One Day, One Job » Wisconsin

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?

Eastbay

Willy Franzen — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:51:34 +0000

I remember when getting a new catalog in the mail made for an exciting day. My favorite catalog had to be Things You Never Knew Existed, but most of the ones I got were focused on baseball or fishing. I don’t know why I remember this, but I was always jealous of a friend who got the Eastbay catalog. It was filled with all kind of sporting goods and apparel, and for some reason I never thought to sign up to get it. While Eastbay, which is based in Wausau, WI, still has a catalog business, they’ve unsurprisingly moved a lot of what they do online. To me the coolest thing about Eastbay is their story. According to Wikipedia, they were founded in 1980 to “to meet the performance needs of local high school and college athletes within Central Wisconsin.” By 1995 they had grown big enough to go public. A few years later they were bought out by Woolworth’s, which became Foot Locker, Inc. It just shows how big a company can get even if they start by serving a small niche market.

Head to Eastbay

Eastbay is obviously in a tough spot considering that they have to compete with behemoths like Zappos and Amazon for customer orders. While Eastbay doesn’t provide a lot of information about their business besides a simple About page, but you can tell that their competitive advantage is their very strong focus on sports. They also seem to do a lot of work directly with teams. The best way to get a feel for Eastbay is just to browse through their product selection, and maybe even try buying something. If you like what you see, take a look at Eastbay’s Jobs page. Right now they have a number of opportunities that seem suitable for a new or recent grad including:

If those don’t work for you, you can also apply to be a model.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you ever get the Eastbay catalog?

Entercom

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

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

Enter Entercom

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite radio station?

OpGen

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:42:55 +0000

Everything that I learned about DNA I learned from the O.J. Simpson trial and Jurassic Park. That’s not entirely true, but it’s scarily close. DNA analysis seemed so futuristic back then, but now it’s an everyday type thing. Still, there continues to be a ton of innovation in the world of molecular DNA diagnostics, and one of the leaders is OpGen, which used to be headquartered in Madison, WI, but is now located in Gaithersburg, MD. OpGen’s business is based on “a unique and powerful Optical Mapping Technology that rapidly generates high-resolution, ordered, whole genome restriction maps from single DNA molecules.” I’d explain that to you if I could, but I think you’re better off reading OpGen’s explanation of Optical Mapping.

OpGen Sesame

So what is Optical Mapping good for? Well OpGen aims to have their technology “positively influence healthcare outcomes, advance scientific research, and enhance public health.” But what does that actually look like? You’ve heard about the latest E. coli outbreak in Europe, right? Understanding the genetics of this new, extremely virulent strain of bacteria is essential to fighting it. OpGen’s Optical Mapping technology enables scientists and researchers to “discriminate between closely related strains or that detect insertions in engineered strains,” and, in turn offer “a tractable solution for triaging microbial strains for complete genome sequencing.” It’s still way over my head, but it’s really cool stuff. If you are interested in genetics and the science behind Optical Mapping, then you may want to consider check out Jobs at OpGen. They have a few opening that seem suitable for new or recent grads in Gaithersburg, MD including Customer Support Specialist, Laboratory Assistant I – Manufacturing, and Laboratory Associate. Check the positions out and see if you’re a good fit for any of them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about OpGen?

Johnsonville Sausage

Willy Franzen — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:35:34 +0000

Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. Some think that it’s unfortunate that the day has taken on a dual meaning, but I really enjoy both parts of the holiday. That’s why we took a look at Hope for the Warriors and their potential job opportunities yesterday, and today we’re going to look at the lighter side of Memorial Day. In past years we’ve featured jobs at Weber-Stephen, The National Park Service, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because all three have solid connections to the holiday. Today it’s all about Johnsonville Sausage, which is based in Sheboygan Falls, WI. I’m back to talking about grilling because it’s the first Memorial Day in three years that I’ll actually have a grill at my disposable. I’ll admit that Johnsonville products aren’t my first choice for grilling (I like steaks), but I do love brats.

Take a Trip to Johnsonville

Apparently Otto von Bismarck said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” As someone who took a class called Meat Science in college and got an A+, I completely disagree. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the sausage making process, especially when you get to cook and eat it after the fact. Johnsonville Sausage is probably best known for their bratwurst, but they also offer Italian, Breakfast, Smoked, and Snack Sausage. Johnsonville also recently started offering three types of chicken sausage. If you’re excited about any of these types of sausage, then you need to check out jobs at Johnsonville Sausage. They have a pretty nice looking careers site (it makes me hungry) and some interesting jobs posted (though nothing immediately available that looks perfect for a new grad), so give them a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are you grilling for Memorial Day?

Reader’s Digest Association

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

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

Make Your Grandma Proud

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Ocean Spray

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:23:55 +0000

Have you ever had Craisins? The ingredients list only says “cranberries and sugar,” but I swear that there has to be something else in there that makes them so addictive. Ocean Spray has made a name for itself by consistently finding new ways to market the fruit that they produce. See, Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative (I assumed they were owned by some big conglomerate or something), which means that they’re “owned by large group of cranberry growers throughout North America.” Most of the 600 members are cranberry growers, but there are also 50 Florida grapefruit growers. This means that Ocean Spray is all about finding new ways to increase demand for two tart, but delightful fruits. The company is based in Lakeville-Middleboro, MA, and they’ve been “the leading producer of canned and bottled juice drinks in North America” since 1981.

Crave the Wave

Usually when you think about innovation in fruit, you think of genetic engineering and other creepy stuff like that. At Ocean Spray it’s all about giving consumers new ways to enjoy fruits that they’ve known all their lives. At first it was Cranberry Juice Cocktail in 1930, then Cran-Apple in 1963, Ocean Spray® Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink in 1991, and Craisins in 1993. Ocean Spray has a solid history of successful new product launches, yet they’ve continued to stay true to their grower owned heritage. It’s a simple business, but it’s one that has continued to grow over 8 decades–to the point where Ocean Spray did nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2008. If you love grapefruits and cranberries and would like to become part of the Ocean Spray story, then you should check out their Jobs page. But before you do that, you absolutely need to make sure that you know what a bog is. Ocean Spray has quite a few positions posted, and a few seem suitable for a new or recent grad including Client Technologies Administrator and Supply Chain Coordinator (Kenosha, WI). They had a Business Development Analyst position posted that seemed perfect for a new gradd, and they seem to have removed it just as I was writing this. You can see the Google cache here. You can always reach out to them to see if there might be other similar opportunities that aren’t posted yet.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Ocean Spray product?

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?

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

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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?

Nestle Purina

Willy Franzen — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:37:26 +0000

This is a sponsored post for Nestle Purina.

Who else thinks there aren’t enough pets in college? I understand that college students are often stressed, busy, and living in places where animals aren’t permitted, but I’d like to see more pets on campus. My roommates and I had a cat, a bird, a hamster, and an occasionally visiting dog—all of which our landlord didn’t quite know about. We knew we weren’t supposed to have them, but the excitement that the animals constantly brought to the house made it well worth the risk of a $500 fine. I know a few people who decided to get a cat or dog after graduating from college, but most held back because they didn’t know if their work schedule would allow them to give their pets the care that they would need. This isn’t a problem at Nestle Purina, a St. Louis, MO based company (with dozens of other locations) that is a “leader in the pet products industry.” Not only do they offer a pet-friendly workplace, but they also offer a work environment where you’ll be “dedicated to improving the lives of cats and dogs through quality nutrition and care.” You’re probably familiar with a number of Nestle Purina’s brands including Pro Plan, Purina ONE, Dog Chow, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Beggin’ Strips and many more—and I hope your pets are too.

Calling All Animal Lovers

If you’re wondering why there’s a Nestle in front of the Purina name, it’s because of a merger in 2001—they’re not making chocolate flavored dog food. Along with the Purina name, they’ve also held on to the company’s iconic checkerboard logo that you see above. What I like most about Nestle Purina is their commitment to recruiting top talent. For many companies a Jobs page is an afterthought, but Nestle Purina has an entire careers site at NestlePurinaCareers.com. The site provides extremely detailed information on their career opportunities and what it’s like to work for them, so you don’t have to wonder whether it makes sense for you to apply or not. The site include information on Locations, Culture & Benefits, Departments, Company History, and more, but the most important thing for you is their Step One Management Trainee Program. It’s an 18-24 month program that offers opportunities in Engineering (mechanical, industrial, chemical, and more), Food Science, Microbiology, Supply Chain, Occupational/Safety/Health, Packaging Engineering, Packaging Design, Engineering Technology, Human Resources, Information Systems, Computer Science, and Accounting. They even have podcasts that go into great depth about many of these opportunities, and you can also check out their Choosing Your Career Path page and their walk-through of the hiring process.

The Nestle Purina Management Trainee Program is offered in three locations: Jefferson, WI; Davenport, IA; and Bloomfield, MO. Once you’ve completed the program you can expect to relocate to any of Nestlé Purina’s 21 plant locations in the United States. As you can see, Nestle Purina pays a lot of attention to their college recruiting, which is why they were “named by Experience.com and Yahoo!HotJobs as one of the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads in 2010.” They’ve put together some great opportunities for when you graduate, so check them out and Apply for the Nestle Purina Management Trainee Program →.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have any questions about Nestle Purina? Ask them here and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.

F+W Media

Willy Franzen — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:56:48 +0000

I don’t need to tell you all that the publishing industry has hit a rough spot. All you need to do is look around and see the iPads, Kindles, and Nooks. For hundreds of years the industry has used the same method delivery, but suddenly they’re losing control of how their content is distributed. This is really scary for a lot of people, but they’re forgetting something important: it’s all about the content. And the more targeted your content is to a specific audience, the better. The General Interest publication is a dying breed, and niche media is what it’s all about. F+W Media is a Cincinnati, OH based publisher that gets this. As they put it, F+W Media “offers the highest quality content in a wide variety of formats—from print to digital to video—to highly passionate enthusiast communities.” That’s a model for success that many in the publishing industry are scared of.

Join the Community

At F+W Media it’s all about communities and connecting “passionate, likeminded groups of people to share an ongoing exchange of information, ideas, and inspiration.” That’s why F+W has selected niches like Antiques & Collectibles, Automotive, Construction/Trade, Crafts, Design, Fine Art, Firearm + Knives, Genealogy, Horticulture, Numismatics, Outdoors, Sports, Woodworking, and Writing. You’ve probably never heard of many of the titles that F+W Media publishes, but that’s ok with them. As long as the woodworkers and weapons collectors know about them, they’re happy. In addition to books and magazines, F+W Media also produces digital products and courses and even operates trade shows. The focus on developing and distributing content for enthusiast audiences makes for the potential for some pretty cool jobs. There aren’t a ton of job opportunities posted on F+W Media’s Jobs page, but you should check out positions like Associate Project Manager – Adams Media (Avon, MA), Associate Designer – Design/Crafts (Cincinnati, OH), Web Developer – eMedia (Fort Collins, CO), and Web Developer – eCommerce (Ft. Collins or Cincinnati). If none of those seem to suit you, keep an eye on F+W Media or reach out to them and tell them where you think that you can fit in.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of F+W Media’s communities appeals most to you?

Sportvision

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:03:58 +0000

It’s Opening Day of the baseball season, and I’m thrilled that I’m looking at 6+ months of meaningful games for my favorite sport. Last night was disappointing in that the Yankees blew a solid lead in a sloppy game against the Red Sox, but even that can’t drown out my excitement about the hope brought by a new season. Along with a new season comes new technology. Television and online broadcasts are constantly getting better, and not just in quality. There are all kinds of new technological innovations that are making sports more fun to watch, and a lot of them are coming from Chicago based Sportvision. It all started with the FoxTrax “glowing” hockey puck (which was pretty much a miserable failure), but now we have things like the “virtual yellow 1st and Ten line™, KZone™ virtual strike zone, and the RACEf/x system on NASCAR broadcasts.” Each of these was created by Sportvision.

Are You Watching?

Sportvision is very much a technology company, but they also understand sports. They’ve been so successful with their innovation because they have a distinct model for creating new products. They look for aspects of the game that are “hard or impossible to see; happen a lot; and/or central to the understanding of the game or sport.” Then they use their technological prowess to find a way to overcome the challenges that an average fan has with the given aspect of the game in real-time. Maybe it’s strike zone recognition or knowing whether a football team should go for it on a fourth down (or maybe it’s inserting virtual advertising), but whatever it is, Sportsvision is consistently finding new ways to add value by layering things on top of the live action. It’s really cool stuff, and you’ve almost certainly seen it if you watch sports on tv. Sportvision has offices in Milwaukee, WI; Mountain View, CA; and Paris, France in addition to their headquarters in Chicago. They only have a few jobs posted on their Careers page, and two seem suitable for new/recent grads: Software Engineer and Flash Engineer. Both are technical and located in Mountain View, so if you’re looking for something else, you may want to try reaching out to them and telling them what you bring to the table.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Sportvision technology?

Tomato Mountain Farm

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:56:30 +0000

We’re supposed to reach a high of 56 degrees today in Chicago, which is great even if it’s foggy and gloomy. Spring is on its way, and in only a couple of months it will be farmers market season again. Although my city is short on farms (we have a few, really), there are a ton within driving distance. Many of them haul the food that they produce into the city on a weekly basis and sell it to the yuppies who love eating fresh, organic, locally grown food (also known as me). One of these farms is Tomato Mountain Farm, which is based in Brooklyn, WI. They have a presence somewhere in Chicago 6 days per week, and their produce offerings range from basil and beets to watermelons and zucchini. Obviously, they also grow a lot of tomatoes.

Grow Your Career

Tomato Mountain Farm is “a 12-acre certified organic farm and processing kitchen located 25 miles south of Madison, Wisconsin.” Beyond their produce, they also offer products like salsas, sauces, and preserves. It may be a small operation, but they’re growing a wonderful business based on serving everybody’s most basic need in its most basic form: fresh food. If you are interested in what Tomato Mountain Farm is doing, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for two people to work farmers markets for them. You can find the full position description here (.doc file). In many ways these are entrepreneurial opportunities, so it could be a cool way to spend the summer and get your career started.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you frequent farmers markets?

Laughlin Constable

Willy Franzen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:47:48 +0000

Today’s company has nearly pushed me to plagiarism. I love their tagline so much that I want to steal it and make it my own. Instead of “Our business creates ideas. Our ideas create business.” I’d use “My job is to create ideas. My ideas create jobs.” Ok, it isn’t perfect yet, but I guess that’s why I need to stick to coming up with my own ideas. Laughlin Constable, owner of the slogan, is a Milwaukee, WI based creative agency with locations in Chicago and New York City. When you look at their client list, you won’t see the long list of huge brand names that hire some of the other agencies that we’ve featured. That’s because Laughlin Constable has a thing for the underdog—they “help brands challenge bigger brands.” For their clients execution isn’t enough. They need big ideas that can help to challenge the status quo.

Laughlin Your Way to a Job

Laughlin Constable takes a “full circle” approach to branding. They know that’s the only way to do it right. You can’t have one group doing PR, another focusing on advertising, and another on social media. Branding needs to be coherent and concerted. That’s why Laughlin Constable’s services include Advertising, Design, Digital, Media, PR, and Planning. Despite what I said about Laughlin Constable’s fondness for the underdog, they do actually work with some big names like McDonald’s, HBO (check out HBO’s jobs from yesterday), Kleenex, and Master Lock. To get a sense of what Laughlin Constable has done for these clients, you have to go no further than their Work page. So, what about jobs at Laughlin Constable? They actually don’t have any positions posted on their Jobs page, but they do have a Facebook page and a Twitter account dedicated to their “Cool Jobs.” This provides a perfect opportunity for you to reach out the people at Laughlin Constable and find a way in. It may not be as easy as applying to a job posting, but it looks like it’s worth it (you may want to look around LinkedIn to get a feel for what kind of entry level positions they have offered in the past).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Laughlin Constable?

Sportsman Channel

Willy Franzen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:54:49 +0000

Check out this week’s sponsor, New York City Teaching Fellows. They’re seeking new grads with no prior teaching experience or background in education to help make a difference in NYC’s public schools.

Much to my girlfriend’s chagrin, I love watching fishing shows. I’d rather be out on the water, but when I’m trapped on the 30th floor in the middle of downtown Chicago and it’s -15 outside, there aren’t many other options. Unfortunately, ESPN has cut back on their fishing programming, and that doesn’t leave me with any other options on my cable package. If only we got Sportsman Channel, then I’d be much happier. They are “the only television network providing 100 percent hunting, shooting and fishing programming.” Unlike some other outdoor focused networks, they’re staying true to what they are instead of watering down their programming in hopes of better ratings. I haven’t had a chance to watch any of their programming, but I’m sure I’d like it. Sportsman Channel is based in New Berlin, WI, and they also have locations in New York, Denver, and Atlanta.

Tune In and Get Hooked

Sportsman Channel was launched in 2003, and they appear to be growing (they were purchased by a private equity firm that focuses on outdoor media in 2006). They have a huge market considering there are 82 million sportsmen in the United States, so you have to like their ability to grow a business based on targeted advertising. If you love the outdoors and want to work in tv or media, then it’d be hard to find a better place to work than Sportsman Channel. Their location in Wisconsin is prime for the outdoors lifestyle, and I’m sure that they promote such a lifestyle for their employees too. If you’re interested, you can check out Sportsman Channel’s Jobs page, although it doesn’t include any postings—just a Résumé Submission form. The company seems pretty small, so using LinkedIn to reach out to some people might be a worthwhile strategy.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you like to watch fishing shows?

Lucky Brand

Willy Franzen — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:49:56 +0000

Next March I’m going to regret not saving this one for my St. Patrick’s Day holiday themed post, but today we’re going to take a look at Lucky Brand. They’re a clothing manufacturer and retailer that is “rooted in rock ‘n ‘roll with a signature sense of humor.” Their About page will tell you that they stand for “independent thinking, individual style and a feeling as authentic as love” and that they’re known for “great-fitting, vintage-inspired jeans;” however, I think it’s much simpler than that. One of their founders came up with the idea to put the phrase “Lucky You” behind the flies of every pair of pants that they made. It was an instant point of differentiation, and I think that it has a lot to do with why Lucky Brand is going strong 19 years after they started. It really is pure, politically incorrect genius. Lucky you…

Get Lucky

The best way to get a feel for Lucky Brand is to check out their clothes online or visit one of their retail stores. If you don’t get what the brand is about, you’re not going to get a job with them. I think that’s true of any brand, but it’s especially pertinent in industries like apparel where brand is everything. So, what about jobs at Lucky Brand? They have a ton of Store Management opportunities at their retail stores. This may not be exactly what you had in mind post-graduation (or maybe it is), but it kind of offers the opportunity to run your own business—at least that’s what the job description makes it sound like. They have openings for Retail Management in Ala Moana, HI; Miami, FL; Monterey, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Tampa, FL; San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; Waikiki, HI; Westlake, OH; Los Angeles, CA; Manhattan, NY; Las Vegas, NV; El Paso, TX; Aurora, IL; Chicago, IL; Pleasant Prairie; WI; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Bridgewater, NJ; Elizabeth, NJ; Seattle, WA; Wrentham, MA; Peabody, MA; Boston, MA; Houston, TX; Studio City, CA; St. Louis, MO; and quite a few more locations (although those jobs were posted in March and earlier). You can find all of those job postings on Lucky Brand’s Jobs site.

You also have the option of submitting a résumé for general consideration for corporate jobs in Vernon, CA. I think that this might be worthwhile because of what Lucky Brand has to say about their Internship Program:

The Lucky Brand Fall 2009 Internship Program is intended to help acclimate Junior and Senior level university/college students to our company culture, build on their creativity, and allow them the best opportunity to get to know Lucky Brand. This program is designed to identify, develop and potentially hire top entry level talent.

If they’re looking to hire top entry level talent, then why don’t they have any entry level jobs posted outside of retail? Maybe it’s just a season thing, or maybe they mostly like hiring past interns, but it’s worth investigating. Lucky Brand offers internships in Design, Human Resources, Wholesale Sales & Planning, Accessory Jewelry Design, Accessory Design, eCommerce, and Marketing, so those are areas where they might also have entry level jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you consider yourself lucky?

Mattel

Willy Franzen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:10:29 +0000

Take a second and think of your favorite toy growing up. Was it a Barbie? Matchbox Car? American Girl Doll? View-Master? Magic 8 Ball? Rock’em Sock’em Robots? Hot Wheels? Polly Pocket? Even if it wasn’t one of those, there’s a good chance that it was made by Mattel. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the El Segundo, CA headquartered toy company before, but I bet you never realized just how many toys they actually make. Not only do they have some of the biggest toy names in the world, but they’re also behind all of Fisher-Price’s toys. If you always wanted to be like Tom Hanks in Big and work for a toy company, Mattel is your chance to live every child’s dream.

All Work and No Play Makes You a Dull Job Seeker

Usually, the problem with companies that seem really cool (especially in the fashion industry from what I hear) is that they know they’re hot stuff. That means that they treat their employees like commodities because they know that there’s always someone who wants to work for their brand. This isn’t the case with Mattel according to the FORTUNE list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Despite the fact that they did go through some layoffs last year, Mattel appears to be hiring now for quite a few positions. There is a Campus Recruiting section on the Mattel Careers site; however, it doesn’t say anything about entry level jobs.

To get the scoop on what kind of opportunities Mattel has, you’re going to have to dive into their Applicant Tracking System instead. Their are 54 jobs posted right now, and a few look suitable for new grads. They include Mechanical Engineer(New York, NY), Associate Art Director – American Girl (Middleton, WI), Key Account Coordinator – Fisher-Price (East Aurora, NY), Key Account Representative (Brondby, Denmark), and Child Testing Researcher (El Segundo, CA). Mattel’s locations El Segundo, CA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; East Aurora, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Middleton, WI; Minneapolis, MN; and New York, NY, so keep that in mind if you don’t see something posted that fits what you’re looking for. You can apply for all of the jobs directly from Mattel’s Applicant Tracking System (which isn’t all that bad compared to others that I’ve dealt with).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What was your favorite Mattel toy?

Weidert Group

Willy Franzen — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:51:06 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association. She is also the entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com, a career expert for the CAREEREALISM Twitter Advice Project, the job search expert for Campus Calm and author of the e-book “Gen Y Meets the Workforce: Launching Your Career During Economic Uncertainty.”

While I certainly wouldn’t name Wisconsin as a hotbed for public relations jobs, Weidert Group in Appleton would be a fantastic place to launch your career—particularly if you’re interested in social media. In addition to social media, you can gain experience in many different areas, ranging from public relations planning, execution, and training to event planning/management. Like many small agencies, Weidert Group is a tight-knit environment that values its team members. They seek people “who exhibit both strategic and imaginative thinking; whose perspectives have been influenced by quality education, significant responsibilities, and notable accomplishments; who demonstrate motivation, drive, and passion for their work; and who are able to contribute as part of a high-performance team.” The average age of this team is 30, and they specialize in serving health care, financial services, manufacturing, education, and food/food service clients.

Becoming the Apple of Their Eye

While Weidert Group doesn’t currently have any openings, their entry-level position is Public Relations Assistant. The agency prides itself on hiring quality employees to join their team and work on behalf of regional and national clients. In order to be added to their public relations department in this role, you must be outgoing, persistent, energetic, goal-oriented, competitive, passionate about a career in PR, and have an impressive portfolio with relevant intern work experiences. Unlike many small agencies, Weidert Group offers a full range of benefits, including paid holidays, paid time off, health and dental insurance, 401(k), and a bonus plan.

Want to join their team? First contact public relations specialist Abby Gutowski at agutowski@weidert.com with a résumé and explanation of why you would be a good addition. Then, she will pass you along to the organization’s decision-maker, Greg Linnemanstons, president and partner at the agency.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Epic Systems

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:17:17 +0000

My Dad is an architect, and he often likes to send me suggestions on which companies I should feature next. Sometimes he finds some pretty cool stuff, and a month or so ago he sent me a link to the Winter 2009 online issue of HQ Magazine, which features an article called “Top 20 Places to Work.” Usually such lists focus on a range of reasons for a place’s being great to work at, but HQ is an architectural publication, so this list is all about office space (not the movie). The section of the article on Epic Systems says: “Epic’s campus fits into idyllic pastures and farmland, providing serene, relaxing views from within. Outside are hiking trails, playing fields, a treehouse. Meeting rooms have working fireplaces to further the sense of calmness.” It sounds amazing. Epic systems is a Wisconsin based, privately held, employee owned healthcare software provider.

Epicly Helpful

Epic Systems only has 170 clients, but “they are some of the most respected organizations in healthcare.” Epic’s software apparently makes the patient experience a lot better, but until it makes waiting rooms obsolete, I’m not quite sold. Basically, what Epic’s software does is that it records every touch that a patient has with a healthcare provider. The information is kept securely, but in a way that allows patients to access it when they need it. Epic Systems provides a product that keeps doctors, nurses, and patients fully informed about what’s going on. We all know that the healthcare industry is a mess, but it’s also growing rapidly. Epic Systems seems to be taking advantage of this environment by making a product that makes healthcare better for all parties involved.

Here’s a sample situation from Epic’s website:

Imagine this: you’re from Dallas, but you’re on vacation in Seattle. Shortly after trying some of the free samples at the fish market, you come down with something nasty and end up in the Emergency Room. You can’t remember the names of the medications you’re taking at home, but you mention to the doctor that you’re normally seen at Black Springs Clinic in the Dallas area. The doctor in the ER is able to access your chart from the clinic without the need to place a call or retrieve a fax. Your ER doctor sees not only the specific medications and doses you were last prescribed at home, but also that you’re allergic to Iodine, preventing a potentially severe reaction during your care.

You get back on your feet after a few hours in the ER and are given a couple medications and a recommendation to see your doctor at home once you’re back from vacation. While still in Seattle, you pull out your laptop and are able to send a secure message to your physician in Dallas, letting him know briefly what happened. You also sign up for a follow-up appointment for when you return. When you arrive, your doctor has access to your clinic chart, as well as the information documented during your visit to the ER in Seattle.

Sounds pretty great.

Do Something Epic

Epic may have only made the list of Top Places to Work because of their building, but they look like they belong on any general list of the best places to work. Their Careers site is loaded with information – especially the Life and Work section. We could go on and on about how cool it looks to work at Epic, but you’re better off checking it out on your own (start by taking a tour of their campus). Epic allows you to browse their jobs by both Career Type and Educational Background; however, I prefer to look at their listing of all available positions. The jobs are insanely easy to scan for entry level positions, so there’s no need for me to list them here, and you can apply online. Although they are a software company, they have job openings in areas that include Accounting, Biotechnology, Botany, Consulting, HR, IT, Project Management, Writing, and, of course, Software Development.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Epic’s Campus.

Activision

Willy Franzen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:41:54 +0000

As we noted when we featured Blizzard’s entry level jobs, video game sales tend to do really well when unemployment is high. This is one of those times that you’re probably thinking about buying a Wii/Xbox 360/PS3 and forgoing the job search for the comfort of your parents’ basement. As much fun as it might be for the first 6 months, that’s not the answer. That’s why Jason Seiden and I are announcing our 21 day online job search training course today. It’s called Found Your Career, and it’s open for enrollment. We’re offering an introductory price to the first 100 students to sign up, so get in before the price goes up. It’s a great way to put all of that video gaming energy to good use (and it’s much more affordable). Another way to put that energy to use is by considering jobs with Santa Monica, CA based Activision, the company that is behind Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and many more games. Video games are hot now, but now’s not the time to hone your expert level skills on Guitar Hero, it’s time to hone your job search approach by developing new skills and focusing on industries that are still growing in tough times.

Entry Level Job Hero

You’ll know that “You Rock!” when you get hired. Until then, you’re playing a game called Entry Level Job Hero. If I was to go any further with this metaphor (that people who have never played Guitar Hero won’t get), I’d say that the current level/song is “Activision.” Anyway, Activision makes extremely popular video games, and video games in general are really popular right now. It’s no big surprise that they have close to 70 job listings (including internships) posted. You can find out plenty about the company on their About and Investor Relations pages. You may notice that the company is now known as Activision | Blizzard because the two companies have joined forces, but since they both generally operate separately, we’re featuring their jobs separately. Activision does have a University Relations page; however, it only has information on internships. That means that you’re going to have to browse through Activision’s job listings to get the scoop on entry level jobs. We also can’t link to the specific job listings because of the way Activision’s Applicant Tracking System is set up. When you’re browsing the listings, keep an eye open for job titles like Web Application Developer, User Interface Artist, Staffing Assistant, Software Engineer, QA Tester (ok, fine, this job actually requires video game expertise – get practicing), Network Programmer, Inventory Analyst, Junior Publicist, and quite a few more (unfortunately they pulled the Bullshot Artist job). Most of the jobs are located in Santa Monica, CA, but they also have locations all across the country and the world. You can apply for the jobs on Activision’s website, so start researching and get at it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you going to enroll in Found Your Career?

National Wild Turkey Federation

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

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

Bringing a New Meaning to the Job Hunt

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Any turkey hunters out there?

Jennie-O

Willy Franzen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:21:12 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for reading and helping to make the first year of One Day, One Job a great success. Last year we told you about jobs at Plimoth Plantation and Colonial Williamsburg, which are still a great option if you want to be reminded of Thanksgiving every day when you’re at work, but this year we’re going to take the easy way out and talk about turkey. I was first introduced to Jennie-O when I tried some of their turkey bacon. It’s good, if you haven’t had real bacon in a while. Since my Thanksgiving cooking philosophy is that bacon makes everything better (especially when it’s put on top of the turkey and doused in maple syrup, seriously, try it), I’ll let Jennie-O provide the turkey, but I’m getting the bacon somewhere else. In the three or four years that I’ve been familiar with the Jennie-O brand, I’ve noticed that they’ve revved up their branding efforts. You’ve probably seen some of their tv commercials, which are pretty funny, but you may have overlooked the fact that they’re working hard to expand recognition of their employment brand with college students.

Gobble, Gobble. Jobble, Jobble.

Ok, so Jennie-O’s Career page has a corny headline – “It’s everything you’ve wished for” with a picture of a wishbone. Whatever, it works for them, and it’s pretty witty. Their whole Careers site is top notch, so we can’t hold one pun against them. Not only do they have all kinds of information about what it’s like to work for Jennie-O, but they also have a section specifically for college students. It includes a calendar of recruiting events (which have already happened) and other general information. One unique feature is an image that shows which entry level jobs and internships at Jennie-O match up with which college majors. You should find this extremely helpful, although it doesn’t seem like Jennie-O lists specific job openings. It appears that instead they just take applications and then figure it out from there. They do provide a list of jobs that they offer throughout the company and a map with company locations (in Minnesota and Wisconsin), but the Application page asks you to fill out an application form and e-mail it to them. That’s it.

Jennie-O typically offers entry level jobs in Accounting, Human Resources, Industrial Engineering, Information Technology, Live Production, Maintenance Engineering, Production Management, Product Marketing, and Quality Assurance with jobs titles like Associate Live Production Supervisor, Associate Applications Analyst, Associate Maintenance Engineer, Associate Product Manager, Associate Technical Analyst, Industrial Engineer, Production Manager, Quality Assurance Supervisor, and Staff Accountant, so you can use these as a guideline when deciding whether or not you want to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried maple bacon wrapped turkey?

Levy Restaurants

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:50:27 +0000

Yesterday I told you how my move to Chicago has extended my baseball watching season, but I’m not sure that I mentioned that I have tickets to today’s Cubs game! I’m pretty excited about it, although I’m not excited about the fact that it might get into the 40s tonight during the game. October baseball is not for fair weather fans – the types who might prefer a catered event at the stadium to a real baseball game. Whether you’re a fair weather fan, an insanely devoted fan who just wants to be as close to your team’s stadium as possible at all time, or even if you just enjoy fine dining, a job with Levy Restaurants might be something worth thinking about. They’re a company that is all about hospitality and dining experience, and they happen to do catering/events at some pretty amazing venues – Wrigley and U.S. Cellular Field included.

The Levy Difference

A caterer doesn’t get the right to cater at top flight sports venues with out offering a fantastic experience. Levy Restaurants attributes their success to what they call “The Levy Difference.” There happens to be a video on their website with the same name, so we’re going to recommend that you watch that before you dig deeper into internships with Levy Restaurants.

Now that you’ve watched the movie, let’s take a look at Levy Restaurants’ entry level job offerings. Their job descriptions don’t offer a lot of detail, but we’re pretty sure that a number of their jobs can be considered entry level. If you look at all of their current job openings, you’ll see quite a few Assistant Director of Operations positions (Conseco Field House – Indianapolis, IN; Live Nokia Theater – Los Angeles, CA; Qwest Field – Seattle, WA; Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO; and STAPLES Center – Los Angeles, CA). Any job title that includes “assistant” has a pretty good chance of being a well suited to new college grads. There are also an Accounting position at Lambeau Field (Green Bay, WI) and a Marketing Coordinator position at Chase Field (Phonenix, AZ) that may be worth looking at. Finally, there are a number of jobs as Sous Chef (many locations). These require significant culinary knowledge, but may be considered entry level for you if you just graduated from culinary school. Levy Restaurants is based out of Chicago, IL, but has locations all across the country, so be sure to check out their list of venues to see where they might be hiring in the future. They don’t provide an HR contact or an e-mail address, so the only way to find out more information about jobs with Levy Restaurants is to apply online directly from the job descriptions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever experienced the Levy Difference? What’s it like?

Major League Baseball

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:51:01 +0000

I never thought that moving to Chicago would prolong the baseball season for me. Living in the New York City area gave me 13 straight years of October baseball, and now that I’ve left, both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium will remain empty for the rest of the fall before they eventually face demolition. It’s lucky for me that I’m now living in a new city that happens to have two teams that are still in it. I get a 14th straight year of local baseball in October! Playoff baseball is by far the most exciting baseball of the year, but it also means that season will soon be over. Those of you who are baseball fans know how long the winter seems when there is only hot stove chatter to keep you entertained while you wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training. While you’re still excited about baseball, you should start thinking about how you can land a job with Major League Baseball. Jobs with the MLB are in hot demand, so it’s a smart move to get familiar with their hiring process as soon as you can.

Take Me Out to an Entry Level Job

As far as we can tell, there are 2 ways to get jobs in Major League Baseball – there are jobs with MLB.com and jobs with specific MLB teams. There also seem to be jobs directly with the league (I have a friend on Facebook who is a member of the Major League Baseball network), but I’m not sure how you can go about finding them online. Here’s a rundown of the two types of jobs that we’ve found and how you can apply for them.

MLB.com Jobs

MLB.com is part of MLB Advanced Media, which is a separate arm of Major League Baseball. They run all 30 team websites and allegedly have editorial independence from the league. Their focus is entirely on multimedia and production, but they offer all kinds of jobs. Right now, the only openings that may be suited to new college grads (and are still a stretch) are in Database Marketing and Marketing Production. MLB.com offers internships in Finance, Marketing, Club Marketing, E-Commerce, Legal, Technology, Sponsorship, Design, and Public Relations, so there are a number of areas in which jobs with MLB.com can pop up periodically. These jobs are located in New York City, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to jlc@mlb.com.

Jobs with MLB Teams

There’s a separate site where you can search for jobs with all of the Major League Baseball teams. This is where the MLB follows the lead of other major sports leagues do and uses TeamWorkOnline to post their jobs. Right now there are listings from most of the teams (although only some are entry level), but this will probably change over time, as different teams have different hiring schedules. If you’re waiting to hear about jobs with a specific team, you can sign up for Job Notification e-mails or you can subscribe to the MLB Teams Jobs RSS Feed. There is an online application process for jobs with MLB teams, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to navigate.

The TeamWorkOnline site also lists some jobs with MLB Networks, so it’s possible that this is where they post opportunities with the league as they become available. We’re not sure about this, but we can’t find anywhere else that MLB jobs are posted. If you know anything about Major League Baseball’s hiring process, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who do you think is going to win the World Series?

Brunswick

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:18:33 +0000

Bowling, billiards, and boating – sounds more like plans for retirement than what you’ll be doing after you graduate, right? Not if you end up working for Brunswick. They’re a company that has been in a lot of businesses since John Brunswick started the Cincinnati Carriage Making Company in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854. They’ve added and dropped many product lines, even over the last 10 or 15 years, but recently they’ve settled on marine engines, pleasure boats, fitness equipment, bowling, and billiards. These groups of products aren’t necessarily related, but they’ve proved to be the most profitable for Brunswick over the years.

Not Quite Early Retirement

Brunswick may be in the business of producing great leisure products, but that it’s all fun and games. Brunswick has to work hard to be the best in the industries that they have stuck with, and they’re looking for lots of college students to help keep up the tradition. The Brunswick website is very easy to navigate, so you should have no problem finding all the relevant information that you need for your job search.

The first thing that you might notice when you look at Brunswick’s Careers page is their Financial Leadership Development Program. It’s a rotational program for new college grads who have a background in accounting, finance, business administration or other quantitative fields of study. Participants get to work in General Accounting and Reporting, Manufacturing and Product Cost Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Financial Information Systems, Treasury, and Audit and Corporate Governance. Assignments can be at Brunswick Bowling & Billiards (Lake Forest, IL; Bristol, WI; Muskegon, MI), Brunswick Corporate (Lake Forest, IL); Brunswick Boat Group (Knoxville, TN; New Bern, NC; Lowell, MI; and Various Florida Locations), Life Fitness (Chicago, IL); Mercury Marine (Fond du Lac, WI; Charleston, SC; Stillwater, OK), Sea Ray (Knoxville, TN and Various Florida Locations), and US Marine (Seattle, WA). The online application for the Financial Leadership Development Program doesn’t seem to be working, so we recommend that you send your cover letter, resume, and transcript to:

Brunswick Corporation
Attn: Human Resources – FLDP
1 North Field Court
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

That’s the first option for new grads at Brunswick, and it offers quite a bit of variety, but there are more entry-level jobs available for those who don’t have the Finance background.

More Options for New Grads at Brunswick

The rest of Brunswick’s job opportunities for new grads can be found by searching their Open Salaried Positions. If you leave the search box blank, you’ll get a listing of all current job opportunities. From here you can browse the listings that include job title, location, and brand. Any job that doesn’t have “Senior,” “Supervisor,” or “Manager” in its title has a high likelihood of being a good fit for entry-level candidates, so take a look and see what you come up with. The jobs tend to be in the same locations and with the same brands that we mentioned when talking about the Financial Leadership Development Program; however, most of the jobs are for grads with a background in Engineering. There are a few exceptions, so students with all backgrounds who are interested in Brunswick’s core businesses should take a look at what’s available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Brunswick’s brands is your favorite?

Ford Models

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:35:13 +0000

Are you a fashionista? Do you just like being around beautiful people? Do you secretly wish that you could be a model despite the fact that you are way too awkward to walk down a runway without tripping? If you said yes to any of those questions, then you might want to look into Ford Models. They’re a tough company to research, since there’s a ton of online information about them, but very little that is job related. Getting a job at Ford Models doesn’t look like it’s an easy task, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.

But I Can’t Turn Left

Go look in the mirror. Take a good long look at yourself. You should be paid to be beautiful, shouldn’t you? You’re a perfect candidate for Ford’s modeling opportunities. We know you’re good looking. Everyone who reads One Day, One Job is, right? Now here’s one more test, to make sure that giving up on your job search and becoming a model is the right choice. Walk down a hallway in your house, pose, turn left, and come back to where you started. Ahh… that left turn snagged you up didn’t it? It’s not as easy as it looks. If you can’t turn left, you can’t be a model. Looks like you’ll have to consider Ford Models’ entry-level job opportunities instead.

Ford Models doesn’t list specific job opportunities on their website, but they do invite individuals who “have an understanding of the dynamic changes in the fashion talent industry and an innovator’s desire to create value” to send a cover letter and resume to careers@fordmodels.com. There’s a significant internship program at Ford Models, which makes us think that they are relatively likely to hire new college grads; however, you’d have to think that competition for jobs at Ford Models is pretty fierce. Everyone wants to be around beautiful people, and there are few jobs that offer better opportunities for that. Ford Models takes on most of its interns in New York City, so that’s probably the place they’re also most likely to do entry-level hiring. They also have offices in Miami, FL; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Chicago, IL; Scottsdale, AZ; Canada (Toronto and Vancouver); Brazil (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), and France (Paris). Our guess is that job opportunities might be in Marketing or PR, with an outside shot at some other areas. If the careers@fordmodels.com doesn’t work out for you, you can also try using the contact information for individual offices found on Ford Models’ home page in the Location – Division link (we can’t link to it, because it’s Flash based).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Ford Models.com (Flash site, can’t link to individual pages)
FordModels.tv
Ford Models on YouTube
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ford Models from the Freakonomics Blog

Are you too good looking for an entry-level job? Then stop reading this site and go fill out a modeling applications.

Organic Valley

Willy Franzen — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:00:57 +0000

Organic food is back. First it was for hippies. Then it was for wealthy foodies. Now it’s hitting the mainstream with many every day supermarkets having an organic aisle. In just a few short centuries, we’ve come full circle from all organic farming (there were no other options), to chemically dependent factory farming, back to organic. Organics may be a little more expensive, but there is a growing population that is willing to pay a premium for food that they consider healthier, more humane, and better tasting. Organic Valley is a cooperative between 1201 farmer-owners that allows small organic farmers to combine their growing power and sell products on a scale that is usually reserved for industrialized farming operations. Yes, it’s true. One Day, One Job finally has a post for the aggies out there (although Organic Valley also has plenty of opportunities for people with a non-agricultural background).

“At Organic Valley, our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. In today’s world, in order to make a difference, companies need to think differently. Since our first seven farmers started working together in 1988, we’ve been doing just that.” That pretty much sums up why we think Organic Valley is a great place to start your career. If you want more detailed information on their products, organic farming, or how they started, you can visit their web site. A google search will also turn up myriad articles and websites that go into more detail about Organic Valley and their accomplishments. Wikipedia also has an entry on Organic Valley.

As good as Organic Valley’s general website is, their employment site is hindered by the applicant tracking system that it is built on. Not only is the site slow, but it’s a bit confusing (and sometimes stops working). It also doesn’t let us link to individual jobs. We don’t want you to go through the pain that we did going through Organic Valley’s job listings, so we’ve picked out the jobs that appear to be the most appropriate for entry-level applicants. The exciting news is that there are a lot of them. New college grads should be well qualified for any of the following positions: Inventory Associate II, ERP Setup Associate, Sustainability Program Manager, Logistics Support Specialist, Sales Services Coordinator, Graphics Designer, California Hauling and Quality Coordinator, Regional Farmer Relations Representative, Farmer Communications Coordinator, and Product Development Technologist.

Almost all of these positions are based out of La Farge, Wisconsin, and there’s a wide range of fields represented – from accounting to marketing to agriculture. We did our best to make sense of the job descriptions, but they were a little unclear, so give them a good look before you apply.

We don’t want to end this post on a sour (like non-organic milk) note, because Organic Valley truly does look like an awesome place to work, so we’ll highlight a few of the perks that come with working for them. Organic Valley employees get to participate in the Kickapoo (yes, that’s the real name) County Fair. Blue jeans and t-shirts are appropriate attire. And shoes are optional, yes, optional, in the Summer.

Note: On April 24th we revisited entry-level jobs at Organic Valley.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you eat organic?

Northwest Service Academy

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:00:05 +0000

There are many options after graduation – starting work right away, enjoying one last Summer off, or taking a short-term job while you think things over. Northwest Service Academy falls into that last category, and the best part is that you will get to enjoy working in the great outdoors while you reflect on your education and your future.

Northwest Service Academy is a non-profit organization that does “hands-on watershed restoration, environmental education, trail construction, resource conservation and volunteer mobilization projects throughout the beautiful Pacific Northwest.” They see themselves as a place for young people to develop leadership skills that will open up opportunities that require more experience than typical entry-level jobs.

Jobs at the Northwest Service Academy include: Trail Team Leader and Member, Wildfire Fuels Reduction Team Member, Wilderness Backcountry Ranger, and Stewardship Assistant (many of the links are now dead, so use the Northwest Service Academy’s jobs page to find current opportunities). Most of these jobs have multiple openings, and the start dates range throughout the year (for more informations see Northwest Service Academy’s recruitment timeline).

Most of the Academy’s jobs are in their Trout Lake, WA and Portland, OR centers, but there are also positions in Wisconsin and a few other places. Northwest Service Academy has done an impressive job of communicating their employment brand online, so you should be able to find a wealth of information about them through Google, including their Wikipedia entry (which we just linked to, so you won’t have to search for it).

We especially like Northwest Service Academy because their employment opportunities are so easily accessible online. All the information you could want to know about working for them is on their website and easy to find. That’s why we’re keeping it brief today.

Note: On April 27th we revisited entry-level jobs at Northwest Service Academy.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We hope your last semester (if you’re Seniors) is starting off well, and don’t forget to use the special One Day, One Job discount at Better World Books when you buy your textbooks. Not only will you get 20% off, but the money from your purchase will help fund literacy programs.