by Willy Franzen on September 5, 2009
Whether you’re trying to land a job, start a business, get in shape, figure out your personal finances, or get a date, there’s one piece of advice that I’ve found to be the most appropriate. It’s really simple and a little disappointing, but it just works. Do something! Get off your butt and take action. It will get you 80% of the way to accomplishing your goal. I’m not the only one who thinks this. Do Something, a New York City based non-profit, has adopted this two word phrase as their name. They’re focused on encouraging teenagers to take positive ideas and turn them into action. Instead of focusing on a specific cause, Do Something is all about getting teens to do something about the issues that matter to them—whatever they may be.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
design,
entry-level jobs,
interactive media,
New York,
non-profit,
online media,
program development,
social media,
social networking
by Willy Franzen on September 4, 2009
Since I’m spending the weekend in San Francisco, I thought it would only be fitting to feature a San Francisco based startup today (as if we haven’t already featured enough). I decided to cover one in my industry (job search and online recruiting), because I really like what they’re doing (and they’re probably the best source for San Francisco based startup jobs too). Their name is Job Alchemist, and they’re the creators of one of the few job boards that I actually think is worth using—Startuply. They’ve also developed a number of other niche job boards like HomeBy3 (flexible jobs for moms) and Reddit’s job board. Beyond that, they’re working on a project called JobSyndicate, which is an affiliate network for jobs. I’ve seen a lot of entrants to this industry in the past couple years, and Job Alchemist is one of only a handful that have impressed me. When a company creates a job board that I actually use, that’s saying something.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
entry-level jobs,
recruiting,
software development,
web development
by Willy Franzen on September 3, 2009
Judging by what people are watching on the televisions on the cardio machines at my health club, there’s a lot of excitement about the US open right now—and we haven’t even reached the exciting part yet. There’s a decent amount of television coverage of the Open on ESPN2 (check out ESPN’s entry level jobs), but if you really want to watch a lot of tennis you need to watch the Tennis Channel. They’re a tv network that is based in Santa Monica, CA (with locations in Atlanta and New York City), and they’re “the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to the professional sport and passionate lifestyle of tennis.” Tennis Channel obviously isn’t for everyone, but that’s what niche media is all about. They own the tennis market.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
California,
entry-level jobs,
sales,
sports,
television
by Willy Franzen on September 2, 2009
If you haven’t already entered out Back to School, Back to Work Contest, make sure that you do before Friday. You could win two HP laptops and a Timbuk2 bag!
Be sure to scroll down for an addendum to this post.
Programs! GET YA PROGRAMS HERE! You can’t go to a major sporting event without hearing that ring across the crowd. I’m not typically one to buy a program, especially now that I can look up anything important (like up to the minute stats) on my phone, but I realize that for a lot of people it’s about having the memento. New York City’s Professional Sports Publications and University Sports Publications (different names but essentially the same company) are in the business of publishing these mementos. They are respectively the leading publisher of professional souvenir magazines and yearbooks and college souvenir magazines and yearbooks. PSP Sports is also the publisher of the official NBA magazine HOOP.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
entry-level jobs,
New York,
publishing,
sales,
sports
by Willy Franzen on September 1, 2009
Today we’re kicking off our Back to School, Back to Work contest where we’re giving away an HP dv6 Laptop, an HP Mini 110 Netbook, a customized Timbuk2 bag, and Syncables software to one lucky winner. Last December when we did another HP giveaway we took a look at entry level jobs with HP, so this time we’re going to check out Timbuk2 (since they were kind enough to provide a prize for one of you). They’re a San Francisco born and bred company that builds “bags and accessories for urban adventures with a simple philosophy—create good-looking, tough-as-Hell bags you can truly make your own.” I already had one that I stole from my girlfriend, and I just got another to check out for this promotion (the bag goes with me everywhere now).
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
apparel,
California,
design,
entry-level jobs,
fashion
by Willy Franzen on August 31, 2009
In my younger days hats were a big deal. I wasn’t particularly image conscious, but when it came to hats, I was. I remember one summer college hats were in. You know—the simple white hats with horizontal lines and the college’s name. Getting them just dirty enough with the just the right bend was essential (heaven forbid if someone “doritoed” your favorite hat), and, of course, you had to pop off the button on top. The next summer they were out. It was all about fitted caps—just like major leaguers wear. I was suddenly aware of how big my head really was, as I had to buy a properly sized hat. Then it was different color hats or hats with Japanese lettering. At some point I stopped obsessing over my hats, but Buffalo, NY based New Era has continued to be THE hat manufacturer of choice for all of the cool kids.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
apparel,
entry-level jobs,
fashion,
logistics,
New York,
project management
by Willy Franzen on August 28, 2009
It’s hard to imagine that a film production company could morph into “a holistic interactive agency built for a digital world;” however, that’s exactly what New York City’s R/GA has done. Now, film production and advertising aren’t all that different, but it’s still a big psychological leap from one to the other. Moreover, not many companies are willing to take a huge risk and move where innovation takes them. R/GA embraces change. They’re also really freakin’ good at what they do. Their clients include Nike, Verizon, IBM, Target, Bank of America, and a bunch of other extremely well known companies. They also have the best corporate website built in Flash that I’ve ever seen. Everything about it works—I can actually give you links to specific pages. Beyond that, the site does a fantastic job of presenting R/GA’s brand. It’s packed with information and has fantastic videos (they obviously haven’t abandoned film production completely).
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
California,
copywriting,
design,
entry-level jobs,
information technology,
interactive media,
international,
marketing,
New York,
software development,
United Kingdom,
web development
by Willy Franzen on August 27, 2009
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.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
broadcasting,
Connecticut,
design,
entry-level jobs,
events,
flash,
marketing,
nationwide,
production,
sports,
television,
writing
by Willy Franzen on August 25, 2009
Before my fishing trip to Canada last week, I ordered a couple of books from Amazon for some pleasure reading. One of those books was Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
. I bought it on the recommendation of Ben Casnocha, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the first 200 or so pages (I’ll finish it soon). The book has taught me more about driving than I’ll ever want to know, and it also put me on to NAVTEQ. They are headquartered a half mile away from me here in Chicago (with lots of international offices too) and “a world leader in premium-quality digital map data and content.” One of those premium map features is traffic tracking, which is why they were mentioned in the book. By informing drivers with up to date traffic maps in their vehicles, they not only make driving easier for their users, but they’re also mitigating traffic jams in real time by diverting drivers.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
cartography,
entry-level jobs,
finance,
gps,
Illinois,
international,
product development,
research
by Willy Franzen on August 24, 2009
This morning I was reading a New York Times article about how some of the “super rich” are being hit hardest (at least in terms of total dollars lost) by this recession. A lot of this has to do with heavy investments in real estate. As we all know, real estate has not been the place to be lately. The good news about the bad real estate market is that it’s leading to all kinds of innovation. There are a ton of cool real estate startups, and I just came across another one called eRealInvestor. They’re based in San Francisco, and they offer a suite of tools that allow those who still have it in them to invest in real estate to be much smarter about it. Since I’m not a real estate investor, I don’t fully understand what all of the tools do. However, it’s hard to argue with a data based approach to buying and selling real estate.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
entry-level jobs,
flash,
investment,
marketing,
real estate,
sales,
social media,
software development,
web development
by Willy Franzen on August 23, 2009
What was the first book that you ever read? Mine wasn’t actually a book—it was a Super Mario Bros. comic book. My parents had decided that it would be fun to take Amtrak to Florida to visit Grandma and Grandpa instead of flying. And it actually was. I spent a lot of the time struggling through the comic book, and then I was suddenly reading. That wouldn’t have happened on a 3 hour flight. Do you have as vivid of a memory of reading your first book as I do? First Book hopes so. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that “provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books.” In 16 years they’ve provided more than 65 million books, so you have to call First Book a huge success.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
business development,
communications,
education,
entry-level jobs,
events,
marketing,
outreach,
public relations,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on August 22, 2009
Have you ever realized that you were being marketed to? I don’t mean watching tv and seeing an ad that makes you want to buy something. I mean getting a creepy feeling like somebody is watching you, but instead they’re getting inside your head to sell you on something. The beauty of marketing is that you usually don’t realize it’s happening, but when you do, it’s scary. You wouldn’t normally associate this kind of thing with a non-profit, but when I came across The Harmony Institute, I was both intrigued and freaked out. They’re a New York City based organization that uses “cutting-edge scientific research with film, television and new media experiences to help [their] clients deliver narratives that modify behavior and influence change.” Is it just me, or does that sound a little weird?
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advocacy,
behavioral science,
entry-level jobs,
marketing,
media,
New York,
non-profit,
production,
psychology,
research,
science,
television,
video
by Willy Franzen on August 21, 2009
When I’m looking for companies to feature, I spend a lot of time looking at new startups. Sometimes I hear complaints that the jobs that we feature are a little heavy on the tech side, but that’s where a lot of the exciting jobs are these days. Startups are also more likely to be companies that you’ve never heard of before (which I consider a good thing). So, imagine my surprise when I’m browsing a startup job board and come across a posting for Charles Chocolates. They’re a San Francisco based chocolate startup founded by Charles Siegel, a guy who “has been a part of the San Francisco chocolate scene since 1987.” That may sound a little odd, but he’s done this before, and now he’s doing it again. I think the timing is right for an artisanal chocolate success story—just look at what Vosges is doing with their chocolate business.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
California,
entry-level jobs,
food,
sales
by Willy Franzen on August 20, 2009
Believe it or not, over the past week One Day, One Job has been coming to you from a lodge on the banks of the Grand Cascapedia river in Quebec. As I’ve learned this week, fishing for Atlantic Salmon is extremely difficult, even though you can often see the fish right in front of you. In some pools there appear to be plenty of fish, but none of them will bite. That’s probably a good thing considering the fact that the estimated annual run on the Bonaventure (where we’ve been doing our fishing) is only about 1,500-2,000 fish. That means that if I catch and release my daily limit of two fish, I’ve caught .1% of the entire run. Even though we’d really like to, we can’t even think about killing one of these fish to eat—they’re too precious. Luckily, CleanFish is a company (and a B Corporation, you know what that is now!) that offers sustainable seafood that we can eat. They’re based in San Francisco with offices in Gloucester, MA and Los Angeles, CA as well, and they’re changing the way that we eat seafood.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
entry-level jobs,
food,
Massachusetts,
social venture
by Willy Franzen on August 19, 2009
I’ve never really understood the idea of the “Summer Blockbuster.” Why would you want to sit inside and watch a movie when it’s nice and hot outside? I guess sometimes it gets too hot, and sometimes it rains, but I’d rather be outside. If you disagree with me, then you’re probably a big fan of Culver City, CA’s Sony Pictures. They’re in the business of producing, marketing, and distributing entertainment, and you’re probably familiar with some of their recent an upcoming releases like: Julie and Julia, Angels & Demons, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They’re also responsible for Seinfeld. Since I’m not much of a movie buff, I don’t know if anyone actually cares what production house puts out a movie, but I do know that Sony Pictures’ end products seem to pretty darn good—they even made my favorite movie (about the outdoors, obviously), A River Runs Through It.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
California,
data,
entry-level jobs,
fitness,
information technology,
interactive media,
marketing,
media,
movies
by Willy Franzen on August 18, 2009
What’s good? Depending on your mindset right now, that question could have a lot of different answers; however, today we’re talking about GOOD, a company and integrated media platform that makes “a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn.” They’re relatively new on the scene, and they’re breaking a lot of rules when it comes to how to run a media company. For instance, instead of keeping your subscription fees, they’ll donate them to the non-profit of your choice. Since magazines don’t actually make money on subscription fees, they think this is better for business. They’re well known for their “unique editorial perspective,” but they’re even better known for their “fresh visual aesthetic.” I first came across their website GOOD.is to see some of their amazingly gorgeous (and informative) infographics.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
entry-level jobs,
magazines,
media,
New York,
software development,
web development
by Willy Franzen on August 17, 2009
This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.
For nearly 30 years (they’ll be celebrating their anniversary in 2010), Schneider Associates in Boston has been helping clients ranging from small entrepreneurial firms to some of the nation’s largest corporations launch products, shape opinions, define and re-define companies, promote events, generate awareness and produce results. Although these smaller agencies (Schneider has approximately 20 employees) typically don’t make daily headlines in the PR industry publications, I truly believe they are an excellent environment in which to launch your career. If you want to learn a lot about the profession—and fast—you’ll surely be able to do so at a shop like Schneider.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
communications,
entry-level jobs,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
public relations
by Willy Franzen on August 16, 2009
It’s hard to believe that squash, a sport that plenty of people haven’t even heard of, has so many non-profit organizations surrounding it. We’ve already featured New York’s StreetSquash and San Diego’s Surf City Squash, both members of the National Urban Squash and Education Association (NUSEA), and today we’re going to take a look at another member of the association, Boston’s SquashBusters. They are very similar to the other organizations that I’ve just mentioned in that they combine “squash with intensive academic tutoring, community service, and one-to-one mentoring to help student-athletes strive towards excellence in their lives.” SquashBusters works with about 100 ethnically diverse Boston public school youth and uses an apparently awesome facility on Northeastern University’s campus.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
education,
entry-level jobs,
Massachusetts,
non-profit,
program development,
sports
by Willy Franzen on August 14, 2009
Before I get started, I’d like to ask you all for a favor. Businessweek is seeking nominations for their list of the Best U.S. Entrepreneurs 25 and Under, and I happen to be under 25 and an entrepreneur. I’d love to be on this list, but only if you think I should be. If One Day, One Job has helped you with your job search or you just love what we’re doing, please nominate me. It won’t take more than 90 seconds. Thanks!
When I was growing up, I kept all of my most prized possessions in a small wooden box that my Dad gave me. I knew that if the house ever caught on fire, I’d grab that and run (because there was no way I’d be able to carry my entire baseball card collection). These days I still think the same way, but my laptop is definitely the first thing that I’d grab before running out of a burning building. Maybe I’m unique because I run an online business, but I think that you’d probably grab your laptop too. Our prized possessions are increasingly in the form of data—our pictures, our movies, our contacts, and many of the other things that can never be replaced. Memeo is an Aliso Viejo, CA based company that recognizes how important data is to our lives. They build products that simplify your digital life. They have backup software, syncing software, and file sharing software. Yes, there are plenty of software companies that make these kinds of products, but Memeo makes it simple and easy to manage your digital assets.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
design,
entry-level jobs,
product management,
software development,
user experience,
web development
by Willy Franzen on August 13, 2009
Before I get started, I’d like to ask you all for a favor. Businessweek is seeking nominations for their list of the Best U.S. Entrepreneurs 25 and Under, and I happen to be under 25 and an entrepreneur. I’d love to be on this list, but only if you think I should be. If One Day, One Job has helped you with your job search or you just love what we’re doing, please nominate me. It won’t take more than 90 seconds. Thanks!
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.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
animation,
arts,
California,
Canada,
design,
entry-level jobs,
international,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
New York,
software development,
United Kingdom,
video games,
web development
by Willy Franzen on August 12, 2009
Events are all about the people. A lot of that has to do with who’s invited—or more importantly, who shows up. You can invite people like Aretha Franklin, Trent Lott, John Cleese, Terry McAuliffe, Steve Wozniak, Brad Paisley, and Darell Hammond, but they’re probably not going to come to your event (if they all did it would be quite a mix). Unless, of course, you’re using Leading Authorities. They are a Washington, DC and Chicago, IL based lecture agency that provides “top-tier speakers and nationally-recognized entertainment acts to events all over the world.” Yeah, you’ll have to pay a hefty sum, but how else will you get an impressive name to keynote your conference or sing at your party? Leading Authorities is also an “award-winning production house” and an event design firm. That means that you’ll be able to make the most of the talent that you bring in for your event—assuming that you, a recent college grad, are throwing a huge event.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
entry-level jobs,
events,
Illinois,
sales,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on August 11, 2009
Copyrights aren’t what they used to be. It’s not that they’re any less valuable, it’s just that it’s so easy to rip someone off these days. Every day my posts are automatically scraped by bots and republished on sites that slap ads on my content to make pennies. The photos that you posted online might end up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign without your permission. And then there’s the world of music. Piracy and infringement has completely changed the face of the industry. New York City’s RightsFlow is an employee-owned company that “specializes in intellectual property licensing and copyright management” in the music industry. Their core areas of service are Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Music Licensing Services, and Digital Music and Media Strategies. Put simply, they help artists and labels ensure that they are fairly compensated for the work that they produce.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
entry-level jobs,
law,
music,
New York,
software development
by Willy Franzen on August 10, 2009
This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the “boutique” public relations agencies. Often times, you are given many more responsibilities much more quickly than at larger firms. If you’re like me and thrive on these things, LaunchSquad (PRWeek’s 2009 Boutique Agency of the Year) might be just the place for you. Founded in San Francisco in 2000, LaunchSquad now has 40 employees, 35 clients and another office in New York City. The San Francisco Business Times recently named the agency a “best place to work in the Bay Area.” I was not surprised about this fact when I read about Volunteer Day, a company-wide event that took “Squadders” to the Exploratorium this year. As I mentioned earlier, you can really wear many hats at a boutique agency—the “hats” at LaunchSquad including messaging and story development, media relations, analyst relations, media training, writing, strategic marketing, international PR, and social media.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
California,
communications,
entry-level jobs,
public relations
by Willy Franzen on August 9, 2009
For nearly as long as humans have been around, we’ve been building shelters—places to sleep, eat, work, and play. And nearly as long as we’ve been building shelters, we’ve been doing it artistically. Function is still our primary goal—it’s the reason that we build things, but it’s amazing how development, architecture, construction and engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, and urban planning come together as an essential part of human culture. The National Building Museum in Washington, DC was started to “advance the quality of the built environment by educating the public about its impact on people’s lives.” Yes, it’s a museum filled with artifacts and objects related to the history of buildings, but it’s more than that. It’s really about “fostering lively discussion about a wide range of topics.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
architecture,
design,
development,
engineering,
entry-level jobs,
museum,
non-profit,
outreach,
sales,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on August 7, 2009
We’ve featured quite a few integrated integrated marketing agencies in the past, but I’m not sure that we’ve ever actually talked about what integrated marketing is. According to Wikipedia (original reference has a dead link), integrated marketing communications is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” That sounds desirable, but how do you accomplish that? You either do it all yourself, or you hire an agency that does it all. It’s really hard to to accomplish integrated marketing when you have one agency doing PR, another doing TV ads, and another doing interactive. Greenville, SC based Erwin-Penland is an agency that does it all—interactive, public relations, direct mail, event planning, advertising, strategic planning, and media—and they don’t farm any of it out to freelancers or other agencies.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
advertising,
communications,
copywriting,
design,
entry-level jobs,
events,
finance,
information technology,
interactive media,
marketing,
media,
public relations,
South Carolina
is the funniest, most in-your-face career guide on the market.