by Willy Franzen on October 28, 2009
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.
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energy,
engineering,
entry-level jobs,
green,
Pennsylvania,
research
by Willy Franzen on October 20, 2009
Back when I was looking at colleges, I had to rely on traditional guidebooks to get relevant information like average SAT scores, whether freshmen are allowed to have cars, and what the food is like. Finding solid information online was pretty much out of the question, and none of the guidebooks that I looked at seemed to have a good read on what the campus was really like. Then along came College Prowler in 2002 (after I was already at Cornell, which turned out great). They’re a Pittsburgh, PA based company that aims “to be the most accurate, complete, and honest resource on colleges and universities across the United States.” Although those are their words, I think that a more accurate description of what they do (also in their words) is:
No university affiliations. No half-truths. No out-of-touch authors who haven’t been in school for decades. A class project turned company, College Prowler produces guidebooks that are written by actual college students and covers the things students really want to know.
College Prowler’s guides are what college guidebooks should have always been. Unfortunately, it took a long time for anyone to realize how big the need for “real” information was. Along with guidebooks, College Prowler has also built an awesome web resource to help high school students make informed college choices. The best part is that they’ve recently made all of their online content free.
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editorial,
entry-level jobs,
marketing,
Pennsylvania,
publishing,
sales,
web development,
writing
by Willy Franzen on September 23, 2009
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.
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entry-level jobs,
green,
manufacturing,
Pennsylvania
by Willy Franzen on July 30, 2009
Next March I’m going to regret not saving this one for my St. Patrick’s Day holiday themed post, but today we’re going to take a look at Lucky Brand. They’re a clothing manufacturer and retailer that is “rooted in rock ‘n ‘roll with a signature sense of humor.” Their About page will tell you that they stand for “independent thinking, individual style and a feeling as authentic as love” and that they’re known for “great-fitting, vintage-inspired jeans;” however, I think it’s much simpler than that. One of their founders came up with the idea to put the phrase “Lucky You” behind the flies of every pair of pants that they made. It was an instant point of differentiation, and I think that it has a lot to do with why Lucky Brand is going strong 19 years after they started. It really is pure, politically incorrect genius. Lucky you…
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apparel,
California,
design,
e-commerce,
entry-level jobs,
fashion,
Hawaii,
human resources,
Illinois,
jewelry,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
Missouri,
Nevada,
New Jersey,
New York,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
retail,
Texas,
Washington,
Washington DC,
Wisconsin
by Willy Franzen on July 5, 2009
Having spent 7 years at a private prep school, I know the educational value that such institutions offer. I also know that private schools aren’t accessible to everyone (but neither are great public schools). That’s why I think that it’s pretty cool that a New York City based non-profit organization called A Better Chance is achieving its mission “to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society” by enrolling students of color in Member Schools (which are apparently both public and private). Since 1963 when “23 headmasters of selective independent schools made a mutual commitment to change the profiles and compositions of their student bodies,” A Better Chance has improved the educational outcomes of more than 12,000 alumni.
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entry-level jobs,
Massachusetts,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
teaching
by Willy Franzen on May 20, 2009
Have you always wanted to be a secret agent? Well here’s a mission, if you choose to accept it: try to land a job with New York City based kgb. No, I’m not talking about Russia’s version of the CIA. I’m talking about “the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services.” Formerly known as INFONXX, kgb is in the business of making information easily available. If you’ve seen their commercials, then you’re probably most familiar with their “Ask Us Anything” service. I personally think it’s for lazy people, but that’s because I’m a huge advocate for developing your own research skills. If getting the answer to your question is worth 50 cents, then that’s cool, but I’m gonna Google it myself. The good news is that kgb’s business goes well beyond charging lazy people who need their stupid questions answered.
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accounting,
customer service,
data,
entry-level jobs,
Hawaii,
information technology,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
research,
software development,
telecommunications,
Texas,
user experience,
web development
by Willy Franzen on April 16, 2009
I’m about as far away from the world of crocheting, beading, knitting, jewelry making, quilting, spinning, and needle working as you can possibly be. The closest that I’ve come to the world of crafts is having my Mom knit me a scarf and meeting someone who may or may not (she was very secretive) be a part of a group of Chicago Crochet Graffiti Artists. Still, I know that this world of crafts exists – and it’s huge. That’s why it’s no surprise that Interweave Press, a craft media company with “businesses in magazine and book publishing, interactive media, broadcast programming, and events for craft enthusiasts,” still seems to be thriving after almost 35 years in the business. Although I don’t know for sure, I’d imagine that Interweave Press, which is headquartered in Loveland, Colorado and has other offices in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Stow, Massachusetts, is somewhat insulated from all of the trouble that most other media companies are seeing because of the niche that they work in.
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Colorado,
crafts,
design,
editorial,
entry-level jobs,
magazines,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
media,
Pennsylvania,
production,
publishing
by Willy Franzen on March 24, 2009
Last week when I told you about Constant Contact, I mentioned how Jason Seiden and I are using a competing service to deliver e-mails about our job search prep course (if you’re struggling in your job search, you need to check this out – it will help). That service is called Aweber, and their CEO, Tom Kulzer, happened to stop by (yes, CEOs read One Day, One Job) to let us know that his company is also hiring. Since I think that companies with great products and awesome customer service usually make the best places to work, I’m pretty sure that Aweber, which is based in Newton, PA, is the kind of place that you want to work. They’re an industry leader, and they have a gaming room and go carts. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, they’re privately held and profitable, having done business for 11 years.
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customer service,
entry-level jobs,
marketing,
Pennsylvania,
web development
by Willy Franzen on March 20, 2009
Every 10 years our country does a census to collect demographic data about our populous to drive public policy decisions. It’s an extremely big deal, and it temporarily creates 1.4 million jobs (according to government figures). But those aren’t typically the types of jobs that we talk about here, at least not the ones that send you door to door asking how many people live at a given residence. Luckily, the U.S. Census Bureau does a lot more than its once every ten years nationwide census. They are “the leading source of quality data about the nation’s people and economy,” so you’d be amazed by all of the things that they track. For instance, much of the economic data that you have been hearing about in the news lately – as in “Stocks plunge on weakened Monthly Retail Sales” – comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re fascinated by data or just love counting things, there aren’t many places that offer a more interesting work experience that the Census Bureau.
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Arizona,
California,
cartography,
Colorado,
data,
entry-level jobs,
geology,
Georgia,
Illinois,
Indiana,
information technology,
Kansas,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
math,
Michigan,
Missouri,
New York,
North Carolina,
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statistics,
Texas,
Washington,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on February 26, 2009
At least 3 days a week I walk out of my apartment building and I smell chocolate. That may sound strange, but I live less than a mile from a chocolate factory. On days when the wind is blowing right from the West and they’re churning out chocolate, I don’t need to eat dessert – the delicious smell is enough. It’s especially enjoyable when it’s snowing out, and I’m sure that it won’t be nearly as nice on a 90 degree Summer day. It’s a pretty cool perk that I didn’t know that I was getting when I moved into this building. I’m hoping that you can get the same perk when you take a job with The Hershey Company. I don’t know if their corporate offices are near their factories, but even if they aren’t, you’ll still be surrounded by chocolate if you work for them. Hershey’s obviously doesn’t need an introduction, but you may not know that some of their other big brands are Reese’s, KitKat, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, and Ice Breakers. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, they’re located in… Hershey, PA.
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engineering,
entry-level jobs,
food,
Pennsylvania,
supply chain
by Willy Franzen on February 21, 2009
How’s the relationship between your college or university and the town or city that it’s in? Let me guess. Not so hot. It always seems that students and “townies” don’t get along too well. Beyond that, there can also be situations like at Yale in New Haven, CT where the students are generally much wealthier than the people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. This just exacerbates the fundamental gap between the university and the community. National Student Partnerships is a non-profit organization that was started in New Haven by two Yale students who wanted to close this gap. They “designed a program where college student volunteers work one-on-one with community residents, coordinating access to employment opportunities and social services, including job training, housing, health care, child care, and transportation.” It’s a wonderful idea, and it’s working – look at the success stories.
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Pennsylvania,
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Virginia,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on December 2, 2008
When I was a senior in high school (2002), I thought that my class was cutting edge to include a CD with our yearbook. Then I was greeted by “The Class of 2006 Website,” a site very much like Facebook (before there was a Facebook) for my incoming Freshman class at Cornell. Finally, Facebook arrived on the scene in 2004, and the idea of a yearbook was forever changed. At least it was for college students. Facebook didn’t open up to high schoolers until September of 2005, and in that time both MySpace and myYearbook had already started tapping the high school social networking market. You may not have heard of myYearbook, but you should have. They have the 14th most pageviews of any site on the Internet, surpassing both Amazon.com and Wikipedia. What makes this more impressive is that New Hope, PA based myYearbook was founded by a 15 year old and a 16 year old brother and sister during their Spring Break.
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quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
social media,
social networking,
software development
by Willy Franzen on November 7, 2008
Considering that college is a time when you’re supposed to be working towards having a productive adulthood, a whole lot of self-destruction seems to be going on. It must be hard for the health nuts to fit in. If you prefer 8 glasses of water a day to keg stands, celery sticks to buffalo wings, and the Nintendo Wii to the Xbox, then you’ll be a lot more comfortable in an entry level job at Rodale than you will be at a frat party. Rodale is a “global media company with a heritage, mission, and authority dedicated to the health and wellness of the individual, community, and planet.” They publish magazines such as Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Organic Gardening, Prevention, and Runner’s World. They’re also the largest independent book publisher in the U.S.
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New York,
Pennsylvania,
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video,
web development,
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by Willy Franzen on November 2, 2008
Last weekend we talked about Harlem Success Academy and how they’re making huge strides in educating children from low-income families. What happens at school is extremely important when it comes to educational outcomes for children, but what happens at home can be just even more important. AchieveAbility is a Philadelphia based non-profit organization that is “working to permanently break the cycle of poverty for single parent, low income, formerly homeless families through education, supportive services, community and economic development, housing and accountability.” By helping low-income parents achieve their dreams, AchieveAbility is paving the way for a brighter future for both the parents and the children.
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coaching,
education,
entry-level jobs,
non-profit,
outreach,
Pennsylvania
by Willy Franzen on October 1, 2008
I never thought that moving to Chicago would prolong the baseball season for me. Living in the New York City area gave me 13 straight years of October baseball, and now that I’ve left, both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium will remain empty for the rest of the fall before they eventually face demolition. It’s lucky for me that I’m now living in a new city that happens to have two teams that are still in it. I get a 14th straight year of local baseball in October! Playoff baseball is by far the most exciting baseball of the year, but it also means that season will soon be over. Those of you who are baseball fans know how long the winter seems when there is only hot stove chatter to keep you entertained while you wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training. While you’re still excited about baseball, you should start thinking about how you can land a job with Major League Baseball. Jobs with the MLB are in hot demand, so it’s a smart move to get familiar with their hiring process as soon as you can.
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Michigan,
Minnesota,
Missouri,
New York,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
production,
sports,
Texas,
Washington,
Washington DC,
Wisconsin
by Willy Franzen on September 17, 2008
Periodically the news is riddled with stories about how the airlines are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Lately the focus of doom and gloom commentary has shifted to finance and insurance companies, but that doesn’t mean that the airlines are doing any better. There’s one company that is seemingly never in the conversation about struggling airlines – Southwest Airlines. If you’ve ever flown Southwest, you probably know why. They do things differently, and it makes flyers happy. Even though it seems like almost no one can succeed flying commercial routes, Southwest continues to impress. A One Day, One Internship reader tipped us off to some amazing internship opportunities at Southwest Airlines, so we thought that we’d look at their entry level jobs today too. Air travel isn’t going anywhere – it’s too important to us, so don’t write off an entire industry because the other losers can’t get their acts together.
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accounting,
aerospace,
Colorado,
customer service,
design,
engineering,
entry-level jobs,
finance,
flash,
flight,
Maryland,
Pennsylvania,
Texas,
transportation
by Willy Franzen on September 11, 2008
Artists and record labels are starting to realize that live music is a great way to stay profitable. Although the digital download business is seeing amazing growth, the idea that people should pay for songs has pretty much gone out the window. If you can fill up a venue with adoring fans (who paid an arm and a leg for tickets) and sell them t-shirts, posters, and whatever else people buy at concerts, you can still make a lot of money. If this trend continues Live Nation should be primed for success, they have the “most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web.”
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account management,
accounting,
California,
entry-level jobs,
merchandising,
music,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
sales,
Texas,
Virginia
by Willy Franzen on September 9, 2008
Consulting jobs are hot for new college grads, even though a lot of people ask, “What could a new grad possibly consult on?” The truth is that consulting firms love fresh talent. They pick the best and the brightest and put them to work on teams with experienced pros to solve problems that other companies are struggling with. If you’re thinking about a job in consulting, you might as well aim for the one of the best. Kurt Salmon Associates is a consulting firm that focuses on Consumer Products and Retail (Supply Chain and Growth and Profitability) and Health Care consulting. They’ve been named a Top 10 Best Firm to Work For by Consulting Magazine for six years in a row, so you know that they’ll take good care of you – if you can land a job with them.
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California,
China,
consulting,
consumer products,
engineering,
entry-level jobs,
France,
Georgia,
Germany,
health care,
Japan,
Minnesota,
Netherlands,
New Jersey,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
retail,
United Kingdom
by Willy Franzen on August 24, 2008
I started using computers at age 5. I took an after school class in kindergarten where we learned about Turtle on an Apple IIe (the precursor to the Macintosh). I learned to type in elementary school, and in middle school I was teaching myself how to build websites. Without that foundation I would have never been able to start this site that you’re visiting right now. Computers have been an essential tool in my education, and I have been lucky enough to have access to the latest computing technology throughout most of my life. Many kids don’t have the access to computers at home like I did growing up, and as these kids get into middle school they face a widening “achievement gap.” Computers for Youth is a non-profit organization that wants to minimize this achievement gap by enhancing the educational resources in children’s homes, improving parent-child interaction around learning at home, and helping teachers connect classroom learning with the home. They believe that this can all be done by putting computers in the home.
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education,
entry-level jobs,
Georgia,
information technology,
New York,
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Pennsylvania,
program development
by Willy Franzen on August 7, 2008
Imagine getting a job as a MythBuster, except instead of debunking urban legend, you’re investigating real life problems that plague businesses and sometimes hurt people. That’s what you could be doing at Exponent. Founded in 1967 by five Ph.D.-level researchers, Exponent was originally known as Failure Analysis Associates. They started out in the energy industry studying stress and fracture mechanics, but very quickly they were “investigating and analyzing accidents and failures of all kinds.” They eventually became The Failure Group, and were listed on the NASDAQ with the ticker FAIL. In 1998 they realized that they had outgrown their name, and changed again to Exponent, because it means “one who expounds or interprets.” We don’t usually get so deep into how a company chooses it’s name, but with the popularity of the FAIL meme (see also: FAIL Blog), we thought that you might be amused.
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Illinois,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
medicine,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
physics,
research,
science,
transportation,
Virginia,
Washington,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on July 23, 2008
Considering that it’s July, you probably don’t have hockey on your mind right now, unless, of course, you’re sweltering in a room without air conditioning dreaming of the cool air inside the rink. The offseason is a time for National Hockey League Teams to address their needs, and that isn’t only about the personnel who wear ice skates. It looks to us like summer is a big hiring time with NHL teams, so while most people are focused on baseball and the Olympics, you should get back into that hockey mindset and try to find a job with an NHL Team.
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account management,
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Colorado,
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finance,
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Georgia,
information technology,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
New Jersey,
New York,
Ohio,
operations,
Pennsylvania,
production,
public relations,
sales,
sports,
Texas,
video,
Virginia,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on July 21, 2008
Are you an adventurous job seeker? We want to try out a new job search technique, and we need volunteers. Click here if you’re intrigued.
Now that’s out of the way, I’m going to tell you something embarrassing. When I was younger, I used to watch a tv show called Pepper Ann on ABC’s One Saturday Morning. When I hear the name Pepperjam, it reminds me how much of a loser I was for watching that show. Now that I’ve admitted that, I can try to regain your trust in my judgment by telling you that Pepperjam looks like an extremely fun company to work for. Their office has “Free Pizza Fridays, Ping Pong, video games (ie: Nintendo Wii, Guitar Hero), free Red Bull and music all day.” Almost sounds like a frat house without the beer… and I bet the floors aren’t sticky either.
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design,
entry-level jobs,
marketing,
Pennsylvania,
software development,
web development
by Willy Franzen on July 5, 2008
We hope you had a safe 4th of July. Unfortunately, every year some people don’t. Fireworks are a lot of fun, but they can result in some really nasty burns and injuries. Since we encouraged you to blow stuff up yesterday, we thought we’d counter that by featuring a non-profit organization that helps children who endure severe burns. The Shriners Hospitals for Children do exactly that. Who are Shriners? They wear funny hats. They drive little cars in parades. They’re Freemasons. And most importantly, they help kids through their hospitals. That’s going to be our focus today, since new college grads probably aren’t too interested in being part of a fraternal organization that seems like it probably has an average age north of 60. Then again, you probably got all hot and bothered about your college’s greek organizations and secret societies.
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Ohio,
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Utah,
Washington
by Willy Franzen on June 7, 2008
Steve Mariotti was living a successful corporate life when he decided that he needed a change. He didn’t buy a sports car, get a toupée, or start dating 20 year-olds. Ok, he could have done those things, but we have no reason to believe that he did he did. He chose to leave his job and to start teaching special education in the New York City school system. This presented obvious challenges. Teaching special ed can be hard enough in a community with extensive resources, but it must be near impossible in underserved public schools like those in New York City. Mariotti realized that one of the only ways that he could reach his students was by teaching them how to run a business. They loved the subject matter. As Mariotti developed a entrepreneurship based curriculum for his job as a special ed teacher, he realized that he could extend the reach of his educational successes. He founded the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship with the goal of bringing entrepreneurial education to low-income youth
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Texas,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on May 7, 2008
It’s hard for me to write this post, because I have a strong allegiance to Marvin, which is one of Pella’s biggest competitors. It started in 7th grade when I was working at my Dad’s architecture firm. The entire office was invited to a lobster lunch put on by some Marvin sales reps. My partner in crime (a friend of mine who was old enough to have the coveted title of intern) and I jumped at the chance to take a break from shooting rubber bands at each other and join the architects for a free lunch. We had to endure a long sales pitch about windows, like that South Park episode where the parents endure a time share sales pitch in return for a free skiing weekend, but when it was finally over, we chowed down. My then overweight 7th grade self put away a couple of lobsters and almost put one in my pocket for the ride home. It was by far the best day during my Summer job, but I’m willing to forget a couple lobsters and start pushing Pella, because they’ve truly impressed me with their college recruiting and entry-level hiring program.
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construction,
engineering,
entry-level jobs,
human resources,
Iowa,
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Minnesota,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
sales,
Washington DC
by Willy Franzen on April 9, 2008
If you don’t know what Google is, you have no business conducting your job search online. You should be typing your resume on a typewriter and sending it by carrier pigeon. We’ve been saying it over and over, but Google is the ultimate job search tool. They’re also the ultimate employer according to Fortune Magazine. With that said, many of you know that getting a job at Google is nearly impossible, especially now that most of their campus recruiting efforts are finished.
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product management,
software development,
user experience,
Washington
by Willy Franzen on March 21, 2008
As Spring Break winds down, our thoughts return to the more serious matters in life – like Marshmallow Peeps. These wonderful creations bring about a wide range of reactions, from sheer joy to utter disgust, from curiosity to sadism. Sadism? Yes, there is a small group of people who get their jollies by placing the adorable chick or bunny shaped Peeps in the microwave to see how big they get before they explode. There is an even more disturbing group of people who take the next step and light the helpless marshmallow animals on fire. These people – if you can even call them that – are clearly on the fringe of society; however, there is hope for them to be rehabilitated as Just Born Quality Confections is hiring.
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is the funniest, most in-your-face career guide on the market.