VistaPrint

Willy Franzen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:46:26 +0000

When I started this business, I focused almost entirely on the web for networking – a LinkedIn connection or an e-mail address was all that I needed. However, my mom (who is also my graphic designer) had other ideas. Right after she designed my logo, she sent away to VistaPrint to get me business cards. Although I didn’t use them right away (I was glued to the computer screen and not talking to many people in real life), eventually they became a necessity. Those business cards also came with the one and only One Day, One Job t-shirt (a free gift from VistaPrint). They are the place to go for customized stuff (there’s no better way to put it). You can get business cards, pens, checks, banners, postcards, lawn signs, rubber stamps, mouse pads, magnets, and much much more. The best part about it is that you can do it all online and get a really great price. VistaPrint is definitely achieving their goal of “making high-quality graphic design and custom printing convenient and affordable for everyone.”

A New Vista for Your Career

The printing industry has been around forever, and it’s taken hundreds of years to begin its decline phase, but we’ve certainly reached it. That’s why it’s hard to believe that VistaPrint has built a $400 million printing business in less than 10 years. I guess that’s what happens when you own 90 percent of the online printing market (even if the market only makes up 1% of the total small business printing market). With such a rapidly growing business, it’s no surprise that VistaPrint continues to recruit top talent. Their Campus Recruiting page says that they focus on grads from Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, MIT, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, RIT, RPI, University of Waterloo, WPI, and Yale University. All of their events at those campuses occurred in the fall, but their site says that they will have future opportunities for Software Engineers, Quality Assurance Automation Engineers, Quality Assurance Engineers, Internet Software Quality Assurance Engineers, Marketing Associates/Analysts, and eCommerce Business Analysts. The jobs that are currently posted don’t seem to line up with their entry level opportunities, but you should still check them out to see if there’s anything that excites you. If not, you can submit a resume for general consideration. VistaPrint is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, but they also have offices in Lexington, MA, The Netherlands; Windsor, Ontario; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Barcelona, Spain. I should also note that VistaPrint has a fantastic Careers site, that makes it really easy to find information about what it’s like to work for them. The only snag is that it’s not immediately clear how you should apply for entry level jobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used VistaPrint?

Trendstop

Willy Franzen — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:29:31 +0000

What you wear is important. Whether it’s for a job interview or your first day of work, there’s no debating that your appearance is essential to your success. It may not be fair, and it often isn’t legal, but it’s true. For many it’s enough trouble just to wear something appropriate, but for others being trendy is extremely important. They want to give the impression that they are at the cutting edge of what’s cool. It takes a lot of work for an individual to keep up with the latest trends (unless you sign up for trend alerts, of course). Now, imagine being responsible for putting out an entire line of trendy clothes. Many companies can’t do this on their own, that’s why they sign up for Trendstop, a fashion forecasting and trend watching service.

What’s Trendy in Trend Watching?

Trendstop specializes in trend analysis with a focus on color trends, fabric trends, trend silhouettes, store window trends, street fashion trends, runway trends, and fast fashion trends. Designers, manufacturers, retailers, and consultants all use the information provided by Trendstop to make key business decisions. Whether it’s what to make or what to buy, people in the fashion industry need to be in touch with what’s next. Trendstop is one of the best in the industry when it comes to providing this up to date information. How do we know? We’re not fashionistas, but we trust Infomat’s list of top trend forecasting services, which gave Trendstop an A+ rating.

Trend Spot for Trendstop

It’s only four words, but that’s quite a tongue twister! Trendstop doesn’t appear to be hiring for full-time positions in their London office, but they do have a number of part-time and freelance jobs available. Opportunities that are currently listed on their website include: Global Trend Spotters, New Business / Account Manager, Menswear Retail Reporter, Fashion Writers, and CAD Designer (Garments, Artwork). Only two of these jobs are linked to descriptions, so it’s hard to get a read on what qualifications are necessary for the jobs. We can say that we’re pretty sure that the New Business / Account Manager opportunity is reserved for people with experience in Account Management.

We’re not sure what the logistics are of working for Trendstop since they’re located in the UK (and most of our readers are US students). We do know that the Global Trend Spotter jobs are freelance positions that are available in Milan, Los Angeles, Moscow, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin and New York. We would imagine that the Menswear Retail Reporter and Fashion Writer jobs are also freelance positions, but we could be wrong about that. Your best bet is probably to contact Trendstop yourself and see what they’re looking for in each of these positions.