One Day, One Job » green

Green Irene

Willy Franzen — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:21:11 +0000

Some people never need to hire a professional. Whether it’s a plumber, personal trainer, or eco-consultant that they need, they’d rather teach themselves how to solve the given problem. Other people would rather spend their time and effort most efficiently, so they hire a professional when they get in over their heads. If you’re the latter type, and you want to “green” your home or office, then you’ll want to get familiar with Green Irene. They are a New York City based company, founded in 2007, that provides eco-consulting services and sells green products. If you’re worried about the negative impact that you’re having on the environment, you can have one of their consultants visit your home and office to make recommendations on how you can do better. The Wall Street Journal did a nice feature on the eco-consulting industry (it includes Green Irene), so check that out to get a better sense of the overall market.

Go Green with Irene

When I first started looking at Green Irene, there were a couple of red flags that made me nervous about featuring them. The first was that when you type “Green Irene” into Google, the top two suggestions that come up are “Green Irene scam” and “Green Irene complaints.” That’s enough to make anyone nervous, but it’s actually relatively common with companies that operate businesses like Green Irene. The results of those searches didn’t turn up much in terms of negative press. This leads to my second issue, which is probably why so many people are searching those searches: Green Irene uses a direct sales business model (many scam jobs use a similar model). That means that their eco-consultants aren’t Green Irene employees, but “independent business women and men who work from their own home or office as distributors of Green Irene consulting services and green products.” They also have a strong incentive to focus on selling products during their consults.

Although I don’t love this model for a business, I do understand why Green Irene does it (it makes starting up and growing quickly way easier). There are direct sales positions with Green Irene, but those aren’t what caught my interest (I think new grads can learn a lot doing direct sales, but it usually offers less than ideal situations). I’m more interested in the Operations Assistant position posted on their Jobs page—it’s perfect for a new grad. If you like what you see in the description, e-mail your résumé and cover note to jobs@greenirene.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Green Irene?

Cultivating Community

Willy Franzen — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 08:33:02 +0000

Agriculture has done a lot for us over the past few millennia. It’s by far the biggest development in the history of our species, as it’s pushed us forward into all kinds of other technological advances. Sadly, most of us have left agriculture behind—we couldn’t possibly feed ourselves without supermarkets and restaurants. That’s not really a problem, but it’s still a bit disheartening. Luckily, there are some non-profit organizations out there like Portland, ME based Cultivating Community that are using agriculture to enact positive change. Cultivating Community, for example, grows “tens of thousands of pounds of organic produce with and for people with low incomes” while using “community food work as a platform for youth empowerment programs.” It almost sounds too good to be true.

Cultivate Your Career

What’s really interesting about Cultivating Community is the fact that their tagline is “Feeding our hungry. Empowering our youth. Healing our planet.” They’re killing three birds with one stone, and it’s all based on simple agricultural practices. Small farms and gardens can play a huge role in our communities if we let them. Cultivating Community is pushing to make this happen. If you share the same ideals, then you might want to consider a job with Cultivating Community. Although their Jobs page doesn’t show anything, you will find one opening if you check out their job postings on Idealist. They’re looking for a Refugee Farmer Specialist. You can apply by sending a résumé and cover letter by Thursday January 7th, 2009 to amy@cultivatingcommunity.org. It sounds like a pretty cool opportunity.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Cultivating Community?

California Conservation Corps

Willy Franzen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:41:49 +0000

After my Freshman year of college, I decided that I wanted a summer job that would allow me to work outside. I ended up doing maintenance at a fish and game club. It was like a great experience—even if I only worked 20 hours per week. If you want to work outside and are looking for something a little more intense than 20 hours per week, then you need to check out the California Conservation Corps. It’s a government run program that “matches up California’s young people and its natural resources.” Every year the CCC hires 3,300 corpsmembers and pays them minimum wage to take on projects like working on backcountry trails, aiding salmon restoration, promoting watershed stewardship, and providing emergency response services. The CCC has been around since 1976, and since then they’ve employed more than 100,000 young men and women with 98% saying that they “would recommend the CCC to a family member or friend.”

Get Paid to Enjoy the Outdoors

The California Conservation Corps provides a wide range of work opportunities for people between the ages of 18 and 25. These aren’t permanent entry level jobs, but they’re a great internship alternative or a great way to get some real work experience after you graduate. The CCC has a great website that is filled with all kinds of information about their programs. You can see what a day in the life is like or read over their FAQ. There are work locations with the Corps all across California, and there is also a wide variety of project types. The CCC site gets a bit confusing when you start looking for employment opportunities, but you can find Staff Openings here and Corpmembers opportunities here. Additionally, it looks like some of the CCC programs do their own hiring, so, for instance, you can find information on applying to the Backcountry program here.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Had you heard of the California Convervation Corps before?

Long Island Pine Barrens Society

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:56:15 +0000

When I hear the words “pine barrens,” I either think of the area in New Jersey called the Pine Barrens or the band, which was also called The Pine Barrens, that played at my 7th grade class’ end of the year party. Until today, though, I didn’t really know what pine barrens were beyond a big forest of pine trees. There’s a lot more to them than that, and, luckily, Wikipedia is able to help out. Its definition of pine barrens is “plant communities that occur on dry, acidic, infertile soils dominated by grasses, forbs, low shrubs, and small to medium sized pines; most extensive barrens occur in large areas of sandy glacial deposits, including outwash plains, lakebeds, and outwash terraces along rivers.” These areas aren’t typically found in populated areas, which makes it surprising that Long Island has its own Pine Barrens (see the Wikipedia article for all of the specifics). That’s why the Long Island Pine Barrens Society exists—to protect an ecosystem that is constantly under pressure from development. They’re based in Riverhead, NY, and their focus as a non-profit is on education and advocacy.

Barren Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

Beyond preserving open space in the Long Island Pine Barrens, the Long Island Pine Barrens Society also works to preserve drinking water. These two ideals fit together because the Pine Barrens is essential to recharging the ground water that Long Island relies on for drinking. There’s a lot more to learn about the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, and the best way to do that is to check out their website. They have tons of information on their history and the work that they do along with more general organizational information. One thing that they don’t have on their website is a Jobs page, but they do list jobs on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for a Project Coordinator, and it appears that the job would be well suited for a new or recent grad. You can get all of the details from the Idealist posting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited pine barrens?

Second Nature

Willy Franzen — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:14:34 +0000

When I was in college, campus sustainability was just starting to become a common buzzword. I guess it makes sense that higher education institutions would be at the forefront of such a movement—you know, since they deal with students protesting by camping in tree tops all the time. Second Nature is a Boston based non-profit organization that is continuing this movement (no not the camping out in tree tops). They initiate and support “high-leverage national initiatives and programs aimed at re-orienting the higher education sector toward more sustainable outcomes.” It’s a smart idea, because they’re targeting the places where their ideas are most likely to catch on. If they can succeed by pushing sustainability forward on college campuses, then there’s a good chance that the sustainability movement can go a lot farther.

It’s Your Second Nature

Second Nature has been around for more than 15 years, and since then they’ve worked with “more than 500 colleges and universities to help make the principles of sustainability fundamental to every aspect of higher education.” I guess how Second Nature defines sustainability is important to know too. They believe that the key to achieving sustainability is avoiding four situations:

systematic increases in concentrations of substances from the earth’s crust e.g. fossil fuels, heavy metals); systematic increases in concentrations of substances produced by society (e.g. CFCs, DDT); systematic degradation by physical means (e.g. deforestation, overfishing); and when social systems are subject to conditions that systematically undermine people’s capacity to meet their basic needs (e.g. oppressive conditions, non-living wages)

When you really break these four situations down, you realize how much effort must go into sustainability initiatives. If it sounds like something that you want to be a part of, then you should check out Second Nature’s Jobs page where they have a Program Associate position posted right now. You can apply by sending “a cover letter describing related experience and salary requirements, a resume, and a writing sample to: careers@secondnature.org.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your Second Nature?

Franklin Fuel Cells

Willy Franzen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:41:37 +0000

Whether you think the human race is going to end at the hands of the greenhouse effect or you just don’t like paying 3 bucks a gallon for gas, you likely have a vested interest in alternative energy. There’s a good chance that some time in your lifetime our main energy source will be something other than fossil fuels. Then again, I’m just coming to the realization that I won’t see flying cars in my lifetime. Hopefully I’m wrong about that one. Anyway, there are a ton of companies that are vying to win a big share of the alternative energy market. Many of these are small startups that you’ve never heard of. Their websites are ugly, and they’re usually not located in big cities. You’d never guess it from their appearance, but they’re actually at the forefront of engineering technology. One of these companies is Malvern, PA based Franklin Fuel Cells. Their focus is on “commercializing a unique solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs) technology that can operate directly on today’s hydrocarbon fossil fuels as well as future fuels such as, biofuels and hydrogen.” I don’t really know what that means, but it sounds pretty cool.

Career Alternatives in Alternative Energy

Franklin Fuel Cells has a few million dollars in venture capital funding, and they’re working on technology that originated at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s hard to say whether they actually have any products, services, or licensing deals to bring in revenue yet, but it’s very clear that their focus is on developing technology that will shape the future. This is a long term play. Franklin Fuel Cells only has about a dozen employees right now, yet they have a few positions that they appear to be looking to fill. Most of the jobs require a graduate degree and at least a few years of experience, but Franklin Fuel Cells’ Jobs page does show an opening for a Test Technician that appears to be suitable for new grads. You can apply by sending a cover letter, résumé, and salary requirements to epaz@arbfc.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think fuel cells will play a big part in our future?

American Rivers

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:45:26 +0000

I love rivers (mostly because they’re where I usually go fly fishing). They’re the lifeblood of our society, and even though we’ve figured out ways to move water on our own, they’re still a huge part of our infrastructure. There’s no question as to why most major cities sit on the banks of a large river. The problem with that is that it means that many of our greatest rivers have been subjected to significant abuse. Dams, pollution, irrigation, and overconsumption have left many of our rivers in pretty sad states. American Rivers is a Washington, DC based non-profit that hopes to fix this. They describe themselves as “the leading conservation organization standing up for healthy rivers so communities can thrive.”

Go with the Flow

American Rivers focuses on five program—Rivers and Global Warming, River Restoration, River Protection, Clean Water, and Water Supply. These are extremely important issues that are sometimes ignored by other environmentalists. For instance, many environmentalists advocate hydroelectric dams, yet they fail to realize the damage that these dams can do to our watersheds. I’ve also noticed that even the most environmentally conscious cities (cough, Ithaca) destroy their rivers by bounding them with concrete and allowing trash like shopping carts and mattresses to litter their riverbeds. Many of our rivers are healthier than they were 10 years ago, but there’s still plenty of work to be done to ensure that future generations have healthy rivers. Here’s a video from American Rivers that outlines the issues better than I can:

If American Rivers looks like somewhere that you might want to work, you can check out their Jobs page here. Right now they’re looking for a Conservation Associate, which looks like a perfect position for a new grad. Check out the job description for all of the details on how to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite river?

Seed Savers Exchange

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:00:14 +0000

You’ve probably heard the term “heirloom,” in reference to fruits or vegetables. For the longest time I had no idea what it meant, but eventually I asked someone and the gist of the definition is “any garden plant that has a history of being passed down within a family, just like pieces of heirloom jewelry or furniture.” More often than not the plants are passed down in the form of seeds. Heirloom breeds of plants are important not only for sentimental reasons, but also because they provide genetic diversity. By maintaining old breeds of plants with their unique resistance to disease and pests, we are able to ensure the security of our food supply. Seed Savers Exchange is a Decorah, IA based non-profit that “saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.”

Seeding a New Career

Seed Savers Exchange maintains “more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties,” which makes them “biggest non-governmental seed bank in the United States.” They’re more focused on working with smaller farmers and gardeners, which makes sense because those are typically the people most interested in heirloom varieties. In a lot of ways, the seeds that Seed Savers Exchange provides resemble art. The genetic diversity thing is important, but the history of the seeds and the varieties of flavors of the plants that grow from them is just as important. If you’re intrigued by what Seed Savers Exchange does, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a number of positions posted that seem suitable for entry level candidates including Lab Technician, Collection Assistant – Field Operations, Assistant Curator – Seed Plants, and Horticulturist – Field Manager. The job descriptions go into a lot of detail, so check them out for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you do any gardening?

Liberty Tire Recycling

Willy Franzen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:39:46 +0000

While many of the companies that I’ve found from the Inc. 5000 have had excellent entry level job opportunities, there have also been plenty of companies that either didn’t have jobs suitable for new college grads or didn’t even have a Careers page. I thought that I’d take today to remind you that those companies aren’t necessarily out of reach. You can always try cold calling companies that you find fascinating. One perfect example is Liberty Tire Recycling. They’re a Pittsburgh, PA based company that does all kinds of cool things with used tires. Since used tires are pretty much garbage to most people, Liberty Tire Recycling is able to get them on the cheap and use their processing techniques to do all kinds of cool things. That explains why their revenue has grown from $35.5 million to $110.6 million over the past 3 years. I have no idea if that means that they’re hiring, but they’re still worth considering.

No Retreads for Your Career

People have been retreading tires for a long time, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg at Liberty Tire Recycling. They process used tires into crumb rubber, which, in turn, can be made into things like the base for artificial turf, extruded/laminated/molded rubber goods, playground surfacing, decorative mulch, or even tire derived fuel. Get this…

Liberty Tire Recycling currently produces enough Tire Derived Fuel (TDF) to generate 100% of the electricity needed to power a city of 153,000 … equal to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Rockford, Illinois or Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

Although recycling tires sounds pretty mundane at first, it’s amazing what kind of environmental impact Liberty Tire Recycling can have by taking a creative approach to recycling. That’s why I think that they’d be such an interesting place to work. They apparently have somewhere between 650 and 1,000 employees, but only a handful are on LinkedIn. That tells me that most of their employees are working on the industrial side, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not expanding on the corporate side. If you’re as fascinated by Liberty Tire Recycling as I am, why don’t you reach out to them at corporate@libertytire.com and see if they have any job openings available. The same goes for any other company that you find with no job postings. It never hurts to ask.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried cold calling any companies yet?

Green America

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:01:41 +0000

When it comes down to it, most of the problems in our world have some sort of economic root. Unfortunately, people rarely see economics as the solution. One non-profit organization that is an exception is Washington, DC based Green America (formerly Co-op America). Their “mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.” I like their approach. They’re not trying to force their ideals on people by regulation or intellectual intimidation. Instead, they’re working towards a building a powerful new economy that not only holds to their ideals, but also works efficiently. They may still be imposing their ideas, but they’re doing it purely with economic power.

Will You Be a Part of Green America?

If you take a look at Green America’s successes, you’ll get a taste for the kind of work that they do. They’ve “directed over $100 million in purchases to socially and environmentally responsible businesses” and “played a leadership role in persuading CitiGroup to remove predatory lending products from the market.” As a membership organization they’re continuously growing their ranks and flexing bigger economic muscles, which is really powerful. A lot of people yelling about ideas may seem important, but when people act with their wallet, they can really change things. If you like the sound of what Green America is doing, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have only one opportunity posted for an Executive Assistant and Fair Trade Coordinator, but it looks pretty interesting. You can apply by sending a “cover letter, resume and pertinent writing sample (2-3 pages) to: Todd Larsen, Corporate Responsibility Program Director at tlarsen@greenamericatoday.org.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Green America?

Oceana

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:47:50 +0000

I love our oceans—everything about them. I love swimming in them, eating the food that they provide, fishing in them, watching sunsets over them, and all of the other wonderful things that they offer. However, our oceans are both blessed and cursed by the same thing—they seem infinite. That’s what makes them so great, but it’s also what has led us to abusing them nearly to the point of no return. A little pollution will disappear in the vastness of an ocean. Overfishing doesn’t matter because there are always more fish. Scraping up the bottom isn’t a big deal because we can’t see the bottom. I wish that oceans were that resilient, but they’re not. Oceana is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that “seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy and abundant as they were in our grandparents’ youth.” They recognize the value of their oceans, and they’re doing something to protect them.

Dive in to a Job at Oceana

From what I can tell, most of what Oceana does is based on advocacy and creating awareness. They do this through a number of campaigns including Stop Climate Change, Stop Dirty Fishing, Stop Destructive Trawling, Stop Seafood Contamination, Cut the Bait, Save Seat Turtles, Safeguard Sharks, Dive Into Ocean Conservation, Surf Into Ocean Conservation, Stop Cruise Ship Pollution, Advocating for Ocean Change, and Protect Prey. This approach makes sense because our everyday choices impact the future of the ocean, and until we understand that, we’re not going to take a collective action for positive change. Here’s what Oceana has to say about their campaigns:

To achieve real benefits for the oceans, Oceana conducts focused, strategic campaigns. Each campaign has a specific timeframe and objective that will make a significant difference to the oceans. Each campaign combines scientific, legal, policy and advocacy approaches to reach its goal. Saving the oceans may take decades, but in each of our campaigns we aim to accomplish an important milestone in that effort within two to five years.

If you love the oceans as much as I do, you might want to consider Jobs at Oceana. Right now they have a couple of opportunities that seem suitable for recent grads. These include Grantwriter and E-Activism Fellow. You can apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to resumes@oceana.org with the job title in the subject line.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you love about the oceans?

Green Seal

Willy Franzen — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:25:07 +0000

Whether or not we’re really going through a green revolution is up for debate, but I can assure you that Marketing departments across the world are taking advantage of the public’s appetite for “green” products. Unfortunately, “green” doesn’t really mean anything. To you it might mean one thing, and to me it might mean another. We assume that something that is labeled or advertised as green will be better for the environment, but how do we really know? That’s where Green Seal comes in. They are Washington, DC based “independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and service.” They do this by certifying products that meet their Green Seal standards. By having an independent third party set standards, consumers can actually make informed choices about the products they buy (as long as they’re Green Seal certified, of course).

Are You Green Seal Certified?

There’s a lot that goes into the certification process, and there are plenty of other organizations and businesses that work in the green certification field. The reason that Green Seal is different is that their “standard-setting process is open, collaborative, fair, and completely transparent.” There are no trade secrets. That means that even the most environmentally conscious customers will be able to know if Green Seal meets their personal standards. If Green Seal meets your personal standards, you may want to think about a job with them. I couldn’t find a Jobs page on their website, but they do post open positions on Idealist. Right now they have two opportunities that appear to be suitable for new grads: Environmental Scientist and Environmental Engineer. The jobs sound pretty similar, and they require a strong science background, so check out the full job descriptions and see if you’re the right fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you try to buy certified products? Which certifications?

Triumvirate Environmental

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

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

Join the Triumvirate

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you heard of Triumvirate Environmental before?

New Canaan Nature Center

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

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

Be a Part of Nature… Center

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to a nature center?

The Rosen Group

Willy Franzen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:09:13 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.

So much of media relations today is focused on “new” or “social” media, but The Rosen Group still recognizes the importance of “traditional” media. A full-service public relations firm with more than two decades experience building awareness for its clients, The Rosen Group has locations in New York City and Washington, DC. While The Rosen Group is a relatively small firm of 25 staff members, their client list is rather impressive, including PC Magazine, the American Wind Energy Association, Weight Watchers and many more.

Bloom Like a Rose

I know I’ve said this before, but one of the best parts about working at a smaller firm is the level of which even junior staff are involved in each account. This “all hands on deck” approach is not only beneficial to potential clients, but also potential staff. Particularly early in your career, being thrown into such a learning-conducive environment can be extremely valuable. Additionally, the firm was founded and is still run by a 30-year public relations veteran, Lori Rosen. However, other than Ms. Rosen and a few other senior-level executives, the firm is very much “bottom heavy.”

The Rosen Group is currently seeking a Junior Account Executive (Craigslist) in New York. The position requires strong writing skills, and previous internship experience is preferred. Interested? Send your cover letter and résumé to Lori Rosen at lori@rosengrouppr.com. Another good contact at the agency is Thelma Rogel, Director of Human Resources. Her e-mail address is thelma@rosengrouppr.com.

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.

The School for Field Studies

Willy Franzen — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:36:13 +0000

We all know it; studying abroad can be a total joke. I know plenty of kids who partied in a different country for a semester and managed to get college credit for it. Fortunately, there are plenty of study abroad programs that focus more on the “study” than the “abroad.” One of those is The School for Field Studies. Now, you may be skeptical when you see their list of locations sounds more like your top 5 vacation destinations (Costa Rica, Turks & Caicos, Kenya, Mexico, and Australia), but look at all of their student accomplishments. The School for Field Studies is “the nation’s oldest and largest environmental study abroad program,” and it combines “hands-on environmental studies with scientific research to develop sustainable solutions to critical environmental problems.”

Work in the Field

While some students are drinking their way across Spain, The School for Field Studies’ students are getting works like Wood density predicts plant damage and vegetative recovery rates caused by cyclone disturbance in tropical rainforest tree species in North Queensland, Australia or Efficacy of a starch-iodide swab technique to detect the illegal use of bleach in a Spiny Lobster published. Those topics may seem way out of left field to you, but I’ll bet that you’ll be happy they did that research when you’re on vacation and order for lobster for dinner. Or would you rather eat a lobster that was poisoned with bleach? Exactly. The School for Field Studies sounds like a really cool institution, which is why you might want to consider a job with them. They have a few current openings that could be suitable for new grads including Safety Program Specialist at their headquarters in Salem, MA and Student Affairs Manager at their Center for Rainforest Management Studies in Australia. You can apply for a job with SFS by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@fieldstudies.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you study abroad?

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

New Leaf Paper

Willy Franzen — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:41:52 +0000

I wasn’t going to write an Earth Day post today, because I hate the environment. (That’s not true, it’s just what I tell Green Peace people who harass me as I walk down the street. The real reason was that I was going to do Administrative Assistants’ Day instead.) However, I came across San Francisco based New Leaf Paper, which couldn’t be a more fitting company to feature on Earth Day. According to their web site, they lead “the paper industry in the development and distribution of environmentally superior printing and office papers.” It’s kind of like Dunder Mifflin gone green and moved to California (there’s an idea for the Michael Scott Paper Company!). If you’re surprised that a paper company can offer both quality and affordability while being eco-friendly, then you should check out New Leaf’s Eco Audit. I don’t know what to make of all those numbers, but hopefully you will. At the very least it sounds phenomenal that they saved 118 Trees, 5,551 Pounds of solid waste, 50,178 Gallons of water, 84 Million Btu of energy, and more.

Turn Over a New Leaf

Although our paper usage has probably peaked (the decline seems to have started in 2007), we still use a ton of paper. That means that there’s a lot of room for a company like New Leaf Paper to eat up market share as corporate paper buyers decide to go green. That’s probably why New Leaf Paper recently secured a $5 million equity investment, even though they’re a profitable company that has been around for more than 10 years. This recent investment is the reason that we decided to talk about jobs with them, even though they don’t have anything posted at the entry level (we found them because of their internship postings). In fact, I couldn’t find New Leaf Paper’s Jobs page by navigating their site; however, I did find it through a Google search. They do have one Senior Sales position listed, but we think that there might be future opportunities coming soon as New Leaf Paper starts investing the money that they recently got. You can reach out to New Leaf Paper about jobs at info@newleafpaper.com, but be sure to do some research on their LinkedIn profile first to get an idea of what types of positions might be available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think is going to happen with the Michael Scott Paper Company?

National Parks Conservation Association

Willy Franzen — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:05:41 +0000

Having grown up in Connecticut and now living in Illinois, I’ve lived in areas that don’t have too many National Parks. Luckily, I’ve had the chance to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton. They are unbelievable. Our National Parks here in the US are one of the best things that the government has done – they’re a big part of what makes this country so special. Unfortunately, the same government that gave us those parks doesn’t always seem to have their best interest in mind. That’s why National Parks Conservation Association exists. They are a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC that is focused on “working on key initiatives to restore America’s national parks by the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.” If you’ve never visited a National Park, you should. You can use this locator provided by the National Park Service to find the park closest to you.

These Jobs Are a Walk in the Park

If you love the outdoors as much as I do (or dig historic sites, which many National Parks are), and you want a job that is going to put you to work protecting what you love, then the NPCA may be the place for you. They have a great website that is filled with information about what they’re doing to protect our National Parks. The best way to get a quick introduction to the organization is probably to check out their video, which does a nice job of presenting their story. Put simply, the NPCA is all about making our National Parks’ 100th birthday a real reason to celebrate. 2016 is still far enough away that a lot of meaningful work can be done before then, which is why you should check out jobs with the NPCA. Right now there’s only one job that appears to be suitable or new college grads at the NPCA – Program Coordinator. The job is located in Bozeman, MT, and it looks fantastic. You can apply online, so get at it before 2016 comes around!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite National Park?

Seacology

Willy Franzen — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:36:37 +0000

We’re less than a week away from the start of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, but it’s still kind of cold. If I could swing it, I’d probably try to get out of Chicago until early April and spend some time on a tropical island (who wouldn’t want to do that?). Unfortunately, the demand for tourist destinations along with other factors has put many of the world’s most beautiful islands at risk. Islands are important – not only are they awesome places to spend a vacation – they’re also the “earth’s great repositories of biological diversity.” Luckily, we have non-profits like Seacology to protect the world’s islands. Seacology is an organization that “searches for win-win situations where both the local environment is protected and islanders receive some tangible benefit for doing so.”

Island Jobs

As the “the world’s premier nonprofit environmental organization with the sole purpose of preserving the highly endangered biodiversity of islands throughout the world,” Seacology has a pretty cool niche. What’s even cooler is that they have a group of field representatives located across the world who scout out projects. I wish that I could tell you how to land that job, but it seems that they don’t have any island hopping vacancies right now. The kinds of projects that Seacology does vary pretty wildly, but they all have the structure of a trade.

Here are some of their more recent projects.

Repair to 20 primary schools and seven municipal offices in exchange for the protection of ten Madagascar Flying Fox roosts totaling 321 acres in the Mangoro Region of Madagascar.
Construction of a kindergarten and school administration building in exchange for the establishment of a forest preserve and two marine protected areas for Vuna Village, Fiji.
Establishment of a permanent no-take mangrove forest reserve in exchange for coral reef clean-up and mangrove restoration in Iboih Village, Indonesia.
Protection of the highly endangered Hainan Gibbon in exchange for the education of the children of four villages, Hainan, China.
Construction of a community center in exchange for protection of a forest reserve on Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

It sounds like an awesome concept, and it’s something that you can be a part of. Seacology currently has a job opening for a Development Assistant in Berkeley, CA posted on Idealist. It doesn’t sound as though you’ll get to go island hopping, but maybe that will be in the cards eventually. If it sounds like something that you’d want to do, send a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to islands@seacology.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

If you could visit any island, which one would it be?

Positive Energy

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:59:42 +0000

How much energy do you use every day? I’m not talking about Calories, although I’d be surprised if you knew that, I’d be shocked if you could tell me how much energy you consume on a given day. You might know how much you spend (and that might be more important), but as energy becomes a bigger and bigger issue, you need to be an informed “consumer.” Everybody needs a little Positive Energy, right? Well Positive Energy is an Arlington, VA based company that is working to “engage the 300 million Americans who are in the dark about their energy use through a combination of cutting edge technology, analytic direct marketing, behavioral science and world-class design.” Sounds pretty cool to me.

Positive Energy for Your Job Search

Positive Energy is a relatively new company, but it looks like they’re already well on their way to offering products and solutions that are going to change the way that we think about energy. Their approach is different from other companies and organizations with similar goals because Positive Energy relies on four areas of expertise: Behavioral Science, Direct Marketing Analytics, Measurement and Verification, and Private Industry Engagement. This must be working for them, because they have quite a few job openings available on their Jobs page. Jobs that might interest new or recent college grads include Implementation Engineer, QA Engineer, Account Executive, and Business Analyst. The job descriptions are relatively in-depth and can be found at the bottom of Positive Energy’s Jobs page. To apply for any of these jobs, you can send a cover letter and resume to jobs@positiveenergyusa.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Positive Energy’s approach?

NOAA

Willy Franzen — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Happy Groundhog Day! Unfortunately, it looks like we’re headed for 6 more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil. That really aggravates me, so I think that I’m done trusting the rodent for my weather prediction. Last year we recommended that you consider working for the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, but this year we want you to actually be able to predict the weather. That’s why we want you to take a look at entry level jobs with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. NOAA is a government agency “that enriches life through science,” which makes them almost the exact opposite of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. NOAA’s responsibilities range from “daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce.” In fact, “NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.”

From the Bottom of the Sea to the Surface of the Sun

NOAA has a great video that does a nice job of telling their story, so we thought we’d spare you some reading and embed it below. (If you’re reading via e-mail or RSS, you might need to click through to view the video).

classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B"
codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab"> autoplay="false" controller="false"
pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/">

So what about entry level jobs with NOAA? You can find all kinds of information about working at NOAA on their Careers page. Unfortunately their Recruitment Events Calendar hasn’t been updated lately, but you can still check out their Career Fields and What NOAA Has to Offer pages. What you’re really looking for though – NOAA’s Jobs, you can find on USAJobs.gov. Right now they have 63 jobs posted in fields ranging from Computer Science to Fisheries Biology and from Program Specialist to Service Hydrologist. They list jobs by salary grade, which makes identifying entry level opportunities pretty easy. The jobs are located all across the country, so location depends on what’s available. You can apply online directly from the job listings on the USAJobs.gov site, so if you love earth sciences, there are probably some jobs for you. Beyond the USAJobs.gov site, there’s also a Student Opportunities page that links to Fellowships that may interest new grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil was right?

Patagonia

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

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

Take a Trip to Patagonia

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Do you wear Patagonia?

Slow Food USA

Willy Franzen — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:30:11 +0000

Have you ever heard of the slow food movement? Despite what it might sound like, it’s not about eating snails, turtles, and sloths. The slow food movement about envisioning “a word in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet,” or as USA Today puts it, “slow food aims to everything that fast food is not.” As delicious as Chicken McNuggets are, I have to say that fresh, locally grown produce usually comes out ahead for me. Slow Food USA is a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, NY that is working to grow the slow food movement and “to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system.” I wish I could tell you more about what their strategy is to accomplish this, but their 5 Year Strategic Plan is “coming soon.”

Eat Slowly, Apply Quickly

If you’ve been visiting your local farmers’ market and trying to eat local foods as often as possible, then Slow Food USA might be a place that you want to think about working. The organization’s focus is on education, which they approach through a variety of programs. These include Slow Food in Schools, Slow Food on Campus, Renewing America’s Food Traditions, Slow Food Nation, and quite a few more. If any of these programs look like something that you might have been involved with in college, then why not take a look at Slow Food USA’s Employment and Internships page. Right now, most of their job openings are at the Director level (which is unfortunately too advance for most of you), but they do have one job as a Youth Program Coordinator that looks inviting for new grads. The job description says that they’re looking for someone with 3 years of experience in a related field, but the rest of the description makes it sound like something that could be a good fit for a lot of new grads who have spent some time working, volunteering, and extra-curricularing (yes, I invented a new word) during college. They’ll be accepting cover letters and resumes for this position until January 16th at jobs.sfis@slowfoodusa.org. There’s also a job listing for a Membership Assistant at the bottom of Slow Food USA’s Jobs page that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the page. This looks like a surefire entry level job, although it says that the job starts in November of 2007. Considering the start date and the placement on the page, this looks like it might be an outdated posting, but you could give it a shot if it looks interesting to you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you eat slowly?

The Wilderness Society

Willy Franzen — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:51:04 +0000

For me the wilderness is central to life itself – I can’t be happy without time spent outdoors. That doesn’t mean that I’m not enjoying life in downtown Chicago, but I plan on spending lots of time in the woods and rivers of Wisconsin and Michigan once Spring starts to show its face. My philosophy is shared by the people at The Wilderness Society. Their About page says that “It is our calling and our passion to protect America’s wilderness, not as a relic of our nation’s past, but as a thriving ecological community that is central to life itself.” I couldn’t agree more. They’re a non-profit organization that provides “scientific, economic, legal and policy guidance to land managers, communities, local conservation groups and state and federal decision-makers” to “ensure the best management of our lands – national forests, parks and refuges, as well as public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.” I’ve seen one of my favorite places in the world (a Northern Michigan tract of wilderness and quality fishing areas) put at risk by poor land management policies that would have allowed natural gas drilling in an extremely sensitive area, so I know how firsthand how vital The Wilderness Society’s work is.

Work for the Wilderness

If you feel the same way about the wilderness as I do, then an entry level job with The Wilderness Society might be something worth considering. Their website does a great job of telling their story, so you should be able to get a much clearer picture o who they are and what they about by spending a little time browsing it. They even have a cool section where you can tell them what you’ve been doing to help. I’m not sure what they do with those stories, but it’s nice to see that they’re putting user-generated content to work for them. Their Jobs page lists a couple of opportunities that look like they have potential for new college grads. The most likely jobs are Office Administrator (San Francisco, CA) and Development Operations Coordinator (Washington, DC). To apply for these jobs, visit the specific job descriptions and use the e-mail at the bottom of the posting to send your cover letter and resume.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you enjoy the wilderness as much as I do?

Seventh Generation

Willy Franzen — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:39:20 +0000

I have to admit that the first time that I noticed the Seventh Generation brand in the grocery store, I was kind of grossed out. That’s because I noticed a big display of toilet paper packages all bearing the company’s name. When I think about what I want from toilet paper, the most important thing is that it’s first generation. We can talk about softness and how many ply it is after that. I realize that my disgust was completely irrational, but I don’t ever want to think that the toilet paper that I’m buying is anything but new. After visiting Seventh Generation’s website, I found out that “the company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, ‘In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.’” This makes sense because Seventh Generation, which is based in Burlington, VT, is aiming to become “the world’s most trusted brand of authentic, safe, and environmentally-responsible products for a healthy home.” They seem to be doing a good job considering that their products have saved 287,359 trees and 584,650 gallons of petroleum at last count.

Be Part of the New Generation at Seventh Generation

What Seventh Generation does is simple. They make simple home products that are better for the environment and for the health of the people who use them. Seventh Generation also puts a strong emphasis on consumer education. Not only do they want people to be well informed, but they are also smart marketers. When you play the role of educator and marketer, you’re in a good spot – as long as the facts are on your side. It seems to us like the facts are on Seventh Generation’s side. Karma certainly is, for they give 10% of their profits to “non-profit community, environmental, health, and responsible business organizations working for positive change.”

So how can you join Seventh Generation’s team? There are a number of ways. I first started looking at their jobs after I saw a job posting for a Green Parenting Blogger. It’s not the best job for new college grads since most of you probably don’t have kids yet, but it shows that Seventh Generation is moving in a cool direction. After checking out this posting I moved on to their Jobs at Seventh Generation which led to me to opportunities like Consumer Insights Specialist, Distribution Operations Coordinator, and Product Manager. These aren’t by definition entry level jobs, but they are certainly worth considering if you have the right internship and educational backgrounds. All of the jobs are based in Burlington, VT and you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to staffing@seventhgeneration.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget about our job search training course. It’s a green product too. How can it not be when it’s administered online?

Food & Water Watch

Willy Franzen — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:45:34 +0000

Do you look at the labels on all of the food that you buy? Not only the nutritional facts but also the ingredients? If you answered yes, then you’re probably a health conscious consumer, or maybe you have a specific food allergy. Well what about the stuff that’s in your food that isn’t on the ingredients label? No mater what kind of drugs they pump into the cow that your hamburger is coming from, it’s always just going to be labeled beef. How about that bottle of water that you’re drinking from right now? It’s just water, or is it? A salmon from Lake Ontario is still just salmon, even if it’s full of PCBs (at least you can’t buy those in the grocery store). There’s a lot of stuff in our food and water that we don’t know about, which is why Washington, DC based Food & Water Watch exists. They’re “a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food.”

Are You on the Watch?

The government is supposed to ensure the safety of our food and water. That’s a responsibility that we’ve entrusted to them. It gives us a little less freedom in what kind of food choices we can make, but it’s worth it to know that there are certain minimum standards for what we’re going to put in our body. Food & Water Watch asserts that the government isn’t doing the job that they should be. That’s why they take it upon themselves to “challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.” If you’re passionate about food quality and safety, a job with Food & Water Watch might be something that you want to consider.

There are a number of job opportunities with Food & Water Watch currently available. The most appropriate for new college grads are Policy Analyst – Fish Campaign, Organizer – Food Campaign, and West Coast Organizer – Fish Campaign. The Policy Analyst position is based out of Washington, DC, while the West Coast Organizer position is based out of San Francisco, CA. They don’t say where the Food Campaign Organizer job is located. You can apply for these jobs by sending a cover letter, resume, three references, and a brief writing sample to jobs@fwwatch.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you watch what you eat?

Tom’s of Maine

Willy Franzen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:44:01 +0000

In case you missed the message last week, we’re celebrating One Day, One Job’s first birthday today. We have “party favors” for you, so go check our birthday blog post. I considered featuring a special birthday related company, but we’ve already covered Hallmark’s entry level jobs, so I’m out of ideas. Instead, we’re going to do what ODOJ does best and tell you about an awesome company that is looking to hire outstanding college students. Tom’s of Maine is a company that specializes in natural personal care products. What is natural care? It’s “creating safe, effective natural products free of artificial dyes, sweeteners, and preservatives; by harvesting, processing, and packaging with respect for our natural resources; by not testing on animals or using animal ingredients; and by donating 10% of our profits and 5% of our employees’ paid time to charitable organizations.” Tom’s of Maine makes toothpaste, soap, deodorant, mouthwash, shaving cream, and more – not the kind of products that most people get excited about, but people get excited about them when they’re made by Tom’s of Maine.

You of Maine? Or Texas?

The story of Tom’s is simple. Tom Chapell and his wife Kate got sick of corporate America, so they moved to rural Maine. They wanted to “move back to the land,” so they started eating natural, unprocessed foods. They couldn’t find any personal care products that were up to the same standards as the food that they were eating, so they decided to make them on their own. It started with a $5,000 loan from a friend, and now Tom’s of Maine is a $100+ million company that, through a partnership, has become independently run division of Colgate-Palmolive. It’s all because Tom and Kate set out to solve a problem that was bugging them.

Tom’s of Maine is located in Kennebunk, ME (an absolutely gorgeous area), and they’re looking for new college grads to help them keep growing their business. Right now, their current job openings show that they are hiring Grassroots Field Sales Reps in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, TX. It’s not clear if these are multiple positions, or just one, but either way it’s a perfect opportunity for someone who has been using Tom’s of Maine’s products and evangelizing them to friends for years. To get a better idea of what the job entails, you can check out this employee profile of Louanne Genther, who is in the job now (or was when the profile was posted). You can apply for this job directly from its description.

Beyond the posted job, Tom’s of Maine is also open to accepting unsolicited job applications. They have a simple to use submission form, and it allows you to state interest in any of the following areas: Executive
Administrative, Customer Service, Marketing/Brand Management, Inside Sales, Outside Sales, Retail, Manufacturing, Warehouse, Human Resources, Finance/Accounting, Information Technology, Research and Product Development, Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Communications, Public Relations, Copywriting, Graphic Design, and Web Design. We’re not sure what your chances of getting hired for an unlisted position are, but it’s worth trying. Also, before you apply, check out Tom’s of Maine Interview Tips – they may help you craft your cover letter and resume too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget to check out our birthday blog post.

GreenWood

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

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

Help Build Sustainable Forest Enterprise

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

GreenWoodGlobal.org
Jobs at GreenWood Global (Idealist)

What do you think about what GreenWood is doing?

Sea Turtle Restoration Project

Willy Franzen — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:56:12 +0000

One of the cooler fly fishing moments that I’ve had was sea turtle related. I was in Costa Rica fishing for sailfish when we trolled past a couple of sea turtles. Immediately a dorado (aka mahi mahi aka dolphin fish) came out from below the sea turtles (they love hanging out under debris… or turtles) and started chasing the hookless plugs that we had let out behind the boat. We teased the fish in to the boat, I cast my fly to it, hooked it, and caught it after an amazing battle. It was a perfect example of how ecosystems work with the fish using turtles as cover to ambush prey. Unfortunately, our experience with sea turtles from the previous year’s trip wasn’t so heartwarming, as another boat from our party came across a turtle that had been tangled in commercial fishing long lines (nothing like what sport fishermen use). Luckily they were able to get the turtle in the boat and cut it free from the tangle of lines, but it was a reminder of how many risks sea turtles are facing out in the wild (see below for a picture of the turtle as it was being rescued). The Sea Turtle Restoration Project is a non-profit organization that is trying to protect sea turtles from these threats of pollution, coastal development, commercial fishing long lines, and shrimping nets.

Who Doesn’t Love Sea Turtles?

As I’ve seen firsthand, sea turtles are both important parts of the ocean ecosystem and at a high risk for extinction. They’re amazing animals to watch in their natural habitat, and they deserve to be protected. You can help protect them by taking a job with the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. Right now they’re looking for a Human Health and Oceans Campaigner “to help save the oceans from industrial fishing and save ourselves from mercury poisoning from contaminated fish: tuna, swordfish, shark.” They’re looking for someone with a background in campaigning, journalism, community or political organizing, lobbying or legal advocacy, so you probably should have worked on some projects on these areas (and really love sea turtles) if you’re going to apply. This is a one year position with a salary in the low to mid 40s and the opportunity for renewal. The job is based about an hour northwest of San Francisco near the Pt. Reyes National Seashore, and you can apply by sending your cover letter and resume to tshore@TIRN.net. There’s also the potential for a part-time Web Activist position if you’re willing to start as a volunteer. The application details are the same as for the previous position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you had any firsthand experiences with sea turtles? Tell us about them.