One Day, One Job » Connecticut

Fanzter

Willy Franzen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:38:20 +0000

One thing that I find really exciting is the fact that there are cool startups popping up all across the country. Yes, Silicon Valley and the Pacific Northwest are still the primary places for technology focused companies to open up shop, but that’s becoming less and less true. That’s why I was intrigued by Fanzter—they’re web products company based in Collinsville, CT. Considering the fact that I’m from Connecticut and have never heard of Collinsville (it’s near Hartford), you have to consider it an unusual location for a startup (they would tell you it’s optimally located between Boston and New York City). Fanzter’s first (and only current) product is called Coolspotters. It’s a website that “makes it easy to discover and buy the products, brands, and fashions being used by your favorite celebrities – in their real lives, and in movies and television.” It reminds me a lot of what Delivery Agent is doing.

Spot These Cool Jobs

The business behind Coolspotters is pretty clear—their content can flow seamlessly into e-commerce. Coolspotters relies heavily on user-generated content, so the site can grow organically on it’s own. To get a feel for Coolspotters, let’s take a look at Joba Chamberlain (go Yankees!). His profile page will show you products that he’s been spotted with including a picture of him with the product. I see a picture of Joba playing Guitar Hero, and then I can go buy my own Guitar Hero. There are still a lot of kinks to be worked out on Coolspotters’ site (like having Mariano Rivera’s picture for C.C. Sabathia), but the concept is there and so is the funding. Right now, Fanzter’s Jobs page only has one position posted: Software Engineer, which is focused mostly on Web Development. The job is to build a new site called SimpleSports, so you have to love sports to be a good fit for the job. You might also want to note that Fanzter is offering Editorial Internships, so there’s the potential for some non techie jobs in the future (or maybe now if you want to try cold calling). You can apply for a job with Fanzter by sending a cover letter and résumé to jobs@fanzter.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Coolspotters?

Mercado Global

Willy Franzen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:26:04 +0000

Yesterday I told you about TechnoServe and all of the good that they’re doing by spreading entrepreneurism. Mercado Global is taking a similar approach to fighting poverty, but they’re doing it with a very specific focus. They are a New Haven, CT based non-profit organization “that links the world’s most rural and economically-disadvantaged cooperatives to the U.S. market through a model that provides both fair wages and investments in community’s long-term development.” Even more specifically, they focus on working with women who produce handmade products. So, not only is Mercado Global creating positive change in the developing world, but they’re also providing you with shopping opportunities.

Go to the Mercado

Here’s a pretty cool stat from Mercado Global: on average their sales triple the income of their partner artisans. When you multiply this income increase across their 360 artisans and their 2,100 dependents, you get a whole lot of social change. The best part is that a lot of that money goes directly to education—exactly what is needed to end the cycle of poverty. If you love the idea of what Mercado Global is doing, you should buy something from them—or consider a job. They don’t have a Jobs page on their site, but they do post opportunities on Idealist. Right now they have an opening for an Operations & Development Associate. They’d like someone with prior fundraising experience, but this job seems pretty close to entry level to me. You can apply by sending a résumé with cover letter explaining why you are interested in the position to Ruth DeGolia at ruth@mercadoglobal.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you buy something from Mercado Global?

TechnoServe

Willy Franzen — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:00:09 +0000

As an entrepreneur I am a strong believer that businesses are often the best way to solve problems. Don’t get me wrong—I love non-profits, but the ruthlessness of the business world breeds efficiency and effectiveness. We’ve seen plenty of non-profits try to cure poverty, yet poverty remains one of the world’s biggest problems. Lately we’ve seen more and more business based solutions aimed at eradicating poverty. TechnoServe, is a non-profit (the irony!) that is doing just that. They help “entrepreneurial men and women in poor areas of the developing world to build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth for their families, their communities and their countries.” What they’re doing may sound like some new social entrepreneurship startup, but they have a 40 year track record of successfully transforming the lives of the world’s poor. I guess business based solutions to poverty aren’t a new idea at all.

TechnoServing Up Some Exciting Jobs

When I first heard the name TechnoServe, I imagined some sort of technology related non-profit; however, that’s not what they are at all. In fact, what TechnoServe does could be considered quite basic. They’re helping people do what other people have been doing for thousands of years—building sustainable businesses. Last year they helped 1,350 businesses generate $149 million in total sales, while in the process touching the lives of 1.2 million people. TechnoServe does this through three key practices: Developing Entrepreneurs, Building Businesses and Industries, and Improving the Business Environment. Over the years they’ve expanded to more and more countries, so they now cover: Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and India. Their U.S. based offices are in Norwalk, CT and Washington, DC; and you can find information on their jobs here. Most of their job openings don’t profile for new college grads and they don’t accept applications for unlisted positions; however, with the right background (they really like consulting experience) you may find a few of their job listings to be a good fit. Additionally, they have a three to twelve month Volunteer Program that can groom you for a job with TechnoServe. Check it all out and see what works for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you heard anything about TechnoServe?

WWE (formerly WWF)

Willy Franzen — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:28:55 +0000

Yesterday I was amused by a friend’s Facebook status that said: “just had a revelation: Obama sounds like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.” I instantly imagined Barack Obama shirtless, yelling into a microphone, “Do you smellllllllllll what Barack is cooking?” Apparently SNL had a similar idea. That got me thinking about WWE (formerly the WWF), where The Rock first became famous. I was never a huge fan of professional wrestling, but I must admit to having watched on occasion. My little sister, on the other hand, was a huge fan. At about six years old she decided to be Hulk Hogan for Halloween. It was priceless. Back then they were the WWF, but a spate with World Wide Fund for Nature in 2000 resulted in a lawsuit and eventually a name change. WWE is located in Stamford, CT, just 20 minutes or so from my home town, and is a billion dollar business. Unfortunately, they haven’t been immune to layoffs, but they seem to have some great job opportunities right now.

Body Slam Your Way into a New Job

One thing that surprised me when I started doing research on World Wrestling Entertainment was the fact that they aim for a PG rating with all of their content. They put a huge emphasis on being family friendly because kids are such a huge part of their fan base. This philosophy runs throughout WWE’s five business units: Live and Televised Entertainment, Consumer Products, Digital Media, WWE Studios, and Sales & Sponsorships. If you’ve always loved professional wrestling and think that a career with WWE would be action packed, then you need to check out WWE’s Careers site. There are a bunch of job openings that can be considered entry level including Business Analyst (Stamford, CT), Live Event Marketing Rep (based anywhere in the U.S.), Motion Graphic Designer (Stamford, CT), On-Air Talent (Stamford, CT), and Writer Assistant (Stamford, CT). You can apply for all of these jobs online, so start practicing your body slams and elbow drops.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who is/was your favorite wrestler?

Triumvirate Environmental

Willy Franzen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:35:37 +0000

In the environmentalist’s ideal world there would be no such thing as hazardous waste. Everything would be pure and natural and “green.” Unfortunately, that will never happen (partially because every living thing is its own little hazardous waste factory). How we deal with this hazardous waste is what truly determines the future of our environment. Triumvirate Environmental has figured this out, and they’ve spent the last 21 years building a business that provides “turnkey environmental and hazardous waste management services to clients across four niche sectors; Education, Healthcare, Industrial, and Life Sciences.” They’re based in Somerville, MA with locations across New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic, and they also appear to be masters of social media.

Join the Triumvirate

I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard of Triumvirate Environmental until today. They’re totally on top of employment branding and social media use, so you’d think they’d be on my radar screen (I actually have an entry level job radar that gives me ideas for posts). This is impressive because they’re doing a great job making hazardous waste management exciting for job seekers and customers alike. Triumvirate Environmental has 9 blogs on topics that include The Environment, Environmental Careers, Higher Education, Healthcare, Industrial and Manufacturing, Life Sciences and BioPharma, Engineering Blogs, National and International Environmental News, and Social Media. It almost seems like too much, but if blog readers turn into customers or employees, then it’s well worth it. Triumvirate is all over Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube as well.

Although I find Triumvirate’s social media use impressive, I’m more impressed with their customer service philosophy, which is built off of their mission to “build the most productive, long-term, customer-intimate, environmental services firm by WOWing! each employee, and each customer, every day.” It’s all about WOWs! I’ve found that companies that treat their customers well, also treat their employees well, and the same can be said for companies that have Career blogs. That’s why you should definitely check out Triumvirate’s Career Center. Right now they have 22 job openings, and a number of them are suitable for new grads. These include Environmental Specialist (Somerville, MA; Providence, RI; Portland, CT; and Astoria, NY), Help Desk Specialist (Somerville, MA), and Environmental Service Representative (Portland, CT). There are also a number of jobs that are more “hands on” that only require a High School degree and some certifications. You can apply for all of these positions online, but I’ll bet that using social media to reach out to some people at Triumvirate Environmental may be a more effective way to get noticed.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you heard of Triumvirate Environmental before?

Public Allies

Willy Franzen — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:30:23 +0000

I happen to work with someone who knows a thing or two about leadership development. We’ve already developed one product to help future leaders land a job, and we have more in the pipeline. That’s why Public Allies caught my interest when a friend recently told me that they are hiring. They’re a Milwaukee, WI based non-profit that aims to “advance new leadership to strengthen communities, nonprofits and civic participation.” They do this in three ways: putting diverse young adults through a paid full-time nonprofit apprenticeships, engaging and growing an alumni network of diverse leaders, and helping leaders and organizations better harness the assets of diverse teams and communities through training and consulting programs.

Join the Allies

By holding “the conviction that everyone leads,” Public Allies is creating a permanent network of leaders who are committed to a concerted effort to initiate positive change. They’re doing this where they’re headquarted in Milwaukee as well as in Phoenix, AZ; Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH; Bridgeport, CT; Wilmington, DE; Estes Park, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Albuquerque, NM; New York, NY; Durham, NC; Pittsburgh, PA; San Antonio, TX; and Milpitas, CA. Their Ally Program is the first thing that may interest you. It’s a 10-month full-time Americorps apprenticeship that puts you to work at a non-profit in your community. You can check out the application and eligibility requirements here. Beyond this program, Public Allies also has a number of job openings. They’re not necessarily entry level, but the following positions (all located in Chicago, IL) might be worth looking at: Program Support Coordinator, Program Director, and Program Manager / Leadership Series Coordinator. You can find specific application information on the individual job postings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever heard of Public Allies?

A Better Chance

Willy Franzen — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:17:05 +0000

Having spent 7 years at a private prep school, I know the educational value that such institutions offer. I also know that private schools aren’t accessible to everyone (but neither are great public schools). That’s why I think that it’s pretty cool that a New York City based non-profit organization called A Better Chance is achieving its mission “to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society” by enrolling students of color in Member Schools (which are apparently both public and private). Since 1963 when “23 headmasters of selective independent schools made a mutual commitment to change the profiles and compositions of their student bodies,” A Better Chance has improved the educational outcomes of more than 12,000 alumni.

A Better Chance for You

A Better Chance just keeps getting bigger and bigger. They now have “a record 544 new Scholars in a growing national network of more than 300 Member Schools.” That’s more students than my school had K-12! A Better Chance’s website doesn’t go into a ton of detail on the specifics of their program (at least as far as I can tell), but I’m sure that some deeper research will give you a full view of how the program works. As for jobs, they have a number of opportunities across the country that seem as though they may be suitable for new grads. These include Resident Director positions in Simsbury, CT; Winchester, MA; and Lower Merion, PA. There are also some non-paying Resident Advisor and Tutor positions available. The application instructions vary by position, so be sure to look closely at each job description.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about A Better Chance?

New Canaan Nature Center

Willy Franzen — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:05:17 +0000

Having grown up in Fairfield County, Connecticut, I took at least one school field trip to the New Canaan Nature Center. I think that I was pretty young, so I don’t remember the trip very well, but I do know that I always loved nature related field trips. If you’re not familiar with the idea of a nature center, it’s simply a “visitor center designed to educate people about nature and the environment.” At least that’s what Wikipedia has to say about the topic. New Canaan Nature Center certainly accomplishes that, as they have some pretty awesome facilities. In addition to a Visitor Center, they include a 4000 square-foot Greenhouse, an Education Building and Annex, an Apple Cider House, an Animal Care Building, an Herb Garden and Cottage, Two Observation Towers, Staff Residences, an Arboretum, a Wildflower Garden, and quite a bit more. It’s the perfect place for people to step out of suburban Fairfield County life and get a taste of the nature around them.

Be a Part of Nature… Center

One of the things that I didn’t mention about New Canaan Nature Center’s is their Birds of Prey exhibit. It features seven aviaries, and sounds awesome (maybe it’s just me, but I’m absolutely fascinated by birds of prey). The birds of prey in the exhibit include a Bald Eagle, a Barred Owl, a Common Raven, a Great Horned Owl, a Harris’ Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a Turkey Vulture. If you get even more excited about this stuff than I do, then a career as an Environmental Educator at New Canaan Nature Center might be worth considering. Although they’d like someone with some experience in the field, I’m sure that there are plenty of new college grads who have that type of background. You can apply by sending a cover letter, résumé, and three references to jobs@newcanaannature.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to a nature center?

Kayak

Willy Franzen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:32:15 +0000

Last week we took a look at Priceline’s Jobs, and since travel is always fun, we’re going to check out Kayak today. They’re a travel search engine that was started by founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia who decided to partner up into a “travel dream team” and build a “better online travel experience.” Unlike most travel sites, Kayak doesn’t sell anything to travelers. They’re an aggregator just like Google that scours the web for the best travel deals and returns them to you. What Kayak does sell is advertising. Just like how Google has “Sponsored Results,” Kayak integrates advertising with its search results. You can try to describe the business model with fancy words, but it’s really all about lead generation. Kayak, like Priceline, is based out of Norwalk, CT, which I find pretty intriguing. I wonder if there’s any particular reason that it’s beneficial for an online travel company to located in Norwalk.

Hop in the Kayak

After spending some time checking Kayak out, it seems to me that their big thing is simplicity. Using their search engine is pretty darn simple, and it also shows in how they express their corporate identity. For instance, Kayak’s About page isn’t particularly short, but it does a fantastic job of explaining who they are and what they do in plain English. I also really like what they’ve done with their Team page. This simplicity continues into Kayak’s Jobs page, which consists of a few bullet points on why you should work at Kayak in addition to a simple list of jobs. The job descriptions are also straightforward and get to the point. They have a number of Sales positions available; however, they seem to require a decent amount of experience. What intrigued me were the SEO Product Manager/Analytics Researcher (Concord, MA) and Search Marketing Analyst (France). These aren’t straight up entry level jobs, but if you’ve spent your college years learning (most likely self taught) about search and online marketing, then you might be the perfect fit. You can apply for all of Kayak’s jobs by e-mail, but the address depends on which position you’re apply for, so check out the individual job descriptions for more details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Kayak to find travel deals?

Priceline.com

Willy Franzen — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:39:36 +0000

My first introduction to William Shatner was watching Rescue 911. Little did I know that his body of work extended far beyond narrating a show about real life heroes. I imagine today’s children will have an equally narrow view of William Shatner’s career, as they’ll know him as “Priceline Negotiator.” (Can you read those words without hearing the corresponding tune? I can’t.) Anyway, the whole idea behind William Shatner’s newest role – besides his doing the commercials in return for stock – is that Priceline.com will negotiate the best deals on travel-related items like hotels, car rentals, and airline tickets. They also have a “name your own price” model that used to be the core of their business, but now Priceline has widened its focus to discount travel in general.

Entry Level Job Negotiator

Don’t you wish you had someone like William Shatner to negotiate your entry level job for you too? Ok, that’d be a little weird. Sometimes learning negotiating skills is better than having someone do the dirty work for you. I think that I’m glad that the way we find jobs online is different from the way that we find travel deals online. With that said, you can go to the same place for both if you’re interested in a job in travel or e-commerce. Priceline.com has a number of jobs that seem like they might be well suited to new or recent college grads. In their Grand Rapids, MI office there are jobs for a Japanese Translator and Customer Service Executives, while at their Norwalk, CT headquarters they’re looking for an Associate Regional Revenue Manager – Hotels. You can figure out how to apply from the job descriptions that I’ve just linked to. Priceline.com doesn’t have an About page, so there’s not a ton of information about who they are and what they’re about as a company, so you might want to do a little Googling to get more info.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Priceline.com to book your travel?

MBI Inc.

George Tarakhovski — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:53:12 +0000

This is the first guest post by George Tarakhovski. We’re hoping that he will become a regular contributor here. If you’d like to contribute to One Day, One Job, let me know at Willy@onedayonejob.com.

Odds are that you are, know or have heard of someone who has a knack for collecting stuff. Perhaps, it is your grandfather who keeps a prized archive of 18th century stamps or your friend from middle school who proudly laminated every single Pokémon card he could get his hands on. MBI Inc., a Connecticut-based $400 million-dollar consumer-products company, has successfully transformed society’s affinity for collectibles into a highly profitable business. The company markets its products through four in-house operating divisions – Danbury Mint, PCS Stamps & Coins, Easton Press and MBI UK. Each of these divisions is responsible for churning out collectibles such as licensed sports figurines, die-cast models, jewelry, fine leather-bound books, vintage coins, and stuffed animals. MBI has successfully survived several recessions and seems to remain profitable to this day. Considering the current economic climate and the unorthodox nature of the collectibles industry, this is good news for somebody who seeks an unusual business career, yet suffers from cold shivers when the words “lay” and “off” are mentioned together in the same sentence.

The Curious Case of the Collectibles Manager

Although MBI’s generic-looking website is in dire need of a facelift, it does a good job of introducing the prospective applicant to the careers offered at the company. According to the website, the nature of the Assistant Product Manager – the only entry-level opportunity at MBI – is entirely cross-functional. The new college graduate is expected to interact with advertising, marketing, product development and product sourcing departments in order to cultivate a comprehensive set of skills needed to succeed in a management career. The good news is that MBI does not require any professional business experience. Intelligence, ambition and commercial instincts are sufficient factors for consideration and success. While no other jobs outside of product management are listed, there are other career opportunities available at MBI. Those include accounting, customer service, and operations just to name a few.

While you may scoff at the notion of marketing antiques to seniors in Florida retirement homes, MBI does the bulk of its recruiting at elite Ivy League campuses, which means that they take hiring very seriously. After all, their business model is profitable and historically sustainable. So, if you do well at MBI, there is a chance that you may start your own collection of rare watches sooner than you thought. Just don’t get your hopes up, yet.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you ready to start collecting?

Plaid

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:57:05 +0000

Do you like intersecting stripes? How about branding? If you like both, then Plaid is the perfect company for you. They’re a small Danbury, CT based agency that specializes in Design & Branding, Emerging Media, and TV. They’re media agnostic, which means that they love it all as long as they can be creative. Seriously. Just look at their portfolio – it gives a great overview of exactly what they do and what their style is. I’m extremely impressed by their work, especially by what they’ve done on their own website. It’s fun and does a great job of expressing their brand’s personality. They look like a lot of fun!

Get Plaid

If you’re looking for a job where you’ll be surrounded by creativity, you shouldn’t think about getting paid, you should think about getting Plaid. While I was scanning Twitter for job postings this morning, I came across a ton of tweets referring to a new opening at Plaid. The job description has mixed messages about whether Plaid is looking for someone who is entry level, but the opportunity sounds so cool that I thought that I’d tell you about it anyway. They’re looking for “the greatest Project Manager/Producer/Master-controller-of-the-universe.” That title sounds a bit intimidating, but the rest of the description isn’t:

You’re a great communicator, with fantastic people skills, and organization/planning skills that would make our heads explode. You might even have previous agency experience, or interactive experience. You likely have an understanding of the production process relative to a design and brand firm. And you’d be even more awesome if you’re already on Facebook or Twitter.

You can find the whole job description on their blog, and you can apply for a job with Plaid by sending “your details to darryl@thinkplaid.com, with ‘greatest job in the world’ in the subject line.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you thinking Plaid?

National Student Partnerships

Willy Franzen — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:10:53 +0000

How’s the relationship between your college or university and the town or city that it’s in? Let me guess. Not so hot. It always seems that students and “townies” don’t get along too well. Beyond that, there can also be situations like at Yale in New Haven, CT where the students are generally much wealthier than the people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. This just exacerbates the fundamental gap between the university and the community. National Student Partnerships is a non-profit organization that was started in New Haven by two Yale students who wanted to close this gap. They “designed a program where college student volunteers work one-on-one with community residents, coordinating access to employment opportunities and social services, including job training, housing, health care, child care, and transportation.” It’s a wonderful idea, and it’s working – look at the success stories.

Become a Part of NSP

In a lot of ways college students are an untapped resource. They generally have a lot of free time, a lot of energy, and a lot of brains – they’re just lacking a bit when it comes to “real world” experience. Putting them to work whether it be an internship or a volunteer program like NSP just makes sense. Additionally, college students are our future, which is why “NSP seeks to unite a national movement of students dedicated to direct service now, so that the systemic challenges we inherit do not become ones we will pass on.” Beyond offering volunteer opportunities and internships, NSP also has some entry level jobs for new grads. You can find the listings on NSP’s Jobs page, and they include openings for a Site Coordinator and a Regional Program Manager. The Site Coordinator positions are available in Baltimore, MD; Bronx, NY; Cambridge, MA; Chicago, IL; Evanston, IL; New Haven, CT; Philadelphia, PA (2 Offices); Pittsburgh, PA; Richmond, VA; Somerville, MA; and Washington, DC, while the Regional Program Manger position is located in Boston, MA. You can apply for the Site Coordinator jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@nspnet.org, and for the Regional Program Manager job by sending your materials to joinus@nspnet.org

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How is your college’s relationship with the community?

Patagonia

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:46:45 +0000

You have to love it when a small company grows into something big. It’s hard to believe that some of today’s major corporations were started with a couple of people in a garage. What’s even more extraordinary is when a small company that gets big never loses sight of who they are. That’s the story of Patagonia, a company that started out making tools for climbers. They are now a “worldwide business that makes clothes for climbing – as well as for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, fly fishing, paddling and trail running.” You’ve probably heard of Patagonia, and there’s a good chance that you own something made by them, whether it’s a polar fleece, a windbreaker, or long underwear. With a winter like this one, Patagonia gear is especially necessary for avoiding frostbite. Despite advances in technology and amazing business growth, Patagonia continues to take the same approach to their business – their “product design demonstrates a bias for simplicity and utility” and their “values reflect those of a business started by a band of climbers and surfers, and the minimalist style they promoted.” Patagonia makes exceedingly cool products, and they are the definition of a cool place to work.

Take a Trip to Patagonia

Unlike most athletic apparel companies, Patagonia focuses on “the silent sports.” That tells you a lot about who they are. There is a company-wide “love of wild and beautiful places” that “demands participation in the fight to save them.” That’s why Patagonia donates time, services and at least 1% of sales to grassroots environmental organizations all across the world. Patagonia apparel is as much an identity as it is a functional piece of equipment. If you want to learn more about Patgonia’s values, you should check out their page on Corporate Social Responsibility and their Employee Internship Program, which allows employees to “leave their jobs for up to two months to work full-time for the environmental group of their choice” while still getting paid and retaining benefits.

So what about jobs? We wish that Patagonia had some cool entry level field testing or product design jobs, but there’s nothing like that available right now. What they do have are jobs like Graphic Production Artist, Java Developer / Solutions Architect, and X++ Programmer/Analyst at their headquarters in Ventura, CA. You can keep an eye on Patagonia’s Jobs RSS Feed to see if they post your dream job, and you can apply for their corporate jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to venturajobs@patagonia.com. Additionally, Patagonia has Sales Associate positions in San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Westport, CT; SoHo, NY; Denver, CO; Upper West Side, NY; Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Palo Alto, CA; and Chicago, IL.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Patagonia.com
Jobs at Patagonia
About Patagonia
Patagonia’s History
Field Reports from Patagonia
Patagonia on Corporate Social Responsibility
TheCleanestLine.com (Patagonia’s Blog)

Do you wear Patagonia?

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?

Helen Keller International

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:50:40 +0000

I’m sure that all of you learned the story of Helen Keller in elementary school, but just to refresh you she was a woman who overcame growing up both blind and deaf in the late 1800s to graduate from Radcliffe College magna cum laude. These days that would still be impressive, but it’s amazing that she did that when she did it. (She had a tutor spell textbooks letter by letter into her hand.) After graduating from college, Helen Keller made it her life’s work to help blind and deaf-blind people. She founded Helen Keller International in 1915, and it has been “devoted to fighting and treating preventable blindness and malnutrition” ever since.

Against All Odds

You don’t realize how important seeing and hearing are until they’re compromised. I went a year with a bad contact lens prescription, and when I finally stopped procrastinating about going to the eye doctor and got a new prescription, I realized how much I was missing out on in every day life. There are people all across the world who have much more serious vision or hearing needs than needing a prescription adjustment, and they don’t have the services that most of us here in the US have. That’s why New York City based Helen Keller International has “programs in 22 countries in Africa and Asia as well as in the United States.” They build “local capacity by establishing sustainable programs, and provide scientific and technical assistance and data to governments and international, regional, national and local organizations around the world.” If this sounds like something that you’d like to be a part of, then you’re in luck. Helen Keller International has a number of job openings listed on their Jobs page. There are opportunities all across the world, but the only ones that appear suitable for new college grads are in the US. These include Junior Accountant in New York City and Project Coordinator for ChildSight (Idealist posting) in New Haven, CT. HKI is also open to hearing from applicants who don’t see a position that suits them, so feel free to send your resume and cover letter to hkihr@hki.org for one of the listed jobs or an unlisted position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How much did you learn about Hellen Keller in school?

Melissa & Doug

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:30:24 +0000

Now that we’ve finished out end of ‘08 recap (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 1 of non-profits, Part 2 of non-profits, Part 3 of non-profits, and Part 4 of non-profits), we’re ready to to start off the new year by bringing you profiles of all new companies with exciting entry level jobs. We’re also very close to opening enrollment for our job search training course, but you’ll hear a lot more about that soon enough. Today we’re going to focus on Melissa & Doug, a toy company based in Wilton, CT. From what I can tell by looking at their product offerings, Melissa & Doug’s toys are targeted towards very young children, so they don’t have much stuff for big kids like WowWee does. That’s ok though – if they made toys that you actually wanted to play with, you’d never get anything done at work.

Melissa & Doug & You

Judging from Melissa & Doug’s website, they’ve created an extremely fun place to work. The whole company started in Doug’s garage when he asked Melissa to start a business with him because he was too nervous to ask her to marry him. That was 20 years ago, and since then they’ve seen double digit growth every year. There’s no word on their website about whether they ever got married, but judging by the success of their business partnership, they clearly work well together. If you’d like to work at a place where formal attire is only required on Halloween, then you should check out Melissa & Doug’s Careers page. Their job listings are unclear about how much work experience is required for each, but they have positions in Inside Sales, Recruiting, Administrative Assistance, Office Services, and Order Processing that might interest new grads. They don’t go into a lot of detail about the jobs, but you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to Jobs@MelissaAndDoug.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever played with toys made by Melissa & Doug.

Save the Children

Willy Franzen — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:35:04 +0000

As we grow up and start looking for our first jobs, we often fail to realize how easy we had it. Although good grades and getting into college are important, almost all seniors and new grads who are looking for an entry level job never had to worry about survival. It was a given. I’m sure that there are some of you reading who had very different experiences, but most of you are now facing the most distressing times of your lives – entering the real world. It’s easy to forget that there are millions of children in the world who live each day trying to survive. Save the Children is an international non-profit organization that focuses almost entirely on making the lives of children across the world better. They do so with a focus on 7 main areas: Economic Opportunities, Education, Emergencies, Protection, Health, Hunger and Malnutrition, and U.S. Literacy and Nutrition. Save the Children has spent the last 70 years fighting poverty’s effects on children through their unique self-help approach, and they’re not stopping any time soon.

Find a Job, Save the Children

Since one of your biggest life challenges is finding a job after graduation, yet many children across the world face much more pressing challenges every day, why not kill two birds with one stone and consider working for Save the Children? They have some a wide range of job opportunities across many locations. Most jobs with Save the Children require a decent level of experience, but we’ve found a few that seem to be suited to new college grads. These include Program Associate (Westport, CT), Specialist – Program (ESSS, Ops) – KY, E. TN (Berea, KY), Program Associate – Livelihoods (Washington, DC), and Program Specialist – Early Childhood (Fresno, CA). You may be able to find a few more jobs that will interest you by looking at all of Save the Children’s job postings. They’re a large organization and seem to do a lot of hiring, so keep your eyes open for new postings too. You can apply for any of these jobs through Save the Children’s online application form, or you can submit a general resume if you don’t see any jobs that fit your background. Working for Save the Children is a great way to help yourself and others at the same time.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Save the Children? Leave a comment.

Tishman Speyer

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:09:49 +0000

A lot of you probably started college with a strong interest in real estate. It’s understandable if much of that interest has evaporated as a result of the direction that the real estate market has taken over the last two years. New York real estate seemed to be the last bastion of hope, but with the fall of some major investment banks and a lot of fear on Wall Street, even that seemingly unstoppable market is starting to slow down. Still, if anyone can weather this storm, it’s hopefully the firm that did the biggest real estate deal in US history (the purchase of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village for $5.4 billion). The firm behind that deal is Tishman Speyer, and even they seem to be struggling a bit as of late. Still, they make moves with the long-term in mind, and they’re prepared (both mentally and financially) to take a short term hit. Real estate isn’t the hot place for careers right now, but it’s still a field that is loaded with opportunity. There will always be people making money off of real estate deals, and there’s no better place to learn how to do that than Tishman Speyer.

Don’t Give Up on Real Estate

A look at Tishman Speyer’s properties tells you everything that you need to know about the firm. Just look at what they own in New York City or London. If that doesn’t make you drool at the prospect of landing a job at Tishman Speyer, we don’t know what will. We can’t access Tishman Speyer’s job listings, but that doesn’t really matter. They have a separate page for their Analyst Program that is directed towards developing “the next generation of real estate professionals for the company.” That means that they’re looking to hire new college graduates, and a few quick Google searches confirms that they’re still making their campus recruiting visits despite the economic conditions. They aim to do interviews in October and November, so now is the perfect time to apply for a job with them.

Tishman Speyer seems to do most of its entry level hiring through on campus recruiting, but they don’t provide a list of campuses that they are visiting. That means that you’ll have to check with your career services office to find out if Tishman Speyer is coming. If they aren’t visiting your campus (or if you missed them), you can send a cover letter, transcript, and resume to Eleonora Rabinovich at erabin-recruiting@tishmanspeyer.com. We’re not sure which locations they put in Analysts in, but Tishamn Speyer is headquartered in New York City with domestic offices in Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Orange County, CA; Stamford, CT; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC. They also have 18 international locations.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you still considering a job in real estate or are you staying away?

Edible Arrangements

Willy Franzen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:09:51 +0000

Back in February, I told you all about ProFlowers and how I use them for all of my flower sending needs. Flowers are great. They’re beautiful, they smell good, and they make people happy. Still, I can’t get over the fact that they’re kind of useless (as Brad Paisley would say, I’m still a guy). You pay a lot of money to send them to someone, then the flowers sit around in a vase for a week until they’re thrown away. I’d much rather be sent something that I can use or, better yet, eat. That’s why I love Edible Arrangements. They allow you to send beautiful “bouquets” of delicious fruit – chocolate covered if you like. Whenever I’ve sent an Edible Arrangement to someone, I’ve been told that it was the best gift basket that the person has ever received. Not only are the arrangements tasty, but they provide healthy snacks for at least a few days (chocolate covered pieces not withstanding). Take a look at their arrangements, and see what I’m talking about.

Deliciously Entry-Level

Edible Arrangements is one of those companies that makes you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” They’ve taken a really simple concept, and built a franchising business on it. It all started with one store in my home state of Connecticut, and has taken off since. Last year Edible Arrangements was named the 139th fastest growing company in the country by Inc. Magazine, and this year they were named the 49th best franchise by Entrepreneur magazine. There are now 857 Edible Arrangements stores across the world, and they’re continuing to grow.

Edible Arrangement’s corporate office is located in Wallingford, CT, and they have a number of job openings that might be well suited to new college grads. Their Corporate Jobs page includes listings for a Creative Chef in the Product Development department, Franchise Trainers, and Customer Care Representatives. The Chef position looks to be, by far, the most interesting opportunity, but it also requires a strong culinary background. There are also jobs for Franchise Sales Consultants; they don’t seem to be intended for new college grads, but it may be worth applying for if you’re really interested.

Finally, there are all kinds of jobs at Edible Arrangements franchise stores. They have locations all across the country, but the jobs aren’t mostly the types that are geared towards new college grads. Still, you might want to take a look at Edible Arrangement’s Franchise Store Jobs page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever given or received an Edible Arrangement? Did you love it?

Alcoa

Willy Franzen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:39:04 +0000

This is a sponsored post. We’ve worked directly with Alcoa to bring you the inside scoop on their top entry-level career opportunities.

My introduction to Alcoa came through the Baseball Express catalog. I was a high school baseball player, and I spent hours poring over the pages dreaming about saving up enough to buy a brand new baseball bat made out of cutting edge materials. The catalog’s copy had me convinced that a bat made from Alcoa’s latest alloy was the key to hitting home runs. Had I spent more time in the batting cage, and less time researching my baseball bat purchase, maybe I would have done more than played Club Baseball in college for a year. Then again, the bat that I finally chose did hit the ball a lot farther than the bats that I had used in previous years. Since you probably had better things to do in high school than read baseball catalogs from cover to cover, you may not be familiar with Alcoa, but you should know that producing aluminum for baseball bats is just a tiny sliver of what they do. It is, however, an excellent example of how Alcoa seems to have a hand in almost everything.

What Does Alcoa Do?

In one word: aluminum. Alcoa’s major cash cow is their Global Flat Rolled Products business, which “offers the widest variety of aluminum plate and sheet in the world.” If you’re using a product made out of aluminum, there’s a good chance that it started out at Alcoa’s Global Flat Rolled Products. Just think of all the cool things that are made from aluminum – baseball bats, beer and soda cans, airplanes, consumer electronics – we could keep going. If you really want to see some of the coolest things that have been made out of aluminum, you should check out Alcoa’s blog posts from the Consumer Electronics Show. The possibilities with aluminum as a material are seemingly endless, and that’s why Alcoa has branched out over the years into an a amazingly diverse array of businesses that include Defense, Plastics, Energy, Recycling, Propulsion, HVAC, and many more. They’re blogging about their work in Recycling and Aerospace, so check those blogs out for a unique look inside Alcoa.

When it comes to researching Alcoa, you could spend weeks learning about the entire company – it’s huge. They have 97,000 employees who work in 34 countries. Your best bet is to focus on the divisions that interest you the most, and learn about them and their specific entry-level opportunities. You may never have considered a job at a major industrial corporation, but you should look closely at Alcoa. It’s likely that they’ll exceed your expectations. For example Alcoa has recently been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies and one of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies. They also send their employees on Earth Watch trips and invite them to blog about their experiences. Pretty cool, huh?

What Can I Do at Alcoa?

Alcoa is a major entry-level employer, and they typically add about 175 new college graduates to their ranks every year. The positions that they hire for are as diverse as the businesses that they operate in, and they have locations all across the country – there’s something for everyone. They’ve worked with us to identify the positions that One Day, One Job readers will be most interested in, and you will find those listed below. They’ve also provided a link directly into their applicant tracking system for students who can’t find a job listing that is well suited for them. If you don’t find anything below, use this link to submit your cover letter and resume for consideration by Alcoa’s college recruiting team. If you look like a good fit, they’ll work with you to find the right position in the company.

We know that Alcoa has a very strong internship program, so we asked the folks at Alcoa what kind of jobs their interns who stay with the company usually take after they graduate from college. We were told that last year’s intern class went into areas like Legal, Electrical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Finance. We were also told that Alcoa counts internships, volunteer work, and other similar activities as years of experience. That means that even if a job listing says that 3 years of experience is required, you shouldn’t be afraid to apply.

Here are Alcoa’s entry-level jobs for new college graduates with the most recently posted listed first:

ABS Technician (Continuous Improvement/Lean Production/Manufacturing) – Global Primary Products – Point Comfort, TX
Communications Specialist – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Associate Buyer – Alcoa Corporate – Springdale, AR
Capital Council Commodity Analyst – Alcoa Wireless Services – Pittsburgh, PA
NDT Level III – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation (Howmet Castings) – LaPorte, IN
Business Analyst I (HRMS) – Alcoa Corporate – Pittsburgh, PA
Product Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Safety Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
EHS Professional – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Massena, NY
Tooling/Product Engineer – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation – Flexible Location
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Metallurgical Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Winsted, CT
Electrical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Alcoa, TN
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Mechanical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Metallurgical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Safety Specialist – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Cost Accountant – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Reliability Engineer (Power Distribution) – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Sr. Accountant – Engineered Products & Solutions – Torrance, CA
Product Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Project Specialist – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation (Howmet Castings) – Whitehall, MI
Process Engineer – Global Primary Products – Rockdale, TX
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Senior Treasury Analyst (Global Leasing) – Alcoa Corporate – Pittsburgh, PA
Safety Coordinator – Engineered Products & Solutions – Hernando, MS
EHS Engineer (EHS-RD) – Alcoa Technical Center – Alcoa Center, PA
Mechanical Engineering Technician – Engineered Products & Solutions – Cleveland, OH
Marketing Analyst – Engineered Products & Solutions – Nashville, TN
Jr. Business Analyst – Engineered Products & Solutions – Simi Valley, CA
Project Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Eastman, GA
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Eastman, GA
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Environmental Engineer – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Engineered Products & Solutions – Global Primary Products – Nashville, TN
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Manufacturing Engineer – Sapa (Alcoa Extrusions) – Morris, IL
Production Planner – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Plant Sales Representative – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Manufacturing Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Hampton, VA

If you see something that catches your eye, just click the link, read the description, and apply. They’ll know that you came from One Day, One Job. If you’re intrigued by these jobs, but don’t see anything in your desired field or location, you can still send your resume and cover letter to Alcoa through this online form or you can use their search function to find newly listed opportunities. You may also want to look at Alcoa’s GREA Acquiring Talent Program, which is a Leadership Development Program and has a separate application process.

Thanks to Alcoa for working with us to bring you these excellent entry-level job opportunities. Now go get researching!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Alcoa.com
Careers at Alcoa
About Alcoa
Working at Alcoa
Profiles of Employees at Alcoa
Why Alcoa?
Alcoa’s Career Opportunities for Students (Mostly Internship Related)
Alcoa’s Businesses
Alcoa’s Vision and Values
Alcoa’s Annual Report

What’s your favorite product that’s made out of aluminum? Leave a comment.

Bridgewater Associates

Willy Franzen — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:30:39 +0000

Every day I take it upon myself to tell thousands of new college grads about exciting entry-level jobs. You’d think I’d pay enough attention to notice a company that does a ton of college recruiting, has a great work culture for young people, and is right in my “backyard.” Apparently I don’t. I came across a job listing for Bridgewater Associates and was intrigued because they are located in Westport, CT – the town where I went to high school. I figured I must have heard of them at some point and since forgotten about them. My curiosity continued, and I checked out their location on Google Maps. Then I saw this photo tagged for their location, and it hit me. This company is located on the banks of one of my favorite trout streams! Any good job searcher should know to never ignore the opportunities that are right under your nose. So, right off the bat, we know that Bridgewater’s people get to work in a beautiful location and have a great way to spend their lunch breaks if they’re interested in piscatorial pursuits.

Pure Alpha

I’m sure that my anecdote has left you wondering what exactly Bridgewater does. They currently manage “$140 billion in global investments for a wide array of institutional clients, including foreign governments and central banks, corporate and public pension funds.” Many would call them a hedge fund (although they don’t seem to be too keen on that terminology). The company is based on a strategy called “Pure Alpha,” which is based on separating “value-added return from active management” from “return from passively holding a portfolio” to create optimal portfolios for each. They’ve beaten global markets for 15 years, so it is apparently working for them.

Alpha Entry-Level Jobs

Bridgewater Associates appears to be making a lot of money, and it seems like they’re looking to spend that money by hiring new people. Their Job Bank has a variety of opportunities, many of which are targeted at new college grads. Their College Recruiting page shows 3 young people – one in a hoodie, another with her feet up on the desk, and another sitting on the desk – and mentions 4 positions that are typically geared towards the entry-level. These are Management Associate, Investment Associate, Operations Associate, and Portfolio Accountant. These are general job descriptions and not specific listings, but they offer great insight into what you’d be doing in one of these jobs.

Bridgewater is all about being different. They appear to be very relaxed with flex-time and casual dress, and they seem to do anything to encourage the free flow of ideas. They’re not offering your typical finance jobs. They seem to be extremely friendly to young people, and have one of the best online entry-level recruiting presences we’ve seen. They are located in Westport, CT, which is certainly not a hotspot for social opportunities (I can vouch personally for that), but New York City is just an hour train ride away.

Browsing Bridgewater Associates’ job listings is a different experience than what you’d typically be accustomed to. In some ways it’s really helpful, and in others it’s a little irritating. They ask you to pick from 14 areas and then view jobs by area. There’s no way to view all openings at once. Since multiple areas may interest the same candidates (especially entry-level candidates who may not have a clear idea of what they want to do), it would be a lot more convenient to find just entry-level positions listed somewhere on their College Recruiting page. Not all of the jobs geared towards new grads are finance heavy – there are also entry-level opportunities in support roles. Applying online looks easy, and you can apply for multiple positions with one application. If you doubt that your major will be a good fit for a particular job, just take a look at Bridgwater’s Employee Profiles. You can view them by Job Title or Major, which will show you that there’s even a place at Bridgewater for History and Chemistry majors.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Seriously considering a job at Bridgewater Associates and want to know more about the area? Leave a comment, and I’ll answer any questions that you may have.

National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Willy Franzen — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:23:26 +0000

Steve Mariotti was living a successful corporate life when he decided that he needed a change. He didn’t buy a sports car, get a toupée, or start dating 20 year-olds. Ok, he could have done those things, but we have no reason to believe that he did he did. He chose to leave his job and to start teaching special education in the New York City school system. This presented obvious challenges. Teaching special ed can be hard enough in a community with extensive resources, but it must be near impossible in underserved public schools like those in New York City. Mariotti realized that one of the only ways that he could reach his students was by teaching them how to run a business. They loved the subject matter. As Mariotti developed a entrepreneurship based curriculum for his job as a special ed teacher, he realized that he could extend the reach of his educational successes. He founded the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship with the goal of bringing entrepreneurial education to low-income youth

Entrepreneurial Education

The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has now been around for over 20 years and has programs in 21 states and 14 countries. All it takes is a look at some of NFTE’s recent alumni who have started their own businesses to see how successful the organization has been. The power of entrepreneurism is quite amazing. Not only are NFTE’s students getting an alternative education through the organization’s programs, but they are also being empowered emotionally and financially by being responsible for their own successes. We’re really impressed by NFTE and their website, so be sure to browse around to get more information on the organization.

NFTE is a modest sized organization with 79 employees and a $15 million annual budget. They have locations across the country, but look to be hiring mostly at their headquarters in New York City. They have two job listings that appear to be geared towards new college grads, but it’s a bit hard to determine if both are actually entry-level. On the NFTE Jobs page there is a listing for a Development Associate that lists no experiential requirements; however, there is also an Idealist.org listing for this job that says 3 years of experience are required. The job description does say that applicants should have a “capacity to deal with ambiguity,” so maybe this is some kind of test. The other job listing is not on the NFTE website, but is on Idealist. It is as a Development Assistant. These are similar jobs, both having to do with fundraising, but we’re not sure which one you should apply for. We guess you’ll have to deal with ambiguity. You can send a resume and cover letter to hr@nfte.com.

The NFTE also has presences in Baltimore, the Bay Area, Chicago, Greater Dallas, Fairfield / Westchester County, Greater Los Angeles, New England, New York, Pittsburgh, South Florida, and Greater Washington D.C. Although they don’t currently appear to have job openings at these locations, you should certainly watch to see if anything is listed in the near future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you rather give up your job search and chase your entrepreneurial dream? Leave a comment and tell us about the business that you want to start.

Equinox

Willy Franzen — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:08:37 +0000

The time after graduation is perfect for rest, relaxation, and taking care of the things that you’ve ignored in college, for instance, your bank account or your waistline. In January we offered up Mint as a company that has entry-level jobs and a product that will help you manage your finances. Today we’re going to look at Equinox, a company that operates full-service fitness facilities in New York, Illinois, California, Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and also has quite a few career opportunities at the entry-level.

A Fitness Lifestyle Brand

Equinox, started in 1991, has “developed a lifestyle brand that represents service, quality, value, innovation, attention to detail and results.” They offer a wide array of products and services, including strength and cardio training, group fitness classes, personal training, spa services, apparel, and food/juice bars. The difference between Equinox and other gyms is the way that they do things. Equinox is upscale in every way. Just look at the right sidebar on their Press Page – recent celebrities spotted at Equinox locations include Hilary Swank, Renee Zellweger, Matt Damon, and Barack Obama. Ok, so who cares if celebrities work out at a health club? They may need to have nice bodies, but are they really physically fit? Well, fellow One Day, One Jobber Amy happened to have a membership at an Equinox club two summers ago. She was often working out next to members of the great Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 90s. So, yes, when it comes to working out, Equinox clubs are the places to be.

Winter to Spring, Summer to Fall

Although the following are full-time, year-round jobs, an equinox represents the change of seasons, which is a perfect metaphor for the life changing decisions that joining (or working for) an Equinox club can initiate. Equinox takes fitness seriously, so a job with them is a lot more than picking up sweaty towels and wiping down equipment. They have a number of job opportunities for new college grads across the country. The best way to find a job listing at Equinox is to use their job search function. Current offerings that appear to be entry-level include: Membership Advisor (Westchester, NY; Long Island, NY; Aventura, FL; Newport Beach, CA; San Francisco, CA; and New York, NY), Assistant General Manager (Dallas, TX; New York, NY; Long Island, NY; Los Angeles, CA; and San Francisco, CA), Sales Advisor (Boston, MA), or Personal Trainer Tier 1 (Westchester, NY; Darien, CT; Miami, FL; Vienna, VA; Long Island, NY; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Chicago, IL). These positions require varying levels of work experience, but they’re all positions that a new grad could fill. If you’re interested in being a trainer, but don’t have the required background, you may want to look at the Equinox Academy for Trainers.

As you can see, there are Equinox locations all across the country. Whether you’re interested in getting serious about your own health (Equinox offers their employees complimentary memberships), or helping others to do the same, a job at Equinox is a great way to get started on a career in the world of physical fitness.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever worked out at an Equinox club? What’s it like?

Vineyard Vines

Willy Franzen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:28:22 +0000

Where do you summer? If you’re not familiar with the use of the word summer as a verb, then you probably aren’t familiar with Vineyard Vines either. They’re a company that is all about living the good life – going on vacation to preppy paradises like Martha’s Vineyard.

Tie One On

Vineyard Vines started with two brothers selling ties out of their backpacks in bars, on boats, and on the beach. Before they knew it, Vineyard Vines ties were adopted as an essential part of the prepster dress code. What they do is pretty simple. They make great clothes for people who like to have fun – they are their own target market. Vineyard Vines even has a College Collection, so check to see if your alma mater has been included.

Summering All Year

We’ve been watching Vineyard Vines’ Jobs page for months, hoping that they’d post something for the new grads. Judging from their website and their employee photos, we think that Vineyard Vines looks like a really fun place for young people to work. For some reason, though, they seem to be light on the entry-level opportunities. The only openings that they currently have are for Graphic Artists. They say that their ideal candidates have some experience in a similar role, but we think a new grad with a killer portfolio probably has a pretty good shot. As long as you have great design skills and a solid understanding of the Vineyard Vines brand, you should at least get an interview.

We also think that sending a resume and a cover letter to Vineyard Vines for an unlisted position might be worth a try. They make clothes and they sell clothes, so think about ways that you could be valuable to them. You can apply to careers@vineyardvines.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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Cannondale Associates

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:36 +0000

Why do you buy one brand of toilet paper instead of another? Some of you might swear that you absolutely need a certain brand or you will suffer great discomfort, but that’s just not true. Unless you’re like Finch from American Pie, you’ve used plenty of public restrooms with out suffering too much. So, why do you pick the double-ply, quilted, 12 pack instead of the single-ply 24 pack? Marketing. You might say that it’s all based on price because you’re a starving college student. It’s still marketing. You might not be willing to admit it, but it is. And who helps companies figure out how to sell you their toilet paper? Cannondale Associates does.

They Don’t Make Bikes

When we hear the name Cannondale, our first thought is always of the bicycle manufacturer. As cool of a company that we’re sure they are, they are not whom we’re talking about. Cannondale Associates is a “Marketing and Sales Management Consulting and Software Solutions firm” – we put that in quotes, because we wanted you to know that there’s no way that we could have come up with that description. Their focus is primarily on helping packaged goods manufacturers in their relationships with “retail customers, including grocery chains, mass merchandisers, drug stores, and convenience stores.” Cannondale works in 5 areas with their clients: Consulting, Research, Analytics, Software, and ShopperGenetics. The commonality is that Cannondale Associates takes a scientific approach to figuring out how consumers make decisions and how packaged goods producers can affect these decisions. Want to learn more? Use the links above to find Case Studies from real Cannondale Associates projects.

Big Focus on Campus Recruiting

Why would a small company like Cannondale Associates who has really great marketing minds from really good business schools want new grads to help them? Because their top guns can’t do it on their own. They need support from Project Analysts and Research Associates. Cannondale has just under 40 employees, and a flat organizational structure, yet they still put a heavy emphasis on campus recruiting. Clearly they think that young people have a lot to offer. In fact, Cannondale Associates’ Careers page is almost entirely devoted to entry-level recruiting.

Despite Cannondale Associates’ website’s having a 1990s feel, the content on it is actually quite informative. They have a College Recruiting page (it’s hard to link to because they use frames on their website, but you can find it on the Careers page), a list of entry-level positions, and information on career paths for new college grads. Cannondale Associates does not appear to list specific job openings, but they do say that they typically hire new college grads for one of three positions: Project Analyst: Business Analytics, Project Analyst: Shopper Insights, and Research Associate: Research Department. It’s not clear when the hiring for these jobs typically occurs, but there’s no indication that there is a set recruiting schedule.

Cannondale Associates has locations in Wilton, CT and Evanston, IL; however, all entry-level hires work in Wilton. To apply you can contact Don Stuart, Managing Director, at Recruiting@CannondaleAssoc.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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Mars & Co.

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:00:36 +0000

We’re always looking for less publicized entry-level opportunities in high demand industries, especially now that most campus recruiting is winding down. Consulting is one area where excessive job searcher attention is directed towards the top names, while boutique firms get overlooked. We especially like smaller companies when they have a distinct identity or competitive advantage, and that definitely applies to Mars & Co..

No Conflict of Interest Here

Mars & Co. is a strategy consulting firm build that was founded in 1979 by Dominique Mars, a former Director at The Boston Consulting Group. He didn’t like the fact that all large consulting firms refused to offer exclusivity to their clients. What does that mean? Let’s say that your company makes blue widgets. You hire a consulting firm to help you size the market for blue widgets. You then find out that the same consulting firm has been contracted to do the same thing for a company that makes aqua widgets. Wouldn’t that bother you? It would definitely bother me. That’s why Mars & Co. was founded as the “only consultancy of consequence to guarantee fidelity.” It’s a great angle for a consulting firm, and we imagine that it alone is enough to draw in a stellar client list.

Always Recruiting?

Mars & Co. currently has approximately 250 consultants; however, they’re looking to grow to about 450. That doesn’t happen without hiring great people (they need to be great, or you won’t be able to afford new hires). That’s why Mars & Co. is eager to hear from top college graduates who have a background in “engineering, math, economics, or one of the hard sciences” and fit these dimensions. New grads who are hired will start as Associate Consultants and will play significant roles on project teams. Mars & Co. does not post specific openings on their site, so it’s hard to tell if they have a distinct recruiting schedule. Their website certainly makes it sound like they’re always looking for top talent, so go ahead and apply to one of their offices. You’ll find a lot more information about the recruiting and interviewing process on their site, which is extremely straightforward and easy to understand. Get started researching with the links below.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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ESPN

Willy Franzen — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:00:12 +0000

Usually our goal at One Day, One Job is to tell you about jobs at companies that you might not have considered working at before. We’re all about new ideas, but sometimes you just need help. You may be stuck researching a company that you’re dying to work for. Or you may be having a nightmare trying to navigate a corporate careers site. We’re here to help with today’s case study on ESPN.

When we first visited ESPN’s Careers (Join Our Team) Site, we were impressed by it’s looks, feel, and College Relations link in the navigation bar. Our sense of ease that this would be an easy company to research quickly faded when we realized first, that this section of the website had no content, and second, that it was mostly directed towards hiring interns (or would be if it had content, we should say). There was a link to their PA (Production Assistant, we think) training program, which also was a dead end. In the face of this disappointment, we rolled up our sleeves, put on our gloves, and started digging through ESPN’s job listings to figure out which positions were right for new college graduates.

One note before we tell you about the entry-level positions that we found at ESPN: clicking the Jobs link in Safari, our browser of choice, breaks the rest of navigation for the site. This is frustrating, but remedied by going back a few pages and trying again. Ok, one more note: ESPN’s job listings are messed up. We’re not sure what’s wrong with their Applicant Tracking System, but sometimes clicking a link to one job title will take you to another job. Whoops. Also, identical job titles can have vastly different qualification requirements – one job may be entry-level, and the other job with the same title might require 7 years experience. Generally, positions at ESPN with the word Associate in the title are geared towards the entry-level, but some require 10+ years experience. There are also many entry-level jobs that don’t have the word Associate in the title. Ugh. At least we did the hard part for you…

By the way, we put all the jobs into loose groupings. This is based on our understanding of the job descriptions, but we could be way off. ESPN does not group their jobs in this way. We just wanted to make it a little easier to find what you’re looking for.

Graphics/Design/Web: Animator, Associate Graphic Designer, Associate Web Developer, ESPN Fantasy Games – Web Designer, Creative Assistant, and Associate Photo Editor in Bristol, CT or in Washington

Production: Programming Content Associate, Associate Technical Producer, Multimedia Production Assistant, Graphics System Controller, ESPN International- TV Production Assistant, and Assistant Editor

Research: Research Analyst, Statistics Associate (probably our favorite of the bunch), Multimedia Research Analyst, Computer Assisted Reporter (this is also one of our favorites), and Director of Business Affairs

Other: Affiliate Marketing Coordinator and Promotions Coordinator

Almost all of ESPN’s jobs are in Bristol, CT or New York City; however, there are a few other locations where they are hiring. Despite the problems with the way ESPN lists jobs, most of their job descriptions are pretty decent. Even without great descriptions, it seems as though it’s much easier to imagine what it’s like to work for ESPN than what it’s like to work at most other companies. Maybe it’s all those SportsCenter commercials with the players, mascots, and tv personalities hanging out in the office.

Now, we don’t usually do this, but today we’re going to give you our perspective on applying for a job at ESPN. You can be sure that working for ESPN is high on the lists of many college students’ dream jobs. That means there’s going to be a lot of competition for these jobs. You need to stand out, so take a little risk when you apply. Include that wacky thing that you’re not quite sure belongs on your resume. Apply for a job that requires more experience than you have. Try cold calling or contacting your would be manager, if you can track him or her down. Be creative. Be unique. Be yourself. They are going to get hundreds of resumes from college students that all look pretty much the same. You need to stand out if you want to work at a company like ESPN.

Good luck! Now go research.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

ESPN’s Home Page
ESPN’s Careers Site
About ESPN
The Businesses of ESPN
ESPN’s History
Benefits of Working at ESPN
Health and Fitness at ESPN
ESPN’s Participation in Charities
ESPN’s Jobs Site from 2002 (Why is this still online? We thought you might find it interesting nonetheless.)

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

Da-da-duhhhhhh, da-da-duhhhhhh! (That was supposed to be onomatopoeia for the SportsCenter update music.)

Bear Naked

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:00:54 +0000

In case you missed it, we just published an article last night called Don’t Get Stuck in the Web: Cold Calling in the Internet Age. It’s a guide to finding jobs that aren’t listed online, so we thought we’d give you a chance to put your newly learned skills to the test by focusing today’s post on a company that doesn’t even have a Careers page.

Bear Naked makes granola. Many other companies have made granola, but Bear Naked found a way to do it better. So much better that in 5 years they were able to become the #2 granola brand in the US and sell their business to Kashi, which is owned by Kellogg’s. Did we mention that Bear Naked founder Kelly Flatley was 23 when she started the company? The, details of the deal were not fully disclosed, but the total value of the acquisition that included Bear Naked and Gardenburger was reported at $122 million. We’re not sure what it is that made Bear Naked so successful, but we do know that their products taste great, are good for you, and have excellent packaging. We think they must have some pretty smart people working for them too.

There’s not too much more to their business. Why complicate things when you can turn granola into a multi-million dollar business in 5 years? Like we told you in the first paragraph, Bear Naked has basically no career related information on their website. That means if you want to work them, you’re going to have to do some research, build up some courage, and ask for a job that you don’t even know exists. Before you do that, read our new article, then come back and we’ll point you in the right direction towards getting a job at Bear Naked.

We do know someone who inquired about a job at Bear Naked early last year and was told to mail or fax a resume to:

Bear Naked
Attn: Human Resources
One Selleck St.
Norwalk, CT 06855
Fax: (203)853-2481

He never ended up applying, so we did a little digging to verify that this information is still accurate, which it is. In addition, we found that Naked still doesn’t have a Careers page, but their FAQ page says that they now accept resumes by e-mail at mary@eat-granola.com.

So, take use the links below as a starting point and start researching the company and develop a plan for selling yourself to Bear Naked. If you impress them enough, they might even create a new position for you. You’ll never know unless you try.

Note: On April 24th we revisited entry-level jobs at Bear Naked.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Is cold calling something that you would do? Or do you prefer the safety of applying for jobs that you know for certain exist?

Ryan Partnership

Willy Franzen — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:00:30 +0000

Ryan Partnership has challenged its people with their unofficial motto of “See How Far Ideas Can Take You.” (Ryan’s official motto is Free Beer, No Assholes – FBNA for short. Seriously. It says so on their website.) Ideas (or maybe it’s the free beer and lack of assholes) have taken Ryan Partnership to the top of their industry, as they were named one of iMedia Connection’s Top 5 Integrated Marketing Agencies in 2006 and PROMO Magazines “Agency of the Year” in 2007. With $58.5 million in revenue in 2006, Ryan is a mature company that is still growing briskly (34% growth rate last year).

Mary Perry, President of the Promotion Agency division of Ryan Partnership, recently spoke at Montana State University. Although there’s no transcript of her speech, the title “Blending Generations in the Workforce” tells us that Ryan is the kind of place you want to work when you’re fresh out of college. The Careers section on Ryan’s website is titled “Want In?” Sounds like an elite club based on the FBNA motto.

Ryan definitely takes a different approach from most companies when it comes to online recruiting. They have a “Ryan Employee Compatibility Test” that asks you four humorously posed questions on your attitude and work experiences. Their entire website is visually appealing and very interesting, but it’s somewhat hard to navigate. For instance, we can’t link to individual pages on the site, because it’s entirely in Flash. The site is also audio and video intensive – if you’re browsing somewhere where it would be inappropriate to have your computer’s sound on, you’ll miss out on their entire message. The Careers section is also short on useful information. There are a ton of positions listed on the Ryan Partnership website, but there’s no information beyond the job title and location. Still, the fact that the Ryan Partnership’s website utilizes video of real Ryan employees to convey information about the company is refreshing and interesting.

Your best bet to get a job at Ryan Partnership is to send a cover letter and resume to humanresources@ryanpartnership.com and ask them what positions are appropriate for an entry-level candidate who just graduated college.

Ryan locations include: Atlanta, GA; Bentonville, AR; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Toronto, Canada; and Wilton, CT (Headquarters).

Note: On April 21st we revisited entry-level jobs at Ryan Partnership.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about jobs at Ryan Partnership? Leave a comment.