One Day, One Job » retail

Rosetta

Willy Franzen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:31:08 +0000

I got a tip on this one from a fellow Cornellian (which is cool because a few of my friends from Cornell work at Rosetta). If you ever find a company that you think that we should feature, e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com. We feature a lot of interactive marketing agencies because they’re usually pretty big on hiring young talent whether it be at the intern or entry level. Rosetta stands out because of their size and sophistication—they almost seem more like a consulting firm than a marketing agency, at least in the way that they present themselves. For instance, they recently become a “top ten interactive agency” by means of an acquisition. That seems so different from the image that most agencies try to portray, but it’s working. Through “dedication to client work within Consumer Products & Retail, Healthcare, Financial Services, Consumer Technology & Media, B2B, and Travel & Hospitality industries” Rosetta “has created enduring partnerships with [their] clients including Scholastic, Coach, Borders, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Nationwide, Marriott and Microsoft.” Those are huge names, so you know Rosetta, which is headquartered in Princeton with offices in New York, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, and Denver, is capable of delivering results.

Relationships Matter

One of Rosetta’s key offerings is their suite of Relationship Marketing Services, which are focused on helping clients segment customers and offer “intelligent, personalized interactions across all online and offline channels.” This is just one part of the story, though. To get the full story on Rosetta’s offerings, you should take a look at this diagram. It shows how Rosetta walks clients through the marketing process—from creating the top-level strategy to using analytics to measure results. This means it’s not surprising that Rosetta’s job offerings are as varied as their service offerings—their Careers page is titled “Graphic Design Careers, SEO Jobs, and Financial Services Consulting Opportunities at Rosetta.”

As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, Rosetta seems to have a strong connection with Cornell (and probably quite a few other colleges) based on campus recruiting. Interestingly enough, Rosetta doesn’t really have a campus recruiting page—just a profile of a new grad who went to work for them. From there you can find their job search function, which is pretty terrible. It does appear to let you search for specifically entry level positions; however, there are at least 3 different queries that you can use, and they all seem to deliver different results. Your best bet is to look at their full list of job openings, or to look for positions like Recent Graduate Business Associate, Recent Graduate Technology Associate, Associate Consultant, Account Executive, Technology Associate, User Interface/Rich Media Developer, Recent Graduate Business Analyst, and quite a few others. The way that Rosetta lists their jobs is really a mess, so you need to take note that different jobs with the same title may be in different practice areas. Additionally, single job postings may be for multiple locations. They do have some nice pages on their Careers site like Meet Our People and Fun at Rosetta, but the whole thing is disorganized. I expect a lot better from a top ten agency. You can apply online for any of these positions, so forgive Rosetta for the lack of usability on their Careers site and see if you can help them move further up the top ten.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Were you looking Rosetta Stone’s jobs?

Caribou Coffee

Willy Franzen — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:55:49 +0000

It’s Christmas Eve—the day… err… night… that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer made a name for himself. We give Santa Claus all of the credit for delivering presents all across the world, but it’s those reindeer that are doing the hard part. Here in North America, we have reindeer just like the ones that pull Santa’s sleigh, but they’re known as caribou. Since I can’t think of any companies using reindeer in their brand name, that led me to Caribou Coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I don’t typically patronize Caribou Coffee, but I figured that a company with 6,000 employees would have to have some interesting entry level opportunities. The company is based in Minneapolis, MN, and has 500 retail locations in 16 states along with the District of Columbia. Caribou Coffee’s mission “is to provide a total experience that makes the day better,” and they’re able to do that for a lot of people by serving great coffee.

Then One Cloudy Christmas Eve…

Whether you’re in the Christmas Spirit or you’re being a total scrooge, there’s a decent chance that a job at Caribou Coffee might be the perfect way for you to start off the new year. The company does a really nice job with their Careers page, as it lays out all of the options that you have: Team Member (Store Level), Shift Supervisor (Store Level), Corporate Support Center Positions, Store Manager, District Manager, and Corporate Positions. They give a nice rundown of what the jobs entail along with a list of benefits. I’d imagine that most of you are more interested in the Corporate stuff than the Store level stuff; however, there isn’t anything that screams entry level to me on their corporate postings. That means that you have three options if you want to work at Caribou Coffee: start at a store, wait for something more suitable to be posted, or hope for a Christmas miracle (try cold calling!). Good luck.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you drink Caribou Coffee?

Kate Spade

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:49:41 +0000

I can’t remember whether it was late in my middle school years or early in my high school years, but there were certainly a couple of years in the late 90s when Kate Spade was as hot as could be. Whether it was a wallet, calendar, or other accessories from the New York based fashion designer, the girls in my classes went crazy for them. At that point in my life, I wasn’t the most fashion conscious kid, so I probably thought Five Star binders were still cool. Despite my ignorance of fashion back then, even I knew what Kate Spade was. Since Kate Brosnahan started her line in 1993, her company has grown exceptionally. Hallmarked by “utility, wit and playful sophistication,” Kate Spade’s offering includes handbags, shoes, accesories, clothing, jewelry, baby items, fragrance, glasses, and even paper. The company now runs 46 retail shops and continues to be a huge name in the fashion industry.

Are You Playfully Sophisticated?

Despite my use of capitalization in this post, Kate Spade is a brand that seems allergic to capital letters. It’s a big part of their branding, and it’s widely recognizable. Since fashion is all about branding, it’s no surprise that most people wouldn’t notice that Kate Spade was purchased by Liz Claiborne in 2009. It appears that Kate Spade continues to run itself separately, and that becomes even more evident when you look at Kate Spade’s Jobs page. They have quite a few opportunities available, and a number of them seem perfectly suited to new grads. There are a ton of retail positions, but we’re just going to focus on the corporate positions like E-commerce Coordinator, Assistant Buyer, and International Marketing Assistant. You can apply for these positions directly from the job postings, so give them look and see if they fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own any Kate Spade?

Market Force Information

Willy Franzen — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:17:26 +0000

If there’s ever a time for retail stores to be firing on all cylinders, it’s right now. Consumers are often very sensitive when it comes to making purchases, so it’s no surprise that a substandard retail experience can cost companies money. It may be an employee with a rotten attitude or a poorly laid out store. It could be that the employees are uninformed about the products that they’re selling or they may not be offering the promotions that they should be. Whatever it is, Louisville, CO based Market Force Information will find out. They’re “the leading customer experience information and insights partner for multi-location businesses.” Through their “integrated suite of mystery shopping, direct customer feedback, on-site merchandising and analytics services,” they can tell a company why one of their stores is underperforming or identify ways that all stores can improve.

Stay Informed

From what I’ve gathered, there are a number of companies that give the mystery shopping business a bad name by running scams—some have even used Market Force Information’s name illegally. As far as I can tell, Market Force Information is one of the most sophisticated companies in the industry (and they appear to be totally legit). They have developed a methodology for identifying key triggers that improve customer experience and drive sales. It’s not based on voodoo science but real research and statistical methods. While running a mystery shopping business is relatively simple, it’s all of the behind the scenes stuff that makes what Market Force Information does so interesting. If you’re intrigued by customer experience analytics, you should check out jobs at Market Force Information. I’m sure they offer mystery shopping positions, but that’s not really what we’re interested in here. I’m more interested in the Panel Programs Marketing Coordinator that Market Force Information has listed. The job description goes into great detail about what they’re looking for, but never do they mention experience. The position definitely looks challenging, but it sounds like the kind of job where a really bright new grad could excel (I’m also going on the hint that Coordinator positions are typically lower level). You can apply online, so go ahead and give Market Force Information a closer look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Market Force Information?

ideeli

Willy Franzen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:55:14 +0000

I guess it’s a little awkward when you find a company that immediately makes you think of a very similar, more successful company. In this case, when I came across ideeli, I immediately thought of Gilt Groupe (which we covered a while back). Both are New York City based startups that offer online sample sales that give shoppers the opportunity to buy luxury goods—mostly clothing and accessories—at serious discounts. According to Wikipedia a sample sale is “used by retail businesses in order to discard excess merchandise.” That’s exactly what these companies do, but they’ve moved the entire process online (which is way more efficient). Both sites require invites to get in on the deals, so if you want to try ideeli click here and if you want to try Gilt Groupe click here. Although I haven’t made any purchases on either of these sites, my girlfriend Amy loves this way of shopping. There’s the element of surprise, because you never know what you’re going to find, yet you still get to enjoy the ease of shopping online.

Your ideel Job

Although Gilt Groupe really has staked a claim to this market, it’s big enough and growing fast enough that there’s room for a lot of competition. You wouldn’t think that selling luxury goods during a recession—even at heavy discounts—would be good business, but it is. One way that ideeli has tweaked their business model to stand out is that they offer a subscription service that gives shoppers first dibs on all sales. It’s a pretty creative idea, and it gives them a steady revenue stream (with almost no additional cost) that can balance out the ebbs and flows of e-commerce. ideeli received $3.8 million in investment back in December of ‘07 and they seem to be doing pretty well. I guess that’s why they have a number of job openings. Right now they have opportunities for a Rails Developer and a Studio Coordinator, so check out their Jobs page and apply online if you’re interested.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

If you want an ideeli invite, click here.

Lucky Brand

Willy Franzen — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:49:56 +0000

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…

Get Lucky

The best way to get a feel for Lucky Brand is to check out their clothes online or visit one of their retail stores. If you don’t get what the brand is about, you’re not going to get a job with them. I think that’s true of any brand, but it’s especially pertinent in industries like apparel where brand is everything. So, what about jobs at Lucky Brand? They have a ton of Store Management opportunities at their retail stores. This may not be exactly what you had in mind post-graduation (or maybe it is), but it kind of offers the opportunity to run your own business—at least that’s what the job description makes it sound like. They have openings for Retail Management in Ala Moana, HI; Miami, FL; Monterey, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Tampa, FL; San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX; Waikiki, HI; Westlake, OH; Los Angeles, CA; Manhattan, NY; Las Vegas, NV; El Paso, TX; Aurora, IL; Chicago, IL; Pleasant Prairie; WI; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; Bridgewater, NJ; Elizabeth, NJ; Seattle, WA; Wrentham, MA; Peabody, MA; Boston, MA; Houston, TX; Studio City, CA; St. Louis, MO; and quite a few more locations (although those jobs were posted in March and earlier). You can find all of those job postings on Lucky Brand’s Jobs site.

You also have the option of submitting a résumé for general consideration for corporate jobs in Vernon, CA. I think that this might be worthwhile because of what Lucky Brand has to say about their Internship Program:

The Lucky Brand Fall 2009 Internship Program is intended to help acclimate Junior and Senior level university/college students to our company culture, build on their creativity, and allow them the best opportunity to get to know Lucky Brand. This program is designed to identify, develop and potentially hire top entry level talent.

If they’re looking to hire top entry level talent, then why don’t they have any entry level jobs posted outside of retail? Maybe it’s just a season thing, or maybe they mostly like hiring past interns, but it’s worth investigating. Lucky Brand offers internships in Design, Human Resources, Wholesale Sales & Planning, Accessory Jewelry Design, Accessory Design, eCommerce, and Marketing, so those are areas where they might also have entry level jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you consider yourself lucky?

Vann’s

Willy Franzen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:18:38 +0000

If you thought that we were going to be talking about skater shoes today, they you might be a little disappointed, but I think you’ll enjoy hearing about Vann’s with two n’s and an apostrophe. They are a Missoula, MT based electronics and appliances retailer that does most of its business online. Now, you may think that Missoula, MT (the setting of A River Runs Through It—my favorite book and movie) is a strange place to locate a major e-commerce outlet, but there’s a good story behind why Vann’s is located where it is. It all started with Pete Vann aka “Montana’s Last Great Cowboy.” He was the grandfather of the Pete Vann who founded Vann’s. After a family history of cowboying, ranching, and farming, Pete Vann took a job keeping an appliance store clean. It doesn’t sound like much, but within 11 years Pete owned the store that he used to keep clean. In 1996 he decided to give up some of his ownership to share it with the employees who helped him build the business to what it is today.

Become a Part of the Vann’s Story

The Vann’s story is pretty cool, but what brought them to my attention was the hiring process that they’re using to find a Community Manager. We’ll get to that in a second, but first I want to mention two more things that impressed me about Vann’s. First is their devotion to customer service. They make it very obvious on their website that they’re customer focused, and beyond that, a quick Internet search will turn up lots of great customer reviews. Second, they’re an Inc. 5000 company, which means that they’re experiencing fantastic growth. Those are both great signs for prospective employees. Now, let’s talk about this Community Manager position. It’s not definitively entry level, but that doesn’t matter. If you follow the instructions and are what they’re looking for, then you’ve got a shot. You’ll have until Friday, August 28, 2009 to flex your social media muscles and show why you’re best for the job.

Additionally, Vann’s has a more standard Jobs page that includes positions like Product Advisor (also see here and here), Java Developer, and Sales Consultant. Vann’s also has locations in Helena, Kalispell, Bozeman, Helena, Billings and Hamilton. Vann’s looks like an awesome place to work, and that Montana location really pays off for people who love the outdoors and want a great career in a less urban setting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever bought anything from Vann’s?

Juicy Couture

Willy Franzen — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:52:40 +0000

I don’t know when wearing sweats started counting as “dressing up,” but I’m pretty sure that it coincided with when Arleta, CA based Juicy Couture became popular. I guess if you’re going to pay a bunch of money for a tracksuit, you’ve got to show it off. Ok, so I can’t say that I love what Juicy Couture has done to popular fashion, but I have to respect it. They completely changed what it means to wear sweats, and they created a new market for high priced, super casual clothing. There’s obviously more to the Juicy brand than just tracksuits, but when I hear the name Juicy, that’s what I think of.

Juicy Jobs

I guess Juicy Couture’s slogan doesn’t pop in to my mind when I hear their name, because according to Wikipedia, they can’t settle on just one. Slogans that they’ve used include: “For Nice Girls Who Like Stuff”, “Eat Candy”, “Smells Like Couture”, “Be Juicy”, “Cupid Couture”, “Viva la Juicy”, “Juicy is Forever”, “Her Royal Juicyness”, “Wake Up And Smell the Couture”, “Go Couture Yourself”, “Cupcake Couture”, “Bundle Up, Wear Juicy”, “The Joy Only Bling Can Bring”, “Peace, Love, and Juicy”, “Let Them Eat Couture”, “Have a Juicy Day”, “Some Girls Have All the Juicy”, “Dude, Where’s My Couture?”, “Choose Juicy”, “Queen Couture”, “Prep It Up Juicy Couture”, “Couture is Here”, “Kiss My Couture”, “I just want Couture”, “Crimes of Couture” and “It’s Exhausting Being This Juicy”. I also can’t tell you much more about Juicy than the fact that they were founded in 1994 by Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy to sell maternity pants because all their About page says is:

Once upon a time in a land far, far away called Pacoima there were two nice girls who liked stuff Juicy Couture swept the land & they lived happily ever after

Since that’s the whole story, let’s get to the jobs. Juicy Couture offers a ton of retail positions, but they also happen to have some corporate positions. If you’re interested in retail, you can browse through Juicy’s Job postings; however, if you’re looking to put that shiny, new college education to use, there are some more options. These include Assistant Designer – Handbags and SLG (New York, NY), Assistant Designer – Intimates, Sleep and Yoga (New York, NY), Associate Technical Designer: Girls (Arleta, CA), Associate Technical Designer: Wovens (Arleta, CA), Assistant CAD Designer (Arleta, CA), and Jr. Merchandiser: Extra Juicy & Maternity (Arleta, CA). You can apply for all of these jobs online, so check out the job descriptions and see if they’re juicy enough for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you have to say about Juicy Couture?

Archie McPhee

Willy Franzen — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:55:50 +0000

Let’s have a little fun today since it’s Friday! I’ve been waiting on a company to post jobs for well over a year. They still haven’t done it (which probably means that their jobs are awesome and get snatched up before they’re posted), so I’m going to force the issue and post about them anyway. The company is Archie McPhee, and they a novelty dealer based in Seattle that is about as off the wall as a company can get. Their offerings include Bacon Gumballs, Stylish Mustaches for Girls, Chicken Chuckers, and Rubber Chickens. That doesn’t even include their stupid products (like squirrel underpants) and their weirdest products (which also includes squirrel underpants along with a corn dog air freshener).

Enjoy the Novelty of an Entry Level Job

Despite all of the wacky products that Archie McPhee offers online, in their store, and by mail order, my favorite has to be the the Seth Godin, Marketing Guru Action Figure. Who wouldn’t want an action figure of their favorite marketing genius? Maybe they’ll make a job search guru action figure of me one day… yeah right! Anyway, if you haven’t already gotten a feel for what Archie McPhee is all about, then they’re probably not the right place for you. Although they don’t have any jobs posted, they do have a Jobs page that brags about how awesome of a place they are to work. It’s hard to tell what kind of jobs they might offer, but you might as well find out by reaching out to them at unicorn@mcphee.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Archie McPhee product?

Pier 1 Imports

Willy Franzen — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:32:50 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association. She is also the entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com, a career expert for the CAREEREALISM Twitter Advice Project, the job search expert for Campus Calm and author of the e-book “Gen Y Meets the Workforce: Launching Your Career During Economic Uncertainty.”

Are you “interesting, impressive, hippy, happy and one-of-a-kind”? If so, you’re a lot like the products sold by Pier 1 Imports and would likely fit in well as part of their team. As North America’s largest retailer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts, Pier 1 Imports offers extensive benefits focused on quality of life. According to their Web site, they have chosen their benefits to “help associates stay healthy, feel secure, meet their financial goals, and balance the demands of work and personal life.” But, let’s face it, I’m sure everyone’s favorite benefit is the employee discount!

There Can Be Only One

Pier 1 Imports is currently seeking a Public Relations Coordinator to join their corporate team in Fort Worth, TX. In this position, you can expect to work closely with the and have duties ranging from processing media clips to managing image requests to providing support for special events and product placement efforts, and more. While the position requires one to two years public relations experience, it’s labeled entry-level on their Web site and thus your college internships definitely count.

Interested? Apply online in the Careers section of Pier 1’s website, and follow-up with director of human resources Sara Lee.

Beyond the Pie-R

[ed: The following section is from Willy - stupid heading and all] Heather is all about PR, but what if you want to work at Pier 1 Imports in another capacity? You’re probably going to have to take the retail route. They have stores across the country, and many of them have job openings that can be found through Pier 1’s job search function. You can also check out their Home Office Departments (as in departments that they have at their corporate headquarters, not where they sell furnishings for your home office) to get an idea of what types jobs might become available in the future with Pier 1 Imports, since there’s nothing else at the entry level right now.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Need help with your cover letter and résumé—or your entire job search? Heather offers low-cost coaching packages specifically for students and recent graduates seeking careers in public relations. Click here to learn more.

simplehuman

Willy Franzen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:42:56 +0000

I hate to do this to you, but today is going to be the third California based company in a row (this one’s in Torrance). There seem to be a lot of jobs out there, so if you want to live efficiently, maybe you should move out there… or you could just furnish your home with things from simplehuman. They “design housewares to make you more efficient at home — from a spoon rest on a utensil holder to a pedal that’ll outlast 50,000 steps, or a paper towel holder that won’t unravel and a dishrack that drains in different directions.” It’s all about wowing people with the mundane. Do you know anyone who loves his or her garbage can? Probably not, but simplehuman aims to change that. (In my college days the most efficient garbage can was the biggest one for two reasons, it had to be emptied the fewest times and you could toss things in from extremely far away.) Now, “efficient living” may have a different meaning to a college student, but simplehuman brings some class to that sense of efficiency. You’ll appreciate it once you get you’re out on your own and begin your journey towards yuppie-hood.

simplejobs

Not only does simplehuman make some really cool housewares, but they also have some awesome looking jobs available for new college grads. Unfortunately, their Careers page actually doesn’t show the same attention to efficient design that their products do. You need to use a pull down menu to check each department for openings and we can’t link to the individual job postings. Right now there is a Product Marketing Analyst job (in the Marketing Department) that is a bit above entry level, but might be worth trying for if you have the right internship experience. There’s also a Customer Service Associate position (in the Customer Service Department) that is perfect for a new grad. There’s a Senior Industrial Designer job in their Design Department, but it’s not entry level. There may be some hope for some Junior Industrial Designer positions in the future though. Finally, there’s a Marketing Program Specialist – New Technologies & Social Media posted on Mashable that looks awesome. It’s worth checking out if your an Internet marketing savvy new grad. No matter which job you’re applying for, you can use their Corporate Job Application form to apply. They’re also open to applications for unlisted positions, so don’t be shy. There are also Retail jobs with simplehuman, but you can check those out on your own.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own anything from simplehuman?

lululemon athletica

Willy Franzen — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:57:32 +0000

When I graduated from college a semester early and started thinking about looking for a job (thinking about doing something and doing something are very different, by the way), I quickly became overwhelmed by my lack of time commitments and lack of a plan. I was suffering from too much freedom, so my first response to join a gym and to commit to keeping my body strong while I figured out what I was going to do with my brain. It was a great idea, and I strongly recommend a gym membership for all job seekers. (I also strongly recommend that all first-time job seekers take our online job search training course). Anyway, I always try to join a relatively expensive gym, but not for the obvious reason. I don’t care about all of the frivolities. I just know that if I’m paying $10 a month for a gym, I’m a lot less likely to go – I need to feel invested. With expensive gyms come lots of people in expensive, designer workout outfits. That’s where I learned about lululemon athletica, a Vancouver, British Columbia based manufacturer and retailer of “yoga-inspired athletic apparel.” Everyone at my gym is wearing lululemon, and the retail stores around here are packed, so it’s no big surprise that they’re hiring.

Find a Job That Fits Like Yoga Pants

I didn’t realize how big lululemon athletica is until I started doing some research. They’re publicly traded on NASDAQ (although their stock has tumbled big time over the past year), and they have 260 jobs (many with multiple openings) posted on their Careers site right now. Most of the jobs are based out of lululemon athletica’s retail stores and fall under three titles – Educator, Community Leader, and Key Leader. Beyond these titles other jobs include Video/Motion Designer, Seamstress, Quality Assurance Technician, and Distribution Industrial Engineer. You can find all of lululemon athletica’s job postings here, and you can apply online for any of the positions. The retail positions are located all across North America and beyond, while the corporate positions are all in Vancouver, BC. lululemon athletica has a great website that is filled with information, so the links below will give you a ton of insight into what it’s like to work for lululemon.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you own any lululemon?

Vosges

Willy Franzen — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:00:14 +0000

If your sweetheart is out of a job this Valentine’s Day, then give him or her a gift that shows that you really care. Chocolates, flowers, and jewelry only bring temporary satisfaction, but there’s nothing more satisfying (besides a relationship with you, of course) than a job that you love. Enroll your sweetheart in Found Your Career (our online job search training course) today.

Last year we did a weeklong build up to Valentine’s Day – we checked out jobs at ProFlowers, OpenTable, eHarmony, and Tiffany & Co. One obvious choice that I left out was a confectioner or chocolatier. That’s why today we’re going to look at Vosges, a Chicago based producer of Haut-Chocolat. I had a lot of options when it came to picking a chocolatier to feature today, and I probably could have picked one that has more jobs available (your homework can be to go find one), but I picked Vosges for a single reason. They make a chocolate bar with bacon in it. I’ve had it, and it’s awesome. How could you not want to work with a company that is creative enough to mix those two things together?

Delicious Jobs

Have you ever asked someone out and been told, “Yes, when pigs fly?” If so, you might want to give that person one of Vosges’ Flying Chocolate and Bacon Pigs. Ok, I sound like a walking advertisement for Vosges, but I am just wowed by their creativity. It’s not just about chocolate though. Their mission is pretty ambitious – “to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness to indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure.” Or as their founder puts it, “Peace through chocolate.” If you’re as impressed by Vosges as I am, then you might want to consider a job with them. Their Jobs page is a little odd, because it starts by talking about the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi. They eventually get into the fact that they’re “always looking for high-energy, dedicated team members to join our chocolate revolution.” In other words, they seem more than open to cold calling. In addition to that they also have retail positions at their stores in Chicago, New York, and Las Vegas. But wait… I’ve saved the best for last. Vosges is also looking for a Vosges Chocolate Concierge (Multi-Channel/Customer Service Representative). This sounds like a really cool job, and the description even says that it’s targeted towards current college students who are nearing graduation. The job description is pretty detailed, and you can’t apply by e-mail, so check out the Vosges Jobs page for all of the info. Oh yeah, and if you land the job, you better send me some chocolate.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever had a Vosges Bacon Bar?

Patagonia

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

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

Take a Trip to Patagonia

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Do you wear Patagonia?

Starwood

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:42:12 +0000

Having a girlfriend who is a consultant, I’m often subjected to hours of consultant-speak. It’s not really English, as it consists mostly of acronyms. One thing consultants seem to talk about a lot, even though they don’t have an acronym for it, is the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card. It’s apparently by far the best credit card for the consulting lifestyle (especially when you work for a firm that almost exclusively puts you up in Starwood hotels). Since I’ve been hearing the Starwood name a lot, and I’ve had a few people recommend their Jobs to me, I thought it was time to take a look at what kind of entry level jobs are available with one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. In case you’re not familiar with the Starwood brand, they’re the company behind Sheraton, Four Points, aloft, W Hotels, Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Element, Westin, and St. Regis. All of them are nice places to stay, and a few of them are about as trendy as you can get when it comes to hotels – check out aloft.

Be a Star at Starwood

Starwood gets hospitality. They also get entry level recruiting. They make it dead simple for college students and new grads to figure out how to land a job with them. They have a College Recruiting page that outlines the 4 ways of getting a job with Starwood. You can go through Campus Recruiting or apply online, and you can apply for their Management Training Program or opt for Direct Placement. The Management Training Program seems to be geared towards students who are graduating from hospitality programs, but that’s not explicitly stated as far as I can tell. The program lasts 6-18 months and concludes with placement as an Assistant Manager or Manager in the hotel where the trainee trained. Applications for the Management Training Program haven’t been opened yet, but they say that you will be able to apply online in early 2009. If you go to one of the schools on this list, you’re better off talking to your Career Services office about when Starwood will be on campus than waiting for the online application to be posted.

If the Management Training Program isn’t for you, there’s another option. You can check out Starwood’s Career Paths and apply for Direct Placement. You have to go through a general job search function where you can narrow down from the 1,650 jobs posted by location, hotel, or job title. This is the one area where Starwood’s Careers site stumbles a bit. The job search function isn’t very good. Unless you enter specific criteria, you’re going to be inundated with results that are going to be hard to scan. Still, if you want a job in a posh hotel in an exotic location, that’s the best way to find one.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you stayed at any Starwood Hotels?

Herman Miller

Willy Franzen — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:12:27 +0000

As you may remember, I recently moved to Chicago. With a new apartment comes the task of furniture shopping, and I don’t like furniture shopping. When I was a kid, being dragged along with my parents to go to some furniture store was a fate worse than death. I would usually act out to the extent that my parents would either have to take me home or try to stuff me inside a sofa bed. Now that I’m more mature (yeah, right), I can usually grin and bear it when I have to endlessly look at furniture, but I know that all that I really want is a Herman Miller desk chair. My college’s library was filled with Herman Miller chairs, and they are the only desk chairs that I’ve ever been able to fall asleep in. The Aeron chair also has to be one of the only chairs that has its own Wikipedia page. The chair has won award after award and is even featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection for its outstanding design. Herman Miller is based out of Michigan, and they show that all fancy furniture doesn’t have to come out of Europe.

A Job Where You’ll Want to Sit All Day

Herman Miller not only makes great furniture, but they also look like a great company. They have strong corporate values and have been named both one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and one of the Fast 50’s World’s Most Innovative Companies. They have a distinctive culture and excellent benefits at Herman Miller, so it’s no big surprise that they have happy employees. If you’re not sold yet, go sit in one of their chairs. You will be.

Unfortunately, it appears that Herman Miller is light on seated jobs for new college grads. We pored over their job listings and only found one position (in 3 locations) that doesn’t require at least 3 years of experience. They are Sales Associate positions in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. We usually wouldn’t post about a company that only has retail sales jobs, but considering the requirements for these jobs begin with a “Bachelors degree in design, architecture, business administration, marketing or related field,” we thought that they’d be appropriate. We can imagine that Herman Miller treats their people extremely well, so you can expect that even their retail sales jobs will be worth considering. It’s also highly probable that the Sales Associate jobs will lead to something better within Herman Miller as you get more experience. I’m sure that you’d love to see more about jobs in furniture design, marketing, and business development, but the job descriptions for those types of positions don’t leave much room for entry level applicants. That doesn’t mean that you can’t try applying if you see something that you’d be perfect for, but we’ve been watching Herman Miller’s job listings for a long time, and they don’t seem too intent on hiring new grads for corporate type positions. If working at Herman Miller (even if you can’t sit in their chairs all day) sounds like fun to you, you can apply online directly from the job descriptions that we linked to earlier in this post.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget that today is the last day to enter our iPod giveaway.

Hallmark

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:38:31 +0000

This morning I realized which company we should have featured to celebrate my birthday yesterday. Luckily, my birthday celebration is going to be a 2 week event that will culminate with our giving away an iPod Touch to one lucky reader who spreads the word about us to his or her friends. Although we announced the contest last night, we’re really kicking it off today, so I think that we should focus on my birthday again and talk about entry level jobs with Hallmark. Here’s how Hallmark describes itself:

Some companies make things. Good things, but, you know…things. Hallmark is another kind of company. We play a unique role in defining and expressing friendship and family and love – and we’ve done it for nearly 100 years.

I usually just shake a card to see if a check falls out – just kidding. I actually got a talking Hallmark card that couldn’t have been more perfect for me. My mom may have had to walk through the store opening every single card to find it, but she did. It has made me laugh over and over. You have to love Hallmark.

Apply by Greeting Card?

Hallmark is a family-owned company headquartered in Kansas City, MO, and they make more than greeting cards. Their other businesses include partyware, gifts, gift wrap, ornaments, decorative items, picture frames, albums, scrapbooks, e-cards, magazines, and cable television. They also own Crayola (which makes Silly Putty in addition to crayons), William Arthur, and a number of other subsidiaries. Hallmark is a major company with a significant college recruiting program. They have a section of their Careers site devoted to college students, but the navigation is extremely confusing. Their Working Here section consists of one paragraph, and links out to pages on Benefits, Culture, and Kansas City. There is also a Career FAQs section, which is actually very helpful.

Hallmark has a limited Campus Recruiting schedule, so unless you’re at one of the few schools that they visit, your best bet is to apply for a job online. The links to their actual job listings seem to break half of the time, but if you’re persistent, you can usually get it to work. You can either look at opportunities in Hallmark’s Creative Division or in their Corporate Headquarters, Operations, and Manufacturing Divisions. Hallmark’s Creative Division only has one job listing right now that looks to be entry level – Web Designer – but they seem very open to portfolio submissions. You can apply online and include your portfolio without picking a specific job, so that seems like the best way to try and get a creative job with Hallmark. The Corporate/Operations/Manufacturing job listings allow you to search for “College-Full Time,” so it’s easy to look up which entry level positions Hallmark is hiring for (we can’t link to them, because their applicant tracking system won’t let us). Right now there are 5 job titles posted – Job Planner, Accounting and Financial Analyst, Inventory Controller, IT Analyst, and Line Supervisor – and all of them are located in Kansas City. It seems likely that Hallmark has multiple openings for each of these positions. We don’t see any contact info, so it looks like you’ll have to apply for the jobs online, but if you can find an address, we think that it would be cool to apply by greeting card. Hallmark also has retail job opportunities, but we’re not going to get into those. Remember, with Hallmark if you get an interview, a thank you card is an absolute must. It’s their business!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s the best Hallmark card that you’ve ever seen?

Kurt Salmon Associates

Willy Franzen — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:25:03 +0000

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.

The Myth of the Two-Headed Salmon

Kurt Salmon Associates seems to keep their two businesses separate, which can be a bit confusing for college students who are considering working for them. They have parallel websites for their Consumer Products & Retail Consulting and Health Care Consulting; however, they do have a main Careers site which is shared by both. The shared Careers site mentions the typical career path at Kurt Salmon (Consultant –> Senior Consultant –> Manager –> Senior Manager –> Principal) and how “KSA is Keen on Green,” and then it directs visitors to the parallel Careers sections for their two businesses. Although the two separate businesses have many similarities, you want to make sure that you’re reading the site when you’re researching KSA’s job opportunities.

The Retail and Consumer Products side of Kurt Salmon Associates seems to be bigger than the Health Care side. The former has locations in Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Princeton, NJ; San Francisco, CA; Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; Altrincham, UK; Amsterdam, NL ; Düsseldorf, Germany; London, UK; and Paris, France; whereas, the Health Care business only has locations in Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; Philadelphia, PA; and San Bruno, CA. If you want to learn more specifics about each of the businesses, you should check out their individual sites – Consumer Products & Retail Consulting and Health Care Consulting.

Landing an Entry Level Job with Kurt Salmon Associates

Kurt Salmon Associates provides much more information about Retail and Consumer Products Consulting Careers than they do about their Health Care Consulting Careers. There isn’t much mention of college recruiting on the Health Care site, so if that’s what you’re interested, you should look at their specific job opportunities and consider applying. If you’re interested in a Retail and Consumer Products job, then you’ll have a lot more to look at. They actively recruit at target schools which include Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Geogia Tech, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, Emory, Stanford, Penn State, and New York University (you can find this on their Campus Recruiting page), but they also accept applicants from other schools. To learn more, you may want to look at their brochure, their sample Case Interview, and their consultant profiles. If you’ve already graduated, you can look at KSA’s current opportunities, otherwise you can use KSA’s general application form.

As you can tell, navigating KSA’s web site can be a little bit confusing. If you follow our lead, you should be able to find all the information that you need about getting a job as an entry level consultant with Kurt Salmon Associates.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Edible Arrangements

Willy Franzen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:09:51 +0000

Back in February, I told you all about ProFlowers and how I use them for all of my flower sending needs. Flowers are great. They’re beautiful, they smell good, and they make people happy. Still, I can’t get over the fact that they’re kind of useless (as Brad Paisley would say, I’m still a guy). You pay a lot of money to send them to someone, then the flowers sit around in a vase for a week until they’re thrown away. I’d much rather be sent something that I can use or, better yet, eat. That’s why I love Edible Arrangements. They allow you to send beautiful “bouquets” of delicious fruit – chocolate covered if you like. Whenever I’ve sent an Edible Arrangement to someone, I’ve been told that it was the best gift basket that the person has ever received. Not only are the arrangements tasty, but they provide healthy snacks for at least a few days (chocolate covered pieces not withstanding). Take a look at their arrangements, and see what I’m talking about.

Deliciously Entry-Level

Edible Arrangements is one of those companies that makes you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” They’ve taken a really simple concept, and built a franchising business on it. It all started with one store in my home state of Connecticut, and has taken off since. Last year Edible Arrangements was named the 139th fastest growing company in the country by Inc. Magazine, and this year they were named the 49th best franchise by Entrepreneur magazine. There are now 857 Edible Arrangements stores across the world, and they’re continuing to grow.

Edible Arrangement’s corporate office is located in Wallingford, CT, and they have a number of job openings that might be well suited to new college grads. Their Corporate Jobs page includes listings for a Creative Chef in the Product Development department, Franchise Trainers, and Customer Care Representatives. The Chef position looks to be, by far, the most interesting opportunity, but it also requires a strong culinary background. There are also jobs for Franchise Sales Consultants; they don’t seem to be intended for new college grads, but it may be worth applying for if you’re really interested.

Finally, there are all kinds of jobs at Edible Arrangements franchise stores. They have locations all across the country, but the jobs aren’t mostly the types that are geared towards new college grads. Still, you might want to take a look at Edible Arrangement’s Franchise Store Jobs page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever given or received an Edible Arrangement? Did you love it?

L’Occitane

Willy Franzen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:26:33 +0000

Although L’Occitane has a tab for Men on their website, I must admit that I’ve never used their products. When it comes to fragrance, skin care, body & hands, bath & shower, hair care, etc. I’m more interested getting the job done than enjoying the experience. I know that there are plenty of men (and even more women) who have a very different philosophy when it comes to these types of products, so I imagine that working for L’Occitane would be a pretty cool thing for a lot of you.

L’Occitane en Provence

We didn’t want to try retelling a story that has already been told on L’Occitane’s website, so here’s an excerpt:

The story of L’OCCITANE begins in 1976, in the hills of Haute-Provence… a region of southern France that lies between the Alps and the Mediterranean. Here, Olivier Baussan, the founder of L’OCCITANE, was born. For over thirty years, the fields of Provence and the traditions and techniques of this unspoiled land have been the secret and inspiration behind his beauty products. Even today, all of our products are developed and produced here, in the small Provençal town of Manosque.

If you want to learn more about L’Occitane, you should take a look at their video collection on their website.

Jobs at L’Occitane (But Not in Provence)

My sister spent a summer taking college classes in provence, and she found the area to be incredible – definitely somewhere an adventurous new grad would want to take a job. Unfortunately, L’Occitane’s entry-level job offerings appear to be located in slightly less exotic locations than their tagline would make you think. L’Occitane has many retail opportunities open, but we’re going to skip over those and focus on their corporate jobs for new grads. The job that seems most suited to entry-level candidates is the Account Coordinator position. It says it requires 1 year of experience, but that usually means a new grad who had an internship would be acceptable. This position is located in New York and San Francisco. There’s also a Training Development job in NYC that looks like it would be awesome. It’s hard to tell if the job is well suited to new grads, but if you have experience creating training materials, this could be an awesome opportunity for you.

L’Occitane has a great Careers site with a lot of information and simple navigation. Some highlights are their sample job descriptions, sample career paths, HR FAQ, and profiles of successful employees. If you truly have your heart set on moving to France to work for L’Occitane, it may be possible as their international headquarters are split between Paris, France and Manosque, France; however, we tried poking around L’Occitane’s French language site and the only jobs that showed up were located here in the US.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Any L’Occitane lovers out there? Tell us more about their products.

Party City

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:13:32 +0000

Happy Cinco de Mayo! To be honest, today is the first time that I’m going to be celebrating the holiday, but I’m pretty excited about it. I did a little research (yes, those job search skills also help when you need to find semi-useful facts) and found that Cinco de Mayo is actually a very minor holiday in Mexico, but has become quite a celebration in many areas north of the border. This article from the Albuquerque Tribune does a nice job of telling the history, and includes this quote from Jeffrey Candelaria, vice president of membership and marketing at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce: “From my perspective as a marketing professional, Cinco de Mayo has morphed into a national holiday designed by Fifth Avenue to sell alcohol and excite consumership around a party-type theme.” Well, party-type themes are fun, especially if classes are over for you, so we’re going to run with it and talk about jobs at Party City today.

Party On!

Party City is a party retailer that offers all the necessary accoutrements for a themed occasion. These are important because in college (and probably always after) themed parties are essential to justifying questionable behavior. Partying during the daytime is frowned upon even by some of the most hardcore partiers, but it suddenly becomes ok when you’ve purchased some of these Cinco de Mayo party favors. And don’t forget about how people dress on Halloween! A few touches from a Party City purchase can justify almost any costume idea. Yes, parties are fun, but themed parties are almost always more fun. Just remember, keep the pictures private if you put them on Facebook.

No Work Experience, 4 Years’ Partying Experience

Party City has realized that college students have this partying thing figured out, so they’ve put together a college recruiting program to attract those kids with 4 years of college partying experience. Ok, we might be overplaying the fact that partying habits have any relevance when it comes to getting a job at Party City, but it’s fun to run with the theme. There appear to be three career tracks for new graduates at Party City: choosing a Corporate Division and going to work, entering the Management Training Program and rotating through 3 divisions, or taking the Management Fast Track towards becoming a general manager of a retail store. Each of these options (all of which are located in Rockaway, NJ) looks pretty interesting, so follow the links and take a look at the additional information on the Party City website.

What we really like about Party City is that they don’t ask entry-level applicants to apply for a specific job, but instead ask them to choose a program. They understand that many new grads are unsure of what they want to do, so they provide open ended options. All you need to do to apply is send a cover letter and resume to jobs@partycity.com, but not until after you’ve enjoyed Cinco de Mayo.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We know that our daily e-mail didn’t send yesterday, which is the 2nd time in two weeks. The process is automated, and we have no idea why it’s failing. We’re really sorry, and we’ll do our best to make sure that we fix the problem. If you’re one of those people who never gets our daily e-mail, you should stop missing out on the action and subscribe by e-mail now.

Standard Style Boutique

Amy Gordon — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:00:18 +0000

Here at One Day, One Job we like to feature jobs at companies that we use and respect. I came across Standard Style a couple of years ago when I was shopping for a friend’s birthday present, and I have been a loyal customer ever since. Standard Style is a boutique, online and off, that is trying to meld traditional mid-western values with the latest fashions. What is great about Standard Style is their top-notch customer service and their extensive collection of high fashion clothes and jewelry (that often go on sale). Even greater for you is that they appear to be hiring!

Values? Fashion? Huh?

We used to think that the groups “places that are known for barbecue” and “places that are known for good fashion” were mutually exclusive. Standard Style has changed our opinion, as they’ve focused on “selling West Coast and New York City ideas of fashion to a city where jeans are widely acceptable at high-end restaurants.” Where are they doing this? Kansas City, of course. Matt and Emily Baldwin founded Standard Style after they moved back to Kansas from California, and so far it’s working out pretty well with them. Their Christian faith plays a strong role in how they run their business, which is perfect for their target market – mid-western moms.

“Matching religious ideals with high fashion might seem paradoxical,” but the excessive use of sex in advertising can be a turn off to many. That’s why Standard Style’s marketing efforts are toned down, and they focus on working with suppliers who are a little less provocative than your average fashion designer. It’s definitely a different tack, but you can’t argue with a successful business.

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Just kidding. All of Standard Style’s jobs are in Kansas (ok, we think they might have some in Kansas City, MO). Standard Style’s Careers page offers a lot of hope for job searchers, but we’re not sure how many opportunities are actually current, since they don’t list individual positions. They say that they’re looking for people in: Administrative Services, Advertising, Buying, Sales & Customer Service, Distribution/Warehouse, Finance/Accounting, Human Resource, Information Technology, Marketing/Sales/Public Relations, Merchandising, Product Management, Research Analyst, and Store/Retail. Either they’re doing an amazing amount of hiring, or they’ve taken an “always looking” approach.

We used our usual research methods to see if we could dig up any more information on what kind of jobs Standard Style has or what it’s like to work there, but we came up empty-handed. We don’t know for sure that they’re hiring at the entry-level, but they should be. They’re trendy enough to attract the top young talent, and they’re certainly in the right industry. We can’t make any promises, but we think that you probably have a good shot if you send your cover letter and resume to Employment@standardstyle.com with your area of interest clearly identified. There’s not much else to go on, but we’re sure they’d be happy to answer questions through e-mail as well.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you know something about working at Standard Style that we couldn’t find? Share it in the comments.

Moosejaw

Willy Franzen — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:39 +0000

We love companies that take something ordinary and create a unique value proposition for customers by creating a meaningful brand identity (uh, are we getting too jargon-y?). Moosejaw is a retailer of outdoor gear. You can buy what they sell at a lot of stores, through a lot of catalogs, or from a lot of online retailers, but Moosejaw still has an insanely loyal customer following. Every day they get rave reviews and customer photo submissions. Maybe it’s because Moosejaw has really good looking models, or maybe it’s the fact that Moosejaw offers homework help and dating advice to their customers. We’re not really sure what it is, but they’ve got their niche figured out.

We’ve been watching Moosejaw for a while, hoping that they’d eventually post some entry-level jobs on their website, since a search for “Moosejaw jobs” typically turns up opportunities in the the town of the same name in Saskatchewan. Moosejaw has finally listed a couple jobs that sound about right for a new college grad, so we thought it was time to let you know about them. The Moosejaw Jobs page says they’re currently looking to hire Assistant Managers for their Chicago store and an IT Assistant in their Madison Hills, MI headquarters. If you’re applying for the Assistant Manger position, you should probably have 2+ years of retail experience, which is the kind of experience that a lot of new college grads probably already have. The job descriptions are short, but entertaining and honest at the same time. The owner of Moosejaw’s mom even says that Moosejaw is a great place to work!

We hope Moosejaw will list more entry-level jobs in the future, so keep visiting their Jobs page for updates. We’d be especially excited to see jobs more closely tied to their marketing and online retailing, since that is what Moosejaw appears to be so good at. We think that the best way to get to know Moosejaw and how they do business is to take a look around their website. Since career related information beyond simple job listings is hard to find, the links below are focused on getting you familiar with the irreverency that has made Moosejaw so popular. We can’t promise it, but we get the feeling that Moosejaw is a really fun place to work.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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Apple

Willy Franzen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:00:32 +0000

Yesterday, we spent a good part of the day camped in front of our computers reading MacRumors.com’s live blog updates from the Apple Keynote at MacWorld Expo San Francisco. In case you aren’t a “macfanboy,” you should know that they announced the MacBook Air, updates to the iPhone and iPod Touch software, improved AppleTV functionality with downloadable movie rentals, and a wireless router/storage/backup device called Time Capsule. For some who were expecting more, yesterday’s products announcements were quite a disappointment, while for others, it was like Christmas morning all over again. Anyways, today’s event was a great display of how even huge companies can remain innovative, and that got us thinking about how a new college grad can snag a job at Apple.

Now, the problem with running Google searches for jobs at Apple is that Steve Jobs interferes with the results, a lot. Luckily, you won’t need Google to find Apple jobs, because Apple’s Job Opportunities Site is truly first class, like most everything else Apple does. In fact, it’s quite remarkable that they are able to present such a unified branding experience throughout their products, marketing, merchandising, customer service, and recruiting. It’s certainly something for all companies to aspire to.

When you navigate to Apple’s main jobs site, you have the choice between pro (this link shows you all the businesses areas in which Apple hires) and retail. We figure most of our readers will probably want to go pro, but there’s no shame in being a genius. Within the pro site, there is a section for new college grads, which can also be accessed directly from Apple’s main jobs page.

Apple’s site for college students is a bit sparse, but it has everything you’ll need to find a job at Apple. You can take a look behind the scenes at what it’s like for a new grad to work at Apple, or you can see if Apple will be visiting your campus – they’re on a serious campus tour between now and February. Most importantly, Apple has a a listing of all their entry-level jobs. Yes, finally, an employer who understands how hard it is for college students to figure out which jobs they are supposed to apply for. We tried to figure out (including creating our own query strings) how to search these listings for keywords, but we were unsuccessful. It’s only a few pages of jobs, and Apple has descriptive job titles, so it shouldn’t be too hard to scan through quickly.

Our only nit to pick with Apple’s careers site (besides not being able to search the entry-level jobs for keywords) is that it comes off as a little cold. There’s not a ton of information on the site, and part of us would like to see more friendly approach to recruiting, maybe with the addition of a blog or something. The other part of us thinks that it would take away from Apple’s cachet. Their online recruiting is completely fluff-free, and there’s something we really like about that.

Apple’s jobs site takes the guesswork out of the search for entry-level jobs. With clear job titles, excellent job descriptions, and a brilliant user interface, you should have no problem determining which job openings are worth applying for. Now go get a job at Apple so you can make all the disgruntled rumor mongers happy at the next MacWorld Expo.

Note: On April 23rd we revisited entry-level jobs at Apple.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did any of you notice that this was the second day in a row that we mentioned a site with “rumors” in the title? We hope we’re not turning into a gossip site.