One Day, One Job » investment

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?

People Capital

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

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

Add Your Human Capital to People Capital

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Wayne Hummer Wealth Management

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

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

Manage Your Way to Wealth

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Wayne Hummer Wealth Management?

Wikinvest

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

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

Wikinvest in Yourself

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Scottrade

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

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

Trade Up to an Entry Level Job with Scottrade

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you invest? Do you use Scottrade?

Bridgewater Associates

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

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

Pure Alpha

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

Alpha Entry-Level Jobs

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Willy Franzen — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:43:50 +0000

Although giving away money isn’t usually the first thing on people’s lists of things to do if they ever get rich, people who actually are rich seem to enjoy donating what they have. Since you’re reading a site about entry-level jobs, we’re going to guess that you don’t have vast financial resources to donate to charity. Still, it would be fun to give someone else’s money, now wouldn’t it? That’s what the Carnegie Corporation of New York does. The corporation was founded my Andrew Carnegie, himself, in 1911 with a $135 million. Since then the goal has been to put the money to use in ways that “promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding” for perpetuity. What is perpetuity? It’s forever. For many new college grads, making money last forever means until the next paycheck. At the Carnegie Corporation, they really mean forever. Their endowment was worth approximately $3.0 billion last year, and with a giving rate of “5.5 percent of the average market value of the endowment during the prior 12 quarters,” it’s not getting any smaller.

Free Money?

Yes! For philanthropic organizations that do extraordinary things in the areas of promoting international peace and advancing education. No, you can’t start some fake non-profit and start getting money. You can, however, work for the Carnegie Corporation and eventually help lead the direction in which Andrew Carnegie’s fortune is spent. Here’s the list of the most recent grants given by the Carnegie Corporation and here are all of the lists. The entire Carnegie Corporation website is extremely interesting and filled with information about the organization. If you find the amount of information a bit overwhelming, you can also look at Carnegie for Kids which really simplifies things. Don’t be ashamed about reading the version for kids, it’s actually really good.

Working for Carnegie

The Carnegie Corporation currently has three job openings. One is definitely entry-level, and another could probably be seen as such for the right person. They are looking for an Investment Information Coordinator and an Administrative/Research Assistant for their Scholars Program. The Investment Information Coordinator position is perfect for a new college grad who is looking for a non-profit job with a focus on philanthropy and endowments. The compensation for the job also appears to be excellent, especially for a non-profit job. You can apply for either position by sending a cover letter, résumé, at least two professional references by May 30, 2008 to: hr@carnegie.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Congratulations to all of our readers who are graduating this weekend or who have already graduated. To those of you who have another week or two, good luck!

Motley Fool

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0000

We’ve been thinking for months about ways to trick our readers for April Fools’ Day. We considered writing about six figure entry-level jobs or telling you that we are selling out to the evil Monster.com, but nothing really seemed all that funny – or believable. The web is rife with great pranks on April 1st, and we’re just going to stay out of it. Instead we’ve found a company that is not only relevant to today’s holiday, but is also hiring new college grads for entry-level positions. We’re talking about the Motley Fool, a company that aims to “educate, entertain, and enrich” its customers with excellent financial advice. What company could be better to feature on April Fools’ Day than the one that owns Fool.com?

What’s This Tomfoolery About?

In case you’re not already familiar with Motley Fool, you should know they were started as a financial advice newsletter in 1993. Then, in 1994, they moved their operation onto AOL, and three years later they started their own website. Now, they’re a multimedia company whose experts publish books, appear on television, and write syndicated newspaper columns. With 200 employees, they must be dishing out a lot of financial advice. Motley Fool is based out of Alexandria, VA and has a hankering for all things foolish.

This Is Not a Joke

We thought we hit the jackpot when we came up a company with the word “fool” in it’s name. Little did we know that Motley Fool is the kind of company that every new college grad wants to work for. This is not an April Fools’ joke! Motley Fool has unlimited paid vacation and sick time. U-N-L-I-M-I-T-E-D. As long as you are an exceptional performer and get your stuff done, you will be free to travel the world or pursue your favorite pastime. We know you don’t believe us right now. You’re not ready to put down your guard. Here’s proof. There are a ton of other perks too!

April Fools! NOT!

It gets better. We sidled on over to the Motley Fool’s Job Search page to see if there was any way that a new college grad could get access to such an egregiously awesome work environment. There is, but first we’re going to tell you about a position that might seem to require too much experience for you, but that you should consider anyways. We’re pretty sure that this job was just listed today. It’s as Motley Fool’s Office Jester. The job requirements are quite steep, but we know there’s at least one reader out there who fits the bill. As a means of comparison, here’s a video of the former Office Jester, and here’s his resume. We should also note that you should have attended a Clown College, Improv School, or Brown (yes, they said that, not us).

Now that job might sound like all fun and games, but there are some other positions that look to be almost exciting. There’s a position as a Freelance Writer/Analyst and another as a Production Designer. These aren’t necessarily entry-level jobs, but the Motley Fool’s Analyst Development Program is perfect for new college grads. The program description is excellent, so give it a good look. We wish there were more companies like Motley Fool – it would make it a heck of a lot easier to write these posts every day.

The Joke’s on You…

… if you don’t give the Motley Fool a serious look during your job search. They’re another perfect option for college students who are interested in Finance, but aren’t looking for that job on Wall Street just yet… or ever, for that matter. Now start preparing jokes for your interview!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What April Fools’ Day trick would you have played if you were us?