One Day, One Job » flash

Riot Games

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

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

Incite a Riot

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played League of Legends?

Wizards of the Coast

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:56:03 +0000

When I was in 6th or 7th grade, I played a trading card game called Magic the Gathering. Being a baseball card collector, I was more interested in what the cards were worth than actually playing the game. I occasionally played with my friends, but when they lost interest, I went back to baseball cards. Many trading card games came after (I didn’t play any of them), but apparently Magic the Gathering was the first. I had long forgotten about Wizards of the Coast, the company that was behind Magic cards, when I came across their name again. I took a look, and was surprised to see that the Renton, WA based company has grown quite a bit over the past decade and was eventually purchased by Hasbro. Wizards of the Coast is still a gaming company—the world leader in hobby games—and their brands include Dungeons & Dragons, Duel Masters, Heroscape, Axis & Allies, and Star Wars in addition to Magic the Gathering.

Are You Wizard Enough?

It’s surprising that a company can have as much success as Wizards of the Coast while still staying seemingly under the radar, but that’s exactly why the company has been so successful. Instead of expanding outside of their niche market as they’ve grown, Wizards has stayed true to themselves and grown within their market. They have an insanely loyal following, which is why the competition for jobs at Wizards of the Coast can be extremely fierce. Their most sought after positions are in Game Design and Game Development, and right now they don’t have anything at the entry level in those areas. They do, however, have positions available for Freelance Online Flash Designers, a Sales Web Content Coordinator, and a Wizards Play Network Coordinator for Germany/Austria. You can see all of their Job postings here and you can submit a résumé for general consideration here. You’ll also want to be sure to look at the Wizards of the Coast Careers FAQ before applying.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play Magic the Gathering or any other Wizards of the Coast games?

Undertone Networks

Willy Franzen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:56:14 +0000

The future of marketing and media is getting more results based, and that trend is going to continue as tracking technology progresses. Some people think that means that branding campaigns are a dying breed, but the folks at Undertone Networks would strongly disagree. They are a New York City based online advertising network that is helping Fortune 500 companies move their branding campaigns online. The trouble with doing this is that controlling your brand online is much more difficult than controlling it on tv, radio, or in print. That’s why Undertone Networks has developed an ad network that offers “Fortune 500 marketers an ad network where they [can] confidently and safely market their products and services without having to compromise their brand.”

Undertones of Your Career

Undertone Networks is bringing the sophistication of online advertising to branding campaigns. I’m not sure that I’d call it results oriented, but measurement is key to the success of campaigns. Instead of focusing on directly attributing sales or actions to specific campaigns, Undertone Networks is more concerned about driving brand awareness by obsessing over the quality of the audience that sees the ads that they serve. By only working with huge brands and trusted websites, Undertone Networks is able to maintain an intense focus on targeting. If they can’t deliver the audience that they think they can, they’ll happily refund the advertiser’s money. To get a better sense of how Undertone Networks works, you should check out their case studies or this interview with Alan Schanzer, their Chief Strategy Officer.

If you do that and like what you see, then you’ll probably want to take a look at jobs at Undertone Networks. They’re an Inc. 5000 company and one of Crain’s Best Places to Work in NYC, so you know they’re the kind of place that you want to be. Undertone Networks has a number of open positions, and a few seem suitable for new or recent grads. These include QA Engineer (San Francisco), Media Buyer, Finance Coordinator, Flash Designer/Creative Services Manager, and QA Engineer. You can apply for any of these positions through Undertone Networks’ applicant tracking system.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Undertone Networks?

Slide

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:39:03 +0000

It looks like Yahoo! Finance has taken a page out of my book and used Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list to highlight some companies that are hiring. I found the link on Twitter, and was pleased to see that I had already featured a number of the companies. One that I haven’t yet featured (and don’t remember hearing about before) is Slide. They’re a San Francisco based startup that claims to be “the world’s leading social entertainment company.” I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but they do make social networks more fun for hundreds of millions of people. Their 40 Under 40 CEO is Max Levchin, who co-founded PayPal (which was sold for $1.5 billion to eBay). He is apparently well on his way to having built another billion dollar company, considering the fact that Slide was valued at $550 million last time that they took money.

Slide into a New Job

The basic premise behind slide is that social networks are better when you can bring outside content in—whether it’s sharing something that you’ve made like a slideshow or using an application that allows you to throw sheep. People want customization, yet they don’t have the web development skills to do it on their own. They need help, and that’s where Slide comes in. Monetizing social network traffic isn’t necessarily easy, but Slide seems to be heading in the right direction when it comes to turning their massive traffic into revenue. Not only do their investors believe in them, but so do advertisers like Starbucks, Sunkist, Activision, AT&T Wireless, Discovery Channel, Estee Lauder, McDonald’s, Lionsgate Films, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. I guess 5 million sheep thrown a day is worth more than I thought it was. Slide is very clearly growing, and as I mentioned in the opening of this post, they’re hiring. Their Jobs page shows more than a dozen open positions, and a bunch of those are suitable for new grads. These include Product Manager, Community Manager, Flash Animator/Illustrator, Flash Social Game Engineer, Graphic Designer, Junior QA Engineer, Linux Server Engineer, OO Javascript/Front-end Engineer, Python Web Developer, and Community Support Representative. You can apply online directly from these links, so give Slide a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Slide?

WWE (formerly WWF)

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

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

Body Slam Your Way into a New Job

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who is/was your favorite wrestler?

eRealInvestor

Willy Franzen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:11:36 +0000

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.

eRealJobs

Since most new college grads don’t have the cash to start investing in real estate, they usually have to work their way into the world of real estate in a different way. A job at a company like eRealInvestor that is bringing innovation to the industry is a great way to do that. Their Jobs page doesn’t show much in the way of entry level jobs, but their postings on Startuply do. Current opportunities include Online Marketing Expert, Flash Developer, and Sales Executive. I’m sure they also have some Web Development positions available—even if the ones that are posted are a bit more senior. You can apply online, so get ready to invest yourself in real estate investment.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think investing in real estate is a good idea?

Mochi Media

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:30:49 +0000

Have you ever tried mochi? It’s delicious, right? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, mochi is “a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.” Ok, so that doesn’t make it sound good, but when it comes filled with ice cream it’s extraordinary. Now, I’m not sure why Mochi Media chose to name their company after a delicious Japanese treat, but it seems to be working for them. They’re a San Francisco based company that happens to run the largest ad network for online Flash games—they reach over 100 million gamers.

Try Some Mochi

There’s no dispute that Flash games are fun, but they often seem like time wasters. I try to avoid these types of games, because if I start playing one, it usually ends up 3 hours later and I still can’t beat it. I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences. Because of the nature of Flash games, I’d imagine that they’re pretty hard to monetize; however, Mochi Media seems to have figured it out. They’re enabling game developers to actually make money off of something that the developers used to do just for fun. Additionally, Mochi Media is also building a pretty solid business off of their network of free games. If you want to work somewhere where getting caught playing games on your work computer isn’t going to result in your getting fired, then you should check out jobs at Mochi Media on Startuply. Right now they have two design positions posted—one in CSS/XHTML Design and one in UI/Visual Design. Mochi Media used to have their own Careers page, but it doesn’t seem to be active since they redesigned their site. You’ll need a strong portfolio to land one of these jobs, so be sure to include a link when you apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried mochi?

Justin.tv

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:39:41 +0000

You know about YouTube. You’ve known about YouTube for years. It’s the place to go for online video. There are some competitors that offer some pretty great services, but YouTube is still the default. Now, what if you want to watch live video? Or what if you want to broadcast live video? The Bay Area’s Justin.tv beats out YouTube when it comes to live stuff. You can watch white labrador retriever puppies, live soccer, or some kid in your dorm’s lifestream. The options are pretty much endless. You may ask why anyone would want to sit on a computer and watch puppies, but you’d miss the obvious answer – they’re cute. Actually, there’s an audience for just about anything these days. Justin.tv taps into that. Live video on the Internet isn’t new. There were people doing it in 1996, but the technology now makes doing it much more worthwhile. The question of whether the actual content being broadcast is worthwhile is up to you.

Webcast Your Career

Justin.tv started with Justin Kan, a guy who decided to broadcast his life 24/7. A lot has changed since then, but you can still watch the Justin.tv office live. Now “Justin.tv is the largest online community for people to broadcast, watch and interact around live video [w]ith more than 41 million unique visitors per month and 428,000 channels broadcasting live video.” That’s crazy! But Justin.tv isn’t just about people broadcasting their lives. There are all kinds of cool content, and there’s some really cool technology behind the platform.

Justin.tv’s live video platform scales to support massive audiences by measuring demand in real-time and intelligently replicating streams to additional servers to meet that demand. Constructed by a team of MIT and Yale graduates, the Justin.tv platform pushes more than 177 Gbps of video at peak usage – the equivalent of 16,946 standard DVDs per hour.

Justin.tv is doing cool things, which is why it’s no big surprise that they’re offering some pretty cool jobs. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of opportunities that should appeal to recent grads. These include Ad Integration Engineer, Software Engineer, and Flash Developer. All of these jobs require pretty strong technical skills, and the job descriptions are pretty descriptive, so make sure that you really show off when you apply to jobs@justin.tv.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used Justin.tv?

JamLegend

Willy Franzen — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:08:44 +0000

I’ve already written posts on Activision (Guitar Hero), Harmonix (Rock Band), and Tapulous (Tap Tap Revenge), but can you ever really get enough of the music playing video game genre? Of course not! That’s why we’re looking at JamLegend today. How are they different from the other game makers that I just mentioned? First, JamLegend is free. Second, it offers more songs. Third, you can use your computer keyboard as a guitar. Fourth and most importantly, it’s social! You can play your friends, you can play the world, and you can even enter tournaments to win prizes. JamLegend isn’t just the name of the game, it’s also the name of the company, a small startup based out of San Francisco.

These Jobs Are Your Jam

If you’re a music loving video game junkie who is fascinated by the social web, then you really couldn’t find a better fit than JamLegend. Beyond that, it’s a good career choice. The video game industry continues to thrive through the recession, and social gaming appears to be the next big thing. That’s why you need to check out Jobs with JamLegend. You won’t find any specific postings on their Jobs page, but that’s ok because I love their philosophy. They say, “Our belief is that we should hire gifted people even before we need them, so send us an e-mail (jobs@jamlegend.com) and tell us why you are interesting.” That’s about it. Awesome. JamLegend does have some positions posted on Startuply for a Flex / AS3 Developer and a Facebook Connect / Social-Web Developer, but it’s unclear whether these are internships or full-time jobs. It really doesn’t matter though, just reach out to them and tell them how you can help them. Don’t constrain yourself by applying for a specific position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played JamLegend?

Aplia

Willy Franzen — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:45:32 +0000

Part of my daily routine is reading Greg Mankiw’s Economics Blog. When I saw his post announcing that the text book that he wrote will now be accompanied by an interactive learning tool, I was intrigued. I quickly read the Washington Post article that Dr. Mankiw linked to in the announcement to learn more about Aplia, the company that developed this educational tool. It turns out that Aplia, which is based in Belmont, CA, was developed by a Stanford economist named Paul Romer who was very successful in developing a theory to explain why different economies grow at different rates, but not so successful at engaging students. Since Dr. Romer is clearly a problem solver at heart, he developed a product (and company) called Applia that “offers high-quality, auto-graded assignments” and is “dedicated to improving learning by increasing student effort and engagement.”

Aplia for a Job

Paul Romer took $10 million in venture capital to spur the growth of the company, and he eventually sold out in 2007 to Cengage, a textbook publisher. Aplia is now “used by more than 1,000,000 students at over 950 institutions,” so I’ll wager that Cengage is pretty happy to have a successful interactive tool to bring some life to their slowly dying textbook business. Now, the real reason that I got so excited when I first heard about Aplia isn’t my interest in interactive educational tools (although I clearly have an interest there), it’s the fact that I thought they might have jobs. And they do. They still seem to operate separately from Cengage, so they have their own Jobs page (although it’s branded like it’s just for Cengage).

On that Jobs page, you’ll find quite a few jobs that appear to be suitable for new grads. We can’t link to the specific openings because of their crappy Applicant Tracking System, but you should be able to find their jobs easily. They have Content Writer positions in Accounting, US History, Psychology, Biology, and Economics that can be located in Belmont, CA; Boston, MA; or Cincinnati, OH. Additionally there are jobs for an Editorial Assistant, Flash Expert, and Customer Support Representative. The jobs look awesome, so give them a look and apply online if you’re interested.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did any of your courses use Aplia?

WooMe

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:33:39 +0000

My first experience with video chatting was with CU-SeeMe in an internet cafe in the mid 90s. It was insanely cool, but it was also terrible quality. Things have come a long way, and once again people are using video chat to meet random people online. I was a little creeped out when I first saw WooMe, but I think that I get it now (even if I’m still creeped out). It’s a website that allows you to meet new people through “60 second one-on-one online video sessions.” Basically, it’s speed dating on the web. I was almost too sketched out to cover them here, but I figured if TechCrunch didn’t rip on them too hard and they’re able to get $17 million in investment, there has to be the potential for a real business.

Can You Woo WooMe?

If you’re not quite getting what WooMe is all about, check out WooMe TV. It will give you a chance to watch some recorded interactions of WooMe members. It’s kind of weird, but also pretty entertaining. Ok, so remember that $17 million I mentioned 3 sentences ago? It’s important, as it looks like WooMe is ready to spend it. Their Jobs page is filled with opportunities that include: Systems Admin x 2 (London and Los Angeles), IM Engineer (London), Frontend Guru – HTML / CSS / javascript / AJAX (London), Site Operations Manager (Los Angeles), Community Manager, Site Operations Analyst (San Francisco), Senior Django Developer (London), Flash Developer (London/San Francisco), Product Manager (London/San Francisco), Online Marketing Senior Manager or Director (Los Angeles). Obviously not all of those are entry level positions, but quite a few of them are. You can head over to WooMe’s Jobs page to get all of the details including how you should apply. I wonder if their job interviews are only 60 seconds? That’d be pretty cool.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried WooMe?

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?

Gravity Tank

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:14:25 +0000

If you Google “gravity tank,” one result tells you that “A simple, inexpensive gravity tank in a swine manure liquid-solid separation process will help producers control hog odors.” Another says that in a rooftop water gravity tank the gravity pressure is .434 times the height of the bottom of the tank from the fixture in feet. The Gravity Tank that we’re looking for is very different. It’s a Chicago based innovation consulting firm that combines research, strategy, and design to push their clients in new directions. Their staff consists of “anthropologists, former architects, filmmakers, engineers, graphic designers, industrail designers, MBAs, quant researchers, professors, brand strategists, and more.” They’re small, with only 35 employees, but they’ve already some very cool work with some very big names.

Get Pulled In by the Gravity Tank

As Gravity Tank puts it: “Companies call us when they want to enter new markets, reinvigorate existing brands or redefine their customer experience. They don’t want business as usual. They want meaningfully different.” If you have the same feeling about your job searching – wanting “meaningfully different” – then you need to check out Gravity Tank. I’m always fascinated by innovation consulting firms, as they look like some of the coolest places to work in the world. I wish that I could scatter links to Gravity Tank’s site throughout this post to show how cool they are, but their site is entirely Flash based, which means no links. Actually, we can link to some of their job descriptions because they’ve posted them in PDF (and they’re some of the best designed job descriptions that I’ve ever seen). Gravity Tank is currently looking for a Motion Designer and a Receptionist / Event Planner. Both positions have some work experience requirements, but they still look they might be of interest to new and recent grads. Additionally, Gravity Tank is always looking to hear from talented people, so you can reach out to them at career@gravitytank.com. They have a “Meet the Team” link on their About page, which will show you all of the positions that they currently have staffed, so you can use that to be a little more informed if you decide to cold call.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Gravity Tank?

22squared

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:21:36 +0000

How do you feel about the intersection of friendship and marketing? I know that a lot people weren’t happy when Facebook Beacon started telling their friends what they were buying from other sites, and I also know that nobody wants their friends to go salesman on them (like with Cutco knives); however, word of mouth marketing remains one of the most effective vehicles to reach people with a message. That’s because we still seem to trust our friends the most when it comes to making purchasing decisions. But can brands become our friends? According to 22squared, a marketing agency based out of Atlanta, GA and Tampa, FL, “consumers want brands that act more like helpful friends than persuasive marketers.” I think that’s right, but it still sounds a little weird to me. Maybe we should look at Facebook again for the answer. Plenty of people are “Fans” of brands (like ours), which is very much like being Facebook Friends with them.

What’s the Big Deal About 484?

I don’t know where they got the name 22squared, but Google tells me that 22 squared = 484. I’m not sure what to make of that, so let’s get back to talking about how 22squared thinks that “the consumer is your friend.” They’ve actually developed a metric to judge how friendly brands are. You can calculate it like this:

Strength of Relationship + Number of Advocates + Maturity of Relationship = Friendship Factor %

I’m not sure where you get the inputs from, but if you click “The Work” link on 22squared’s Home page (I can’t link because it’s in Flash) and click through the pages, you’ll see the scores of many well recognized brands. Usually you need to divide by something to get a percentage, so I don’t know what this is all about, but I’d love to hear the science behind it. I wonder what One Day, One Job’s Friendship Factor % is. I’d like to think that we’re a pretty friendly brand.

Anyway, if I want to keep your friendship, I need to get to the jobs. Right now, 22squared’s Jobs page (which I can link to) only has one job opening posted. It’s for a Flash Developer in their Atlanta, GA office. Considering what a nice job they’ve done with their own site’s Flash (even if you can’t link to anything and it’s not search engine optimized), I bet this is a pretty cool job. If you don’t have Flash skills, don’t worry. 22squared also lists an HR contact (signe.garnitz@22squared.com) to whom you can send a resume and cover letter – presumably for unlisted positions. 22squared offers internships in Account Management, Media, Creative, Brand Planning, Digital/Interactive (Creative and Media), Broadcast Production, Studio, Information Technology, and Human Resources, so those might be areas that they also hire at the entry level. I can’t promise anything, but it’s worth checking out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about brands as friends?

MediaStorm

Willy Franzen — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:40:07 +0000

Here at One Day, One Job, we’re big on storytelling. The reason that we feature a new company every day is that a lot of companies aren’t very good at telling their own stories, and even if they are, there’s a good chance that you’ve never heard their stories. Brooklyn, NY based MediaStorm is one of those companies that excels at telling its own story – probably because their “principal aim is to usher in the next generation of multimedia storytelling by publishing social documentary projects incorporating photojournalism, interactivity, animation, audio and video for distribution across multiple media.” They’ve worked on some amazing projects that include Intended Consequences, a chronicle of the lives of Rwandan women who “were subjected to massive sexual violence, perpetrated by members of the infamous Hutu militia groups known as the Interahamwe,” and The Marlboro Marine, the story of a marine whose photograph became famous and how “tried to return to his previous life but found his nights haunted by images of war and his life fractured by depression.” MediaStorm seems to deal with a lot of heavy topics, but they certainly have mastered multimedia storytelling.

Take MediaStorm by Storm

MediaStorm was founded by Brian Storm in 2005, and in the few years since they’ve won quite a few awards. If you’re looking for a job in a multimedia production studio and you’re especially interested in social causes, then a job at MediaStorm might be the perfect post-graduation opportunity. MediaStorm takes an “always recruiting” approach. That means if you don’t see something on their Jobs page that strikes your interest, but you know that you have something to add, they’ll be happy to hear from you. Right now their current openings include Flash/Web Developer, Interactive Designer, Multimedia Producer, Multimedia Writer, Project Manager, and Technical Engineer. Most of the job descriptions say that they require at least two years of experience, but there’s no reason that your college years couldn’t have provided you with that experience. If you’ve developed strong multimedia/journalism skills, then you should definitely think about applying for a job with MediaStorm. To apply send a resume with links to your online portfolio, references, and a cover letter explaining why you wish to work with MediaStorm to careers@mediastorm.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of MediaStorm’s projects do you find most interesting?

Scribd

Willy Franzen — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:59:46 +0000

Sharing documents online may never be as sexy as sharing videos, but Scribd still thinks that their document sharing site is pretty sweet. This isn’t like Google Docs sharing where you can work collaboratively on a project, it’s YouTube like sharing where you can find all types of fascinating information related to whatever topic interests you. For instance, if I look up “fly fishing,” I can find documents that range from basics like “101 Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners” to something as specific as “Fly Fishing Properties for Sale in New Mexico.” Ok, neither of those documents has the quality of information that I’m looking for, but Scribd has a long way to go before it is the go to place to find in-depth information. That’s why they need you.

Scribd Is Hiring

We’ve been hearing about a lot of “belt tightening” in Silicon Valley, but from what we can tell, Scribd is still hiring. Their business model still needs a lot of work, but having your CEO (who is named Trip, and graduated in ‘06 just like me) play sax on the street corner for spare change is definitely better than most startup business models. Here’s what Trip has to say about Scribd:

Scribd is based in San Francisco, and their Jobs page shows that they’re currently looking for a Flash Engineer, a Back-End Rails Engineer, and a Data and Analytics Engineer. Their job descriptions are fantastic, so be sure to check them out. Scribd is also always looking for talented entry level engineers with strong software development skills. If you’re interested in working at Scribd, e-mail your cover letter and resume with the subject “Your name – the position – via Scribd.com” to jobs@scribd.com. There’s a lot more information to find out about Scribd, as you’d expect from most Web 2.0 startups, so use the links below to continue your research and find out more about what it’s like to work at Scribd.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used Scribd to find information? What do you think of it?

Chumby

Willy Franzen — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:39:36 +0000

Despite what you might think from looking at the logo to the right, Chumby is not the first cousin of Gumby. Chumby is a startup that makes a real-life product that bears the same name. Their product is an “internet radio, digital picture frame, alarm clock, and more.” The “and more” includes news, social networking, weather, and games. It’s a dead simple Internet device that seems perfect for your bedside or the breakfast table. I’ve never actually tried a Chumby, but the reviews are glowing. At the very least it’s a cool niche product, and there’s certainly the potential for a Chumby to replace the alarm clock.

If You’re Not a Dumby, Work for Chumby

Whether you already have a Chumby in your dorm room,or this is the first that you’ve heard of it, you should take a deeper look at Chumby the company. While most startups these days are busy putting out web-based products and services, Chumby has a real life product that you can hold in your hand and buy at a store. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing in this economy is for you to determine, but a job at Chumby could be a great way to start your life after college. They’re backed by some major venture capital firms, and they’ve built partnerships with some amazing content providers.

Chumby is located in San Diego, CA, and they have a number of jobs that seem like good fits for new college grads. These include Flash Developer, Software QA Engineer, and possibly (with some previous work experience) Administrative Assistant. To apply for one of these jobs you can send a cover letter and resume to jsuttles@chumby.com. Chumby’s website doesn’t offer too much insight on what it’s like to work for Chumby, but you may be able to gain some insight from this blog post by one of the people who is working on Chumby.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you ever buy a Chumby for your dorm room or apartment?

Southwest Airlines

Willy Franzen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:08:56 +0000

Periodically the news is riddled with stories about how the airlines are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Lately the focus of doom and gloom commentary has shifted to finance and insurance companies, but that doesn’t mean that the airlines are doing any better. There’s one company that is seemingly never in the conversation about struggling airlines – Southwest Airlines. If you’ve ever flown Southwest, you probably know why. They do things differently, and it makes flyers happy. Even though it seems like almost no one can succeed flying commercial routes, Southwest continues to impress. A One Day, One Internship reader tipped us off to some amazing internship opportunities at Southwest Airlines, so we thought that we’d look at their entry level jobs today too. Air travel isn’t going anywhere – it’s too important to us, so don’t write off an entire industry because the other losers can’t get their acts together.

Future Booking at Southwest

Honestly, I’ve never heard of a company cited in more case studies than Southwest is. When I was studying Human Resources in college, I swear that I heard about Southwest’s corporate culture every week. It must make the CEOs of other airlines sick to their stomachs. Just look at the honors Southwest has received recently:

Ranked 12th on Fortune’s “Most Admired” list in 2007
Made Forbes “Platinum List” in 2007
Ranked by Business Week as one of the top “50 Best Places to Launch a Career”
“Most Admired Companies Among Women” by Professional Womens Magazine in 2006
“100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Business Ethics magazine for eight years in a row
“Corporate 100” by HISPANIC magazine since 2000
Included in the “Top 100 Most Innovative Technology Organizations” by InformationWeek in July 2007

And in case you aren’t already dreaming about working for Southwest, you should know that they offer “FREE UNLIMITED space-available travel anywhere Southwest Airlines flies” in addition to a laundry list of other benefits or “freedoms,” as they like to call them. To get a sense of what kind of jobs are available at Southwest Airlines, you should first look at their position profiles. These will give you a brief overview of each type of job that Southwest offers, so when you look at their actual job listings you will have a good understanding of what you’re looking at. Their Careers site is exceedingly simple, and really easy to navigate. It’s also loaded with information. We love (LUV) it.

Of the 39 non-internship job openings that we’ve identified on Southwest’s site, here are some that might be a good fit for a new college grad.

There are certainly more jobs to look at, some with slightly higher experience requirements. Most of the jobs are located at Southwest’s Dallas, TX headquarters (Ramp Agent openings are in Denver, Philadelphia, and Baltimore). Applying online for any of these jobs should be quite easy, so get to it!

Southwest Airlines also offers an RSS feed and e-mail alerts to notify you of new job postings, so if you don’t see anything that you like right now, you can sign up to be notified of future opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you flown Southwest? Did you LUV it?

Zynga

Willy Franzen — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:43:48 +0000

We haven’t been able to find any hard statistics to back it up, but we’re pretty sure that a lot of people use their dog’s name for their passwords. Just look at Paris Hilton, whose cell phone supposedly got hacked because someone was able to find her dog’s name on her MySpace page. That story has since been discredited, but it can be a fable for the 21st century. Instead of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” we will tell our kids “The Girl Who Used Her Dog’s Name As Her Password.” So, if you’re trying to guess someone’s password (which you shouldn’t be), their dog’s name is a great first guess. If you don’t know their dog’s name, guess “Max.” Apparently 1% (which is a lot) of dogs in the U.S. share that name. Marc Pincus really blew it when he decided to name is social gaming network startup after his dog. Nobody would have ever guessed Zynga – he wasted a great password.

Social Gaming, Huh?

Now that you know why Zynga has its name, we should probably talk about what Zynga does. They claim to be the “#1 social gaming company on the web.” Social gaming isn’t really a new concept, but it seems like it is. If you can remember, games used to be played in-person with cards and boards. You and your family or friends would sit around a table, play a game, and have a good time. For a while the social aspect of gaming disappeared as personal gaming devices became all the rage. GameBoy, GameGear, computer games, and even many of the consoles focused on a single player experience. The Internet has gradually been bringing the social nature back through online multi-player gaming, but for a long time it seemed like it was easier to play against strangers than your own friends. Now that companies like Zynga are leveraging social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and meebo), you can play casino games (Texas Hold ‘Em is their biggest hit), word games, board games, role playing games and party games with your friends while you’re both working at your first entry-level job. We can be sure that Zynga won’t frown on that practice, although your friend’s boss might.

Game On!

Zynga’s gaming network has 18 million players and 55 million registered users. That’s a lot of people to show ads to, and that’s what Zynga is doing. That’s why they’re already breaking even without having laid a finger on their venture capital yet. They’ve already raised a total of $39 million in VC funding and have swelled to 80 employees. You can bet that number is going to grow as they start to dip into their funding to develop games that are better suited to withstand competition from video gaming behemoths like Electronic Arts. They’ve already swiped EA’s former Chief Creative Officer, Bing Gordon.

So how can you join Zynga’s team? Take a look at their Jobs page and find an opportunity that is right for you. Currently they have a number of jobs that might be well suited to new college graduates. These include Accounting Coordinator, Application Developer, 2D Graphic Designer, UI Web / Game Designer, Flash Developer, Web Developer, and Online Ad Sales Rep. Most of these job descriptions say that the jobs require slightly more experience than a typical entry-level candidate may have, but we think that if you knock their socks off by sending a standout cover letter and resume to jobs@zynga.com, they’ll at least give you a look. Maybe instead of a job interview, they’ll challenge you to a game over Facebook – if you win, you get the job. You can add Zynga to the list of companies that do a crappy job of telling you where they’re located, so we did some Googling to determine that they’re based in San Francisco, CA.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t even ask in the comments, I’m not going to tell you what my dog’s name was.

Hello

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:31:36 +0000

I spent last summer building One Day, One Job – the site, the idea, and the business. A lot has changed since then, but I remember that the test post that remained on the home page through much of the site’s development was titled “Hello.” Today’s post will be a fitting replacement as it is also titled “Hello,” and it is about web development. Hello is a Culver City, CA based interactive design agency. They have an extremely impressive portfolio, and they also look to be hiring at the entry-level.

Hello Real World

Now that most of you have graduated, it’s time to say hello to the real world. That hello will be a lot more friendly in a place where you can surf and snowboard on the same day, visit awesome art galleries down the street, have a burger across the street at Father’s Office, get free candy and cake on your birthday, play foosball, Wii, XBOX 360, and PlayStation 3, and bring your dog to work. It almost sounds like a job at Hello has nothing to do with saying hello to the real world. It’s more like fantasy land, except it’s not. Creativity and hard work essential to putting together a corporate portfolio as impressive as the one Hello has on their home page. These perks are clearly aimed at building an environment in which creative people can thrive.

Hello Jobs

Hello currently has a number of job openings, although it’s hard to determine what kind of experience is required for the given jobs. Obviously any job in web design and development requires some kind of experience (the kind where you learn how to do it), but whether a company is looking for people with office experience is unclear. The most entry-level friendly job posting at Hello is for a Flash Developer position. It seems like it’s quite well suited to new college grads. There are also opportunities as a Technical Lead, Lead Designer, or Project Lead. The word “lead” makes us think that these positions might have some management responsibilities, but the job descriptions are vague enough that it’s hard to tell how much experience is really necessary to land the jobs. Take a look at them yourself, and send your questions or cover letter and resume to careers@hellodesign.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Armstrong White

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

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

Did You Draw Cars As a Kid?

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

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

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

AngelVision Technologies

Willy Franzen — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:00:34 +0000

Sales is a field that is an odd mix of art and science. A lot of things that should work don’t, and a lot of things that shouldn’t work do. In fact, you’d probably be amazed at what tactics most effectively convert people from readers to buyers. Getting your online visitors to read is one way to get them to convert, but Portland, Oregon based AngelVision Technologies has found a much better way to help businesses make sales. They create “impact movies” that go beyond the normal text-based marketing that drives most online business. These animations are exceptional sales tools, and AngelVision has made a big business out of developing them – their revenue has increased 1,441.2% over the past three years.

To get a sense of what AngelVision Technologies does, you really need to look around their website. You can look at their list of testimonials, clients, and sample movies, or you can watch AngelVision’s own impact movie. You’ll quickly realize that these aren’t the most beautiful flash animations, nor are they the kinds of advertisements that will get you searching for them on YouTube. AngelVision’s animations are created with one goal in mind, and that’s converting sales, often in a business to business setting. Here’s why they work.

AngelVision is a bit quirky, from what we can tell, but they still look like a great place to work. First off, their website isn’t all that sharp looking for a company that is in the business of designing things. We’ll give them a break, since they’re the first to say that they’re not about being flashy (despite the fact that Adobe Flash is their preferred medium). What’s more interesting is that AngelVision Technologies Founder and President Michael Jingozian is running for President with hopes of securing the Green Party, Reform, and Libertarian nominations. We also are a bit befuddled by their careers page, which has great content, but also has a few items thrown in there that must have been added with the intent of checking to make sure that you’re paying attention.

For instance, AngelVision’s job openings include: Flash Developers, Telemarketers, Customer Service, Project Managers, Picture Hanger, Office/IT Support, and Messaging Experts. Or, you could look at their list of desired qualifications which include gems like “Must be able to kiss-up and say ‘yes’ to anyone, and then actually follow-through on those promises.” and “Knowledge of sprinkler system repair and sushi-making are a definite plus.” Obviously, having a good sense of humor is important if you’re going to apply for a job at Angelvision Technologies. Then again, having a good sense of humor is like being a self-starter – everyone thinks it applies to them.

We like this approach to a careers page because it gets the self-selection process started off early. Those of you who aren’t amused by AngelVision’s antics won’t apply, and those of you who are laughing through the job descriptions will send out a resume right away. This is smart, because it saves time for everyone. It also sounds like AngelVision’s interview process takes a similar approach to finding people who will be a good fit without investing a lot of time in the process. AngelVision doesn’t explicitly say that they have entry-level opportunities available, but the attitude of their careers page makes it pretty obvious that they’ll be open to anyone who is talented and has the right personality traits, regardless of experience.

AngelVision’s online recruiting message is in a lot of (good) ways a caricature of what we think most companies should adopt. AngelVision certainly goes over the top, but they’re honest and authentic about who they are and what they’re looking for. Instead of having to spend hours of research trying to find dirt on them, you can just visit their careers page to get a vision of their corporate culture. If more companies would be this upfront, they’d waste a lot less time and money (their own and the candidate’s) on candidates who aren’t good matches.

Note: On April 25th we revisited entry-level jobs at AngelVision Technologies.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about a company whose CEO is running for president?