One Day, One Job » writing

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?

The Limited

Willy Franzen — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:43:42 +0000

I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve seen about dressing for interviews. Almost all of them can be summed up with three words: use common sense. If that’s not enough insight for you, how about this: look like you belong. There are way more important things to think about before your interview, but I do believe that most people perform better when they feel like they look good. If I had an interview coming up, my go to place to shop would be Bonobos. I’m not sure where I’d shop if I was female, but it looks like The Limited is a reasonable place to buy professional women’s clothing. The Limited is a Columbus, OH retailer of women’s clothing with a long and somewhat confusing history.

Know Your Limits

The Limited got its start with one store in 1963. As they added more stores, they became Limited Brands and went public in 1969. From there they went on an acquisition spree that included Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Henri Bendel. They also added some new brands along the way, and they were all rolled up into Limited Brands. Abercrombie & Fitch was spun off in 1996 as its own publicly traded company, and then The Limited was sold off to a private equity firm in 2007. That means that The Limited, the flaship brand, is no longer part of Limited Brands. The Limited is its own company with one additional brand, eloquii by The Limited (plus size). The story behind The Limited is pretty confusing (I relied heavily on Wikipedia for it since The Limited’s own site doesn’t offer much information), so browsing through the products on their website might be the best way to get a feel for them. If you like what you see, then you’ll want to continue on to The Limited’s Careers page. Right now they have some interesting opportunities for new and recent grads including:

There are some great jobs here, so give them a close look. You can also check out their store level positions if that interests you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you shop at The Limited?

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?

Metia

Willy Franzen — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:23:09 +0000

Many of the best businesses are built by targeting a smaller niche and then taking the lessons learned from serving that niche to expand into new markets. It’s also how many great careers are built. Metia is a digital marketing agency that got its start serving technology companies exclusively. This put them ahead of the curve and force them to take on digital while most marketing agencies were dragging their collective feet. Now digital is what it’s all about, and Metia has 20 years of industry experience. Not bad. While they’re based in London, they have U.S. offices in Kirkland, WA and New York, NY. This allows them to serve clients like Microsoft, Microsoft, and Microsoft. But seriously, while Microsoft is all over their portfolio, you’ll also see names like Dell, EA, Rough Guides, and SEAT.

Be a Member of the Metia

That portfolio that I just mentioned. You should check it out. It’s a great way to get a feel for what Metia does and how they serve clients. You’ll also want to visit their Consulting, Services, and Technology pages. They dive into the specifics of what Metia offers clients. It’s the technology part that really appears to set Metia apart from other agencies that play in similar spaces. If you’re interested in joining Metia, take a look at their Careers page. They have a number of positions that might interest a new or recent grad including (some require more experience than others):

E-mail Production Specialist (Seattle, WA)
Outbound Sales Representative (Seattle, WA)
Business Development Professional (Seattle, WA)
Freelance French Bi-lingual Technology Writers (London, UK)
E-mail Production Specialist (London, UK)

I especially like the E-mail Production Specialist job. Most people don’t realize how big of a business e-mail is. Learn how e-mail marketing works, and you will have no problem landing a job.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Metia?

Dwell

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:02:15 +0000

I hate stock photography–especially the kind that you find on many career related sites. It’s usually a group of moderately attractive, racially diverse people who are smiling while dressed in business suits and holding folios. It’s not real. These photos create an unrealistic view of what a work environment looks like. In the world of home design, the analog is the fruit bowl. Whether you’re looking through real estate listings or a home decor magazine, chances are that you’ll see lots of fruit bowls–and they’ll be in odd places like bathrooms and bedrooms. Dwell is a magazine that defines itself by focusing on real life, something that “has been conspicuous by its absence in most design and architecture magazines.” Fruit bowls are ok, but only if the owners eat fruit. And so are other things you may not see in similar magazines–things that “demonstrate that a home is truly livable” by showing “it as it is lived in.” Dwell is based in New York, NY and San Francisco, CA, and although they consider themselves Modernists, they’re “nice Modernists.”

Dwell on This

You can get a feel for Dwell’s take on Modernism through their Fruit Bowl Manifesto on their About page, but to really understand it you should pick up a copy of their magazine or at least check out their website. While the focus is on homes, they cover everything that can be part of the context of a home–products, places, people, events, ideas, and more. It’s usually pretty hard to get a grasp of the business behind a magazine, so I highly recommend that you take a look at Dwell’s Media Kit–it will give you some serious insight into how the business operates. Once you’ve done that, head over to Dwell’s Jobs page. Right now they have mostly internships posted, but there’s a Brand Specialist (they don’t say where it’s located) position that looks like it could be a good fit for new or recent grads. It’s more about ad sales/account management than branding from what I can tell, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Dwell?

Everyday Health

Willy Franzen — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:39:06 +0000

Guys. If you’re going to land a job, you need pants. And shoes. And shirts. And maybe even a jacket and tie. Looking good is important, which is why you should outfit yourself in Bonobos like I do. Here’s $25 off your first order. My gift to you.

I have no idea where people went to ask embarrassing health questions before the Internet. I guess you could have gone to a doctor, but it’s really nice to pre-educate yourself before you ask a professional. That’s why there’s ridiculous demand for health-related information online. Everyday Health is a company that has been reacting to this demand since they started in 2002. They are a New York, NY based company that provides “consumers, healthcare professionals, and brands with content and advertising-based services across a broad portfolio of over 25 websites that span the health spectrum.” If you ask Google and embarrassing health question, there’s a really good chance that you’ll end up on one of their sites. In 2010 they were averaging 26.5 million monthly unique visitor, which is just a massive amount of traffic–especially in a niche as valuable as health related information.

Everyday Jobs

While Everyday Health calls their sites “partners,” I think it would be more accurate to call them properties. Some are generic like Prostate.net and TopDentists.com, while others are based on partnerships with recognizable brands like MayoClinic.com, DeniseAustin.com, and JoyBauer.com. Each site is obviously targeted at a very specific niche and monetized accordingly through advertising. If you’re interested in online publishing and health/medicine, then you need to take a look at Everyday Health’s Jobs page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

These look like great opportunities, so don’t pass them up.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use the Internet to ask embarrassing health related questions?

Drchrono

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

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?

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?

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?

Consumer Electronics Association

Willy Franzen — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:49:31 +0000

In case you haven’t noticed, we always feature non-profits on weekend. The vast majority of the non-profits that we profile are 501(c)(3)–organizations defined as “Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals.” But there are actually 28 types of 501(c) tax-exempt non-profit organizations. Today we’re going to look at the Consumer Electronics Association, which is 501(c)(6) “business league” based in Arlington, VA. They have a simple mission of working with their 2,000+ industry members to “grow the consumer electronics industry.”

Do You Consume Electronics?

You’ve probably heard of the Consumer Electronics Show (if not, it’s a massive electronics show), it’s put on by the CEA. It’s a way for all of their members (pretty much every major brand in the industry) to show off the latest and greatest. The show is probably the most public thing that the CEA does, but they also have a number of other initiatives. These include Market Research, Networking Events, Policy Advocacy, Technical Training, Technology Standards, and Member to Member Promotion. It’s interesting to see many of the CEA’s members fighting tooth and nail against each other in the marketplace, and then seeing them work together for the betterment of the industry. There’s obviously a careful balance. If you love consumer electronics and want to work for the CEA, check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Research Coordinator, Coordinator – Office of the President, and an Industry Communications Coordinator. These look like pretty cool positions for a new or recent grad, so give them a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite consumer electronic?

HealthTap

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:23:46 +0000

Admit it! You’ve used the Internet to self-diagnose a medical problem, and you probably used WebMD. For some of you it was to convince yourself that you’re not going to die tomorrow, and for some of you it was probably the opposite. It’s great having access to so much information, but it’s kind of dangerous when you a) can’t verify its accuracy and b) have no idea how to use it properly. Running to the doctor for every little issue is ridiculous, so there needs to be a better way to get medical information online. Luckily my little sister (who is awesome because she went to art school and then decided she wanted to go to med school, so she’s doing a postbac now) let me know about HealthTap. They’re a Palo Alto, CA based company that provides “free online and mobile answers from thousands of the best physicians in the U.S.” It’s kind of like Yahoo! Answers for medicine, but the people responding to your questions aren’t complete morons.

Get Tapped

There’s no doubt that there’s a demand for free medical advice online. But would doctors actually be willing to answer questions for free? HealthTap has proven that the answer is a resounding yes. Humans want to share their knowledge–just look at the endless reviews on sites like Yelp and Amazon–but professionals are usually more hesitant to give away their expertise for free. That’s why HealthTap sweetens the deal for docs. Their software helps “physicians better serve existing patients, find new ones, and build their reputation by demonstrating their expertise online.” If you were looking for a dermatologist, wouldn’t you consider the one who gave you great answers to your questions about a rash on HealthTap? I would (if I had a rash). Beyond helping doctors reach new people, HealthTap also provides a platform for doctors to provide something like a FAQ. That means that they spend less time answering the same simple questions over and over.

If you’re interested in the intersection of health care and technology, then a job at HealthTap would be an awesome fit. Here’s their video on why you should work for them:

The available positions most suitable for new or recent grads at HealthTap are pretty technical right now as they include Frontend Software Engineer, Backend Software Engineer, Mobile App Developer, and IT and Operations Engineer. The Interactive Writer / Copy Writer / Editor position looks pretty cool, but it seems like they want pretty significant experience. If you’re not a techie, you may want to try reaching out to jobs@healthtap.com to see if there’s any way you could fit in.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you use HealthTap?

The Marketing Arm

Willy Franzen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:23:26 +0000

Although I only took one marketing class in college, I’ve really learned to love the field of marketing as I’ve built this business. There are so many different approaches, but the core of every valid one is having a great product. (I’m right in the thick of developing a new version of the site that you’re going to love.) Once you have a great product, there are a lot of different ways to spread the word. For the The Marketing Arm, a Dallas, TX based agency, the focus is on promotions. As they put it, they “help brands connect with those consumers by providing insight-driven ideas across nine emotional platforms: TV, film, music, gaming, celebrities, causes, multicultural, sports, and motorsports.” It’s all about creating an incentive to experience the brand, and then providing an exceptional experience when that happens.

Arm Yourself

Promotions is an area of marketing that I’m not all that familiar with in terms of execution, but I’ve certainly been lured in by my share of promotions. Here are some of the areas of promotions that The Marketing Arm focuses on:

Sweepstakes, games and contests
Frequency, loyalty, and reward programs
Discount offers
Partner marketing
Consumer, employee and business-to-business
Premiums and gifts-with-purchase
Design, collateral, and POS
Interactive (Web and wireless)

If you want to see what these look like in action, just head over to The Marketing Arm’s Case Studies. They have some in-depth stories on what they’ve done for different brands and what kind of results they’ve garnered. If you’re excited about what you see, then you’ll want to take a look at The Marketing Arm’s Jobs page. Right now they have a few opportunities that look exciting for new or recent grads including:

There are some excellent opportunities here, so promote yourself to The Marketing Arm and see what happens.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What kind of promotions are your favorite?

Macmillan

Willy Franzen — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:51:45 +0000

Want your job to fit like a pair of the world’s best fitting pants? Bonobos will give you both. They’re one of my favorite companies that I’ve profiled, and they’re hiring an entry level Associate E-Commerce Coordinator. If you apply for the job, be sure to tell them that I sent you (they know me!).

There are some industries where company histories gets really confusing. Mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, name changes, and all kinds of other events make it hard to truly understand what parts of the story are meaningful. I’ve found this especially prevalent with financial institutions, advertising agencies, and publishers. We’re going to talk about the latter today. Macmillan is the New York, NY based face of a “group of publishing companies in the United States held by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck” (a German company). As I read through their history, I got a bit overwhelmed. It starts in 1843 with two Scottish brothers, and includes the story about a completely different publisher named Macmillan. While understanding Macmillan’s history is important, it’s far more important to understand their future, which might include you.

I’m a Mac

Macmillan’s business is separated into three broad categories: Trade, College & Academic, and Magazines & Journals. That covers a ton of ground, so it’s helpful to dive into the publishers that make up Macmillan and their imprints, which include Farrar Straus and Giroux, Henry Holt & Company, W.H. Freeman and Worth Publishers, Palgrave Macmillan, Bedford/St. Martin’s, Picador, Roaring Brook Press, St. Martin’s Press, Tor Books, and Macmillan Higher Education. You get more info on each of these individual publishers here. A lot of them have their own prints, which just tells you how broad Macmillan’s reach is. You’ll have to dive in and figure out which areas of their business are most interesting to you, then you can check out their job postings. Right now they have a ton of entry level jobs posted including:

Inside Sales Assistant – HPHLP (Hamilton, NJ)
Graphic Designer – Palgrave Macmillan
Marketing Assistant – Palgrave Macmillan
Marketing Assistant – W. H. Freeman & Worth
Administrative Assistant
Associate Media Editor – Bedford, Freeman & Worth
Media Producer – Bedford, Freeman & Worth (Boston, MA)
Marketing Assistant – Bedford St. Martins (Boston, MA)
Associate Media Editor – Statistics and Mathematics – W. H. Freeman & Worth
Digital Production Associate
Human Resources Coordinator
Enforcement Assistant
Email Marketing Specialist
Publicist
Editorial Assistant – W. H. Freeman & Worth
Editorial Assistant – W. H. Freeman & Worth (slightly different from above)
Publisher Specialist
Online Content Specialist – Bedford St. Martins (Boston, MA)
High School Sales Representative -HPHLP (Hamilton, NJ)
Digital Marketing Associate

As you can see there’s quite a range of job opportunities at Macmillan. Be sure to read the job descriptions, as many of the jobs focus on specific publishing niches. Having subject matter expertise in those areas will be a big help in landing the jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Macmillan’s imprints is your favorite?

Loosecubes

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:54:05 +0000

The last time that I worked in an office was when I was an intern at Orvis. Since then I’ve had to learn how to get things done at home, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. Still, I try to force myself to work out of the house at least once a week. I usually do this through Jelly Chicago, a co-working group that meets every Wednesday, but I also occasionally work at a coffee shop or my gym’s quiet room. Sometimes a change of scenery really helps my productivity–and if it doesn’t do that, sometimes it spurs my creativity. If I was looking for another place to work for the day, I’d probably go to Loosecubes (the site, not their office which is based in Brooklyn, NY and hosts co-workers). It’s a “community marketplace for workspace” that connects “people who have great workspace with people who need it.” Their listings stretch across 620 cities and 72 countries, so there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll be able to find something near you.

Do You Have a Few Cubes Loose?

Loosecubes makes their money by taking a 10% cut of the fees that co-working spaces collect, which seems like an ok business model, but I wonder if they’ll find a better way to monetize their marketplace in the future. I imagine that the idea of co-working may seem weird to someone who’s been in the corporate world for a while, but it’s probably pretty natural for most college students who are used to studying in libraries, lounges, cafes, and even outside. Here’s how co-working through Loosecubes works along with more info on why you might want to cowork or why a company might want to host co-workers. I think that co-working is an amazing option for job seekers. It’s well worth paying the daily fee to get out of the house and into a productive atmosphere that is filled with people who are working on exciting stuff. If you play it right, it could easily lead to a job–especially if you want a job at the company that is hosting. And since Loosecubes is both actively hiring and hosting co-workers, you’re in a perfect situation. Right now they’re looking for a Commander Awesome (Community Coordinator), an iOS Developer, a Product Designer, and a Software Developer. You can apply for the jobs online, but I think that you’d be much better off signing up for a day in their office and starting a few conversations. And don’t worry about having to stay in their office once you get hired–they even provide a monthly travel budget so that you can try working from new places.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you co-work?

Internet Brands

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:07:03 +0000

In case you missed our e-mail from last week, Kembrel loved the response from our post about them so they’re offering a free VIP card (usually 20 bucks) to all ODOJ readers and $5 in store credit. Sign up here.

On Monday we took a look at Vertive, a company that builds internet properties to help people save money. Today we’re going to look at a company with a similar model of building and buying websites, but a much broader approach. Internet Brands is based in El Segundo, CA and started as CarsDirect.com in 1998. It was a successful brand for them, but in 2005 they realized that the platform they had built could be applied to other verticals. Now Internet Brands operates more than 100 websites that reach over a billion visitors every year. Amazingly, they’ve been able to generate almost all of this traffic organically (without buying advertising). This is all because of the platform that they’ve developed and the ability to share resources across brands. Internet Brands is a case study of how economies of scale can work on the web.

Get Branded

The best way to get a better feel for Internet Brands is to explore their… brands. There are a lot of them, but they typically fit into one of nine verticals: Automotive, Careers, Health, Home, Legal, Licensing, Money, Shopping, and Travel. Chances are that most of the brands will be new to you, but I found a few that I was familiar with. Unlike Vertive, Internet Brands doesn’t shed much light on how they operate. Even the Internet Brands Careers page is filled with mostly generic stuff like “Do you have energy, drive and ambition?” and “Do you have a strong sense of where you are going and how to get there?” Would any job seeker answer no to those rhetorical questions? At least Internet Brands makes up for it with a ton of job postings. Here are the ones that look well suited for an entry level job seeker:

That’s a lot of jobs. Hopefully a few of them will catch your interest.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Internet Brands?

Brafton

Willy Franzen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:10:35 +0000

There’s a reason that web startups with no semblance of a business plan but heaps of traffic continue to get venture capital funding. Consistently driving high quality traffic to a web property is extremely difficult, and almost all businesses need attention to succeed. Quality content is the cornerstone of driving traffic (that’s why I looked for writers when I was hiring interns), and content generation is not a core competency for most businesses. It is for Brafton. They’re a Boston, MA based “online news and content agency that offers integrated content marketing services.” They don’t brag about who their clients are like some other types of agencies (you can request live client samples), which makes sense since clients typically want people to think the content is coming straight from them.

Be Content at Brafton

I doubt any writers from Brafton will be winning Pulitzer Prizes, but I’m sure that’s ok with them. Their goal is to help their clients reach more customers by developing content that grabs attention and performs well on search engines and in social media. Brafton has a section of their website that is devoted to their business model, so I highly recommend that you read through that–including their case study–so that you can get a better sense of how they operate. They also provide information on their different teams, so you’ll probably want to read up on Account Management, Content Writing, and Social and E-mail. If you’d like to join one of those teams, you’re in luck because Brafton’s Careers page shows a ton of entry level opportunities. These include:

Graphic Resource Coordinator (Boston, MA)
Blog and Content Writer (Boston, MA)
Market Research Executive (Boston, MA)
German News and Content Writer (Remote)
News and Content Writer (Chicago, IL)
Inside Sales Representative (Boston, MA)
News and Content Writer (Boston, MA)
Jr. Web Developer (Boston, MA)
Business Development Executive (Boston, MA)
Business Development Executive (Scottsdale, AZ)
Content Marketing Specialist (San Francisco, CA)

You won’t be writing the next great novel at Brafton, but I’m sure you’ll learn a ton about developing content for the Internet with a focus on ROI. That’s insanely valuable these days.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Brafton?

Benzinga

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:20:45 +0000

I have a simple investment strategy: Buy AAPL. I’ve had a few other winners, but Apple is the reason that my portfolio is up over the past 5 years. I’m not much of a trader, so I typically buy a stock and hold it indefinitely. If I took a different approach to investing, I might want to spend time on Benzinga. It’s “an innovative news and analysis service that focuses on global markets” and is intended for developing “actionable trading ideas.” Benzinga has offices in Chicago, IL and Dover, DE, but it’s very clear from their Careers page that everything important happens in the Southfield, MI office… very clear. There’s something about Benzinga’s site that reminds me of a social gaming site, which I guess is appropriate since stock trading is the ultimate social game.

Zing!

Benzinga has its own editorial and research team, so they’re not just aggregating financial news and spitting it back to you. They actually focus on three key areas: real-time news, actionable trading ideas and insightful commentary.” It’s hard for me to judge how good the content is considering that I’m not a trader, but Benzinga seems to have generated a good amount of buzz in the finance community. I’m pretty sure that I had heard of Benzinga before, but yesterday someone from their team reached out to me to tell me about some of their positions for new grads. I took a look at their Careers page (which is all about Michigan), and saw some great entry level positions. Their current openings include:

Developer/Programmer Ninja
User Interface / User Experience Expert
News Desk
Talented Writers
Business Developer
Public Relations Guru

There are some great opportunities here to dive in deep early in your career. Take a look at the positions and see if Benzinga’s offer of Faygo (why not Vernors?), Bigby Coffee, Moosejaw tees, and U of M or MSU football tickets is enough to woo you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you checked out Benzinga?

Flavorpill

Willy Franzen — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:30:54 +0000

It often seems that I don’t hear about cool events until after they’ve happened. I’ll spend a Friday night reorganizing my fishing closet, and on Saturday I’ll realize that there’s something really fun that I missed out on. I’m sure you’ve faced the same problem. But how do you keep up with what’s going on in your city? Flavorpill is one answer. They provide an online culture guide, and they will send you personalized e-mails that cover both events and news. I first heard about Flavorpill because one of their writers was interviewing me (the story ended up being published elsewhere), but I think they were a bit more news focused then. They say that they cover “cultural events, art, books, music, and world news,” though it seems that Flavorpill, which is headquartered in New York, NY, now leans very strongly towards the events side.

Flavorpill in Your Ear

Flavorpill currently has editions in New York, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Seattle. I don’t know if there are any new locations on the horizon, but you’d think that they’d continue to grow the brand by adding new editions. There isn’t much info on the business behind Flavorpill, but it’s pretty obviously ad-supported. The Flavorpill Media Kit is probably the best way to get an inside look at how the company makes money. If you consider yourself culturally literate and want to to help others be like you, then a job at Flavorpill might be worth considering. Right now they have two Jobs pages. One is linked to from their site and the other is the first Google result for “Flavorpill internships.” My guess is that the former is the one to go by, but it’s hard to say for sure. Flavorpill’s current postings on that page include Designer, Front-end Developer, Product Manager, and Web Developer, and on the other page they include Editorial Partner (Las Vegas) and Advertising Sales Manager. Take a look at the job postings and see which ones best suit you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Flavorpill?

Captains of Industry

Willy Franzen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:01:19 +0000

I went on a guided fishing trip this morning. The weather was pretty terrible, and the catching was nonexistent. As we were driving back to the hotel, the guide told us about a boat that recently sank and how the captain was the first one to abandon ship. That’s certainly not captain-like behavior, and it’s the opposite of what you’d expect from Captains of Industry, a Boston, MA based marketing and advertising agency that was started by an ad guy and a filmmaker. They excel at developing ” strategy-driven creative in all media – from websites to corporate videos to literature systems – that tells [their customers' stories] in unforgettable ways.”

Aye Aye Captain

Captains of Industry got its start as a freelance writing service in 1992, but it evolved into something much bigger when its founder started sharing office space with a filmmaker in 1996. They decided to work together and quickly began producing some pretty cool stuff. You can check out their latest work here. Their clients include Bose, First Wind, Akamai, Re/Max, and a bunch of other big names. If you want to get an even better feel for Captains of Industry, you should read their manifesto. You may also want to take note of some things that Captains are (we already know that they shouldn’t abandon ship):

/ Captains are storytellers

/ Captains take pride in our craft

/ Captains take ownership

/ Captains passionately want the client to succeed

/ Captains are driven to change the world

/ Captains never take themselves too seriously

/ Captains never quit

If you think that you have what it takes to be a Captain, then take a look at Captains of Industry’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for full-timers in Account Management and SEO and freelance Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Copywriters, Technical Writers, Illustrators, Producers, Web/Flash Programmers, and Art Directors. Additionally, you can also apply for future openings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Captains of Industry?

QuinStreet

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

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

Take a Ride Down QuinStreet

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about QuinStreet?

OpticsPlanet

Willy Franzen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:25:36 +0000

When I was a kid, I had eyes like a hawk. At my best I had 20/12 vision. Then in high school things started getting blurry, and I eventually had to get contact lenses. Luckily, humans have spent a ton of time and energy in developing technology that helps us see better. Whether you want to see something really small, far away, or in the dark, there’s optical equipment that can help you out. The thing is that microscopes, binoculars, night vision goggles, and even glasses aren’t something that you buy casually–you want to buy from someone who knows his or her stuff. OpticsPlanet is a Northbrook, IL based company that employs a whole bunch of those people. They are “one of the world’s leading online retailers of a wide selection of sport optics, tactical and military gear, scientific products, hunting gear, professional grade products and eyewear.” I get excited when I get a new contact lens prescription, so I bet getting to play with some of OptcisPlanet’s offerings would make me giddy.

Seeing Is Believing

When you end up on OpticsPlanet.com, it looks like a pretty generic e-commerce site. I would have never guessed that they generated $82.6 million last year, but thats’ what the numbers from the Inc. 5000 say. They’ve also been growing at a 113% rate over the past three-years, so they must be gaining a significant share in the optics market. I found a video on their About page that gives a pretty good intro to the company, so check it out below:

If you like what you see in the video and you also like the fact that OpticsPlanet was named one of “The Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces,” then you have to take a look at their Careers page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

User Interface Designer
Communications Designer
Content Project Manager
Junior Web Developer / JavaScript
Accounts Payable Specialist
Call Center Quality Assurance
Risk Management – Order Review Agent
Search Engine Optimization Specialist
Pay Per Click Marketing Specialist
Online Marketing Specialist
Copywriter
Vendor Services Account Coordinator

There are all kinds of opportunities at OpticsPlanet, so take a really close look and see if you like what you see.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What would you get from OpticsPlanet?

Travelzoo

Willy Franzen — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:15:38 +0000

On Saturday I’m heading to Aruba for two weeks! (Don’t worry, you’ll still get your daily e-mails–even on Christmas Day.) I booked well in advance, so I got a decent fare, but it’s still about four times more expensive than traveling at a different time of year. If you want to travel during the holidays, you’re probably going to have to pay through the nose. Still, it’s worth looking for a deal, and there’s no better place to do that than Travelzoo. They’re a New York, NY based company (with 23 other offices all across the world) that has perfected the art of the travel deal. They don’t just go out and find low rates–they actually “research, evaluate, and test thousands of deals to find those with true value.” Although it’s not exactly the same, they kind of do for travel deals what I do for jobs: curate. Though they have 250 experts working on it, which is 249 more than we have.

Take a Trip to the Zoo

Travelzoo’s site is about as basic looking as it gets. It’s simple, clean, and uncluttered. It may not look like the site of a publicly traded company, but it certainly stands out from other travel sites that seem to bombard you with useless offers. I guess that’s why they have 24 million members, though the fact that they require you to be a member to see their deals has to help with that too. Beyond travel, Travelzoo has also moved into entertainment deals and local deals, but travel is definitely their bread and butter. What’s so unique about Travelzoo’s model is that they’re not for sale. Yes, they accept payment from advertisers, but they only publish deals that they are confident will make their members happy. There’s no way to get on Travelzoo except offering a high quality deal. If you’re liking what Travelzoo is all about, then take a look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of openings, and a few look perfect for new or recent grads including: Associate Producer (Chicago, IL), Producer (Chicago, IL) Assistant Producer (Miami, FL), Producer (New York, NY), Assistant Producer – SuperSearch (San Francisco, CA), and Producer (Toronto, ON). Travelzoo’s Producers are “top-notch journalists whose commercial acumen would impress the Donald himself.” In other words they take on a role that includes researching, writing, producing, account managing, sales, and a lot more–they find the deals and get them live on the site. It sounds like an extremely cool role, so check all the positions out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used Travelzoo?

Art.sy

Willy Franzen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:56:39 +0000

The University of Chicago has five job openings that are perfect for recent grads. Check them out here.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m the black sheep of my family because of my lack of artistic ability and appreciation for art. Still, I understand how hard it must be for art enthusiasts to find art that they love. There’s so much out there, and no easy way to explore it in an organized way. That used to be the case for music and movies, but companies like Pandora and Netflix have done a lot to change that by building amazing recommendation engines. Art.sy, which is based in New York, NY is trying to do the same for art. They’re working on “The Art Genome Project,” which is “an ongoing study of the characteristics that distinguish and connect works of art.” It’s based on evaluating works of art “along 500+ characteristics—such as art-historical movements, subject matter, and formal qualities—to create a powerful search experience that reflects the multifaceted aspects of works of art.”

Are You Art.sy?

While Art.sy would probably be a great tool for helping me develop an appreciation for art, that’s not really its intended use (most likely because I wouldn’t generate much revenue for them). Art.sy is focused on serious art collectors who want to buy more art but don’t know exactly what they want to buy. If you want a more detailed look at how Art.sy works, check out this Wired article from a few weeks ago. The software sounds amazingly cool, though I can’t check it out because it’s invite only right now. There isn’t a ton of information available on Art.sy’s website (and the logo I’m using for them seems to be outdated), but they do have a Jobs page. Right now their open positions include Developer, Designer, and Writer (Art History background). Give them a look and see if any of them make sense for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you looking for new art to appreciate?a

University of Chicago

Willy Franzen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:51:58 +0000

This is a sponsored post for the University of Chicago.

Even though I’m five years out of college, I still miss it. As much as I know many of you would like to stay (or go back), it’s time to get a job and leave the world of academia. Or is it? I’ve recently heard from a number of readers who have found a way to have their cake and eat it too. Some have landed jobs at their alma maters, while others have gone to work for other colleges and universities. If you think that Chicago would be a cool place to live (it is!), then you have to consider the University of Chicago.

The University of Chicago was founded by John D. Rockefeller, and it first offered classes in 1892. They currently serve 5,134 undegraduate students and 10,492 graduate, professional, and other students with a full-time faculty of 2,188. These three groups along with the more than 150,000 worldwide alumni form “a community of creative, demanding, inspired scholars who debate and collaborate to enrich human life through their work.” If you want more info on what the University of Chicago is all about, check out their About page.

Right now, the University of Chicago’s Alumni Relations & Development Division is working with us to fill 5 positions that they think are well suited for the One Day One Job audience. These positions include:

These are great opportunities to start your career while still staying close to the college atmosphere. Give the positions a look, and see if any of them interest you. If you’re interested in other positions at the University of Chicago, be sure to take a look at their Jobs page.

Hotel Tonight

Willy Franzen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:03:26 +0000

Want to try Hotel Tonight? Use this link to get $25 off your first booking.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I either book hotel rooms way in advance or the day of. When I reserve a room in advance, I’m usually looking for more than just a place to sleep. Price is still important, but it’s not the most important thing. But when I need a room for tonight, I want a place that meets my minimum standards for the lowest price. As long as I can get a good night’s sleep without being bitten by bedbugs or woken up by a domestic dispute, I’m happy. It’s the latter situation that can be frustrating for bargain hunters. You know that the hotel is at 12% capacity, but they still won’t give you anything better than the AAA rate. As long as they can cover the cost of cleaning the room, they should be willing to take you. Hotel Tonight is a San Francisco, CA based company that is making it easy to get rooms for up to 70% off at the last-minute.

Job Today?

At least for now, Hotel Tonight is completely app based. You can’t even search for a hotel on their website. They want you to whip out your phone (Android or iPhone) when you need a room and book from there. Every day they launch new deals at noon local time, so that’s the best time to check the app (some stuff does sell out). I spent a little time playing around with the app, and the deals look good, but they’re not mind blowing. If you stay somewhere expensive you can save a few hundred bucks, but a more basic hotel room might only come with $10-$20 in savings. Still, Hotel Tonight will help you find a good deal with almost no hassle, and it provides a great yield management tool for hotel owners. If you’re interested in the intersection of technology and hospitality management, then take a look at Hotel Tonight’s Jobs page. Right now they have some great opportunities available including:

Take a look at the jobs. Hopefully one of them will be a good fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite hotel?

O’Reilly Media

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

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

Oh, Really?

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Grist

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:50:30 +0000

So far our survey says that you find the job search frustrating. Tell us more so that we can help.

When I was in Ann Arbor, MI last weekend, I noticed that there’s a tremendous amount of interest in the environment there. Maybe it’s because two of the friends I was visiting got Master’s degrees from University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, but it was also the LED street lights and the students who I met who were asking about green careers. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of subscribers to Grist in the Ann Arbor area. Grist is a Seattle, WA based magazine that “has been dishing out environmental news and commentary with a wry twist since 1999.” They’re a non-profit organization, so they’re “funded by foundation grants, user contributions, and advertising.”

Get the Grist of Things

A fair criticism of most of the environmentalist movement is that it lacks a sense of humor. It’s hard to have a laugh when you’re constantly screaming “the sky is falling.” Grist is certainly an exception, as their about page starts with:

Laugh now — or the planet gets it.

You know how some people make lemonade out of lemons? At Grist, we’re making lemonade out of looming climate apocalypse.

It’s more fun than it sounds, trust us!

The sense of humor comes through in articles like Live Your Tiny House Fantasies by Renting One on AirBnB, but there are also plenty of more serious ones like Making Federal Buildings Green Cuts Costs by a Fifth. If you’re digging Grists’s approach, then you may want to consider working for them. Their Jobs page shows that they’re looking for a Web Developer and Idealist shows that they’re looking for an Office Assistant. If neither of those positions sound right for you, you may want to take a look at Grist’s Writer’s Guidelines. There are both paid and unpaid opportunities for writers.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Grist?

Time Out

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

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

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

Take a Time Out from Your Job Search

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

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

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Josephson Institute for Ethics

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:51:54 +0000

The job search is a vulnerable time for most people, and that results in a lot of people trying to take advantage of those who are looking for work. This makes me very angry, which is why I always do my best to stick my neck out for job seekers. I won’t hesitate to turn down sponsors who seem even a little sketchy, and I’ve put a lot of effort into exposing job scams and pushing for employers to pay their interns. I guess you could call these the ethical duties of my job, and I take them extremely seriously. Josephson Institute for Ethics is a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit organization that also takes ethics extremely seriously (in case you couldn’t tell by their name). Their mission is to “improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.”

An Ethical Choice

Josephson Institute for Ethics focuses on five core areas: Youth, Sports, Business, Public Service, and Policing. The Institute was founded by a lawyer named Michael Josephson in 1987 in honor of his parents, and it does its work by developing and delivering “services and materials to increase ethical commitment, competence, and practice in all segments of society.” Josephson Institute is a bit unique as a non-profit in that they raise money by actually selling stuff (the aforementioned services and materials). Of course they also take donations and grants to allow them to work much more broadly than for their clients (it’s kind of weird to see a non-profit’s client list, right?). One of the projects from Josephson Institute that I find most interesting is the Ethics of American Youth Survey, which shows widespread problems with “lying, cheating, bullying, and other high-risk behavior in high school students.” If you find project like this one interesting, then you should definitely take a look at Josephson Institute for Ethics’ Jobs page on Idealist (it’s way more up to date than their actual Jobs page). Right now they’re looking for a Research Assistant, an Associate Web Producer/Writer, a Program Assistant – Character Counts, and a Marketing Project Manager. These look like really interesting jobs, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you had any ethical dilemmas in your job search?