One Day, One Job » arts

Riot Games

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:56:51 +0000

Apparently my parents and sister have engaged in a never-ending series of online Scrabble games played via iPhone. I’m with my parents in Florida right now, and every five minutes they’re bugging each other to make the next move. It’s crazy. Free online gaming has hit the masses, and it isn’t pretty. There are tons of new online gaming companies, and while some are focusing on bringing new gamers to the market, others are more focused on gaining ground with serious gamers. Culver City, CA based Riot Games is a perfect example of the latter. They are behind League of Legends, a free online role-playing game that is set in an imaginative world. The game has been downloaded more than a million times, and Riot Games has received $20 million in venture capital investment based on the game. $8 million of that investment came from a Chinese gaming company that has a huge user base, so this is very much an international play.

Incite a Riot

The interesting thing about Riot Games and League of Legends is that the game is essentially console quality. It’s the type of game that serious gamer would pay to play, but it’s free. Riot Games’ business model is more akin to that of Zynga than that of Blizzard. What that means is that Riot Games makes League of Legends free to play, but they charge for in-game item purchases. It seems like a smart idea, and if it works, they’re going to have a huge leg up on the game makers who charge an upfront cost for their games. With all of the recent investment, Riot Games is growing its headcount rapidly. A quick look at their Jobs page will show you that they have nearly two dozen full-time openings. Not all of them are geared towards entry level candidates, but enough are. Riot Games’ current openings are in Art, Programming, Design, Production, QA Operations, Customer Service, and Web, so check them out and see if you find something that fits your interests. If you do, you can apply e-mail and hopefully land a job where you’ll enjoy perks like ninja nerf gun battles, full expense trips to the bathroom, and stock advice.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played League of Legends?

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Willy Franzen — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:56:13 +0000

I may not be into jazz, but I will readily admit that people who like jazz have better taste in music than I do. I don’t know why I feel that way, but jazz gives off an aura of being ultimately cool. You just can’t tell a jazz lover that he has bad taste in music. If you’re one of those people who is cooler than me, then I hope that you know about Jazz at Lincoln Center. It’s a New York City based non-profit arts organization that aims “to enrich the artistic substance and perpetuate the democratic spirit of America’s music.” Their mission is accomplished through four key strategies: Curatorial, Educational, Archival, and Ceremonial. Whether it’s producing and presenting performances or maintaining “a comprehensive library of original scores, transcriptions, arrangements, books and artifacts important to jazz,” Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing its best to promote the art.

Jazzy Jobs

Jazz at Lincoln Center is everything jazz. While most other genres of music are driven by commercial interests, it seems that jazz—along with classical music—is more tied to the arts scene than popular music. That’s why non-profits like Jazz at Lincoln Center play such a big role in promoting and preserving the art. If you’re a jazz lover and looking to work in the non-profit world, then you need to head over to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jobs page. They have a number of seemingly entry level job openings that include Concert Marketing Assistant, Human Resources Assistant, and Production Assistant. There are also Usher positions available. The application instructions vary from job to job, so check out the individual job listings for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a jazz lover?

VEE Corporation

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:09:01 +0000

One of my earliest memories is from Detroit’s Thanksgiving parade. I think that I was about 2 years old at the time, and I saw Oscar the Grouch on some sort of float. I don’t remember much more about the parade, but I remember that. I guess that I’m an experiential marketers dream since I managed to remember that over all of the other cool things that happened when I was two years old (another early memory was getting my head stuck between the bars on a McDonald’s playground—another branded memory). I think that the people at VEE Corporation would be especially happy to hear about my early memory since they’re the company behind Sesame Street Live. They’re a Minneapolis based firm that provides “live entertainment, promotion and event marketing services for America’s most respected brands, properties and agencies.” They’re big on full-body costumes and mascots as well as merging marketing and entertainment.

Experience VEE Corporation

Running the Sesame Street Live show seems like a big enough deal, but plenty of other huge brands have entrusted their identifying characters to VEE Corporation. These include Mr. Potato Head, Shrek and Donkey, Sponge Bob Squarepants, Mariah Carey’s legs, the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, and plenty more. VEE’s service offerings include Planning & Consultation, Logistics, Design & Ingenuity, Costumes/Creatures/Mascots, Fabrication & Construction, and Ship & Store. It’s a completely different kind of marketing company, which means that their job offerings are especially unique. If you check out Vee Corporation’s Jobs page, you’ll see what I’m talking about. They don’t have a lot of specific postings right now, but they split their offerings into a few categories of application pages—Theatrical, Corporate, Production Services, Shop and Craftsperson, and Operations and Road Crew. It’s interesting to see that VEE Corporation is using a Ning site to manage their application processes, but it doesn’t seem as though they’re tapping into all of the site’s social functionality. That might be a cool addition. They actually have so many different application forms that things get a little confusing, but it shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out which form is the right one for telling VEE Corporation why you’ll be a great addition to their team.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you seen any events put on by VEE Corporation?

RxArt

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:52:03 +0000

Last night I went to an event for National Coaching Fellows (I’m on their board). It was held at an art gallery, and it went extremely well. For the past few years, the organization has been struggling to feel legitimate (that’s a common problem with startups, non-profit or for-profit). Holding an event at a place with expensive art on the walls made a drastic difference—it felt real. Even though I’m not all that interested in art, there was no doubt in my mind that the art on the walls played a huge role in the mood of the event. RxArt is a New York City based non-profit that is taking advantage of this effect in a very different way. They curate contemporary art exhibitions in healthcare facilities to “relieve stress and anxiety, while increasing appreciation for contemporary art” for patients and staff. Considering how cold hospitals and doctor’s offices usually feel, I think this is an amazing idea.

An Rx for Your Job Search

Being a patient sucks. No matter how much better off you’ll be after going in for treatment, you never actually want to be in a medical facility. RxArt will never be able to change that, but they can make the process a little more pleasant. Through a variety of projects and working with a number of contemporary artists, RxArt is improving everyday people’s lives. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the health outcomes of people who are cared for in RxArt facilities end up being a tiny bit better than those in places with bare walls. I don’t know that we’ll ever seen an epidemiological study of RxArt’s effectiveness, so for now we’ll have to go off of their stories. If you’d like to be a part of those successes, then you might want to consider working for RxArt. Right now they’re looking for a Director of Development. This isn’t typically the kind of job that I’d feature here (that title usually requires a bunch of experience), but the job posting leaves it open enough that I think that you might want to check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of RxArt?

International Center of Photography

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:10:55 +0000

I think that I take pretty decent photographs. I even won a fishing photography contest once—ok my friend submitted the picture that I took with his camera and took the prize for himself. My expertise may end with a point and shoot camera, but I’m ok with that. If I ever want to advance my skills, I’ll be sure to check out the International Center of Photography. They are a New York City based non-profit that runs “a world-class museum and school dedicated to exploring the possibilities of the photographic medium through dynamic exhibitions and educational programs.” They were founded in 1974 by photographer Cornell Capa, and since then they’ve been moving forward the art (and science) of photography.

Picture a Job at ICP

The International Center of Photography has a wide range of offerings. They run a museum, offer continuing education courses, provide great online resources, and even offer a Master’s program. Beyond that, they seem to be eminently conscious of how they can help other causes whether it’s bringing attention “humanitarian documentary work” or organizing “award-winning youth education initiatives.” If you love photography, but want to do more than just take pictures, then the ICP is a perfect place for you. You should check out their Jobs page, where you’ll find a few positions posted. These include Billing Clerk/Administrative Assistant, Exhibition Technician, and Photo Lab Assistant. You can apply for any of these positions by sending a cover letter, résumé, and salary requirements to jobs@icp.org. Maybe including some of your photography along might help (might not).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited the ICP’s museum?

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:57:07 +0000

When did Brooklyn become the cool place to live? It’s definitely trendy, and I think a big part of that has to be the borough’s unique culture. It’s pretty artsy, which is why it makes sense that it’s the home of “America’s oldest continuously operating performing arts center,” Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM was founded in 1861 and is still going strong—they had an attendance of more than half a million people last year. Although they have the word academy in their name, BAM’s mission is “to be the preeminent progressive performing and cinema arts center of the twenty-first century, engaging both global and local communities.” That’s not exactly what I think of when I hear academy, but maybe that’s why they usually go by BAM.

BAM BAM!

Performing arts isn’t really my thing, but if you’re into it, BAM is the perfect place to work. They have a diverse set of programs that span a wide array of interests. It’s hard to believe that they’re continuing to be at the forefront of performing arts after nearly 150 years of operation. If you’d like to be part of BAM’s History, then check out their Jobs page or their job postings on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for a Sponsorship Coordinator, which seems like a perfect position for a new grad. BAM actually seems to have their own job postings, but they’re pretty well hidden on their website. You can find them here, and you’ll also see a Digital Content Administrator position that also looks suitable for new grads. You can apply for any of the positions by sending a cover letter and résumé to HRresumes@BAM.org..

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited BAM?

Bonobos

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:00:28 +0000

Want to get $30 off your first Bonobos purchase? They have an awesome referral program, so if you want a Bonobos invite, just leave a comment below with your real e-mail address in the proper field (it won’t be displayed). We’ll send you a referral coupon code for $30 off.

Pants are important. Especially when you’re trying to land a job. Going to a job interview without pants is the kind of disaster that only happens in nightmares. Showing up with wrinkled pants is a more likely problem for most recent grads—it makes you look sloppy and careless. Wearing ill fitting pants is almost as bad, even if you have demonstrated to your potential employer that you know how to properly use an iron. The problem is that there aren’t a lot of non-jean pants out there that fit men well. At least that’s what Bonobos, a New York City based fashion startup, thinks. They kind of have a Web 2.0 feel to them, even though they’re in a business that is hundreds of years old. They pride themselves on making great fitting men’s pants (they do suggest a pants hack for women who want Bonobos), offering unbeatable customer service, and providing an overall wonderful shopping experience. I just bought my first pair of pants from Bonobos last night, and I’m excited to see if they live up to the hype. If they don’t, I can take advantage of their free two-way shipping and “any pant, any time, any reason” return policy.

Get in on the Monkey Business

So, the Bonobo isn’t actually a monkey—it’s a “sexually promiscuous Great Ape that possesses nearly all of modern man’s better traits” according to Bonobos’ website. I’m not sure where Bonobos got their name, since chimps don’t wear pants, but the company appears to be extremely committed to saving the Bonobo (they donate $1 for every new customer to an ape sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo). The company was started by two guys from Stanford Business school, one of whom was altering his own pants with a girlfriend’s sewing machine to improve the fit. Word spread about his great fitting pants, and now there’s a company funded with $3 million in angel investment and valued at $15 million pre-money. If that’s not enough, Bonobos is on their way to doing $4 million in sales this year, and they were featured by Forbes earlier this year and by the New York Times just a few weeks ago.

Bonobos seems to be on a hot streak right now, and they’re intent on keeping it going. That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise to see that their Jobs page is loaded with opportunities. These positions include Junior Art Director/Stylist, Technical Designer, PR Ninja, Operations and Warehouse Ninja, Style Ninja, Field Ninja, and Front End Developer. Bonobos has a great perspective on talent in that they don’t get too hung up on experience, so you shouldn’t hesitate to apply for any of these positions as long as you can demonstrate that you’ll be the best person for the job. I think that Bonobos does exceptionally with their job postings—the only thing I don’t get is why they use the term “ninja” in many of their job titles. I guess hiring a PR Chimp and a Style Chimp might put some people off. The application instructions vary from job to job, so be sure to look at the postings closely. Also, you should note that they’re very open to applications for unlisted positions, so that’s an option too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Bozell

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:59:11 +0000

Want a crappy job? You’re in luck. Today I came across WhatACrappyJob.com, which is actually the internship site for Bozell, a Omaha, NE based full-service public relations and advertising agency. There’s nothing extraordinarily special about the site beyond the domain name, but it’s well designed and informative, which is rare when it comes to Careers websites. I guess that’s what you should expect from the agency behind the “Got Milk?” mustache campaign and the “Pork. The Other White Meat.” slogan. Bozell’s history includes quite a few mergers, acquisitions, and buybacks. As of 2001 Bozell has moved away from Wall Street and returned to it roots as “an independent, client-focused, employee-owned agency.” They have an impressive portfolio of work and seem like a pretty cool place to work.

Got Bozell?

Going back to WhatACrappyJob.com, I have to admit that Bozell doesn’t have any entry level opportunities posted right now. However, I am inclined to think that a company that gives as much attention to their internship program as Bozell does must also do a significant amount of entry level hiring. Their internships are offered in Account Services, Art Direction/Design, Copywriting, Interactive, Media, Social Media, and Public Relations, so it would make sense that any entry level hiring that they do would be in those areas. It does seem that Bozell is open to accepting unsolicited résumés, as they post the e-mail address for their Managing Principal, Administration & Business Services on their Careers page. Her name is Robin Donovan, and you can reach out to her at rdonovan@bozell.com. You may also want to do a little LinkedIn research to get a better feel for the types of positions that Bozell ofers.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Bozell?

Telltale Games

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:55:23 +0000

As a kid I wasn’t a total video/computer game junkie, but I certainly spent my fair share of time sitting in front of a screen playing games. One of my favorites was a game that I played on my Mac called The Secret of Monkey Island. I figured that the game series had been discontinued long ago, but it appears that a relatively new company called Telltale Games has resurrected the series while also developing some new story-based games. Telltale Games is based in San Rafael, CA, and, as they put it, they are “the first and only studio to release interactive episodic content on a monthly schedule.” They seem to have found an interesting niche in the gaming industry, and they’re having success across platforms that include Wii, Xbox360, and the PC.

Tell a Tale, Get a Job

Telltale Games seems well positioned for the future of gaming, as their episodic approach to games is based on digital distribution. Not only have they created their own direct sales distribution channel, but they’ve also “partnered with leading distributors (Time Warner / Turner Entertainment (GameTap); Yahoo Games; Steam; IGN; Big Fish; JoWooD Group; Trymedia; Wild Tangent).” I guess the days of going to a store to buy a game are coming to an end. Score one for instant gratification. And if you want instant gratification when it comes to jobs at Telltale Games, you better have some serious game development skills. While they do have some non-technical positions shown on their Staff page, Telltale’s job openings include titles like Build Engineer, Cinematic Artist, and Tester. Those are the kinds of jobs that require a lot of hard work building skills and gaining experience, so hopefully you’ve been doing that throughout college. You can find specific application instruction on each job posting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played any games from Telltale Games?

20×200

Willy Franzen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:56 +0000

Since we’re going to talk about art today, I have to give my little sister a shout out for her Vernissage benefitting Artists for Charity tomorrow. If you’re in the Fairfield, CT area and enjoy art, you need to check it out. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not all that into art. With a painter for a sister, a graphic designer for a mom, and an architect for a dad, I’m the black sheep of my family. Designing this site is about as far as my artistic talent goes. With that said, when you combine art with a cool web based business idea, my ears perk up. That’s exactly what happened when I saw a friend post an article about 20×200 (a part of Jen Bekman Projects) on Facebook. 20×200 is an online art and photography gallery based out of New York City, and they just closed a first round of $800,00 in venture capital funding. Now, you don’t typically see art galleries getting VC funding, but you also don’t typically see art galleries using the power of the Internet to make affordable art available to the masses either.

20×200 ≫ 4,000

The idea behind 20×200 is based on a pretty simple formula: (limited editions x low prices) + the internet = art for everyone. It all started with limited edition runs of 200 pieces sold at $20, and now 20×200 offers more sizes at more prices. Still, the goal remains to keep art affordable so that it becomes more accessible. It’s a brilliant idea because it takes advantage of exactly what the Internet is best at doing—making inefficient markets more efficient. Matching artists with buyers is tough work, and brick and mortar galleries just aren’t big enough to do the job well. 20×200 matches these people up easily. That’s why investors saw potential in them, and now 20×200 has some cash to spend. Judging by their Jobs page, it looks like hiring is one way that they plan on spending that money. Despite their artsy fartsiness, 20×200 is most focused on hiring techies right now—they’re looking for a System Admin and a Web Developer. I’m sure that there will be more jobs in the near future, and some of them will be a bit closer to the art side of things. For now, check out these jobs and consider reaching out to 20×200 to see if they’ll consider hiring you for an unlisted position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you buy anything on 20×200?

Rockstar Games

Willy Franzen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:22:44 +0000

After a second company used the term “rockstar” in their job postings, it became clichéd. I know that I’ve said this before, but no matter how good your coding skills (or whatever other rockstar skills employers look for) are, you’re never going to be a rockstar. Unless, of course, you land a job at Rockstar Games. If you work there, at least you’ll be a rockstar in name. You may not have a guitar, but you’ll be working for the company behind video game series like Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, and Manhunt. And for those of you who have a different taste in games, they’ve got Table Tennis for the Wii. I keep harping on the fact that the video game industry is doing well, but it’s just so impressive. Other content producers like newspapers, magazines, record labels, and move producers are struggling with changes in how we consume content, but video game companies keep humming along—and Rockstar Games is no exception.

Grand Theft Entry Level Job

I first found out about the fact that Rockstar Games is hiring when I watched this YouTube video from the Art Institutes’ Career Services team (this video actually comes first in the series). It was cool to see such in-depth content on what it takes to get a job at Rockstar Games, and it obviously got me looking to find where they post their job opportunities. Their website is entirely in Flash, which is a total pain in the butt, and the main navigation for the site only shows up if you put your mouse over it. And even if you do put your cursor in the right place, you won’t find a link to their Jobs page (at least I couldn’t).

Luckily a Google search turned up Rockstar Games’ Jobs page. It’s loaded with opportunities (and not all of them are in Software Development), so it’s kind of like a hidden treasure. We can’t link to specific postings (stupid Flash), but I can tell you that they have Game Programming and Animation jobs in Vancouver, British Columbia; a Game Content Creator position and all kinds of Game Programmer positions for RAGE in San Diego, CA; Game Programmer and Character Artist positions in Toronto, Ontario; Junior Web Developer and Marketing Coordinator in New York City; and Gameplay Generalist/Programmer in Andover, MA. Additionally, Rockstar Games has a ton of open position at their 4 locations in the United Kingdom. It’s amazing how many job openings Rockstar Games has, so whether you’re an artist, programmer, or marketer, there’s probably something for you. You can apply online for any of the positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Rockstar Games’ titles is your favorite?

Moroch

Willy Franzen — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:22:49 +0000

Sometimes I don’t completely get advertising. Take McDonald’s for example. How many people in the US have never heard of McDonald’s? Not many. So what’s the point in advertising? Maybe you can convince some more people to come in to buy off of the Dollar Menu or get more kids to beg their parents to buy them a happy meal, but it seems like McDonald’s would be just fine without any advertising at all. That’s something that the folks at Dallas’ Moroch will disagree with strongly because they are an ad agency that happens to do a lot of work with McDonald’s. And since Moroch’s About page says that they’re really all about helping their clients make more money (usually through advertising), I’m going to take a wager that all of the Mickey D’s advertising that you see has a significant effect on the bottom line. Beyond McDonald’s, Moroch also works with huge brands like Verizon, Walt Disney Pictures, Monster (yuck), and Make-A-Wish. That may sound cushy, but that means that there’s always a constant pressure to deliver spectacular results.

Your (Personal) Brand Wins

If you’re looking to learn a lot about the Advertising industry, Moroch looks like a fantastic place to do that. I wish that I could intersperse links throughout this post, but Moroch uses Flash for their website. That means that we can’t link directly to the pages, so you’ll have to do some browsing to read case studies, check out their client list, read their story, and see where they have offices. The good news is that we can link to their Jobs page (even if it is a kind of crappy Applicant Tracking System). There you’ll see some interesting opportunities that are suitable for new college grads. There’s a McDonald’s Account Coordinator in Sacramento, CA along with opportunities to submit a creative portfolio (Copywriters, Art Directors, Creative Directors and the like) or to submit a general résumé (Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations) to the Dallas, TX office. Moroch looks like a pretty cool place to work, so give it a shot.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think McDonald’s advertising is effective?

Vans

Willy Franzen — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:40:08 +0000

Yeserday we talked about jobs at Vann’s, which made me think that we should talk about with jobs at Vans today. The two companies don’t have much in common beyond being homophones of each other, so let’s start talking about shoes. Cypress, CA based Vans was founded in 1966 as the Van Doren Rubber Company. They started out by producing shoes for sports like baseball, basketball, and wrestling, but that didn’t end up working out too well for them; in fact, it led to bankruptcy. They eventually came out of bankruptcy, and then Sean Penn’s character wore a pair of Vans checkerboard slip-ons in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That changed everything.

Jobs with Sole

Since then Vans has really embraced the skater culture that first embraced them. It’s pretty much become an essential part of their brand. They don’t offer a ton of information about their company (there isn’t even an about page), but I do know that they are part of a larger company called VF Corporation. Since there’s no quick and easy way to “get to know” Vans, you’ll have to do some browsing around their website to get a better feel for what they’re all about. You might also want to check out their LinkedIn Company Profile. Once you feel like you have a good idea of what Vans is all about, you can check out their Jobs page. They give you the option of checking out jobs at Corporate, Retail, or their Distribution Center. For our purposes we’re going to focus on Corporate, where they have a Corporate Trainee Program. It is “a one-year cross-functional developmental program for a recent college graduate with a business or art degree who seeks a broad experience in key areas of Vans.” It sounds awesome, and you can apply online. It seems like nearly any career path at Vans should start with this program.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you wear Vans?

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?

Agency Nil

Willy Franzen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:58 +0000

Considering that I do this nearly every day, I see a lot of companies and a lot of jobs, but today I came across something that I’ve never seen before. It’s called Agency Nil, and it’s an full-service advertising agency, except it’s nothing like any ad agency that you’ve ever seen. They don’t have a physical location, they don’t have a salaried staff, and they don’t have set fees. It’s almost as they don’t exist (I think that’s where the “nil” comes in), but they do. As PSFK puts it, Agency Nil “hopes to channelize the skills of experienced but laid-off talents from the advertising industry, as well as that of graduate students from advertising programs – people who just can’t seem to lay their hands on that elusive job.” In other words, they’re trying to put the glut of available talent to good use. It’s brilliant.

Will Work for All It’s Worth

The whole idea behind Agency Nil is that clients pay what they think the work they get is worth. They do have to cover any expenses, but beyond that the billing is completely discretionary. It allows them to put all of the risk on the agency, and that means the client is likely to get a lot more creativity than they would ever get in house. Ageny Nil’s slogan is “cheaper than freelance, better than interns,” and I think it’s pretty obvious why. Agency Nil was started by Hank Leber, a recent grad of the graduate program at VCU Brancenter, and he’s looking for more talent to join him at Agency Nil. If you’re interested in working in a pure meritocracy with a lot of uncertainty, send something impressive to audition@agencynil.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the Agency Nil concept?

The Bradford Group

Willy Franzen — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:01:05 +0000

I’ve done it. I’ve found the most ridiculous looking corporate website on the web. It has an animated moving background and multiple bouncing balloon/blimp logos that make it look like it’s straight out of the Imagination Land episode of South Park. It may be a little hokey, but it works for Niles, IL (right outside of Chicago) based The Bradford Group because they’re in the collectibles industry. Their customers aren’t concerned with flash and edginess, they’re all about sentimentality. When you’ve been doing direct marketing of collector plates, music boxes, and all kinds of commemorative items for 36 years, you probably know your audience. So, even though The Bradford Group’s web design leaves me laughing out loud, I’m not going to sell them short based on my taste as a non-collector. (And if you totally disagree with me and love the design, you can make it your computer’s background.)

Take a Balloon Ride

The Bradford Group has a wide variety of brands that fill different niches in the collectibles market. They have The Bradford Exchange, which is all about “limited-edition collector plates”, and there’s also Hawthorne Village, which focuses on “finely crafted collectible villages, electric trains, figurines and accessories.” There are also 9 more brands that market items like sports collectibles, ornaments, and diecast cars and trucks. It’s a business that I know nearly nothing about, but it sounds like it has a lot in common with MBI Inc., whose jobs we featured here a few months ago. Beyond having similar businesses, they also both seem to have a huge interest in entry level talent and recruiting in general. The Bradford Group’s website is plastered with links promoting their jobs, including a special section for College Recruiting. They seem to do a good amount of on-campus recruiting for positions like Direct Marketing Associate and Product Development Associate, and you can take a look at what kind of positions they currently have available here. They also have a call for freelance artists posted on their site. The current job postings seem to be more focused on interns than entry level, but there’s no reason that you shouldn’t try reaching out to them and finding out more about career options at The Bradford Group. Also, don’t forget to take an online tour of The Bradford Group’s headquarters, it looks pretty neat.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you collect?

Mono

Willy Franzen — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:40:38 +0000

I love simplicity. I also appreciate singularity. You know… One Day, One Job. There’s so much clutter these days that it can become really hard to focus. I’m sure that you’re seeing it in your job search, and you’re probably wondering why companies just keep layering on more complexity to what they do. If so, then you’re in good company. Mono is a Minneapolis, MN based branding, advertising, and design agency that is all about simplicity. They think that putting smart, innovative people on client projects is the key to great branding. That’s it. I like it. And so do their clients (it’s an impressive list).

Mono Day, Mono Job

I took a few minutes to browse through some of Mono’s client work, and it’s awesome. I’m not just saying that they work with really great brands (which they do), but I’m also saying that their stuff is out of this world. Just look at what they did for NBATV, Herman Miller, and PBS. Simple, but beautiful. Mono doesn’t offer a ton of information about themselves online, but they get the message across just fine. You can tell who they are by using their website. They don’t even have a Jobs page – just an e-mail address for employment inquiries. They do, however, have what looks to be a fantastic internship program, so they clearly have an interest in young talent. If you’d like to work for Mono or you just want to know whether the company was named after a disease or not, get in touch with them at employment@mono-1.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you appreciate Mono’s simplicity?

Bungie

Willy Franzen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:50:56 +0000

It’s been almost 6 months since I first started talking about how the video game industry is a good place to find a job during a recession, yet I continue to be amazed by how aggressively some gaming companies are hiring. I don’t know if it’s a result of the fact that people buy video games when they’re unemployed or it’s that hard to find people to fill these jobs, but I’m shocked to see a company like Bungie with 21 job openings – many of which appear to be suitable for new grads. Now, Bungie and I go way back. I’ve been using Macs since the early 90s, and Bungie was one of the premier game creators for Macs. Although I was never a serious gamer, I definitely have fond memories of Bungie’s first huge success – Marathon. Then they hit it big with Halo. Microsoft bought them out, and they picked up shop and moved (all of their employees chose to follow the company) to Kirkland, WA.

Take a Bungie Jump

Bungie may have been bought out by the evil empire (they were the premier Mac game publisher), but they’ve remained true to their roots. Here’s the Bungie Creed:

Bungie is a studio built first and foremost on the strengths and abilities of its people. We use the best technology and the best talent in the industry, assembled together in the best place, to create compelling games, stories and worlds.

With all these pieces in place, Bungie can concentrate on its ultimate goal:

7 Steps to World Domination.

1. Start independent gaming software company.
2. Dominate Mac platform: Launch assault on Windows platform.
3. Announce killer gaming title.
4. Acquire strangely addictive Chinese food company.
5. Recover Ling Ling’s head.
6. Stage bloody coup of new parent company.
7. Take over World. Shoot enemies into sun with giant slingshot.

If you’re interested in world domination, then you need to check out Bungie’s Jobs page. Their job listings are easy enough to browse that I don’t need to repeat them for you, but I will tell you that most of the opportunities are in Art and Engineering/Software Development. There are also positions in Production, Design, and Testing. You can apply by sending resumes (along with demo reels, portfolios, sample code, and anything else that demonstrates your skills) to jobs@bungie.com, and you really should dive deep into their website. It’s one of the best corporate websites that I’ve seen, and it’s loaded with information that potential employees will find fascinating.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you ever play Marathon back in the day?

Interweave Press

Willy Franzen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:42:09 +0000

I’m about as far away from the world of crocheting, beading, knitting, jewelry making, quilting, spinning, and needle working as you can possibly be. The closest that I’ve come to the world of crafts is having my Mom knit me a scarf and meeting someone who may or may not (she was very secretive) be a part of a group of Chicago Crochet Graffiti Artists. Still, I know that this world of crafts exists – and it’s huge. That’s why it’s no surprise that Interweave Press, a craft media company with “businesses in magazine and book publishing, interactive media, broadcast programming, and events for craft enthusiasts,” still seems to be thriving after almost 35 years in the business. Although I don’t know for sure, I’d imagine that Interweave Press, which is headquartered in Loveland, Colorado and has other offices in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Stow, Massachusetts, is somewhat insulated from all of the trouble that most other media companies are seeing because of the niche that they work in.

Weave Yourself into a Job

Since I’m obviously not the one to tell you about the craft media industry, you should probably check out Interweave Press’ website to get all of the details on them. If you’re big on crafting, you’ve probably already heard of them, and if you’re not, a job with Interweave Press probably isn’t the right direction for you anyway. According to Interweave Press’ LinkedIn profile, they’re a moderately small company with an average age of 39 and a 4:1 female to male ratio. Their Jobs page shows three open positions, which unfortunately require a bit more experience that most new college grads have; however, we still think there might be some opportunities for you with Interweave. They do offer internships, so we know they’re interested in young talent, and the jobs that they do have – Online Production Administrator, Book Designer, and Sales and Promotion Manager – are only a few years away from entry level. You could try applying for one of the jobs, or you may just want to reach out to Interweave Press’ HR team at jobs@interweave.com to see if there might be mutual interest.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a crafter?

All Stars Project

Willy Franzen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:56:46 +0000

A lot of companies use the term “rock star” to describe the people that they’d like to hire. I don’t understand why “all star” never caught on – it’s more appropriate. Rock stars come with all kinds of problems and aren’t necessarily the most desirable employees, but all stars are the best at what they do. The All Stars Project is a non-profit organization based in New York City that is “dedicated to promoting human development through the use of an innovative performance-based model.” Even though their logo kind of looks like Rock Bands, they’re all about creating all stars. They do this by “sponsoring community and experimental theatre, developing leadership training and pursuing volunteer initiatives that build and strengthen communities.” They offer a wide range of programs that are centered around theatre and the performing arts.

Are You an All Star?

I could keep blabbing about the All Stars Project, or I could let them show you by doing what they do best – performing in a video called “Singing and Dancing Our Way to Development.”

That video should cover most of what you need to know except what job openings they have. All Stars Project doesn’t seem to have a Jobs page on their website, but they do post their jobs on Idealist. Right now there’s only one opening for an Administrative Assistant for the Director of Youth Programs, but it looks like a great way to get involved with All Stars Project. You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to Pam Hafer at jobs@allstars.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you an All Star?

Blue Sky Studios

Willy Franzen — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:43:33 +0000

This weekend my Dad e-mailed me about a company that had just moved to Connecticut (where I’m originally from). Connecticut has been working hard to attract the movie industry to the state – they even have what is called a “Hollywood East Task Force” in Hartford – so it’s big news when a company like Blue Sky Studios makes a move to Connecticut because they’ve been bribed by tax credits. It certainly brings a lot of jobs to Connecticut (even though New York loses just as many.) As interesting as it is that Connecticut is trying to become “Hollywood East,” it’s not nearly as interesting as what Blue Sky Studios does. They “pioneer creatively superior photo-realistic, high-resolution, computer-generated character animation for the feature film, television and entertainment industries.” Put more simply, they’re behind feature films like Ice Age, Horton Hears a Who, and Robots, and some pretty cool shorts too.

Live in Blue Sky Country

If you want to work in Animation or Production, there are few, if any, better place to start than Blue Sky Studios. In fact, Blue Sky Country has a comprehensive FAQ on how to break into the industry. Whether you’re interested in a job with Blue Sky or at another animation house, this will tell you everything that you need to do (from high school all the way through college and beyond) to groom yourself to get a job in the Animation industry. That’s a great place to start, but if you’ve already checked off a few things on the list, it might be time to take a look at Blue Sky Studios’ Jobs (or to subscribe to their Jobs RSS feed). We browsed over the listings and tried to find the jobs that might be most suitable for new grads. We came across jobs like Production Assistant, Administrative Assistant (Production), Temporary Animator, Modeler, Character Software Developer, Cloth TD, Materials TD, Character TD, Character Designer, and Designer. It’s hard to say how many of these jobs can be considered entry level, because many of specific knowledge requirements that use jargon that we’re not familiar with, but you’ll have a good idea whether you qualify or not. To apply for a job with Blue Sky Studios, check out the individual job descriptions for specific instructions. Also, if you’d like to know more about what it’s like to work at Blue Sky Studios, you can check out their pages on their Environment and their Process.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Blue Sky’s movies is your favorite?

CoachArt

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:35:37 +0000

As I’ve been expressing in my posts about our upcoming job search training course and the HP Magic Giveaway, there’s nothing better than the feeling of sharing your skills and knowledge with someone who can use the help. CoachArt is a Los Angeles based non-profit that allows every day people to share what they’re good at with underprivileged children and adolescents who are dealing with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. CoachArt’s coaches offer free, personal lessons in arts and athletics – including art, music, photography, yoga, creative writing, acting, dancing and more – to improve the lives of kids who are facing serious, adult issues. They’ve already served thousands of children in just 8 years of operation. CoachArt sounds like an amazing program that would be well worth working or volunteering for.

The Art of Coaching

CoachArt’s coaching positions are volunteer only, but they sound like an extraordinary way to share one of your passions with children who need an escape from the realities of their illnesses. However, if you’re looking for a full time job with CoachArt, you’re in luck. They just posted an opening for a Program Coordinator on Idealist, and the job descriptions sounds like the job will be well suited to new college grads. If you end up landing the job, you’ll be working with both coaches and the families of the children in the program to ensure that participation on both sides is going smoothly. Although they don’t list their jobs on their website, CoachArt actually has a great website that is loaded with information. It’s well worth your time to use the links below to find out more about what they’re doing to improve the lives of children. The Program Coordinator position seems to be the only job that CoachArt have available right now, and they’re looking to hire immediately, so you might want to jump on this opportunity by sending a cover letter and resume to Karina Nordbak at karina@coachart.org as quickly as you possibly can.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

If you were a CoachArt coach, what would your coaching specialty be?

Blizzard Entertainment

Willy Franzen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:47:47 +0000

Some people seem to think that this financial crisis is a sign that the end of the world is coming. Well, I can assure you that it is not going to lead to the end of the World… of Warcraft. Why’s that? Because video game sales were up 18% from last October to this October. I guess when you can’t find a job, a new video game seems like a smart investment (you have a lot of time on your hands). I’d recommend that you invest in our job search training course instead, but that’s just my opinion. So, even if you’re frustrated by your job search, don’t give up on the World… of Warcraft. Not only can video games give you a way to blow off your steam while you’re getting pwned by your job search, they can also provide you ideas for new employers to look into. For instance, Irvine, CA based Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind World of Warcraft seems to be on a hiring binge. Maybe your 1337 gaming skills aren’t useless (and don’t tell me that you don’t need a job because you’re mining cybergold). Oh yeah, and if you’re playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure, you’re doing it wrong, n00b.

Looks Like You’re About to Get Pwned

Most of the jobs at Blizzard require technical expertise, but that’s what you’d expect from a major video game developer. There are also a ton of artistic/creative jobs and customer support jobs, and there are even some opportunities in HR. There’s no need for us to list the specific job opportunities, because Blizzard’s Jobs page is fantastic. They lay out and categorize all of their opportunities for you on one page, and they provide a drop down box that highlights jobs by specific function. That means that you can see all of the Software Engineer jobs highlighted across different departments. It’s really slick. Unfortunately, they don’t come right out and tell you which jobs can be considered entry level, but it’s actually not hard to tell just from looking at the job titles.

In addition to Blizzard’s sweet Jobs page, they also have a University Relations page. It offers some additional information for college students who want to work at Blizzard, and it includes a calendar of Blizzard’s upcoming campus recruiting events. Other than that, though, there isn’t much additional information. The page says

We’re hiring recent graduates in all areas, including programming, art, animation, and design. Please research the available positions and send your resume, cover letter, salary history, and demo reel (if applicable) to resumes@blizzard.com.

So, in other words, go look at the jobs page and see which positions you think that you’re a good fit for. There is a universityrelations@blizzard.com e-mail address, so you may want to direct any questions that you have there. Blizzard does a great job of selling their jobs, so you should be able to easily find everything that you need to know. Now get together a 1337 cover letter and resume and show Blizzard that you’re not a n00b.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play WoW?

GreenWood

Willy Franzen — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:00:17 +0000

Usually when we feature non-profit entry level jobs on the weekends, we like to go with well established organizations that we can find a lot of information about. Today, I came across a non-profit that I can’t find much background on, but I’m impressed by how cool what they’re doing is. GreenWood is a non-profit organization that “trains artisans to make high-quality wood products, adding value to forest resources and creating incentives to protect biodiversity.” I know firsthand how cool artisan crafted wood products from the rainforest can be, because my parents recently received a huge wooden table that they bought in El Salvador. It’s absolutely beautiful. There is a huge market for these types of products, and GreenWood is doing its best to “foster self-sufficiency by promoting good forest management, the use of lesser-known species, inspired designs, skilled hand-tool production and access to good markets.”

Help Build Sustainable Forest Enterprise

GreenWood’s website is only one page, but it certainly tells their story well. It loaded with pictures, and it shows exactly how teaching people who live in rural, rainforest communities simple skills and providing them with simple tools can completely change the way that they live. So what about working for GreenWood? Right now they have an Executive Assistant position available. The job listing says that they’d like someone with experience, but we think that this job looks perfect for a new college grad who is looking to break into the sustainability/non-profit world. You might have to sell yourself a little bit to land this job in South Berwick, ME, but to be part of such a cool project is certainly worth it. You can apply by sending your cover letter and resume to scott@greenwoodglobal.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

GreenWoodGlobal.org
Jobs at GreenWood Global (Idealist)

What do you think about what GreenWood is doing?

Harlem Success Academy

Willy Franzen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:00:11 +0000

Did your Kindergarten class have a special name? Something beyond the teacher’s name? If it did, you probably don’t remember it, but kids at Harlem Success Academy are going to remember the names of their classes for a long time. Not only are their classes named by the colleges that their teachers went to, but the classes are identified by the year that they will be graduating from college (if my math is right, then this year’s Kindergarteners are the Class of 2025). I think that’s pretty inspirational, and that’s the point. Harlem Success Academy is a charter elementary school that is exactly what its name says it is.

You Can Succeed Too

Harlem Success Academy has a different culture and a different take on academics. It all comes down to results, and that’s what Harlem Success Academy is all about. They’ve only been around for just over two years, but they were able to take their first class of 1st Graders from 44% reading at grade level to 96% reading at grade level by the end of the year (and 2/3 were reading at 2nd Grade Level or above). That’s a serious accomplishment in a short amount of time. It seems that Harlem Success Academy has cracked the code when it comes to improving educational outcomes in underserved communities.

If this sounds like something that you’d like to be a part of, then you’re in luck, because Harlem Success Academy is doing a lot of hiring. Their job listings show 25 current positions that they’re hiring for. Three of these are in Elementary School Teaching – Elementary School Teacher (with openings in Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Science, Special Education, Music, Dance, Sports, and Art), Assistant Teacher, and Special Education Teacher. It’s hard to tell whether these jobs will be well suited to a new college grad since the job descriptions aren’t very clear about what the experience and degree requirements are, but they’re certainly worth inquiring about. There are also openings that are seemingly entry level in Student Support Services (Educational Associate, Speech Therapist, and Teacher Aide) and Administration (Instructional Data Analyst, Technology Assistant, School Affairs Coordinator, Finance Assistant, Recruitment Assistant, Executive Assistant, and Special Projects Manager). You can find full descriptions of each of these jobs on the category pages that we just linked to, and you can apply for the jobs directly from the descriptions. And in case it wasn’t obvious, the jobs are located in Harlem, NY. Now go tie your personal success to the success of Harlem Success Academy and apply for a job!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about getting Kindergarteners focused on going to college?

Viximo

Willy Franzen — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:36:13 +0000

Ok, I’ll admit it. I bought 10 Facebook gifts for $5 back when Facebook gifts were new. I don’t know why I did it, but I did it, ok? Why would anyone in his or her right mind give a digital gift that has no practical value? I don’t know, but I’ve done it, and you probably have too. The only redeeming quality that I can see in these gifts is that they don’t take up space, as in they don’t add to the mountain of crap that you’ve accumulated in your short life. If I think that digital gifts are stupid, when why am I writing about Viximo and their entry-level jobs today? Because digital gifts aren’t stupid at all. They’re becoming a big business, and Viximo is banking on being a major player in the digital gifting economy. Birthday cards are pretty useless, but Hallmark has had a pretty good run. It’s time for the next step in showing people that you care, and Viximo is ready.

Digitally Yours

What would you rather get? A One Day, One Job branded digital cupcake or an iPod Touch. Since most of you would probably rather win an iPod Touch, please click this link (It counts as a vote for us in a guest blogging contest. If we win the iPod touch, we’ll give it away here). You’d still take the One Day, One Job branded cupcake though, wouldn’t you? Viximo hopes so. They’ve been in stealth stage for a while, but this Forbes article kind of blew their cover. Viximo is working on a number of iPhone and Facebook applications to improve the online gift giving experience. They carry the gift giving from start to finish. They work with the best creators, then link up with exciting brands, and finally distribute gifts with different publishers through their “turnkey digital goods solution.”

Since Viximo has just about the best About page that we’ve ever seen, we’re going to quote it:

Like every other Internet startup, we’re here to change the Internet. What makes us different is that we look good doing it.

Viximo is the mullet of startups: 15 engineers working hard in the front and a 5 person art party in the back. We love Ruby and/on Rails. We make jokes about object-oriented girlfriends and grill out occasionally. We use OS X, XP and Ubuntu. We salsa dance, play fantasy football , organize croquet societies, race cars across frozen ponds and wear ponchos…all while Twittering. Our conference rooms are named after Lost hatches and our fridge is stocked with Snapple and PBR.

We started humbly as a few guys in Cambridge’s tech co-working space, Betahouse. One day we had a naming party (we almost ended up named after a bacteria), hired 20 more folks and moved into an old recording studio in Davis Square. We’re funded by Sigma Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.

If you feel like you might be into this kind of thing, why not check out our jobs here.

The mullet of startups, huh? If you’re still trying to get your head around what that means, you should check out Viximo’s Flickr page and follow them on Twitter. You’ll also want to read Viximo’s Blog.

Looking for Gifted New Grads

Viximo is looking for as many talented people as they can get their hands on right now (no, they won’t actually touch you, ok, they might, we don’t know). If you’re qualified for one of their job openings, they’ll probably hire you. That is, unless they just don’t feel like going to IKEA to buy a new desk for you (actually, they’ll probably take the new desk and give you one of the 6 month old ones). They do that a lot because they’re constantly adding new people.

Viximo has quite a few jobs listed on their Jobs page right now, so we’ve selected those that are best suited to new college grads: Web Developer, Server Engineer, Systems Administrator, and 2D Artist (your art should be 2-dimensional, but you should have 3 dimensions, although I’m sure Viximo won’t discriminate against people who have been run over by steamrollers). All of these jobs require some pretty specific knowledge or experience, but nothing that you couldn’t have picked up at college. Viximo is based in Cambridge, MA, and you can send your cover letter and resume to jobs@viximo.com to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you given or received a digital gift? What did you think about it? Leave a comment.

The Museum of Modern Art

Willy Franzen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:04:44 +0000

I am the black sheep of my family. My mom is a graphic designer, my dad is an architect, and my sister is a painter (although she doesn’t want to be labeled). I have no artistic talent whatsoever, and I barely have the ability to appreciate good art. That means that I’m probably not the best person to tell you about the The Museum of Modern Art, but they do have some great entry-level job opportunities, so I’m going to tell you about them anyway.

What Is Modern Art?

Founded in 1929, MoMA is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world. What is modern art? We’ll use MoMA’s own words from their website to tell you that.

To achieve its goals The Museum of Modern Art recognizes:

That modern and contemporary art originated in the exploration of the ideals and interests generated in the new artistic traditions that began in the late nineteenth century and continue today.

That modern and contemporary art transcend national boundaries and involve all forms of visual expression, including painting and sculpture, drawings, prints and illustrated books, photography, architecture and design, and film and video, as well as new forms yet to be developed or understood, that reflect and explore the artistic issues of the era.

That these forms of visual expression are an open-ended series of arguments and counter arguments that can be explored through exhibitions and installations and are reflected in the Museum’s varied collection.

That it is essential to affirm the importance of contemporary art and artists if the Museum is to honor the ideals with which it was founded and to remain vital and engaged with the present.
That this commitment to contemporary art enlivens and informs our evolving understanding of the traditions of modern art.

That to remain at the forefront of its field, the Museum must have an outstanding professional staff and must periodically reevaluate itself, responding to new ideas and initiatives with insight, imagination, and intelligence. The process of reevaluation is mandated by the Museum’s tradition, which encourages openness and a willingness to evolve and change.

In sum, The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary art, while being accessible to a public that ranges from scholars to young children.

How Do I Get a Job at The Modern Museum of Art?

One would have to imagine that getting a job at an institution as prestigious as MoMA is pretty difficult. They have some fantastic job opportunities that are well suited for new college grads, so you’ll need to find one that you’re a perfect fit for and blow them away with an outstanding cover letter. If your knowledge of art is less extensive than mine, then you should probably forget about it. MoMA is currently looking to hire for the following positions: Administrative Assistant – Media; Cataloguer (15 month project) – Prints and Illustrated Books; Coordinator, Community and Access Programs – Education; Coordinator, Education Administration – Education; Curatorial Assistant – Painting and Sculpture; and Education History Research Fellow (1 year project) – Education. You can find full descriptions and requirements for each of these opportunities on MoMA’s Jobs page.

To apply for a job at MoMA, you should send a cover letter and resume to jobs@moma.org with the position title in the subject line of your e-mail. You should also include salary requirements (we hate when companies/organizations ask for this – it’s unreasonable). The Museum of Modern Art is located in New York City, and so are all of their entry-level jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited MoMA?

Arena Stage

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:25:56 +0000

Continuing with our patriotic weekend, we’re going to take a look at Arena Stage, a non-profit theater company that produces “huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit.” They put out all types of productions “from vast epics to charged dramas to robust musicals.” Located in Washington, DC, Arena Stage has been around 6 decades and was one of the first non-profit theater companies. They reach an annual audience of over 200,000 people (we reach more here!) and strive “to instill in the public a life-long love of and participation in the theater arts through [their] education programs.”

Jobs Off Stage

Arena Stage has a number of job opportunities for the drama enthusiasts in the crowd. The most interesting opportunity is Audience Development Manager, which unfortunately isn’t described as entry-level. This job is all about “identifying and cultivating relationships with corporations and organizations to augment Arena’s group sales efforts.” They say that they want 3 years of prior experience, but if you did something like this in a college organization, it might be worth applying. Arena Stage also has job openings for Carpenters (set design), Inbound Sales Associates, and Telemarketing Sales Associates. If you want to get involved with a non-profit theater company, these are some great opportunities to get your foot in the door. We wonder if Arena Stage might have some opportunities specifically tailored to new grads, since they do appear to have a strong internship program. Keep an eye on their Jobs page, or send them an e-mail and see if they have anything else available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We hope you had a great July 4th weekend. We sure did.

Artist Boat

Willy Franzen — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:42:22 +0000

Sometimes a non-profit organization’s name tells you exactly what they do, or example The Association for Energy Affordability or The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Other organizations have names that aren’t quite as straightforward, like today’s non-profit Artist Boat. Quick! Try and guess what they do. Bet you didn’t guess that they are an organization that is “dedicated to promoting awareness and preservation of coastal margins and the marine environment through the disciplines of the sciences and the arts.”

Art in a Boat

Artist Boat encourages collaboration between marine scientists and artists. By doing so, they can:

1) Promote the preservation of fragile ecosystems through environmental education and the arts

2) Utilize the traditional tools of the sciences and the arts in coastal margins and the marine environment to bring people to places of awareness and reflection while visiting these habitats

3) Reflect the immense beauty, wonder and diversity of life contained in coastal margins and the marine environment back to their communities.

If you take a look at Artist Boat’s website, you’ll start to understand what they do a little better. Many of the photos on the site are of artists painting or drawing in kayaks. They’re painting/drawing scenes that you can’t just drive up to. Artist Boat has programs for youths and adults and they also offer an Eco-Art Curriculum. What a unique idea for a non-profit!

Do You Love Art and Boats?

Artist Boat is currently hiring for 3 positions: Eco Art Arts/Science Educator, Eco-Art Arts Educator/Interpreter, and Administrative and Marketing Coordinator. The Educator positions are certainly appropriate for new college grads, but the Coordinator position is described as requiring a few years of experience. We think that an exceptional entry-level candidate might be able to do the job, so it’s worth looking at. The links we provided to the jobs go to Idealist, but you can also look at Artist Boat’s Employment page. Artist Boat is located in Galveston, TX, and you can apply by sending your cover letter and resume to kklay@artistboat.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think it’s hard to paint in a rocking boat?

Armstrong White

Willy Franzen — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:32:05 +0000

People don’t typically associate technology and innovation with Detroit and the auto industry. Whether it’s deserved or not, American car manufacturers have a pretty weak reputation these days. It’s unfortunate because the decline of the Big Three has seriously hurt the entire Michigan economy. That’s why you see these commercials with Jeff Daniels that try to sell businesses on a Michigan location. Armstrong White is exactly the type of company that is going to bring jobs back to Michigan. They have built a business in Bloomfield Hills, MI that directly serves the auto industry, but is also high tech and extremely innovative. No, they haven’t developed some sort of alternative energy technology. They specialize “in rendering reality out of automotive 2D and 3D assets and digital landscapes for print, broadcast and interactive mediums.”

Did You Draw Cars As a Kid?

If you were one of those kids who was always drawing cars, then working at Armstrong White will probably be your dream job. They take technical drawings and renderings from the automotive manufacturers whom they work with and turn them into lifelike images and videos. They have a lot of work displayed on their home page, so take a look at that to get a better sense of exactly what Armstrong White is all about. The work is so impressive that we couldn’t pick just a few to link to, you need to look at their entire portfolio.

Although most of what Armstrong White does is extremely artistic and technical (read: way over our heads), there’s not much more that we can say to explain their business. We do recommend that you take a look at this interview with Eric Bruneau, who is an Executive Vice President / Creative Director at Armstrong White as well as a four time Academy Award nominee. You might also want to take a look at Armstrong White’s YouTube channel. If you want to get a sense of what kinds of people work for Armstrong White, you can check out their employee profiles, which include pictures and some biographical data about their employees.

Armstrong White has a number of job openings, which they list both on their Jobs page and on Twitter. It’s hard to tell which jobs are entry-level, since we’re not familiar with the jargon, so we’re going to mention all the jobs that don’t list any experience requirements. Armstrong White is looking for a full-time Retoucher and for a freelance Geometry Prep, Environment Artist, and Flash Programmer. They also include that they’re always interested in Animators, Compositors, Lighters, Modelers, Retouchers, and Riggers. If that’s you, don’t be afraid to give them a cold call, or maybe it’s a lukewarm call since they said they’re “always interested.”

To apply for a job at Armstrong White, you’re going to need to include a cover letter, resume, and portfolio or reel. You can send that (and any other inquiries) to jobs@armstrong-white.com or

Armstrong White
ATTN: Mark DeRidder
800 W. Long Lake Rd. #100
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of the things in Armstrong White’s portfolio impresses you the most? Tell us in the comments.