One Day, One Job » finance

Mars

Willy Franzen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:10 +0000

Tomorrow is Halloween, which means that we need to talk about candy today. We’ve already looked at companies like Jelly Belly, The Hershey Company, Charles Chocolates, Vosges, and Just Born Quality Confections. We’ve also discussed jobs at Mars & Co., which is a consulting firm, and not to be confused with Mars, the CPG and candy company. You probably know them best for M&M’s, Snickers, Dove, Milky Way, Twix, and Mars bar; however, they’re also behind Pedigree, Whiskas, Uncle Ben’s, and quite a few other brands. For your sake I hope you only run into the good stuff and not Whiskas or Pedigree during your trick-or-treating. While headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars has locations all across the world. They’re a huge company with a ton of international business, which makes for a great place to gain some experience.

Take a Trip to Mars

It all started in 1911 with butter cream candies in a kitchen in Tacoma, WA. Frank C. Mars and his wife started selling these candies, and now you’d be hard pressed to find a person who has never tasted one of his company’s confections. If you’d like to be part of this true American success story, then you need to check out Mars’ Careers page. They offer a lot of information about their company and what it’s like to work for them, and they even have a separate section for students. It seems that most of the information that they provide is on International careers, but they have a job search function that will let you find what you’re looking for. And since you’re in the trick-or-treating mood, I’m going to leave that up to you—but just so you know, they have job opportunities in areas including Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Logisitcs, Manufacturing, Marketing, Purchasing, Research & Development, & Sales.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite candy from Mars?

Ladder Up

Willy Franzen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:10:44 +0000

Often people don’t realize what services are available to them. I see this all the time with college students and Career Services offices—the students complain about a lack of help even though they’ve never stepped foot in the office. Another example is students who are having trouble paying for college yet have never applied for the thousands of dollars of scholarships that are available to them. This same thing happens all the time in the world of government programs—people endure hardship because they don’t know that there are programs intended just for them. We often hear that there’s a need for more programs to help the poor, yet programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit are significantly underutilized. Ladder Up is a Chicago based non-profit organization that has “returned $183 million to 100,000 hardworking families” by providing “free, real world financial solutions that maximize earnings and savings.” Whether it’s helping their clients claim a tax credit that they didn’t know about or walking a future college student through the financial aid process, Ladder Up helps people make the most of what’s available to them.

Climb the Ladder Up

Part of the problem with the government is that nothing is ever simple. Whether you’re apply for a government job, filing your taxes, or applying for some sort of government program, it’s always complicated. This means that people who need the most help from the government often don’t even know it’s available. Ladder Up changes this by working directly with their clients to help them “get off the ground and stay there.” When the working poor of Chicago run into problems claiming tax credits or refunds, they can go to Ladder Up for financial consulting advice. It’s a brilliant idea for a non-profit, and it’s apparently extremely effective—according to Ladder Up’s website they return $29 to the community for every $1 that is donated to them. That’s a huge ROI! Now, Ladder Up doesn’t have any jobs posted on Idealist right now; however, there are a couple of internships posted. A little deeper research on LinkedIn told me that Ladder Up does have entry level type positions, even if they may not be hiring right now. If you’re interested in a job with them, your best bet is to reach out to them through their Contact page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Ladder Up?

College Hunks Hauling Junk

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:52:17 +0000

Today is the last day to enter our Maghound Your Way to a New Job contest. With so few entries so far, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll win a one-year subscription to an awesome new magazine subscription service (3 monthly magazines for free!).

I’m still on my Inc. 5000 kick, and today we’re looking at a company whose name immediately caught my eye. They’re called College Hunks Hauling Junk, and that’s exactly what they are. Omar Soliman wanted to make some money during the summer, so he borrowed his mom’s cargo van to start hauling away people’s junk. He then entered his business plan in the Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition and won the $10,000 first prize. He realized that he had a business that he could grow, and now College Hunks Hauling Junk is doing $2.9 million in revenue. Guess that’s why Omar and his co-founder Nick were named (also by Inc.) as Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30. College Hunks Hauling Junk is headquartered in Tampa, FL, but through expansion and franchising they now operate in Anne Arundel, MD; Baltimore/Howard County, MD; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Richmond, VA; San Francisco/San Jose, CA; Tampa Bay, FL; and Washington, DC Metro.

Are You Hunky Enough?

College Hunks Hauling Junk certainly has a provocative name, but that’s part of their success. Finding someone to haul away your junk isn’t that hard, but it’s really easy to go with the brand you recognize. College Hunks Hauling Junk is all about grabbing attention so that they’re the company that you choose when you need to get rid of some junk. It doesn’t hurt that they can call themselves green, as they recycle 60% of the junk that they collect. Now, College Hunks Hauling Junk obviously has plenty of jobs available. If you want to get in the business of hauling junk to pay your way through college, they can help, but they’re also a growing company with growing needs. They have a bunch of corporate job postings that consist solely of titles. Since they’re a college startup, it’s hard to say how much experience they’re looking for with each position, but you’ll have to apply to find out. The posted job titles include Truck Captain/ Wingman, VP – Franchise Development, Client Loyalty Associate (Inside Sales Rep), Operations Manager, VP – Marketing, VP – Public Relations, VP – Finance, VP – Business Development, and VP – Information Technology.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used College Hunks Hauling Junk?

NAVTEQ

Willy Franzen — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:35:14 +0000

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.

Take a Shortcut to a Job with NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is the trusted supplier of map data for vehicle navigation systems, mobile devices, web sites, fleet management systems, government systems, and more. That means that you’ve almost certainly used NAVTEQ’s maps to navigate somewhere at some point. They’re a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia, but they’re pretty big all by themselves—they have more than 4,000 employees across the world. They also appear to do a significant amount of College Recruiting as their College Recruiting page indicates. They have a calendar for all of their on campus recruiting events and they encourage students who can’t attend those events (from any school) to send a résumé to careers-corp9@navteq.com. Their entry level opportunities seem to be focused in two areas: Research & Development and Accounting; however, they’re a huge company that does a lot more than those two things. Their job search function isn’t very good, so I’d recommend sticking with e-mail or an on campus event if you want to work for NAVTEQ. Be sure to check out their links on Why You Should Work at NAVTEQ, NAVTEQ’s Culture, and Employee Testimonials too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you read Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)?

Erwin-Penland

Willy Franzen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:15:03 +0000

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.

Take a Trip to Erwin-Penland

The cool thing is that Erwin-Penland takes an integrated approach to branding themselves and their jobs. They have a gorgeous website, and they make it very easy to understand what they’re all about. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video from Erwin-Penland’s About page because that’s the perfect way to show you what they’re all about, so I’m going to encourage you to go watch it now. It makes the company look like a really fun place to work. So does the fact that Erwin-Penland divides their workforce into client teams, not departments. That should make for a very different work experience than most other agencies offer.

If that sounds like something that you’d enjoy, then you need to check out Jobs at Erwin-Penland. Right now there are quite a few opportunities posted, and there’s also a Twitter account for EPJobs (in fact they just announced 7 new hires this week—what recession?). The job openings that seem most suitable for new grads are Junior Account Executive and Junior Copywriter; however, you may also want to check out Traffic Manager, Graphic Designer, Planner, Billing Coordinator, and Technical Support Analyst. Additionally, Erwin-Penland encourages new grads to apply for their paid internships. There’s a résumé submission form on each job description page, so find the right job for you and apply today.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Erwin-Penland?

People Capital

Willy Franzen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:49:13 +0000

I was lucky enough to graduate from college without having had to take out any student loans, but even if I had needed to take out a loan, at least it would have been before the “credit crunch.” These days it’s a lot harder for students to finance their educations than it was just a couple of years ago. Credit in general is extremely tight right now, and beyond that, lenders are being very picky about whom they lend to. For students with no credit history, getting a loan can be a big pain in the butt. People Capital is a New York City based startup that is aiming to change that through what they call a “peer-to-peer lending platform.” They’ve developed a Human Capital Score “to assess the creditworthiness of those just starting their credit histories,” and they’re now building out a network of borrowers and lenders to bring the idea to life. It’s kind of like Kiva for education, but with a for-profit incentive keeping things efficient.

Add Your Human Capital to People Capital

When People Capital’s idea catches on, it has the potential to completely change the lending industry—not just the student loan industry. We used to trust banks to make smart financial decisions, but those days are over. Now we can micro-manage our lending and borrowing through peer-to-peer lending. Borrowers can get lower rates based on information that goes beyond the traditional credit score, and lenders can make a profit while financing the educations of promising students. It’s hard to say whether people are ready for this kind of a business model yet, but if they are, People Capital is going to be growing at insane rate pretty soon (if they aren’t already).

If People Capital sounds like the kind of place that you want to start your career, then you should check out their job listings on Startuply. Right now they’re looking to hire people to help them with Business Development in Philanthropic/Endowment/Affinity Channels and in Capital Markets. You can apply for these positions online right now, and keep your eyes peeled for more new jobs as peer-to-peer education lending becomes all the rage in the world of microfinance.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about People Capital’s concept of peer-to-peer lending?

CB Richard Ellis

Willy Franzen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:55:21 +0000

Considering the fact that I drove by a house in Michigan that was on sale for $12,500 just a few days ago, it’s pretty obvious that the real estate market still has some rebounding to do. There has been a lot of hurt in the industry over the past couple years, but maybe things are looking up. A friend who works at CB Richard Ellis let me know about a position that they’re trying to fill, and after I checked their Careers page I saw that they’re hiring for more than 200 positions. Considering the fact that they just went through a round of layoffs at the end of last year, I’d say all those job postings is probably a good sign for where the company (and maybe the economy?) is going. If you have heard of CB Richard Ellis before, you should know that they’re headquartered in Los Angeles and they’re “the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2008 revenue).” Clearly $12,500 houses aren’t a problem for them.

Be with CBRE

CB Richard Ellis is a huge company. Not only are they world’s revenue leader in commercial real estate, but they also happen to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 employees and 300 offices. That makes finding an entry level job with them a little bit intimidating. It’s hard to know where to start, especially when they don’t have anything tailored to recent grads on their site. They do have a Career Paths section on their site, but it only allows you to self-select as Experience Professional or MBA. Neither of those pages offers much information that would be helpful to a recent grad. This means that we’re going to have to dive into the dreaded job search function to find entry level jobs at CBRE.

Unfortunately, CBRE’s job search function doesn’t let us link to specific jobs, and there are 200+ jobs to wade through. CBRE does have jobs all across the country, so getting ultra-specific with your query still should turn up a few results that might interest you. CBRE’s job areas include Administrative/Operations, Business Development, Client Services, Commercial Real Estate, Executive Management, Facilities Management, Finance/Accounting, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing/PR/Communications, Project Management, Property Management, Purchasing/Procurement, Research Management, Risk Management, Sales/Brokerage, Technology, and Transaction Management, so there really is something for nearly everyone. There’s also the position that my friend told me about: Marketing Coordinator (.doc file) in Woodbury, NY. You can apply for this specific position by sending your cover letter and résumé to joscelyn.wippern@cbre.com. For other positions you can apply online through CBRE’s Applicant Tracking System, or you can apply through e-mail to cbreresume@cbre.com. If you still have questions about the CBRE hiring process you can check out their Careers FAQ.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about CBRE?

Triage Consulting Group

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:16:16 +0000

Jason Seiden and I often refer to the work that we’re doing with Found Your Career and other courses that we’re developing as career triage. It’s a practical, informal, and just-in-time approach that gives you what you need when you need it. I’m sure that Triage Consulting Group (which is based in both San Francisco and Atlanta) chose their name for a similar reason, although it might also have something to do with the fact that they’re “financial consultants to the healthcare industry.” The company was started to serve the needs of hospitals, and they do this through 10 services that drive 98% of their revenue: Payment Review, Workers’ Compensation Review, Contract Analyses and Negotiations, Litigation Support, Clinical Denials, Medicare Review, Revenue Cycle Consulting, Silent PPO Review, Capitation Risk Pool Audits, and Government Compliance Audits, including Medicaid and TRICARE.

Get Yourself in Triage

Ok, that stuff doesn’t sound all that much fun to me, but if you have a mind for numbers and an interest in the healthcare industry, it would be absolutely fascinating work—especially given all the talk about healthcare reform right now. Triage Consulting Group is a relatively small company with somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 employees; however, they’ve been named one of the “Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America” by the SHRM and the Great Place to Work Institute for the last five years. Triage’s Careers site definitely reflects this, as it’s loaded with in-depth information about what it’s like to work for the company. It’s definitely one of the most in-depth Careers sites that I’ve seen. They seem to do most of their recruiting on campus for their entry level Associate position, but they do have a page that allows you to apply online. Unfortunately, it says, “At this time, we are no longer accepting applications. Please check back with us in the summer.”

Well, it’s summer now. Time to pounce. While other candidates are getting discouraged by this notice and waiting around until they’re told to apply, you should jump on this opportunity and see if you can network your way into a job with Triage Consulting Group. That’s the kind of stuff we teach in our “career triage” course, Found Your Career. We’ll leave it up to you how to make the first contact, but I’ll recommend that you start with their company LinkedIn Profile or their team page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Triage Consulting Group?

kasina

George Tarakhovski — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:48:57 +0000

This is a guest post by George Tarakhovski.

In my experience, consulting has always been one of the top career choices for graduates at my alma mater (Duke). Although the work frequently involves countless hours of engineering multilayered pie charts and histograms in Excel, there are lots of things to like about the profession – great pay, stimulating assignments and lots of client interaction.

For a consulting firm that represents over $8 trillion in assets, kasina’s claim to fame is its expertise in introducing “revolutionary business ideas” to the asset management and insurance industries. kasina, which is based in New York City, is all about practical innovation through unique, trend-defying solutions that keep companies from going stale and losing profitability. Despite sporting an impressive client list, kasina does more than just help corporations stay in business. The team preaches community involvement and is actively involved in non-profit initiatives, including its own youth foundation. To maintain its “culture of learning,” kasina has its team members partake in a book club and post interesting and relevant entries on their blog. Overall, the team culture is fun, communal and non-intimidating. That’s pretty impressive (and unexpected) for a firm that pioneered solutions in hybrid wholesaling, profit-based compensation systems, and behavior-based segmentation.

Ready, Steady, Consult!

So, kasina seems like a pretty cool place full of smart, interesting and well-balanced individuals. Now, how about a job? First, the bad news – there are currently no employment opportunities listed on the website. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply if you feel that the company is a perfect match. (I’ve heard of people who have landed entry level jobs there in the past.) The good news is that kasina has an opening for an internship position. Although the job description is lacking in detail, the recurring theme is that you must be someone who is “obsessed with excellence” and “is ready to think differently and make an immediate impact.” While energy and leadership skills are natural prerequisites, the ideal candidate must also be pursuing a degree from a top-tier college, demonstrate an interest in finance, and be fully proficient in Microsoft Office. Successful interns frequently transition into successful employees, so go brush up on your case studies and get your creative juices flowing.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a consulting superstar?

National Park Service

Willy Franzen — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:37:02 +0000

Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays—not only because it signifies the start of summer, but also because I love small town patriotism. My hometown always has a fantastic parade that is often accompanied by a fighter jet fly over. Now, today’s employer may not immediately make you think of Memorial Day like last year’s did (it was Weber-Stephen, the manufacturer of my favorite charcoal grills), but you’ll realize pretty quickly why the National Park Service is a great choice for today. Not only are some of the parks that they manage great places to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend outdoors, but they’re also responsible for quite a few memorials including The Marine Corps War Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Korean War Veterans Memorial, and The World War II Memorial. Memorial Day is really about our fallen heroes, and the National Park Service is constantly working to honor them by maintaining and managing our memorials.

Celebrate Memorial Day All Year Long

If you love Memorial Day as much as I do, then a job with the National Park Service might be something worth thinking about. Whether you love the outdoors and want to be at Yosemite, love history and want to be at Lincoln’s Boyhood Home, or love our country and want to be at one of the memorials, you’ll have plenty of options. The NPS is constantly working to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” So, how do you land a job with them? You can start at the NPS Jobs page (it has some awesome photos from the 70s), but that will dump you into USAJobs.gov—use this link so that you only see jobs posted from the NPS. There are 163 jobs posted right now, and many of them are entry level, so we’re not going to wade through all of them for you, but you should know that the NPS typically hires in the following areas: Administration, Health and Safety, Archeology, History, Architecture, Human Resources, Biological Sciences, Landscape Architecture, Community Planning, Maintenance and Facility Management, Concessions, Natural Resources, Contracting, Park Police, Cultural Resources, Park Ranger (Protection), Engineering, Park Ranger (Interpretation), Financial Management, Park Site Interpretation, Firefighting, Physical Sciences, and Fire Management. That should help you direct your search on the USAJobs.gov site a little better. Applying for government jobs can be tricky, so be sure to pay very close attention to the details before you send in your application.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite National Park/

Wolfram Research

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:49:42 +0000

If you’re an Internet geek like me, then you’ve probably noticed all of the buzz around Wolfram|Alpha. Some have dubbed it a “Google killer,” but as far as I can tell, they’re way off the mark. They’re wrong because Wolfram|Alpha isn’t a search engine – it’s a knowledge engine. The goal is “to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone.” The concept is kind of hard to grasp until you try it, but once you see how it works, I think that you’ll be impressed. So, who is behind Wolfram|Alpha? Wolfram, of course! They’re based in Champaign, IL, and they’re “one of the world’s most respected software companies–as well as a powerhouse of scientific and technical innovation.” They’re the company behind Mathematica – a software package that excels in ” computation, modeling, simulation, visualization, development, documentation, and deployment.” I’ve never had the pleasure of using it, but I know math teachers who think it’s pretty awesome.

Join a Powerhouse

From what I can tell, Wolfram is about as academic as a company can get. They use their expertise in computer science to create amazing tools that help smart people do their jobs and research better. Yet, Wolfram’s ambitions go beyond that. This Wolfram|Alpha thing seems to be a well received attempt at going mainstream, and it’s only in its early stages. You have to love a company that is constantly working to make people smarter and more effective, which is why you should consider jobs with Wolfram Research. They don’t have specific job openings listed, but they are constantly looking for people in the following areas:

Algorithm Development
Software Engineering
Financial Engineering
Image and Signal Processing
Control Systems
Geospatial Information Systems
Instrument Control
Experimental Data Analysis
Statistics
User Interface Development
Applications Development
Software Quality Assurance
Technical Support
Technical Marketing
Business Development
Project Management
International Business Development
Special Projects
Mathematica Programming
Information Technology
Customer Relations
Educational Outreach
Technical Writing
Sales
Scientific Business Development
Technology Licensing

There’s a single online application form for all of these positions, and it’s really in-depth. So, if Wolfram Research already has you fascinated and “you’re clear-thinking, pragmatic, and energetic about getting things done well,” then go ahead and apply ASAP. Additionally, Wolfram Research has some Science and Technology R&D Fellowships that you may want to check out. Beyond Wolfram’s headquarters in Champaign, IL, they also have locations in Boston, MA; Oxford, United Kingdom; Paris, France; and Tokyo, Japan.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Wolfram|Alpha’s capabilities?

IMRE

Willy Franzen — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:25:11 +0000

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

What do financial services, home/building and healthcare have in common? All three fields can expect good things to happen when they “converge” with IMRE, a full service digital, advertising, marketing and public relations agency in Baltimore, Maryland.

Let’s start with their financial services practice. Strategically expanded in July 2008 near the beginning of our country’s economic troubles, IMRE saw an opportunity for “financial services companies to gain market share.” Did you know you can buy wedding insurance from Travelers? IMRE won this client by proposing—no pun intended—to launch a campaign on Valentine’s Day about nuptial nightmares ranging from heart attacks to blackouts to hurricanes. They won the account and reached more than 74 million people with their messages. Like most public relations practitioners, I’m not a numbers person, but I do love weddings!

The “green” market is hot right now, so it makes sense for Arxx Corporation to be included in IMRE’s home & building practice. IMRE “moved Arxx away from a product message and positioned them as a longtime leader in energy-efficient solutions.” Despite being a midsized firm with only one office location, their client list in this practice is impressive—ranging from John Deere to The Home Depot to Target.

Their final practice area is healthcare, which is also my specialty. What I like most about healthcare PR is that you feel like you’re helping people live life to its fullest with every tactic you use to reach them. IMRE’s clients in this sector mostly are nonprofit organizations, including American Red Cross, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shady Grove Fertility.

Interested in any one of those practice areas? IMRE is extremely open about who heads up each, providing their biographies, fun Q&A’s and e-mail addresses.

Good Things Happen When You Converge with IMRE

IMRE has two entry-level openings right now: a WOM (Word of Mouth) Associate Account Executive and another Associate Account Executive. If social networking is your thing, the WOM AAE position will be right up your alley. IMRE’s ideal candidate for this position? A “dynamic, creative and fun college graduate with a degree in communications or other related field and is an active Internet user who accesses social networks, blogs, forums and consumer reviews on a regular basis.” This person must also be a “self-motivated and detail-oriented team player and can often be found making YouTube videos just for fun.”

The other AAE position sounds a little more “structured” like you would find at a typical agency. IMRE seeks someone “with a degree in communications or related field and one to two years work or internship experience.” Candidates must also have “strong writing skills and be a team player who is results oriented, have an attention to detail, organized and able to juggle multiple priorities.”

Interested? Send your cover letter, résumé, salary requirements and writing samples to jobs@imre.com. Don’t forget to also fill out their job application.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Wayne Hummer Wealth Management

Willy Franzen — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:03:39 +0000

Let’s be honest, as a new or recent college grad, you probably don’t have much wealth to manage. That’s why you’re looking for a job – so that you’ll be rich one day and have somebody else look after your finances. Wait! So, if wealthy people don’t manage their own money, then who does? Wealth management companies, of course. That means that you can get a job managing wealth without having any wealth of your own to manage. Ok, this is starting to sound like some too good to be true scam – my bad. Seriously, though, if you’re smart, have the drive, and are interested in all things financial, a career in wealth management could be worth a shot. Wealth managment is actually a pretty cool field – it pulls from a variety of disciplines that include banking, estate planning, tax advisory, investment management, legal advisory, and, of course, financial planning. If that sounds like something that you might like to do after graduation, then you should check out Wayne Hummer Wealth Management, a Chicago based firm that was founded in 1931.

Manage Your Way to Wealth

It’s hard to differentiate between wealth management firms when you don’t have much inside information to go on, so let’s jump right into entry level jobs with Wayne Hummer Wealth Management. Their Careers page includes a link to a PDF on their Wealth Manager Training and Development Program, which is targeted towards new grads. There’s a ton of information on what the program entails and what areas you’ll “rotate” into. There’s no need for me to repeat it, so check out their Training and Development Program, and if you like what you see, you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to careers@whummer.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Wayne Hummer Wealth Management?

Wikinvest

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:38:50 +0000

Who would have thought that you could build a whole startup off of a Wiki? I mean, I know that Wikipedia is wildly successful, but they’re run by a non-profit called the Wikimedia Foundation. Building a real business off of that same idea almost sounds too easy, but that didn’t stop the founders of San Francisco based Wikinvest from trying it. It all started when two Harvard students were day trading in their dorm rooms during the height of the Internet bubble. They were making money, so they thought they were smart investors. When the bubble burst, they realized that they weren’t nearly as smart as they thought they were. As they tried to educate themselves, they noticed that most financial websites leave a lot to be desired (kind of how I noticed that most job search sites leave a lot to be desired). Instead of building a team of salaried experts, the guys who started Wikinvest decided to crowdsource their content through a Wiki. So far it seems to be working well for them – they raised $2.5 million in a first round (although that was 18 months ago).

Wikinvest in Yourself

Some challenge that Wikinvest is inherently flawed because anyone can submit information. You’d think the pump-and-dumpers would be all over it, but the site still appears to be loaded with quality content (and not rife with spam). There’s also the question of why you would want to share good investing information publicly instead of keeping it for yourself and making lots of money. I certainly see the validity in those arguments, but I think that they miss the point of Wikinvest. The point is to learn key concepts and basic information that will allow you to understand more in-depth information that might not be found on the site. For instance, you can’t invest in Corn if you don’t understand the basic concepts behind Corn Prices. Since all new grads should be investing (even if it’s a small amount), Wikinvest is a great resource, but it’s also a place to consider employment. Despite their investment background, most of their jobs are actually on the software/web side. Their Jobs page shows a number of positions that seem geared towards new grads – Software Developer, Web Developer, User Interface Architect, and Flex/Flash Developer. You can apply for any of these jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@wikinvest.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you using Wikinvest to help you plan for your future?

WeatherBill

Willy Franzen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:22:23 +0000

A few years ago I had the idea of building a business that would allow people to financially hedge against bad weather. For instance, if you bought tickets to a sporting event above face value and were afraid that it might get rained out and leave you out a lot of money, you could buy a type of insurance that would pay you off if the weather caused the game to be cancelled. Apparently I wasn’t the only person to come up with this idea. WeatherBill is a San Francisco, CA based startup that is doing exactly that. Many think entrepreneurship is all about having a good idea, but it’s not. It’s about execution. WeatherBill is a perfect example of an awesome idea that is being executed well. The potential for this idea is absolutely unbelievable, and WeatherBill is already beginning to realize it. They don’t call what they offer “insurance” because there is no need for a claims process or a proof of loss. I guess you can call it a hedge, as it allows you to “get paid for weather that’s bad for business.”

Great Jobs Rain or Shine

Of all of the companies that I’ve featured here on One Day, One Job, WeatherBill has to be one of my favorites. I love that I can go straight to their website and get a quote on nearly any weather outcome. It’s dead simple, so if I decide to plan a weekend getaway for me and my girlfriend, I can protect myself against a washed out weekend. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg (not sure if you can hedge against those) when it comes to what WeatherBill does. They also offer the ability to resell their protection plans. They’ve already cut a deal with Priceline, to offer travel protection (like a Sunshine guaranteed vacation), and they have other industry solutions tailored to Travel, Agriculture, Events, Heating Fuels, Public Works, and Ski Resorts. The opportunities are endless. Here’s another example: a retail store can offer to make all holiday purchases free if it snows on Christmas Day. I think this is so cool!

What about jobs with WeatherBill? There are a couple of intriguing options. You can find all of the details on WeatherBill’s Careers page, but the two most suitable positions for new and recent grads are Quantitative Engineer and Business Development Associate. They do have some experience requirements, but I still think that they’re worth a look. I’m fascinated by their business, and if I didn’t already have a business, I’d probably be bending over backwards trying to find a way in. To apply for any of the jobs at WeatherBill, you need to visit a separate site. And no, I’m not going to guarantee the weather for you today, but it’s absolutely beautiful here in Chicago.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you give WeatherBill a try?

Scottrade

Willy Franzen — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:58:44 +0000

After I graduated from college, I decided to take a responsible approach to my personal finances (I wish I had taken the same approach to my job search, but I didn’t, which is why I’m here teaching you how not to be a loser like I was). It took me a while to get my act together, but once I did I started investing in the stock market through Scottrade, an online discount brokerage company that is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. (And before I go on with more information about Scottrade’s jobs, I need to give Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a plug because it just came out and is the best personal finance resource for young people that I’ve come across.) So, Scottrade allows me to buy and sell stocks at 7 bucks a pop. They also have a solid web interface that gives you access to all kinds of information, and they have 399 branches with helpful employees to answer you questions and get your accounts opened. If you’re interested in opening an account with Scottrade, let me know at willy@onedayonejob.com and I can give you a link that gets us both free trades. If you’re interested in working for Scottrade, keep reading, duh!

Trade Up to an Entry Level Job with Scottrade

Now, you may be thinking, “Ummm… Willy, the stock market sucks right now, why would I want to get involved with that business?” There are quite a few reasons. First of all, Scottrade is growing at an excellent rate, which is why they were included in the Inc. 5000. Second of all, they’re not one of these big banks that is on the edge of failure. They’re a discount brokerage that focuses on customer satisfaction, not playing with money in risky ways. Third of all, they’ve been named one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. Oh yeah, and the 4th reason is that they are hiring at the entry level. They do some college recruiting, but they also post plenty of positions on their Jobs site.

Jobs at Scottrade’s St. Louis headquarters that might interest new grads include IT Web Architect, Business Analyst, Business Analyst Specialist, and quite a few more – especially in the IT/Software Development Areas. Additionally Scottrade has jobs at its brokerages across the country. The Stockbroker position seems most appropriate for new grads, and you can do it almost anywhere – St. Louis, MO; Richmond, VA; Miami, FL; Oakland, CA; Greenville, SC; Albany, NY; Aventura, FL; Bloomington, IL; Boca Raton, FL; Castro Valley, CA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Lafayette, LA; Midvale, UT; Ocala, FL; Parsippany, NJ; Redding, CA; San Antonio, TX; Santa Rosa, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; St. Cloud, MN; Yoba Linda, CA; Redding, CA, and probably a lot more places in the future.

You can apply for all of the jobs online on Scottrade’s Jobs site.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you invest? Do you use Scottrade?

Research In Motion

Willy Franzen — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:21:42 +0000

I’m an iPhone guy, so I tend to feel sorry for people who are constantly thumbing away on their BlackBerries. That’s just my being a smug Apple user though. I realize that a lot of people love their BlackBerries and for good reason. They’re pretty remarkable devices, and they’re perfectly tailored for business use. (Although not as perfectly tailored as my iPhone! Ok, I’m done.) That’s why Research In Motion, the company that makes BlackBerries, has a 16.6% share of the smartphone market. They seem to have hit a bit of a rough spot lately (at least their stock price makes it look like they have), but their market position is still very strong. That’s why it’s no surprise that they’re doing a good amount of entry level hiring; however, the real reason that I wanted to feature Research In Motion here is that they chose an unfortunate, yet inappropriately hilarious domain name for their Jobs site (it redirects now, but I think that you can figure it out).

Jobs at RIM

RIM’s description of what they do is pretty complex:

Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, text messaging (SMS and MMS), Internet and intranet-based applications.

However, I think that you can put it pretty simply by saying that they make BlackBerries. I’m sure that there’s a lot more that they do on the technology side, but it seems that smartphones are their bread and butter. They’re a big company, so it’s no surprise that their Careers site has a special section for students. You can get all of the details on RIM’s Student Hiring Program here, and then you can search their job postings for positions specific to your interests. Their job search function is very flexible, and it allows you to select jobs specifically for new grads.

Right now there are 25 of those opportunities available in a variety of world locations and business areas. They include: Hardware Engineering Designer (Waterloo, Canada), Java Software Developer (Ottawa or Waterloo, Canada), Financial Analyst (Waterloo, Canada), Technical Writer (Waterloo, Canada), Embedded Systems Software Developer (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Graphics Software Developer – Advanced Rendering Applications (Waterloo, Canada), Embedded Software Developer (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Multimedia System Specialist (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Communications Specialist (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Mobile Phone Safety Test Specialist (Waterloo, Canada), 3GPP Compliance Specialist (Waterloo, Canada), Software Development Support Specialist (Waterloo and Mississauga, Canada), Database Developer – BlackBerry Infrastructure (Waterloo, CA), Project Coordinator (Waterloo, Canada), Software Test Specialist (Waterloo, Canada), Project Coordinator – Accessories (Waterloo, Canada), Carrier Technical Manager (Kansas City, KS), Systems Engineering Specialist – M&D (Mississauga, CA), Systems Engineering Specialist – Provisioning (Mississauga, CA), Protocol Stack Developer (Bochum, Germany), Systems Engineer (Irving, TX), Software Testing Specialist (Waterloo, Canada), Requirements Manager (Waterloo, Canada), and ISP Engineer (Waterloo, Canada).

You can apply for all of these jobs online from the job listings that you’ll find through the search function. Be wary though, because when you view a job listing and then hit the back button to get back to your search, you’ll have to reenter your search to get the results that you want.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have a BlackBerry?

Mozilla

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:53:19 +0000

I remember the days of browser wars. It was Netscape vs. Internet Explorer, and it was ugly – the Internet that is. Back then it was all about whether or not your browser displayed pages properly, and people were passionately in favor of one browser or the other (or maybe some weird 3rd option). Now it’s all a lot simpler (unless you’re still using Internet Explorer) – your browser probably displays most sites just fine, and you’re more worried about speed and bells and whistles. That’s where Mozilla shines with their Firefox browser. They’re absolutely dominant with web savvy users (except with me – I still use Safari), and they are constantly making their products better. The Mozilla Corporation is a Mountain View, CA based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit, while the Corporation calls itself a “public benefit organization.” That means that they are “dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet” – even if by definition they’re still a for profit.

Browse Mozilla’s Jobs

Not too long ago it seemed that the browser wars were over. Microsoft had come out on top, and they had even decided that there was no need to keep working on building a better web browser. Out of nowhere an open source project started gaining traction. Internet Explorer is still an industry behemoth, but Mozilla’s Firefox continues to grow and can now claim 15% of the world market share. That means that there’s still a lot of room to grow, and with Mozilla’s focus on user experience, you can be sure that Firefox will continue eating away at Internet Explorer’s user base.

One of the coolest things about working at a company like Mozilla is how many people they reach. Most of my daily work is done on the web, and my web browser is almost like my office. Most of our computing needs are moving to the web, and Mozilla is doing everything in its power to make that experience as enjoyable as possible. So, how can you become a part of Mozilla and their awesome projects? You can start by checking out their Careers page. It’s really well done, and includes information on the company, the team, life at Mozilla, first person experiences, and – obviously – job listings. Their jobs are posted in a number of sections that include College Recruiting, Engineering, Engineering Operations, Finance, Labs, Legal, Marketing, Quality Assurance, and User Experience. We obviously want to take a look at College Recruiting which includes jobs like Firefox Engineer, Platform Engineer, and Web Developer. Don’t just focus on those jobs though, there’s the chance that some of the other jobs might be suitable for some entry level candidates too. You can apply online (through your web browser, obviously), so get to it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which web browser do you use?

Omniture

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:53:47 +0000

Maybe it’ll sound sad to you, but web analytics are a big part of my life. When your job is running websites, it’s often the best feed back that you can get. I have to admit that it makes me feel better about myself when I get more visitors, more subscribers, and more comments. And I really like it when people sign up to learn more about a job search training course that I’m releasing in the next few days. I’d imagine that employees at large corporations aren’t nearly as emotionally tied to web analytics as I am, but maybe they are – they often hold titles like Web Analytics Manager. While I’m happy with the information that Google Analytics provides me, many companies have much greater needs when it comes to tracking users on their websites. That’s why the big boys like Apple, Adobe, NBC, Chevrolet, Gap, Neiman Marcus, The New York Times, PayPal and Target use Omniture, a Utah based web analytics company. If those names trust Omniture for analytics, then you can be pretty sure that Omniture is the best out there.

Analyze This

If you don’t know a lot about web analytics, then maybe you should. Not only is it going to be essential for many jobs in the future, but it’s also good to know how much websites actually know about you (it’s kind of scary). A company that uses web analytics properly can significantly improve their bottom-line by constantly adjusting to the continuous flow of feedback that they’re getting. Companies can now adjust their marketing and advertising campaigns within the course of a day and know what’s working and what isn’t. In the days before the Internet, adjustments were often made over the course of months or even years. I find web analytics absolutely fascinating, and if you do too, then a career with Omniture might be something worth considering. Job (unless otherwise noted, jobs are located in Orem, UT) at Omniture that appear to be suitable for new college grads include: Search Engine Optimization Consultant, Administrative Assistant, Web Analytics Consultant (Dulles, VA), Business Consultant/Analyst, Software Engineer, Financial Analyst (San Francisco, CA), Accountant, Network Operations Center Technician/Linux Administrator, Optimization Specialist – Client Services, Professional Services Engineer, and Technical Support Consultant. Some of these jobs are listed at multiple levels, so even though the description may look more tailored to a Senior level person, there may be a corresponding Junior position. You can apply for all of these jobs directly from the job descriptions, and you may also want to check out Omniture’s Open Positions to see all of their jobs including International positions. Omniture has a great website (big surprise there), so it shouldn’t be hard for you to find all of the information that you need to make an informed decision about working for them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you fascinated by web analytics?

The National Academies

Willy Franzen — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:16:29 +0000

Today on One Day, One Internship we’re taking a look at internships with the Space Studies Board. That brought our attention to The National Academies, which is a non-profit organization that consists of the United States National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the United States National Research Council (NRC). Although it may sound like they’re government agencies, they’re not. They do, however, get most of their funding from federal and state agencies. Despite that fact, they remain independent when advising the nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Don’t Worry, It’s Not More School

Although The National Academies is an extremely academic environment, they’re not technically in the business of education. They are key advisers to our federal government on a wide range of scientific topics, so if you have a background in science, you might want to check out jobs at The National Academies. They currently have 28 openings, and a decent number look like they might be suitable for new college grads. All of the jobs that we’re looking at are based out of Washington, DC; however, The National Academies occasionally has opportunities at exotic locations. Jobs that you might want to check out include Web Programmer at the Division on Earth & Life Studies, Research Associate (here and here also) at the Institute of Medicine, and Program Assistant at the Transportation Research Board or the Division of Earth & Life Studies, Media Associate, and Accounting/Financial Assistant. To apply for any of these jobs, you can do so online directly from the job description.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The National Academies?

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Willy Franzen — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:42:58 +0000

If there’s ever a time to be a Bank Examiner, it is right now. What probably would have been considered a boring job just a couple of years ago is now action packed. What is a Bank Examiner? It’s the entry level position at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. What’s the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency? It’s a bureau of the the U.S. Department of the Treasury that was chartered in 1863 to ensure a safe and sound national banking system for all Americans. How do they do that? They have a nationwide staff that “conducts on-site reviews of national banks and provides sustained supervision of bank operations. The agency issues rules, legal interpretations, and corporate decisions concerning banking, bank investments, bank community development activities, and other aspects of bank operations.” I think that it’s pretty obvious that the OCC has become a lot busier in the past couple of years. That’s why now is a great time to check out their entry level hiring program.

Are You Down with OCC?

There’s a lot to learn about OCC before you apply for a job, so you should probably spend a couple of hours on OCC.Treas.gov, if you’re serious about applying. If you’re not quite so serious yet, but you’re intrigued about what an entry level Bank Examiner does, then you should watch the OCC’s Careers Video. It’s a nice introduction to what the OCC does and what it’s like to work for them. After watching that, you should check out their Bank Examiner Careers page. This goes into great detail about the specific position that they typically hire new grads for. The jobs require a degree in “accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing, or closely-related field from an accredited U.S. institution” or extremely relevant prior work experience. The OCC is based out of Washington, DC; however, they have locations all across the country and often require travel (30-80%) because Bank Examiners are often working in Community Banks. The pay is great, with a starting salary of $47,000, and the benefits are top-notch. It’s no big surprise that the OCC was ranked the 4th Best Place to Work in the Federal Government. The OCC already did some recruiting back in September, but they being recruiting again in February. Keep your eye on the Bank Examiner Careers page to see when they open up applications.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think that we have a safe and sound national banking system right now?

Starwood

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:42:12 +0000

Having a girlfriend who is a consultant, I’m often subjected to hours of consultant-speak. It’s not really English, as it consists mostly of acronyms. One thing consultants seem to talk about a lot, even though they don’t have an acronym for it, is the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card. It’s apparently by far the best credit card for the consulting lifestyle (especially when you work for a firm that almost exclusively puts you up in Starwood hotels). Since I’ve been hearing the Starwood name a lot, and I’ve had a few people recommend their Jobs to me, I thought it was time to take a look at what kind of entry level jobs are available with one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. In case you’re not familiar with the Starwood brand, they’re the company behind Sheraton, Four Points, aloft, W Hotels, Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Element, Westin, and St. Regis. All of them are nice places to stay, and a few of them are about as trendy as you can get when it comes to hotels – check out aloft.

Be a Star at Starwood

Starwood gets hospitality. They also get entry level recruiting. They make it dead simple for college students and new grads to figure out how to land a job with them. They have a College Recruiting page that outlines the 4 ways of getting a job with Starwood. You can go through Campus Recruiting or apply online, and you can apply for their Management Training Program or opt for Direct Placement. The Management Training Program seems to be geared towards students who are graduating from hospitality programs, but that’s not explicitly stated as far as I can tell. The program lasts 6-18 months and concludes with placement as an Assistant Manager or Manager in the hotel where the trainee trained. Applications for the Management Training Program haven’t been opened yet, but they say that you will be able to apply online in early 2009. If you go to one of the schools on this list, you’re better off talking to your Career Services office about when Starwood will be on campus than waiting for the online application to be posted.

If the Management Training Program isn’t for you, there’s another option. You can check out Starwood’s Career Paths and apply for Direct Placement. You have to go through a general job search function where you can narrow down from the 1,650 jobs posted by location, hotel, or job title. This is the one area where Starwood’s Careers site stumbles a bit. The job search function isn’t very good. Unless you enter specific criteria, you’re going to be inundated with results that are going to be hard to scan. Still, if you want a job in a posh hotel in an exotic location, that’s the best way to find one.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you stayed at any Starwood Hotels?

Hedge Fund Research

Willy Franzen — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:06:55 +0000

Yesterday I was reading an article about how one third of hedge funds might be going out of business in the not so distant future. I usually try to stay optimistic, so I avoid news sources that rely on hyperbole like this to draw attention to their articles, but what caught my eye was a statistic that was attributed to a Chicago-based company called Hedge Fund Research. The stat wasn’t all that interesting, but I instantly wondered whether the company ever hires new college grads. This is the “always looking” approach that I’ve been advocating over the past year, and which will play a major role in our soon to be released job search training course. Instead of being in the business of managing money like hedge funds are, Hedge Fund Research is all about collecting and disseminating information about hedge funds. They may have an ugly logo and a not so pretty website, but they’re on top of everything going on in the hedge fund industry.

Research Skills Pay

Hedge Fund Research has a number of product offerings – the “HFR Database, the industry’s most widely used commercial database of hedge fund performance,” the “HFR Industry Report, a comprehensive quarterly offering of the most current information on and analysis of the hedge fund industry,” and “the HFRX Indices and HFRI Monthly Indices – industry standard benchmarks of hedge fund performance.” The success of each of these offerings relies on Hedge Fund Research’s ability to collect more and better information than their competitors. The same can be said for you when it comes to your job search. If you’re a better researcher, not only will you be able to write a killer cover letter and rock the interviews, but you’ll also have developed a skill that you can market to a company like Hedge Fund Research. They’re currently hiring for two positions – Research Analyst and Sales Representative. The Research Analyst job is definitively entry level, while the Sales Representative job is probably best left to candidates who have experience selling in the investment management industry. If you’ve learned a lot about researching companies, why not translate those skills to a Research Analyst position with Hedge Fund Research? You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to HFRINC_position@hfr.com. There isn’t a ton of information about Hedge Fund Research on their website, so use your skills to dig up some more info and please share what you find in the comments.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever found a company that you want to work for by reading a news article?

Ernst & Young

Willy Franzen — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:34:14 +0000

Happy Black Friday! May you not get in a fist fight over a discounted video game system or flat screen tv. Today is the official start of the holiday shopping season, and legend has it that it is also the first day of the year that major retailers “go into the black.” For those of you not familiar with accounting terminology, that means that they finally become profitable. Whether or not this is true depends on the retailer, but you have to wonder why a store wouldn’t just open up for November and December and sit dormant the rest of the year if it’s really that bad. Anyway, last year we talked about a major Black Friday retailer, Amazon.com, and their jobs, and today we’re going to go the other way and look at a major accounting firm, Ernst & Young. They might not be the first company that you think of on Black Friday, but you can be sure that they spend a lot of time analyzing the results. And, of course, they do a ton of entry level hiring.

Get a Job and Put Yourself into the Black

Ernst & Young is one of the biggest entry level employers in the world, and even they’re cutting back a little due to economic concerns. Still, between interns and full-time hires they’re looking to hire 5,000 students through college recruiting. That’s astounding. Ernst & Young has a fantastic Careers site with a specific section for students. It’s full of information, so you won’t have trouble researching Ernst & Young. Beyond their own Careers site, EY has also invested a lot of time in making the most of Facebook and Twitter. They really couldn’t do a much better job of keeping job seekers well informed, that’s why we encourage you to go to their site to learn more.

One thing that you won’t notice on Ernst & Young’s Careers Site for Students is job listings. That’s because they don’t have them. A few months ago I had a phone conversation with Dan Black (what a fitting name for today), EY’s Director of Campus Recruiting, and I told him that I couldn’t find the job listings on EY’s Students site. He told me that this was by design. Ernst & Young has specific academic requirements for incoming accountants, so they almost exclusively hire through on-campus recruiting at school’s that offer the type of education that EY is looking for.

Ernst & Young has locations in almost every state and in countries all across the world. If you want to see if they have a location near where you’d like to live, use their interactive map to check. So what should you do to get a job with Ernst & Young if you can’t apply online? The recommended plan of action is to go to your Career Services office and ask about when EY will be on campus. If that doesn’t work for you, you may want to try reaching out to EY’s college recruiting team through Twitter or Facebook. Now go shopping and help the economy, but save some money for our soon to be released job search training course.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What did you buy today to help retailers go into the black?

The Lucas Group

Willy Franzen — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:43:09 +0000

A couple of days ago a friend from high school e-mailed me to tell me that he loved the direction that the site is going and that I should consider featuring his employer, The Lucas Group. I did a quick Google search, found a recruiting firm that didn’t look all that interesting for the entry level crowd, and kind of ignored it. I didn’t think that I remembered my friend’s going into recruiting, but I shrugged it off. Then he replied to my reply to his e-mail and noted that I shouldn’t confuse his employer with the recruiting firm, so I took another look. The Lucas Group is a Boston based boutique strategy consulting firm that works primarily with private equity investors, corporate executives and their teams, and public sector agencies. That certainly caught my interest, because I know that consulting and private equity are two words that give Business majors (and others) butterflies in their stomachs.

Consulting Not Recruiting

The Lucas Group’s website doesn’t have a whole lot going on, but it does go into some detail about what they do in each area of expertise – Private Equity Services, Corporate Strategy Consulting, and Government Solutions. It’s hard to get a sense of the actual details of what The Lucas Group does on a day to day basis, but that’s typical for consulting firms. They can’t brag about their projects and client lists like PR firms and ad agencies can. They can only use generalities to say why they stand out from other consulting firms. It makes it hard for you as a job seeker to research them, but their potential clients are well aware of who they are and what they are capable of doing.

Jobs in consulting and private equity not only are in high demand, but candidates for these jobs are also in high supply. With so many investment banks going out of business, cutting jobs, and reducing hiring, many soon to be grads who were looking for jobs on Wall Street are now looking towards consulting. The Lucas Group still appears to be hiring, as they’ve posted that they’re actively recruiting undergraduates for their Associate Consultant position. They have a detailed description of what the job entails, and it looks like a great opportunity for students who want to go into consulting. They say that they are looking for both BAs and BSs, so don’t be afraid to apply just because your major isn’t Business or Finance, although that would probably help your case. You can apply for a job with The Lucas Group in Boston through their online application form or by sending a cover letter, resume, and transcript to careers@lucasgroupinc.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about The Lucas Group? (Not the recruiting firm!)

CME Group

Willy Franzen — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:30:42 +0000

One of my favorite movies is Trading Places. I was introduced to the movie by my Econ 101 professor when he played a clip in class, and it still amazes me how much fun it is to learn about the world of high finance and commodities markets from Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. These days it seems that entire markets are as volatile as the concentrated frozen orange juice market was in the movie, but that just makes things more interesting. Trying to play the markets right now might be fun, but there aren’t a ton of companies in the financial industry hiring right now, and you don’t need that stress anyway. If you’d still like a front row view of the daily excitement that is capitalism, then you should consider a job with the CME Group, “a combined entity formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).” Instead of playing the market, you can be the market.

Encouraging Capitalism

My one complaint about CME Group’s website is that their About page doesn’t do a very good job of describing what they actually do. We had to do a little digging to make sure that we were accurately portraying the CME Group’s business, so we went to Wikipedia and the Chicago Tribune for answers (and you should too). First and foremost, CME Group is a financial exchange. They allow trading of financial instruments such as interest rates, equities, currencies, and commodities. This was originally done with the “open outcry method,” which is the complete madness that you’ve probably seen portrayed in movies (like Trading Places). This method is in the process of being replaced by CME Globex, which is CME Group’s proprietary electronic trading platform. With that change has come a new focus on technology as a key driver of CME Group’s business.

Working in the Pits? Wearing Funny Clothes? Waving Your Hands Like a Lunatic?

Traditionally traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have worked in the “pits,” worn funny looking jackets to identify their roles, and used intricate hand signals to communicate. All of these traditions are, sadly, on their way out, as CME Group has moved most of their trading to an online system. If you’ve always wanted to wear a funny jacket to work, you’re going to have to look for a job as a popcorn salesman, but if you want to learn more about how markets work, CME Group is the place for you.

The CME Group’s Careers site and Job Listings are both top notch. They’re easy to navigate, user-friendly, and information rich. That’s why we weren’t surprised to read that CME Group has been named the 2007 Winner of the Best and Brightest Places to Work for in Chicago and one of the Best Places to Work in IT for a third straight year. We easily found a number of entry level or near entry level opportunities on their site, including Exchange Fee Analyst, General Investigator, Market Reporter (part-time), Business Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Data Editor – Credit Market Analysis (New York, NY), and Quality Assurance Tester. This is just a sampling of the types of jobs that CME Group has to offer. All of the jobs are based out of Chicago unless otherwise noted, and you can find out how to apply by visiting the individual job descriptions (some have an online application and others require e-mail).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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Harlem Success Academy

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

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

You Can Succeed Too

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Rainforest Alliance

Willy Franzen — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:14:05 +0000

Surprise, surprise. We’ve selected yet another one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Workplaces to be featured on One Day, One Job. That’s three in a row for those of you who are counting. We can’t express enough how helpful lists like these can be to your job search. Almost as helpful as Rainforest Alliance is to saving the rainforest. They’re a non-profit organization that “works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.” How do they do this? By working directly with farmers, workers, business leaders, NGO’s, governments, scientists and local communities to change the way that they do agriculture to make land use more socially and environmentally responsible while maintaining its economic viability.

You Know That You Always Wanted to Save the Rainforest

Were you one of those kids who had a “Save the Rainforest” sticker on you Trapper Keeper? Have you always loved tree frogs and jaguars? Have you always wanted to take a job that will make the world a better place? You know what we’re going to tell you if you answered yes to any of those question, but here’s what you may not have considered. There are a lot of environmental organizations that take an anti-business approach to conservation. There are also a lot of non-profits that won’t help you build the business skills that you’ll need if you want to transition into a for-profit career. Rainforest Alliance works directly with businesses to certify their practices in Agriculture, Forestry, and Tourism and to help them take a greener approach. This business mindedness isn’t just relevant to how Rainforest Alliance pursues their mission of sustainability, it’s also part of how they develop their people – they have a strong focus on career development according to the WSJ article.

So you had one of those stickers on your Trapper Keeper, huh? Well if you’re interested in Jobs with Rainforest Alliance, you’re in luck, because there are a lot of them. Most of their jobs require 3-5 years of experience, but we’ve picked out the ones that seem doable for new college grads. In New York City they’re looking for a Finance Assistant, an Associate, Office of the President, and a Web Associate, and a Marketing Coordinator (US and Canada), Sustainable Tourism Division (This last one requires 3-5 years of experience, but it sounds so cool that we had to include. Consider it something to look forward to.) In Bolivia, they’re looking for a Certification Administrative Assistant, SmartWood Program, Sustainable Forestry Division and a Forestry Technical Assistant, Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA) Project. In Costa Rica Rainforest Alliance is hiring a Technical Assistant, Sustainable Tourism Division, a Program Assistant, Sustainable Tourism Division, and an Evaluation and Research Associate. Finally, in Guatemala they need a Project Associate, Environmental Services Payment Project, TREES Program and in Nicaragua they’re looking for a Technical Associate, Sustainable Agriculture Division. Each job description goes into depth about what you will be doing in the job, and Rainforest Alliance’s Careers site is simple to navigate if you want to browse through all of their listings. To apply for any of the jobs, you can use the online application form found at the bottom of each job description or you can e-mail your cover letter and resume to personnel@ra.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Just think, by reading today’s post and sharing it with your rainforest loving friends you can help save the rainforest and win an iPod Touch.

Hallmark

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:38:31 +0000

This morning I realized which company we should have featured to celebrate my birthday yesterday. Luckily, my birthday celebration is going to be a 2 week event that will culminate with our giving away an iPod Touch to one lucky reader who spreads the word about us to his or her friends. Although we announced the contest last night, we’re really kicking it off today, so I think that we should focus on my birthday again and talk about entry level jobs with Hallmark. Here’s how Hallmark describes itself:

Some companies make things. Good things, but, you know…things. Hallmark is another kind of company. We play a unique role in defining and expressing friendship and family and love – and we’ve done it for nearly 100 years.

I usually just shake a card to see if a check falls out – just kidding. I actually got a talking Hallmark card that couldn’t have been more perfect for me. My mom may have had to walk through the store opening every single card to find it, but she did. It has made me laugh over and over. You have to love Hallmark.

Apply by Greeting Card?

Hallmark is a family-owned company headquartered in Kansas City, MO, and they make more than greeting cards. Their other businesses include partyware, gifts, gift wrap, ornaments, decorative items, picture frames, albums, scrapbooks, e-cards, magazines, and cable television. They also own Crayola (which makes Silly Putty in addition to crayons), William Arthur, and a number of other subsidiaries. Hallmark is a major company with a significant college recruiting program. They have a section of their Careers site devoted to college students, but the navigation is extremely confusing. Their Working Here section consists of one paragraph, and links out to pages on Benefits, Culture, and Kansas City. There is also a Career FAQs section, which is actually very helpful.

Hallmark has a limited Campus Recruiting schedule, so unless you’re at one of the few schools that they visit, your best bet is to apply for a job online. The links to their actual job listings seem to break half of the time, but if you’re persistent, you can usually get it to work. You can either look at opportunities in Hallmark’s Creative Division or in their Corporate Headquarters, Operations, and Manufacturing Divisions. Hallmark’s Creative Division only has one job listing right now that looks to be entry level – Web Designer – but they seem very open to portfolio submissions. You can apply online and include your portfolio without picking a specific job, so that seems like the best way to try and get a creative job with Hallmark. The Corporate/Operations/Manufacturing job listings allow you to search for “College-Full Time,” so it’s easy to look up which entry level positions Hallmark is hiring for (we can’t link to them, because their applicant tracking system won’t let us). Right now there are 5 job titles posted – Job Planner, Accounting and Financial Analyst, Inventory Controller, IT Analyst, and Line Supervisor – and all of them are located in Kansas City. It seems likely that Hallmark has multiple openings for each of these positions. We don’t see any contact info, so it looks like you’ll have to apply for the jobs online, but if you can find an address, we think that it would be cool to apply by greeting card. Hallmark also has retail job opportunities, but we’re not going to get into those. Remember, with Hallmark if you get an interview, a thank you card is an absolute must. It’s their business!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s the best Hallmark card that you’ve ever seen?

Rolls-Royce

Willy Franzen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:18:34 +0000

Let’s be honest – the closest that you’ve ever come to a Rolls-Royce was when you were watching MTV Cribs and saw one in a rapper/athlete/actor’s garage. I’ve seen some college students with some really nice cars, but never a Rolls. With that said, you can finally get close to Rolls-Royce through the college recruiting process. In fact, your lack of familiarity with Rolls-Royce automobiles won’t even matter, because Rolls-Royce plc (the company that we’re talking about today) doesn’t even make cars anymore. That business was sold to BMW in 1998. Rolls-Royce focuses on four global markets – Civil Aerospace, Defense Aerospace, Marine, and Energy – and two vital teams – Services and Research & Development. Although that may not be consistent with the brand image that you’ve associated with Rolls-Royce for a long time, you’re going to have to get used to it – especially if Rolls-Royce sounds like a company that you’d want to work for.

Think High Tech Engineering, Not Luxury

As a “high technology engineering company,” Rolls-Royce is obviously always looking for top engineering talent, but they also need talent in other business areas. They rely heavily on college recruiting to fill these needs, and now is the time to get involved in the recruiting process. In fact, Rolls-Royce is already more than halfway through their campus recruiting schedule. They still have a few campuses to visit, but most of you are going to have to initiate the process online. Before we get into how you do that, let’s see what kind of entry level job opportunities Rolls-Royce offers.

Rolls-Royce has two entry level programs for new graduates – Leadership Development and Professional Excellence. To figure out which of the programs is right for you, you can look at the descriptions that we just linked to you, but you should probably first take Rolls-Royce’s Which Programme (they’re British) assessment. From here, you will hopefully find that your program of choice is open in your area of interest. Rolls-Royce provides a grid that shows which programs they offer in which areas by location (US, UK, and Germany). For the 2008-2009 recruiting season they are looking for people in Customer Management, Engineering, Finance, and Human Resources for the Leadership Development program and Engineering, Supply Chain Planning and Control, and Project Management for the Professional Excellence program. There’s actually a third program called Controls Fast Track for Engineering grads who are interested in becoming a Controls Engineer, but this only seems to be available in the UK.

Getting in the (RR)ecruiting Process

First of all, Rolls-Royce’s Careers site is filled with information. It’s a huge improvement from their old site, and should answer almost every question that you’ll have. The only problem is that it seems to make the assumption that you’ll be making your first contact with Rolls-Royce through campus recruiting. They don’t clearly state how applicants from schools that they don’t visit should apply. There is an online job application process that you can use; however, the Student and Graduate Programmes section only links to internships. The Other Job Opportunities section seems more promising in terms of listings, but it has a note that says “If you are a college student and you are interested in a co-op, intern, leadership program or entry level position, please click here to apply.” Unfortunately, the “click here” links to a page that redirects to Rolls-Royce’s main Careers site. This is a pretty big screw up considering that Rolls-Royce works so hard to sell college students on its jobs. We think that your best bet is to e-mail collegerecruiting@rolls-royce.com and ask them how you should apply (you may even want to include your cover letter and resume). If you figure out what works, please share it with the rest of our readers in the comments.

From what we understand, the Rolls-Royce recruiting process closes in December, so you still have time. They have 64 facilities in 26 states, and we’re not sure where they locate most of their entry-level hires, so that’s another question that you may want to direct towards collegerecruiting@rolls-royce.com. You’ve probably noticed that we’ve focused almost entirely on jobs in the US, but Rolls-Royce also offers opportunities for new grads in Germany and the UK. If those are something that you’re interested in, you can find all of the corresponding information on their Careers site.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you know that Rolls-Royce wasn’t in the automobile business anymore?