One Day, One Job » Maine

Appalachian Mountain Club

Willy Franzen — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:17:54 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve ever spent anytime on the Appalachian Trail, but if you haven’t, you should. The trail stretches from Georgia to Maine, while the range of mountains touches as far south as Alabama and as far north as Newfoundland. It’s 1,500 miles of natural beauty that is prime territory for naturalists and adventurers. Back in 1876 there was a club called the Appalachian Mountain Club started in Boston for people who enjoyed the range. Now the club consists of more than 12 chapters and 100,000 members—it’s the “nation’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization.” They’re still based in Boston, and they’ve developed into a non-profit that promotes “the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region.”

Outdoor Enthusiasts Wanted

The work that the Appalachian Mountain Club varies greatly. They fight for conservation, educate people on safe outdoors practices, maintain trails, and put on more than 8,000 trips a year. It’s a great organization that spans many different interest groups—it’s not just the hikers or the birdwatchers or the fisherman. It’s for everybody who loves being outdoors in the Appalachians. The scope of their work is really impressive, and if you want to be a part of it, you should check out the AMC’s Jobs page. Full-time opportunities include Web Production Associate and Senior Online Marketing Associate (it’s pretty entry level if you have a background in online marketing), which are both based in Boston, along with Hospitality Coordinator in Bretton Woods, NH and Storehouse Supervisor in Gorham, NH. There are also seasonal opportunities in Trail Crew type positions in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. The application instructions vary by position, so look at the specific postings for details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you spent any time in the Appalachians?

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?

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?