One Day, One Job » publishing

Moleskine

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:10:30 +0000

If there is ever a day to get organized, it’s New Year’s Day. Not only is it a traditional practice to adopt resolutions to better yourself, but you are also forced into using a new datebook or calendar by the date change (unless you live a digital lifestyle, of course). The first week of January is almost always the biggest week of the year for job search related web traffic, which means that competition for jobs is probably at its annual peak right now. You need to give yourself every advantage that you can, and organization is one of the best ways to do that. My preference is to do everything online, but if you’re one of those people who still knows how to use a pen and paper, then you might want to check out Moleskine. They’re an Italian company with a U.S. headquarters in New York City that makes “legendary notebooks.” Whether you’re looking for blank pages to write down your New Year’s resolutions and ideas for the new year or you need to replace your datebook, they’ve got it.

Are You Legendary?

If you do end up purchasing a Moleskine for an early 2010 gift to yourself, you’ll probably want to buy one on Amazon.com (we get a small referral fee). Then you’ll see what all of the fanaticism is all about. Many great artists and authors have used Moleskine type notebooks over the past couple centuries, but it was only in 1999 that a company named Modo & Modo Spa trademarked Moleskine and started producing these types of notebooks again. They were a hit, and the demand for notebooks exceeded the companies capacity for production. They were bought out by a French investment firm and renamed Moleskine Srl in 2007. They are based in Milan and have grown to more than 50 employees in a very short time. Despite the fact that digitization is killing off a lot of paper based industries, Moleskine is thriving because of the story that they tell and the attention to detail in their products. They’re another company that doesn’t list jobs on their website, but their rapid growth along with the profiles of some of their employees on LinkedIn (there seems to be a publishing industry connection) indicate to me that reaching out to them through their Contact page about a possible job is a great way to start off a well organized year.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own a Moleskine?

National Endowment for Democracy

Willy Franzen — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:54:13 +0000

I have to say that democracy is a pretty darn good thing—even if it is the only government system that I’ve ever known. It certainly has its flaws, but I’m not sure that we’ve found a better way to ensure the freedom of a nation’s citizens yet. I don’t think that there is a lot of debate about whether spreading democracy is a good thing—most of the debate centers around what are appropriate ways to spread it. The National Endowment for Democracy is a Washington, DC based “private, non-profit, grant-making organization” that aims to “strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts.” They’re funded through “an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress through the Department of State;” however, they are not a government organization. They make grants to pro-Democracy groups across the world with the goal of helping democracy evolve naturally in a way that suits the nations culture and history.

Do You Support Democracy?

I guess you could get into a pretty heated debate about how you define democracy, but I like the NED’s definition:

Democracy involves the right of the people freely to determine their own destiny.

The exercise of this right requires a system that guarantees freedom of expression, belief and association, free and competitive elections, respect for the inalienable rights of individuals and minorities, free communications media, and the rule of law.

The NED has been around since the early 1980s, and since then they’ve suffered criticism from both sides of the political spectrum (I guess that means they’re pretty balanced). They have an extremely detailed history on their website that goes into great depth about how they work and what they’ve done in the past. The long and short of it is that they spend their time finding the right groups to distribute money to in support of democracy. If you’re intrigued by the NED, you should check out their Jobs page. Current openings that might be suitable for new grads include Publications Coordinator and Program Assistant for Middle East and North Africa. Application instructions vary slightly, so pay close attention the job descriptions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the NED?

Flat World Knowledge

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:53:35 +0000

Today’s post comes with a big announcement. I’m writing a book! A textbook on Career Development to be precise. The best part of that news is that the textbook is going to be available online for free because I’m working with an awesome publisher named Flat World Knowledge. They’re a Nyack, NY based startup that is aiming to revolutionize the textbook industry. I’m sure many have you have been forced into spending thousands of dollars over the course of your college career on textbooks (and how many of them remained in their shrink wrap?). Flat World Knowledge is building a business by providing you with better, more affordable options. Textbooks from Flat World can be read online for free. You can pay to print a chapter (or the whole book) at home. You can buy a softcover copy in black and white—or color. You can even get an audio book version. When my book comes out, you can read it however you want to read it—and you’ll never be forced to pay an arm and a leg for it.

Navigating a Flat World

Here’s a quick video introduction to Flat World Knowledge:

I’m sure that there has been plenty of outcry on your campus about how expensive textbooks are, and you’ve probably noticed that the mainstream media is starting to pick up on this story. Flat World is tackling this problem head on by making a bet that they can sell more textbooks at a lower price. It may seem crazy for a publisher to give away full textbooks for free, but Flat World knows that a lot of students can’t bear to read an entire textbook online. Some students will want to pay for hard copies of the book, and that will leave enough profit for Flat World. They’ve raised $8 million in funding to get started, but hopefully a certain Career Development text will be so popular that they won’t need to take on any more money in the future.

Now, I do have a vested interest in the success of Flat World Knowledge, but that’s because I believe that they’re doing something great for students. If you’d like to have a vested interest in Flat World, then you should check out their Jobs page. The positions that they have posted are for more experienced individuals, but Flat World does have this posted on their Jobs page: “If you are a product manager, salesperson, web marketing guru, or acquisitions editor who feels passionate about our business, send a resume and tell us a bit about yourself to jobs@flatworldknowledge.com.” There’s no guarantee that they’ll have a position for you, but they’re growing quickly… so you might just get the chance to work with me.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you read my book?

College Prowler

Willy Franzen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:10 +0000

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.

Prowling for Jobs

The business side of College Prowler is an interesting story, as I recently learned in an Inc. Magazine article. The short of it is that College Prowler is doing a fantastic job of helping students make the right college decisions, but they’re not nearly as successful at monetizing the attention that they’re getting (I can sympathize completely). As publishing has become less necessary with user-generated content sites like Unigo.com delivering free content, College Prowler has had to reevaluate its strategy. They still have a great brand and a great idea, but there’s a reason that they’re an Inc. Magazine Case Study and not a member of the Inc. 5000. If you’re up for a challenge and want to help make a cool company become significantly profitable, you should check out College Prowler’s Jobs page. Although they only have specific internship positions posted, they do say that they “typically hire in sales, marketing, editing, and web development.” If you have skills in any of those areas, reach out to Mark Tressler at tressler@collegeprowler.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

CollegeProwler.com
Jobs at College Prowler
About College Prowler
CollegeJolt.com (College Prowler’s Blog)
College Prowler in the News

Did you use any College Prowler guides?

Professional Sports Publications

Willy Franzen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:49:07 +0000

If you haven’t already entered out Back to School, Back to Work Contest, make sure that you do before Friday. You could win two HP laptops and a Timbuk2 bag!

Be sure to scroll down for an addendum to this post.

Programs! GET YA PROGRAMS HERE! You can’t go to a major sporting event without hearing that ring across the crowd. I’m not typically one to buy a program, especially now that I can look up anything important (like up to the minute stats) on my phone, but I realize that for a lot of people it’s about having the memento. New York City’s Professional Sports Publications and University Sports Publications (different names but essentially the same company) are in the business of publishing these mementos. They are respectively the leading publisher of professional souvenir magazines and yearbooks and college souvenir magazines and yearbooks. PSP Sports is also the publisher of the official NBA magazine HOOP.

Take Home a Souvenir from PSP or USP

PSP Sports and USP Sports have pretty simple business models. They publish lots of different magazines for specific teams, and they sell targeted, local advertising in these magazines. In fact, you could argue that they are more a local advertising company than a publishing company. And that’s where their entry level jobs seem to be focused. Take this Craigslist posting for an Inside Sales Representative. They very clearly are looking for new college grads to fill this positions, and they apparently pay $50,000 base salary plus commission and health insurance. That sounds way too good to be true, but the only negative thing that I can find about PSP Sports is this post from a disgruntled employee (have to take those with a grain of salt). Selling advertising isn’t glamorous, but it can definitely pay, so give it a look. I haven’t found any information on other positions with either company (for instance on the Editorial or Publishing side), but you can inquire about job opportunities by sending a cover letter and résumé to dgerschw@pspsports.com or dgerschwer@university publications.com (obviously the same guy).

Addendum:

I had some initial concerns about PSP and USP Sports before posting about them, but I spent about an hour researching them and couldn’t find anything substantive. Only minutes after our daily e-mail sent out, I received a note from a loyal reader who told me that she had friends who worked there and had bad experiences. That led me to this link and this video:

This is a perfect lesson on how careful you need to be during your job search. Always respect your intuition. I apologize for not having done more due diligence, but I hope that we can all learn from this. I can’t say definitively that these companies should be avoided, but be sure to do your research!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you buy programs at sporting events?

Sterling Publishing

Willy Franzen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:47:50 +0000

Who knew that Barnes & Noble owned a publisher? I certainly didn’t, but it makes a lot of sense. If you own the sales channel, you might as well start creating your own product too. That’s why Barnes & Noble acquired New York City’s Sterling Publishing a few years back. It’s allowed them to squeeze more profit out of their dominance in retail book sales. It seems to me that the scope of the types of books that Sterling publishes is expanding, but their main focuses are in puzzles, photograpy, crafts, gardening, and do-it-yourself. If you really want to take a close look at what types of books Sterling Publishing puts out, you can see a list of their imprints with descriptions on the Sterling Publishing About page.

A Sterling Start

Sterling Publishing’s mission is “to publish high-quality books that educate, entertain, and enrich the lives of [their] readers.” I’m not sure that differs much from any other publisher, yet they say that they stand out because they “have the reach of the major publishers yet the passion & creativity of an independent press.” You’ll have to take a closer look at Sterling and the books that they publish to get a feel for whether they’ll be the right place for you. If you do think that you’ll be a good fit, then you should head over to Sterling’s Careers page. They don’t have specific job listings, but they mention that their “learning and development programs begin at the entry level and continue through to senior management.” They also have a quote from Meaghan F. in the Publicity Department about how easy it is to get a good start at Sterling Publishing:

I started at Sterling as an Intern during my senior year of college. I ended up getting a full-time job out of that experience and years later I still learn something every day as a Children’s Publicist. The opportunity for growth at Sterling is tremendous.

It’s hard to say what specific entry level positions Sterling may be hiring for, but I would guess that they are similar to the jobs that you’d find at other publishers. The easiest way to find out is to submit salary requirements, cover letter, and resume to hr@sterlingpublishing.com. I know that they are located in New York City, but I think that they might also have a location in Asheville, NC with job opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite book published by Sterling Publishing?

Public Library of Science

Willy Franzen — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:07:27 +0000

Most scientific literature isn’t what I’d call an easy read, so I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you aren’t beating down the doors to get your hands on the newest research papers. Unless you are a big consumer of research literature, then you probably don’t care much about the openness of scientific and medical publishing, but you should. Open sharing of information can significantly promote innovation, and who can argue against wanting more advances in science and medicine? The Public Library of Science is all about open sharing, as they are a San Francisco, CA based “nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a public resource.” They were founded in 2000, and since then they’ve been pushing for scientific and medical journals that “are immediately available online, with no charges for access and no restrictions on subsequent redistribution or use.”

Open Up Your Job Search

The Public Library of Science has three main goals that are hard to argue against:

Open the doors to the world’s library of scientific knowledge by giving any scientist, physician, patient, or student – anywhere in the world – unlimited access to the latest scientific research.
Facilitate research, informed medical practice, and education by making it possible to freely search the full text of every published article to locate specific ideas, methods, experimental results, and observations.
Enable scientists, librarians, publishers, and entrepreneurs to develop innovative ways to explore and use the world’s treasury of scientific ideas and discoveries.

If you love science and think the open source movement is one of the coolest recent social movements, then a job at the Public Library of Science would be a perfect fit for you. You can check out all of their available opportunities on their Jobs page; however, none of the jobs currently posted are explicitly entry level. Depending on what kind of things you’ve done up to this point, the Production Editor and Agile Quality Engineer positions might be worth checking out. You can apply for a job at the Public Library of Science by sending a resume and cover letter to jobs@plos.org with the job title as the subject line.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the Public Library of Science’s push for openness?

Graywolf Press

Willy Franzen — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:13:14 +0000

Although the book publishing industry isn’t struggling like the newspaper publishing industry is, I still wonder what the future holds for publishing. Maybe Graywolf Press has it right—they’re a non-profit publishing house based in Saint Paul, MN. (I hear that the New York Times is now non profit too. badum-CHING!.) Now, I can’t find a mission statement for Graywolf Press, but I’m going to guess that it has something to do with advancing the art of the written word. Unlike Island Press, a non-profit publisher and “provider of the best new ideas in environmentalism” whose internships we featured on One Day, One Internship, Graywolf Press doesn’t seem to have a common theme that ties together the books that they publish. The most that I could find was that Graywolf Press focuses on “introducing and promoting the most exciting and creative writers of our times.”

Howl to Get a Job

To get an idea of the kind of stuff that Graywolf Press does publish, you should check out their website and browse through all of their books. Graywolf started by “working out of a space provided by Copper Canyon Press in Port Townsend, Washington” and moved on to a “print shack” in their founders backyard. They’ve expanded quite a bit in the 35 years since they were founded, and that means you won’t be working in a shack if you land a job with them. Right now there’s only one job posted on their Jobs page, but it’s perfect for new grads. They’re looking for an Editorial Assistant to join their 9 person office. If you’re intrigued by this position, “send a cover letter, resume, and a one-page report on a contemporary novel to jobs@graywolfpress.org.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you read any books published by Graywolf Press?

America’s Test Kitchen

Willy Franzen — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:34:44 +0000

I love cooking, but I didn’t always. I went into college barely knowing how to make myself a bowl of pasta, but when I lived off campus Sophomore year, I was left with little choice but to learn how to cook. I’ve never been one to follow recipes strictly, though. I always like trying something new and getting creative with my cooking. That’s exactly the philosophy behind America’s Test Kitchen. It’s a real kitchen (all 2,500 square feet of it) in Brookline, MA that is used to “to develop the absolute best recipes for all of your favorite foods.” They do this by testing recipes anywhere from 30-70 times until they not only get it right, but get it right to the point that it’s dead simple for the people who are consuming the products that America’s Test Kitchen puts out – magazines, cookbooks, DVDs, tv shows, and websites. To me it sounds like one of the coolest places in the world, so if there’s no post tomorrow, it’s because I quit in hopes of a career at America’s Test Kitchen (just kidding!).

Cooking Up Some Great Jobs

Although I’ve been familiar with the America’s Test Kitchen tv show and their Cook’s Illustrated magazine for a while, I never thought to look at their jobs. Luckily, a loyal reader pointed out that they have a ton of openings in a variety of areas. Of those jobs, we’ve picked a few that seem best suited for new or recent college grads. They include Assistant Test Cook, Junior Software Developer, eCommerce Marketing Coordinator, Production and Traffic Coordinator, Web Production Assistant, and Graphic Designer. Some of the jobs require a couple years of experience, but if you’ve been interning and participating in activities that give you real world experience, landing these jobs shouldn’t be a problem. The applications instructions vary a little bit depending on the position that you’re applying for, so head over to the America’s Test Kitchen Jobs page to get all of the details on these delicious jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Hungry yet?

Interweave Press

Willy Franzen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:42:09 +0000

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.

Weave Yourself into a Job

Since I’m obviously not the one to tell you about the craft media industry, you should probably check out Interweave Press’ website to get all of the details on them. If you’re big on crafting, you’ve probably already heard of them, and if you’re not, a job with Interweave Press probably isn’t the right direction for you anyway. According to Interweave Press’ LinkedIn profile, they’re a moderately small company with an average age of 39 and a 4:1 female to male ratio. Their Jobs page shows three open positions, which unfortunately require a bit more experience that most new college grads have; however, we still think there might be some opportunities for you with Interweave. They do offer internships, so we know they’re interested in young talent, and the jobs that they do have – Online Production Administrator, Book Designer, and Sales and Promotion Manager – are only a few years away from entry level. You could try applying for one of the jobs, or you may just want to reach out to Interweave Press’ HR team at jobs@interweave.com to see if there might be mutual interest.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a crafter?

The Knot

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:49:01 +0000

As a new or upcoming college grad who is looking for a job, you’re entering a new lifestage. Unfortunately, it’s not a lifestage that The Knot can help you with. They’re a “lifestage media company,” but they focus on major life events related to growing your family – engagements, weddings, and births of first children. These things may seem far off to you, but within a couple years of graduating (if not sooner) you’ll have friends who are getting married and having kids. Eventually you’ll probably do the same, and when you do, there’s a good chance that you’ll come across one or many of The Knot’s media properties. They have a flagship website at TheKnot.com in addition to books, magazines, and tv programs (see all of their brands). People can get pretty crazed when they’re about to enter a new lifestage, which is why The Knot has been so successful in providing media that makes it all a little easier. Too bad they don’t have anything for the job search, but at least we do.

Enter a New Lifestage with The Knot

Whatever lifestage you’re entering, The Knot has something for you. We’re going to focus on the getting a job lifestage. The Knot is based out of New York City with a number of other work locations. They’ve done a really nice job with their Jobs page, and they’ve managed to keep it simple and straightforward. You can browse jobs, read employee testimonials, and check out the benefits without getting confused (or at least you should be able to). They have quite a few jobs listed that appear to be suitable for new grads (the company must be growing pretty well), and they include Accounting Specialist (Omaha, NE), Front End Web Developer (New York, NY), MS SQL Developer (New York, NY), and Software Engineer – Sitecore CMS (New York, NY). There are a number of less techie jobs available, but they require a bit more experience than most new grads have. You can apply for any job at The Knot or even an unlisted position by sending a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to jobs@theknot.com. Be sure to indicate the title of the job in the subject line or put “general candidacy” to be considered for future positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you familiar with any of The Knot’s brands?

Niche Media

Willy Franzen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:49:06 +0000

Some might say that high-end and luxury are always in, but if there was ever a time that they weren’t, it’s probably now. That’s not going to stop Niche Media from doing what they do. They “produce must-read, luxurious magazines that mirror the sensibilities and spirits of the unique, vibrant communities to which they cater.” Their titles include Art | Basel | Miami Beach, Aspen Peak, Bal Harbour, Boston Common, Bridgehampton Polo, Capitol File, Gotham, Hamptons, Los Angeles Confidential, Michigan Avenue, Ocean Drive, Ocean Drive Español, Philadelphia style, Style: Palazzo/The Venetian, Vegas, and Wynn. Sounds like a list of places that you’d like to go on vacation, huh? That’s the point.

Find Your Niche

Niche Media has found their niche. They “capture a dream, coast-to-coast demographic that looks to the company’s publications for the finest in fashion, travel, food, spirits, society, party coverage and much, more.” We know that you probably secretly watch The Real Housewives of Orange County/NYC/Atlanta, so these magazines are right up your alley. Despite the fact that the luxury market isn’t thriving like it was a few years ago, Niche Media still seems to be hiring. Their Jobs page has a number of listings, including a couple that might interest new grads. We’re particularly interested in the two Account Executive jobs in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Boston. The job descriptions say that they’re looking for “2 years experience in local luxury publications, B to B publications and newspapers,” which is certainly something that you could have gained in college at a campus daily or other publications. There are a couple of other jobs located in New York City, but they aren’t entry level.

UPDATE:This Gawker article was brought to my attention after today’s e-mail sent out. Nice Media doesn’t appear to be the most stable environment, but it still might offer some interesting opportunities for new grads.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read any of Niche Media’s publications?

Audible

Willy Franzen — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:52:10 +0000

Sorry for the delayed post today. For some reason the Internet connection in our office wouldn’t connect to our server, which meant that we couldn’t publish today’s post this morning. I trudged across town through the snow in 12 degree weather to make sure that you got your jobs today.

I love reading. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to find time these days to sit down with a good book. If I could read and drive at the same time without risking my life and the lives of others, I would. Since that’s not a viable option, I’m lucky that Audible is around. They are a New Jersey based subsidiary of Amazon.com, and they consider themselves the “leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, on the Internet.” Whether I want to “read” Seth Godin’s The Dip, James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds, or David McCullough’s 1776, all I have to do is make a quick purchase on iTunes, sync my iPod, and hook it up to my car stereo. It’s a much better use of a long drive than listening to the radio. Audible makes it a heck of a lot easier to absorb new information, and they also have some pretty cool jobs available that you might be interested in.

Can You Hear Me?

Audible is a great resource for job seekers. Not only are they currently hiring, but they also give you a great way to educate yourself while you have the extra free time that many call unemployment. Audible’s business is pretty simple – they produce spoken word audio content, so let’s jump right into their jobs. Audible’s Jobs page shows about a dozen openings, and a decent number of them appear to be geared towards new college grads. These openings include Software Development Engineer – User Experience, Database Software Development Engineer, Software Development Engineer – Web Platform, and Staff Accountant. All of the jobs appear to be located in Newark, NJ, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to recruiter@audible.com. Audible doesn’t offer much more information about working for them than the job descriptions on their site, but you have to think that it’d be a pretty cool place to work. Maybe you’ll get all the free audiobooks that you want…

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have any favorite audiobooks by Audible?

Harvard Business Publishing

Willy Franzen — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:56:14 +0000

Ok, so it’s not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of non-profits; however, Harvard Business Publishing is “a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University.” Since Harvard University is also a non-profit, that should make Harvard Business Publishing doubly a non-profit, although I think non-profit status is like multiplying by zero – it only really matters the first time you do it. To get a real answer to that question or any business question, we may have to refer to one of the products put out by Harvard Business Publishing. They have 6 main product areas which include Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Cases, Harvard Business Press, Newsletters, Conferences, and Corporate Learning. I’ve had plenty of experience with the first three, and I think that Harvard Business Publishing typically puts out a great product. It’s hard to get a Business education without reading a lot of material from them.

Grade Inflation Does Not Lead to Pay Inflation

Ok, so I had to take a jab at Harvard. As a Cornell Hockey fan, it’s required of me. Despite the fact that I’ve snuck fish into hockey games to throw at Harvard players, I really only have good things to say about the jobs with Harvard Business Publishing. I honestly don’t know if the salaries that they pay are as inflated as the grades that they give (ok, I’m done, I know that HBP has little to do with the University), but I do know that they have some extremely interesting looking jobs. Unfortunately, almost all of the jobs with Harvard Business Publishing are mid-level or higher. There’s only one job that appears to be intended for new college grads – Marketing Programs Associate. It looks like the job requires a lot of web savviness, as the main responsibility is to “optimize the overall performance and merchandising of [Harvard Business Publishing's] website.” It sounds great. The job is located in Watertown, MA and you can apply online directly from the job description. If you’d love to work for Harvard Business Publishing but aren’t yet a web marketing star, then keep your eye on HBP’s Jobs page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you had much experience with Harvard Business Publishing’s products?

National Braille Press

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:09:33 +0000

Everything that I know about braille, I learned in elementary school. I know that the braille system is used by blind people to read and write, and I also know that braille was invented by a French guy named Louis Braille. I recently learned that L’Occitane uses braille in their packaging, but that’s about all that I can rattle off. There’s a lot more to braille, and the Wikipedia page on braille is a great place to get educated. Why should you be reading up on braille? Because the National Braille Press is hiring, and if you want to work for them, you better be well versed in the ins and outs of braille. They are a non-profit organization that prints and publishes braille books, magazines, textbooks, and tests and offers embossing services with the hopes of promoting braille literacy.

Jobs You Can Feel Good About

I’m not sure how much computers, text to speech, audiobooks, and other technological innovations are affecting braille publishing, but it seems that the National Braille Press continues to thrive. Right now they’re looking for a few additions to their team in Boston, MA, and some of their job openings seem primed for top entry-level talent. The National Braille Press is hoping to hire an Executive Assistant, a Sales and Programs Coordinator, and a Donor Relations Coordinator. The e-mails that you should send your cover letter and resume vary, so be sure to check the job postings carefully.

The NBP also seems to always be looking for braille transcribers. They offer a braille transcription course (it costs money) that offers the training to gain national certification from the Library of Congress. Here’s what they have to say about braille transcription jobs:

This is a perfect career opportunity for people who (1) love reading and books (2) enjoy learning new computer codes and (3) care about making a good living while making a difference. If you enjoy crossword puzzles, word games like Scrabble, playing an instrument, or even writing codes like HTML, etc., you probably have the innate ability to become an excellent transcriber.

Our best transcribers are organized and self-supervising; passionate about “getting the details right;” driven to use computer technology efficiently; fast learners and open to feedback; and impatient to get the job done.

They say that an excellent transcriber can make up to $70k per year, while an average transcriber makes about $40k per year. It’s certainly a career path that you probably never thought of but is worth considering.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Can you read braille?

Federated Media Publishing

Willy Franzen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:02:08 +0000

There has never been a better time in history to find great reading material for free. The Internet is full of excellent content on nearly any topic. The coolest innovation has been blogs, which have changed the top down approach that used to dominate media publishing. Now, it’s quite easy to have a conversation with the author whose work your reading, whether it be through comments, e-mail, IM, Twitter, or some other preferred form of communication. This has led to more engaged audiences and, sometimes, a much quicker development of ideas. The only way to continue this trend, though, is to make sure that web authors are well compensated for their hard work. That’s where Federated Media Publishing comes in. The New York Times has proved that charging for access to content doesn’t work and that running engaging advertising is a much smarter business move. Federated Media doesn’t work with The Times, but they are working with a wide range of conversational media properties to monetize visits from highly engaged online readers.

No, Not the Department Stores

For most web publishers Federated Media is the holy grail of advertising. When you get accepted into their network, you can say that you’ve made it. There are a plethora of other ad networks out there for publishers, but none seem to be able to score deals with major blogs like Federated does. This success has resulted in a $200 million valuation for the company. Clearly this “conversational marketing” thing has some merit. Don’t be one of those haters who uses and ad blocker. Relish in all of the free content that you have access to, and occasionally click the ads (that’s not going to send you to an advertiser, it’s a Seth Godin blog post) when you find a product or service that interests you and has appropriately used the conversational medium to reach you.

Join the Federation

We’ve always thought that Federated Media looked like a really cool place to work, but they never listed any entry-level jobs. Every few weeks we revisit their Jobs page, and today we were delighted to see that they are on some sort of a hiring binge. They have 14 jobs listed, and 2 of them seem perfect for new college grads – Staff Accountant and Channels Coordinator. There are also a few jobs that would be considered a significant “reach” for a new grad, but might be interesting to look at to see where you can go with Federated Media after an entry-level job. These jobs mostly require 2-3 years of experience, and include Account Executive, Experienced PHP / MySQL Developer, Inside Sales Manager, and Endemic Manager. If you’ve taken a look at the full job descriptions and you like what you see, you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@federatedmedia.net. The one thing that we don’t like about Federated Media’s job descriptions is that they don’t do a good job of identifying which offices each job is located at. Most of the jobs are presumably located at their main office in San Francisco, CA, but they also seem to do a lot of hiring for their New York, NY office.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Federated Media’s authors do you enjoy reading most?

Future US

Willy Franzen — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:00:55 +0000

What do gamers, techies, musicians, and pregnant women all have in common? They are all likely to read magazines published by Future US. My favorite Future US magazine is Mac | Life, while you may favor Nintendo Power, PC Gamer, or Guitar World. I’m not sure too many of you are big fans of Pregnancy magazine, but there’s probably some of you out there too. Anyway, Future US is a media company that focuses on special-interest groups (not the kinds that politicians always say they don’t have relationships with) by publishing high quality magazines and websites.

Is Future US in Your Future?

So what’s so special about Future US? Well, they were named one of the Top Ten “Best Medium Sized Companies to Work For in America” by the Great Place to Work Institute (see theGreat Place to Work Institute’s entry-level jobs). Future US apparently has a great work environment and offers some killer benefits to its employees. Their Jobs page has a number of job openings posted, and a few of them look to be perfect for new college grads.

The most intriguing position is the Community Manager job. This is a title that didn’t exist a few years ago, but is growing more and more popular as social networking sites increase in popularity. It’s a job that is a perfect entry-level opportunity for a net savvy new grad. Future US is also looking for a Web Developer (Cake PHP and Drupal) and an Application Developer (PHP). These positions require a few years’ of coding experience, but that shouldn’t exclude new grads who have been hackers since age 12. Future US is located in San Francisco, CA and accepts applications at jobs@futureus.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read any Future US publications?

McMurry

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:25:23 +0000

When you hear how McMurry first started, it’s easy to understand how they have maintained a customer-centric view for almost 20 years. McMurry began as a marketing department within a large company – the same group that they now serve. This is where Preston V. McMurry Jr. created Vim & Vigor, a custom marketing magazine for his health-system employer, in 1984. The magazine didn’t make money for the company, but McMurry decided to buy the magazine. This led to the formation of his own company in 1989. McMurry is now a full service marketing communications firm with multiple locations. They used to be the clients whom they serve, so they’re not full of it when they say “full service.”

Custom Publishing and More

When we heard about McMurry because they were named one of the 10 Best Small Companies to Work For in the U.S, we had to take a look at their home page to see what they were all about. It left us a bit confused. We understand that a full service marketing communications firm does a lot of things, but their home page has stuff about newsletters, job boards (separate from McMurry’s job listings), and case studies about magazines. We’d love to see a concise message that says what McMurry does in a sentence or two. Their tagline “A Better Place. A Better Way.” definitely doesn’t do that. From what we can gather, a major part of McMurry’s business is custom publishing. You know how every business seems to have its own magazine now? The grocery store. The hotel. The dive bar you went to in college (ok, they don’t have one yet). McMurry is behind many of these types of magazines. They also put out a number of industry newsletters for professionals. This seems to all be on top of what you’d expect a typical marketing communications firm to do.

McMurry also seems to have a unique culture. It’s based on eight values:

1. Do the right thing
2. Help one another
3. Deliver raving service
4. Produce quality always
5. Exceed expectations
6. Embrace change
7. Accept social responsibility
8. Earn a reasonable profit

Although the first two sound like kindergarten rules, everyone could stand to remember what they learned when they were five. The rest explain why McMurry is considered at top ten place to work.

Working at McMurry

When we were trying to put our finger on what it is that McMurry actually does, we looked at their Job Listings page. It didn’t help much, because they opportunities that all over the place. For instance, the three jobs at McMurry that are most likely to be good fits for new college grads are PHP Web Developer – Online Services (Scottsdale, AZ), Junior Accountant (Phoenix, AZ), and Multimedia Producer (Phoenix, AZ). Not exactly what you’d expect from a marketing firm. The jobs that require more experience offer an even more interesting mix. For example McMurry is looking for a Publisher for a Luxury Yachting Magazine and a Strategic Marketing Consultant. The job descriptions are fantastic (whoever writes them must have some copywriting experience), so you should definitely give them a look and keep an eye out for new entry-level job opportunities at McMurry.

If you want to know more about what it’s like to work at McMurry, you should be sure to check out their own company newsletter.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are we just dense? Or do you also find it somewhat difficult to get an idea of what McMurry does from their home page?

Penguin Group

Willy Franzen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:13:18 +0000

Since we’ve hit you with more technical jobs over the past few days, we figure that we owe it to those of you who aren’t programmers to cover some more traditional jobs. And what could be more traditional than working for a major publishing house in New York City? If that sounds like something that intrigues you, then you should take a look at the Penguin Group and their entry-level jobs. They don’t appear to have a distinct college hiring program like Random House’s Associates Program, but they do have plenty of jobs that require little or no previous work experience.

It’s All About Whom You’re Publishing

Although I read a lot of books, I’m not sure that I know too much about the publishing industry. To me it seems like whom you’re publishing is the most important thing. Well, Penguin Group has the whom covered. Their roster of authors includes Dorothy Allison, Nevada Barr, Saul Bellow, A. Scott Berg, Maeve Binchy, Harold Bloom, Sylvia Browne, Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, Patricia Cornwell, Catherine Coulter, Clive Cussler, Eric Jerome Dickey, Richard Paul Evans, Helen Fielding, Ken Follett, Sue Grafton, W. E. B. Griffin, Nick Hornby, the Dalai Lama, Spencer Johnson, Jan Karon, Anne Lamott, James McBride, Terry McMillan, Arthur Miller, Jacqueline Mitchard, Toni Morrison, Kathleen Norris, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert B. Parker, Nora Roberts, John Sandford, Carol Shields, John Steinbeck, Amy Tan, and Kurt Vonnegut. That’s impressive. If you haven’t quite advanced to those names yet, you should also know that they published The Little Engine That Could and the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.

March of the New College Grads

Penguin Group has a good mix of jobs that require little or no experience. You can find all of the jobs listed on their Job Opportunities page, which turns out to be quite difficult to find. The only way that we got to it was through their Contact page, which happens to be the first result when you Google “Penguin Group Jobs.” Job titles that require no prior work experience and are clearly entry-level include Human Resources Assistant, Junior Designer, and Subsidiary Rights Assistant. Jobs descriptions for titles such as Assistant Managing Editor, Print Shop Operator, and Online Content Coordinator say that 1 year of work experience is required. We’ll take that to mean that exceptional college students with significant internships experience will make great candidates. There are also a couple of other positions that require more previous work experience (2 to 3 years), but may be something that is worth looking at if you have a really strong resume (which reminds us to remind you to read our new post Résumé Your Facebook Addiction).

All of the jobs listed are located in New York, NY. You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to to jobs@us.penguingroup.com. You can find out more about Penguin’s hiring process in this article. It’s from 2004, but it should still be helpful in figuring out how to land a job with Penguin.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have anything to say about Penguin Group? Leave a comment.

DailyLit

Willy Franzen — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:00:10 +0000

Judging by the number of you who enjoy reading about jobs in your e-mail or RSS reader, there seems to be a pretty big market for delivering fresh content in an easily digestible format. There’s something really nice about having information delivered to you instead of having to seek it out. Well, we found a company that uses the same methods as we do to deliver content, but brings you literature instead of jobs. They’re called DailyLit, and they can bring people full length books through RSS or e-mail.

One Day, One Book?

Not quite. If DailyLit delivered a new book in your e-mail every day, you’d never read any of them. That’s why they break books up into installments – chunks that you can easily read while you’re going through your e-mail. You can get one, two, or four installments a day. If that’s not enough, you can click a link and have the next installment sent immediately. Many people claim that they never have time to read for pleasure, but somehow they manage to get through 100s of mostly useless e-mails every day. DailyLit makes reading e-mail and reading for pleasure one and the same. They have a variety of books, some that are public domain and free, and others that are copyrighted and have a nominal cost. All you have to do is sign up, pick a book, and start reading.

We really love startups like this. They’re not going over the top with trying to be revolutionary. They took technology that already existed and paired it with a great idea to create a compelling product. They’ve offered free books to get people hooked, and if what they say is true, they’ve elegantly designed a system that makes reading more realistic. We’re definitely going to try some free books, so if you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments.

Are You a Bookworm?

DailyLit has two job openings right now, and both are 100% entry-level. Their Jobs page lists an Editorial Assistant position and a Software Developer position. The descriptions are detailed and explicitly ask for new college grads. DailyLit is located in Mamaroneck, NY, and we can’t find too much more information on what it’s like to work for them. We do know that they’ve hired the former President of Del.icio.us and they’re going to give new grads a ton of responsibility from the start. This looks like a really cool opportunity for the book lovers out there, so get researching!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We want to get to know you. Take a few minutes and tell us about your job search by answering the questions in this post.

Heldref Publications

Willy Franzen — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:00:55 +0000

Rocks and Minerals, Romance Quarterly, Preventing School Failure, Demokratizatsiya, Behavioral Medicine, and Historical Methods. No, this isn’t an excerpt from one of those spam e-mails with random words that don’t make any sense, but a small sampling of titles put out by Heldref Publications. As a non-profit publisher, Heldref Publications aims to provide a forum for scholarly discourse in the approximately 50 titles that they publish. These titles are geared towards academics in a wide range of fields, as you probably gathered from our first sentence. Those fields include “research and practice in K-12 and higher education, world affairs and political science, history, world literatures old and new, the arts, popular culture, psychology, social sciences, health, and the environment.”

If you’re curious as to where they got the name Heldref, we can tell you that it comes from the HELen Dwight Reid Education Foundation. Helen Dwight Reid was a professor at Bryn Mawr College and the University of Buffalo, and she established the foundation in 1956 to promote education, international affairs, and sciences. In the 1970s it became clear to the foundation’s leadership that they could best pursue their mission through publishing. By doing so, the foundation was able to save a number of academic journals that were in risk of folding due to cost constraints, and to bring them under one roof where economies of scale could be used to their benefit. Since then, Heldref Publications has added a considerable number of titles, all of which “share a purpose of providing new ideas, information, and a means to communicate for scholars, teachers, students, and interested readers.” We think that the best way to get to know more about Heldref is to take a look at their list of titles on the left-hand side of their Home page.

Heldref Publications is currently hiring at their office in Washington, D.C., with a few of their open positions appearing to be appropriate for new college graduates. The position that looks most likely to be filled by an entry-level candidate is Proofreader. There is also an Accounting Assistant job that is part-time, but it appears to require some work experience (maybe a couple Summers of accounting internships would do). There’s also a listing for a Snow Removal Specialist, for those who are taking a little different path after graduation – we’ll assume that job has a start date some time a little after June. Heldref’s Jobs page is simple, but serves it purpose. To apply for any of these positions, send a cover letter and resume to Jon Terry.

Heldref Publications looks like a great place for someone who has mastered the English language, loves education, and wants to work for a non-profit. You can be pretty sure that proofreading for Heldref’s publications will be intellectually stimulating work.

Note: On April 27th we revisited entry-level jobs at Heldref Publications.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Heldref’s publications looks the most interesting to you? Leave a comment and tell us.

Random House

Willy Franzen — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:00:57 +0000

Do you see the library as more than just a place to study? Are you mesmerized by the endless stacks of books that you haven’t yet had a chance to read? Did you sign up for Amazon Prime so that the newest releases are never more than 2 days from your doorstep? Did you enter your college’s book collection contest? If you love books, what’s a better place to work than the largest publisher in the world?

Random House has two distinct and exciting career offerings for recent college graduates. For those who have a clear idea of what part of the publishing industry they want to get involved with, they have specific entry-level positions such as Editorial Assistant, Publicity Assistant, Marketing Assistant, Production Assistant, and Sales Assistant. For others who have a strong interest in publishing, but aren’t ready to commit to a specific field, Random House offers its Associates Program.

Random House’s Applicant Tracking System makes it hard for us to link to their jobs, but if you use the Job Search feature on their Careers site and look for any position with “Assistant” in the title, you should be able to find all of their entry-level offerings. Currently listed entry-level positions include Marketing and Publicity at Knopf, Marketing and Online Marketing at Crown, and Sales at Random House (there are a number of different publishers that are a part of Random House).

Random House does all of it’s entry-level hiring, except for the Associates Program, on an as-needed basis. So, unless you’re ready to start work immediately upon hire, you may want to wait until about April to apply for a position that will start right after graduation. For those who would like to start working a little longer after graduation, apply about a month before you’d like to begin work. If waiting that long stresses you out, you could try Random House’s contact form to get in touch with an HR representative to discuss your interest in applying at a later date. Random House does do some on-campus recruiting, so you may be able to get the process moving along earlier if they visit your school or if you can find the right person to speak with.

Random House has a more structured application process for its Associates Program. Applications should be submitted online between January 1st and March 15th (we are assuming the jobs will be listed on their job board when the time comes, since there is no other mention of where to apply). All new hires to the Associates Program are expected to begin working in the second week of July.

It’s refreshing that Random House not only has two great programs for entry-level hires, but also that they are hiring year round. Many college grads take some time off after they graduate, graduate early, or spend more than 4 years at school – Random House has positions open for those who take the path less traveled. Now start researching, or bookmark this page and wait a few months until it’s time to apply.

Note: On April 22nd we revisited entry-level jobs at Random House.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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