost labor. The common theme was that the way that we define and think about work is constantly changing. Today’s trend is all about having a flexible workforce–people who can join on for a project form wherever they live and then move on to a new project with someone else. Work Market is a company that “give businesses access to an on-demand scalable work force along with tools to manage three categories of labor: employees, contractors and third parties.” Many businesses in this space focus on actually building the market where labor can find work, but Work Market takes it one step further and offers the software for businesses to build their own market.

Are You in the Market?

Work Market’s business is built on taking a cut of every assignment that they make happen. Their fees start at 9%, which sounds high, but is actually extremely competitive. The beauty of Work Market’s platform is that it covers everything that needs to be covered–things like background screening, tax compliance and filing, payment, competency validation, and lots more. We’re going to see more and more of this going forward–not only as a way to get work done but also as a hiring tool. Why use an interviewing process when you can have someone truly audition? If you like the approach that Work Market is taking, you can take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they have some great opportunities that could be a fit for a new or recent grad including: Client Service Professional, Visual / UX / UI Designer, Community Manager, and Operations Engineer. Check them out, or apply through the General Application.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you join Work Market?

American Institute of Physics

Willy Franzen — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:20:56 +0000

After mentioning high school yesterday, I had a high school exam dream last night. It was a history test, and oddly enough I think I performed pretty well (though I woke up before I got a grade). If it was a Physics test, I think it might have been more of a nightmare. As much as I enjoyed AP Physics, it was definitely one of the hardest courses that I took at any level. That probably explains why I’m not a member of the American Institute of Physics, which is a College Park, MD based non-profit membership organization that promotes “the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare.” The group was founded in 1931 by “a group of American physical science societies joined forces to create an institute that would strengthen their response to the practical and philosophical uncertainties facing their field.”

Overcome Your Frictional Force

The American Institute of Physics consists of ten member societies ranging from the Acoustical Society of America to The Society of Rheology. They also have at least two dozen affiliated societies including the American Nuclear Society, the Cryogenic Society of America, and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. All of these societies and the individuals who participate team up to achieve goals in the following areas:

Supporting our Member Societies by providing efficient services and systems for essential society functions. See programs/presentations from the Assembly of Society Officers

Advancing the science of physics as publisher of leading research journals, magazines, and conference proceedings.

Tracking employment and education trends through statistical reports that have charted the progress of physics for more than six decades.

Fostering connections between science & industry by creating strong ties between corporate leaders and the larger physics community.

Preserving the past through the archival collections and outreach programs of AIP’s Center for History of Physics.

Mentoring tomorrow’s physicists through support of undergraduate physics, as well as initiatives to shape and energize science education.

Promoting science in the public realm by advocating sound science policy to Congress, and through outreach to the general public.

A significant amount of the AIP’s work is done in the realm of publishing. You can see a list of all of their publications here. If you love science and like what the American Institute of Physics is about, then take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Web Production Assistant and Customer Relations Specialist (Melville, NY). Both positions look like they could be a great fit for a new or recent grad.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you take Physics?

CityGrid Media

Willy Franzen — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:35:13 +0000

Local businesses are about as old school as you can get–many of them have continued to succeed doing the same thing that they’ve done for decades or even centuries. There have certainly been advances that have changed that–refrigeration, digital cash registers, and the Yellow Pages are just a few, but nothing even compares to the Internet–especially the mobile Internet. Local businesses are now able to reach and interact with customers and potential customers in a way that they only could have dreamed of a few years ago. CityGrid Media is a West Hollywood, CA based “leading media company connecting consumers and businesses everywhere local happens.” You’re probably familiar with at least one of their properties which include Citysearch, Insider Pages, and Urbanspoon.

Fit into the Grid

Beyond CityGrid Media’s own sites, they run a local ad network that reaches more than 140 million people across more than 250 sites. By having a few significant content properties (they have listings on 18 million businesses), CityGrid Media put itself in the position to own the advertiser relationships. Those relationships enable CityGrid Media to partner with other publishers and reach a much broader audience. This page will give you a much better sense of what the ads and the content network look like. Beyond looking at that, you definitely need to browse Citysearch, Insider Pages, and Urbanspoon to get a better understanding for how CiyGrid Media operates. If you like what you see, then head over to their Careers page. Right now they have some great opportunities posted including:

Reseller Account Manager
Configuration Management Engineer
Financial Analyst
Ruby on Rails Engineer (Seattle, WA)
Big Thinking Software and QA Engineers
Critical Thinking Software Engineers (New Grad)

There are also a variety of Account Executive and Inside Sales positions in New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; San Francisco, CA; and West Hollywood, CA. They all require prior sales experience, but they may be worth checking out if that’s something you have.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite local business?

GiveForward

Willy Franzen — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:26:25 +0000

Nearly 500,000 teaching jobs will be added in the next decade. If you’re considering a career in education, take a look at our guide to entry level teaching jobs.

At some point you’ve probably participated in a fundraiser to help pay for someone’s medical costs. You may have organized a car wash, bought a candy bar, run in a race, or just made a simple donation. It’s one way that we take care of people in our communities when they’re in need. The problem with fundraisers is that they can be an organizational nightmare. GiveForward is a Chicago, IL based company that solves this problem by offering people online fundraising pages. I met Ethan Austin, one of the company’s founders, about three years ago, and since then I’ve watched GiveForward help people raise more than $13 million and grow as a company at the same time. Every time I see him again, it seems like there’s a new success.

Moving Forward

When I initially heard about GiveForward, I assumed it was a non-profit. It just made sense, but GiveForward is a real business with a real revenue model. They take a 7% cut of all donations that come through their platform. That may sound a little steep, but when you look at how much value they provide to users (and realize how expensive credit card payment fees are), it makes a lot of sense. If you’re still not sure how GiveForward works, just take a look here or watch this video:

With such a simple product, it’s no surprise that GiveFoward has compiled a list of impressive success stories. I love it when companies can make money and provide tremendous social value at the same time. If you want to be part of the GiveForward team, check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Front End Developer, a UI Graphic Designer, a Lead User Interface Designer, and a UI Developer. They don’t have any non-technical positions posted right now, but if you want an idea of what might be available in the future take a look at their team page or their internship postings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever raised money for medical expenses?

TrainSignal

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:39:54 +0000

SinglePlatform is hiring 50 new grads in New York City to help local businesses get discovered. Learn how you can be one of them.

What have you done to improve your skills since you started job searching? You better have an answer. If you’re the same candidate that you were 3/6/9/12 months ago, you’re not going to get hired. Self-improvement not only makes you immediately more employable, but it also signals to employers that you’re the kind of person that can grow in a company. There are plenty of ways to improve yourself as a candidate, but one of the easiest is computer training. In a short period of time you can significantly expand the number of jobs that you can apply for. TrainSignal is a Schaumburg, IL based company that offers video training for software from Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, VMWare, CompTIA, and more. They provide both online video and physical media, and they serve both individuals and businesses of all sizes.

Send a Strong Signal

While I’ve never used TrainSignal, I have done a number of online video courses–mostly on software development topics. They’ve allowed me to do things that I otherwise would have had to pay people thousands of dollars to do. TrainSignal identifies 7 advantages that are unique to their training: Style, Content, Staff, Value, Curriculum, Effectiveness, and Confidence. All of those are important whether you’re investing in yourself or your employees. If you want to be part of a business that helps people improve themselves, take a look at TrainSignal’s Careers page. Right now they have a few positions that you may want to consider including:

They also have quite a few instructor positions, so if you’re a young technology expert, then you may want to check those out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What skills have you developed during your job search?

Coursera

Willy Franzen — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:11:48 +0000

Do you love local businesses? Help them get discovered with an Inside Sales job at SinglePlatform.

You’re not going to like this. You’ve paid a lot of money for a fancy education, and now some of the best universities in the world are giving it away for free. You still have to pay to get the piece of paper, but if you’re just looking for the knowledge, then you need to check out Coursera. They’re a Mountain View, CA based startup that is “partnering with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.” So far they’re working with Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Michigan, and UPenn. It doesn’t get much better than that. What makes Coursera unique from things like MIT’s OpenCourseWare is that these classes are specifically created to be consumed online.

Stay the Coursera

On Coursera class size is only limited by demand. Coursera is designed to scale education to the point where hundreds of thousands of people can take the same course at the same time. Although there is some self-direction, the courses on Coursera are just like college course. They’re only given during a specific timeframe, and you get video lectures, course materials, homework, graded exercises, and even exams. It’s not intended to be casual learning. The one big question about Coursera is: What’s their business model? Despite their .org domain name, they are a for-profit company that just closed a $16 million round of venture capital funding. I’m not too worried as Coursera already has the platform and partnerships for success, but I’m certainly curious. If you want to be part of growing the business, take a look at Coursera’s Careers page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

Coursera has the potential really big, so grab this opportunity to get in while it’s still in its early stages.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which course on Coursera do you want to take?

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Willy Franzen — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:47:01 +0000

100 years ago today the Titanic sank. It wasn’t the world’s first transportation disaster, nor was it the last, but it’s the one that continues to captivate people. As a kid I was absolutely fascinated by the story of the Titanic–the unsinkable ship that sank. I had a few books on the topic that I read over and over again. I learned about Alvin, the deep sea submersible, and Jason Jr., the underwater robot, and how they were used to explore the Titanic once it was discovered in 1985 (by essentially dragging video cameras just above the ocean floor). The discovery and expeditions were partially done by teams from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which is a Woods Hole, MA based “non-profit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers.” If it has to do with ocean science and exploration, there’s an extremely good chance that the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is on top of it.

Under the Sea!

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution focuses its research on a number of areas including Climate & Ocean, Coastal Science, Hazards, Ocean Chemistry, Ocean Circulation, Ocean Life, Ocean Resources & Policy, Polar Research, Pollution, Seafloor & Below, Tools & Technology, and Underwater Archaeology. They employ all kinds of scientists to work on a vast array of programs and projects. If you have any interest at all in oceanography, you need to take some to browse the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution website. It’s well designed and packed with information. After that, the next step is to check out their Jobs page. While they don’t have anything that is tailor made for a new grad, the Engineering Assistant positions are worth checking out. There’s also a Information Systems Associate II/III position that could be a fit. Finally, they have Scientist and Postdoc positions that might interest you if you’ve gone well beyond undergrad in terms of education.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you fascinated by the Titanic?

Zmags

Willy Franzen — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:56:28 +0000

I remember when I used to get excited about catalogs coming in the mail. The ones from Orvis were always my favorite. They had great photos, interesting stories, and products that I was dying to buy. As the catalog business has moved online, a lot of the art has been lost. It’s not that the web isn’t capable of offering a wonderful catalog experience, it’s just that the constraints of selling on the web (SEO, conversion rate optimization, content management systems, etc) push companies to take a different approach. Luckily for those of us who care, the catalog isn’t dead. Zmags is a Boston, MA based company that has built “the only rich media platform that brings commerce into the digital catalog.” They enable brands to build interactive catalogs that offer an even better experience than paper catalogs–and they can be consumed on all kinds of technology including phones, tablets, and computers.

Zjobs

Zmags has already enabled more than 1 million digital catalogs and brochures. They’re getting 200 million pageviews and 15 million visits a month. They’re already working with brands like Audi, Lenovo, IKEA, Neiman Marcus, and tons of other big names. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already interacted with a Zmags catalog. If you really want to dig into the company’s product, you can learn a lot more here. That’ll give you a good overview of the nuts and bolts of the business, but what you really need to check out is the Customer Showcase. That’ll give you an idea of what Zmags looks like in action. If you’re a catalog lover who isn’t afraid of technology, then you need to take a look at Zmags’ Jobs page. Right now they have a few opportunities that are worth checking out:

Business Analyst
Entrepreneurial Software Engineer (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Innovative Frontend Developer
Javascript Architect
Marketing Analyst

Some of these positions require some prior experience, but they may still be worth checking out and applying for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you downloaded any Zmags catalogs?

Expo

Willy Franzen — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:06:17 +0000

I’m not big on writing online reviews. There’s something that feels wrong about generating free content for someone else to make money off of it. But I’m sure glad that there are plenty of people who have a different opinion. How would I know which restaurants to go to without Yelp? Or what books to buy without Amazon reviews? Reviews have proven time after time to be a great base on which to build an Internet business. That’s exactly what they’ve done at Expo, a New York, NY based company that has been aiming “to create the largest and most authentic base of product focused videos available” since 2005. They’ve built a platform for regular people to share “videopinions” on nearly any product under the sun.

Put on an Expo

One of the things I really like about Expo is that they actually reward their users for participating. I’m sure they’re still making way more off the content than they’re paying out, but they wouldn’t be in business if they didn’t. What’s also cool is that Expo works directly with brands, so Expo reviews get back to the people who make decisions about the products that are being reviewed. You should definitely browse around ExpoTV.com and get a better sense of how the site works and get a feel for the community. Expo actually does a great job of describing how their business works on their Corporate site, so you definitely want to read through that content to understand how they’re leveraging video for SEO, increased engagement, and more. If you like what Expo is doing, check out their ExpoTV.com

Would you do a video product review?

Hatchlings

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:00:17 +0000

I love Easter. I get pretty amped about the candy, which is why in past years I’ve featured Just Born Quality Confections, Jelly Belly, Russell Stover, and the PMCA at Easter time (and Mars, The Hershey Company, NECCO, Charles Chocolates, and Vosges at other times of the year). But in my family it’s really all about the cash. We have an annual Easter Egg Hunt that is high stakes–elbows have been thrown. The eggs with candy are the duds. The heavy ones are ok because they have dollar coins. But the ones that you really want are light–they have bills in them. Over the past few years, I’ve been able to make Easter Egg Hunts pretty profitable, but it doesn’t come close to what Hatchlings has done. They run “the world’s largest egg hunt” via Facebook, and apparently the Des Moines, IA based company has been able to generate significant advertising revenue through their app.

Come Out of Your Shell

I found out about Hatchlings when I came across this blog post on Hacker News. It’s a plea from Hatchlings to get Google to reinstate their AdSense account. They got banned (and stiffed on ~$40,000) for no particular reason. Reading the post will give you some insight into how the business works, and so will this article. There isn’t much information on the company’s website, so you have to actually give their app a whirl to learn more. It’s nearly impossible to find Hatchlings’ Careers page but they mentioned in their blog post that they were hiring so I persevered and dug it up (like I will with Easter eggs on Sunday). Current openings include Server Wizard / Optimization Genie, Marketing Director, PHP Developer, and iOS Developer. They’ve had past openings for a UI/UX Designer and Community Manager, so there could be future opportunities in those areas.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Does your family have an Easter Egg Hunt?

Inkling

Willy Franzen — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:22:38 +0000

Today’s kids better be smarter and taller than our generation. Why? iPads. They’re amazing educational tools, and now they’re replacing textbooks. That means that today’s students not only should learn more quickly, but they can carry around a single device that weighs less than a pound and a half instead of a 40+ pound backpack filled with textbooks (and finally get back to standing upright). Inkling is a company that is making this beautiful future happen more quickly. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they’re building “a better textbook: one that [is] interactive and engaging, one that [takes] advantage of the opportunities afforded by new media like iPad.” They’re tearing away the assumptions that people make about books and moving in many different directions–literally. Even though Inkling calls what they do “interactive textbooks” to take advantage of familiar language, they really are building something completely new.

Do You Have an Inkling?

An earth shattering moment for me during high school was when I found online versions of some of the books I was reading in English class. I realized that I could now search these books for text, which made it infinitely easier to go back to specific passages I wanted to focus on while studying for a test. Inkling’s textbooks have search, and a whole lot more. You really need to check out their Features page and the videos on it to see how different the Inkling experience is from a dead tree book. If you want to dig deeper, you can go to the Inkling Store and download a free chapter from any of their books. I think you’ll be amazed. And if you are, then continue on to Inkling’s Jobs page. Right now they have some great positions for new or recent grads including Customer Support Analyst, Editorial Assistant, iOS Engineer, Javascript Engineer, and Platform Engineer – Cloud. These look like great opportunities, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used any iPad based textbooks?

row27 Studios

Willy Franzen — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:14:05 +0000

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

It looks like yesterday’s post on The Human Fund got a lot of you. April Fools! (If you didn’t get the jokes, you’ll find the explanations here and here.) Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about sports. We have the Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship tonight, the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship tomorrow, the Frozen Four next weekend, and Opening Day for Major League Baseball happening in between. I love this time of year, and I’m sure the folks at row27 Studios do too. row27 Studios is a Minneapolis, MN based company that “provides digital solutions for sports teams.” By combining state of the art technology with sports marketing acumen, they’ve built a business that works with some of the biggest names in sports.

Get a Seat in row27

row27 Studios got its start in 2007, and since then they’ve worked with more than 90 sports teams ranging including top college programs like Kansas, Baylor, Wisconsin, and UConn and top pro teams like the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders. row27 Studios’ work includes “TV commercials, stadium intro videos, interactive microsites, and Facebook applications.” Take a look at their Video and Web Development work to get a better feel for their capabilities. You should also check out The Row Show, which is the row27 weekly video podcast. If you like what you see, then take a look at row27 Studios’ Jobs page. Right now the only job they have posted is for a PHP Developer, but they’re also looking for paid interns in Account Management and Sports Marketing. They mention that these are 90 day positions with the potential to go full-time, so they’re certainly a reasonable alternative to an entry level job. These look like awesome opportunities to break into sports marketing, so don’t pass them up.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Kansas or Kentucky?

ForeSee Results

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

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

ForeSee Yourself in a New Job

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about ForeSee Results?

PulsePoint

Willy Franzen — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:22:50 +0000

There are some things that computers are far better at than humans, like math. There are some things that humans are far better at than computers, like understanding nuance. Then there are a lot of things that fall somewhere in between, but we can be pretty certain that computers will do them better soon enough. One of these things is determining context. This is especially important in the world of advertising. Right now a human can do a much better job than a computer of determine which ads would fit best within the context of a website, but he or she will be much slower than a computer. PulsePoint is a New York, NY based company that is working to give the computer another win over humans with a technology platform that helps “marketers and publishers gain greater audience transparency and deeper engagement across digital channels at an unprecedented scale.”

Check Your Pulse

PulsePoint is a new company that is the product of a merger between two older companies. ContextWeb acquired/merged with Datran Media (a company we featured in the past) to form PulsePoint, which now offers “a spectrum of services, including data management and media mix optimization, content distribution, contextual ad exchange capabilities, RTB and crowd sourcing.” It’s hard to get a grasp of what all that means if you haven’t worked in the industry before, but the gist is that they are combining smart people with smart technology to make advertising more effective. You can see the technology side in their Contextualizer Demo. Put in any web address, and it will tell you what the page is about. I’m sure you’re not impressed–you can do that too. But can you do it 10,000 times in a minute? Didn’t think so. If you’re interested by what PulsePoint is doing, check out their Jobs page (I’ll warn you that they have one of the crappiest applicant tracking systems ever). Right now PulsePoint has a few jobs that may intrigue new or recent grads including Business Operations Analyst, Sales Planner, and Software Engineer. Check the jobs out and have fun slogging through their slow, hard to use ATS.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of PulsePoint?

Drchrono

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:26:37 +0000

The health care situation in the United States is a mess. It’s hard to disagree with that, but it’s easy to disagree about how we can fix it. I think that technology is a big part of the answer. I don’t mean medical technology (though that will certainly help)–I’m talking about administrative technology. I know it’s not nearly as exciting, but if doctors can run their practices more efficiently, they’ll be able to deliver better care at a lower costs. That’s a big deal. Drchrono is a Mountain View, CA based company that is using the power of the iPad to change how medical practices are run. They’ve developed a software-based patient care platform that does everything from patient check-in to managing electronic health records to billing. It may not sound like it’s going to turn around the health care situation, but it’s a start.

What’s App Doc?

While I have to guess that most people use their iPads for Angry Birds and not much else, it’s really cool to see how this device is enabling industry changing software to be built. The problem used to be finding a way to deliver the software. Apple solved it. Now it’s just about making the software work in the context of how most medical practices operate. That’s exactly what Drchrono is doing. You can read about the platform here, and you read about its benefits here. Another key to Drchrono’s success is that it helps physicians qualify for the HITECH Act, which offers “$44,000 or more in economic stimulus incentives for adopting a Certified EHR.” That’s a big incentive. If you’re excited about what Drchrono is doing, then take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they have quite a few opportunities posted including:

There are lots of cool jobs available, so take a look at the job descriptions and consider applying.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Drchrono?

Greatist

Willy Franzen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:32:45 +0000

Behavioral change is hard. Really hard. Whether you’re trying to be more diligent about networking or trying to lose a few pounds, you have to understand your own psychological shortfalls. If you try to make 20 changes all at once, you are going to fail. That’s why I really like how Greatist approaches health and fitness. They are aiming to inspire “the world to make one healthier choice per week.” It doesn’t sound like much, but it really adds up. And once you’re committed to one healthy choice a week, it gets a heck of a lot easier to make another one… and another one. Greatist is based in New York, NY, and they pursue their mission by providing health and fitness related content on their website. There are a million other sites that do this, but Greatist has a unique approach, a targeted market of the “young, savvy, and social,” and drastically growing traffic. Those are all really good signs.

Are You the Greatist?

Here’s a brief video that will give you an overview of what Greatist is and how they’re different from other sites (e-mail readers may need to click though to the post):

If you’re looking for more, you can read Greatist’s Health and Fitness Manifesto. The problem I see for Greatist is that monetizing health and fitness traffic usually means you need to peddle scammy, infomercially type stuff–or at least accept advertising for it. It’s what sells. Greatist once again is taking a different approach. They plan on making money through their own products. Take a look at their Bootcamps page to get a sense for how they’re approaching this. If you dig it, head over to Greatist’s Jobs page. They’re currently looking for a Contributing Writer, a Staff Writer, a Contributing Photographer, a PR/Communicatons/Brand Champion, a Technical Leader, and a Lead Designer. Greatist’s founder is a recent grad, so don’t be afraid to apply for any of these positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you live a healthy lifestyle?

HY Connect

Willy Franzen — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:38:34 +0000

One of the best ways to land a job is to show an employer what you’ve done. That’s hard when you don’t have any experience, and that’s why I recommend that every job seeker pick up some sort of project to put who they are into product form. Getting a job is a lot like landing an account for an agency, which is why HY Connect leads with their work. When you get on the Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL based company’s home page, you see the best of what they do best. While looking at an advertising campaign can tell you a lot, it doesn’t tell the whole story. HY Connect offers “integrated advertising, public relations and media solutions,” which means that their Services page includes a remarkably long list of things that they do well.

Say HY

Although you get a good taste of HY Connect’s work on their home page, it’s important that you really dig in and get a feel for how they work and how they’re different from other agencies. You can start by looking at all of their work and continue by going through their case studies. You’ll see that they’ve worked with names like Yamaha, Peapod, Comcast, and The Museum of Science and Industry (my favorite Chicago museum). Once you really have a feel for HY Connect’s work, you’ll probably want to read up on their process. All of this information should help you better understand your value proposition to them. Once you have an idea of where you could fit in, then it’s time to check out HY Connect’s Jobs page. (I know it feels backwards, but it works. I promise.) HY Connect has some great job opportunities for new and recent grads including:

Research Analyst – SEO/SEM (Milwaukee, WI)
Web Developer (Chicago, IL)
UX Planner (Chicago, IL)
UX Planner (Milwaukee, WI)
Media Associate (Chicago, IL or Milwaukee, WI)

These look like awesome positions so look them over and figure out which ones make the most sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of HY Connect’s work?

Vox Media

Willy Franzen — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:17:07 +0000

Are you an enthusiastic, reliable college grad who loves working with kids? SmartSitting is looking for full and part-time nannies and babysitters to join their network. They connect experienced childcare providers with the best jobs in NYC. Learn more by visiting SmartSitting.com. You can also view current opportunities and apply to join their network.

This weekend I spent an equal amount of time watching sports on tv and playing sports outside. That didn’t leave a lot of time to read about sports online, but I’ll guarantee you that a lot of sports sites saw a ton of traffic this weekend (and will continue to see it over the next few weeks). One of those sites is SB Nation, which is a site that is focused on “reinventing the media model with profitable, high-quality, innovative coverage from passionate, talented creators.” SB Nation used to be a company on its own, but it’s been so successful that a larger company called Vox Media has been built around it. They’re based in Washington, DC, and they also run The Verge, a technology news site, and will be launching a gaming focused site soon. Word is that they just closed a big round of funding, and the expectation is that they’ll use the cash to build out into more verticals.

Have a Voice

If you’re thinking that Vox Media’s approach looks similar to that of Gawker Media, you’re right. They’ve entered some of the same core verticals, and they’ve hired people from Gawker and other major online media companies to build out their properties. This is something that you see a lot in the industry. A company builds a platform that is very successful, and they replicated it over and over again. The SB Nation About page gives a really good run down on how this all works, so I highly recommend that you read through the whole thing. If you’re excited by the business model and love online content, then check out Vox Media’s Jobs page and The Verge’s Jobs page (there’s some overlap, and the SB Nation’s redirects to the Vox Media page). There are a number of positions worth considering for a new or recent grad including:

Designer (New York, NY)
Developer (Washington, DC)
Traffic Analyst (Washington, DC)
Business Editor – The Verge (New York, NY)
Designer – The Verge (New York, NY)
Laptop/Table Reviewer – The Verge (New York, NY)
Mobile Reviewer – The Verge (New York, NY)
Production Editor – The Verge (New York, NY)
Reporter/Editor – The Verge – East Coast (New York, NY)
Reporter/Editor – The Verge – West Coast (San Francisco, CA)

Vox Media offers an amazing opportunity to get into a rapidly growing industry. Take a look at these positions and see if any make sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Vox Media?

Total Beauty Media Group

Willy Franzen — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:49:03 +0000

Beauty isn’t usually one of my top priorities, but I do know that I look better when I’m tan (which is why working outside in the sun yesterday was so awesome). That’s about the only beauty tip that I can offer, so if you want more, you’ll have to look somewhere else… like one of the sites run by Total Beauty Media Group. They’re a Santa Monica, CA based company that runs TotalBeauty.com, BeautyRiot.com, LimeLife.com, and ModernMan.com. These four brands combine to help Total Beauty Media Group achieve their mission of inspiring “all consumers to live beautiful lives.” The company was founded in 2007 and it now gets 12 million unique visits a month across its network of sites.

Show Your Beauty

Beauty marketing is a great area for content businesses because advertising is so effective and valuable. If you really want to dig into how Total Beauty Media Group’s content model works, I highly recommend that you check out their Insights/Research page and their section for advertisers. The next step is obviously visiting each of their properties and getting a feel for the actually content. If you like what you see, then you’ll want to check out Total Beauty Media Group’s Jobs page (which is on TotalBeauty.com). Right now they’re looking for an Associate Online Editor, an Associate Online Beauty Editor, and a Front-End Developer. If you’re interested in beauty and online content businesses, then Total Beauty Media Group might be the perfect place for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your best beauty tip?

Voxy

Willy Franzen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:20:33 +0000

My last foreign language learning experience came in tenth grade French class. I found it mind numbingly boring even though we used French in Action, which was supposed to be a wonderful method for learning the language. If you can’t keep a student engaged, he or she will never learn the language. That’s why Voxy might be worth checking out for those of you who have had trouble learning languages through other methods. They’re based in New York, NY, and they offer “an exciting, award-winning way to learn a language from life.” How do they do this? They use web and mobile technologies to teach you a language while you’re doing things that you’d normally do–reading articles, playing games, or walking around your city. Not only does this make learning more fun, but it also makes it more useful. What you learn is based on the context of your life, so you’ll actually know why what you’re learning is useful.

Learn from Life

My one beef with Voxy is that their home page has a Get Started section with buttons that say “I Speak English,” “Hablo Español,” and “Eu Falo Português.” When I click the one that applies to me, the section just turns blank, so I can’t give Voxy try. Still, what I can see in their What Is Voxy? and How & Why It Works sections is impressive. When I see technology like what Voxy is offering, I can’t help but think that kids growing up today should be about 10x smarter than the generation before them (but then I remember all of the fun distractions that come with the same technology). If you’re loving what Voxy is doing, take a look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of opportunities posted, though they call most of them internships. I usually wouldn’t post these, but Voxy interns are “full-time, paid employees with mission critical responsibilities and roles.” These are perfect opportunities for new grads, and they include:

There’s a ton of entry level opportunity at Voxy, so take a look at these positions and figure out which of them make the most sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you try Voxy?