One Day, One Job » user experience

RKS

Willy Franzen — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:10 +0000

Apparently the hot dog is a killer. Who knew? I had heard that the preservatives in hot dogs might cause cancer, but I read yesterday in this Fast Company article that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently “called for the redesign of hot dogs” because of the choking hazard. One of the Academy’s doctors even went so far as to say that, “If you were to take the best engineers in the world and asked them to design a perfect plug for a child’s airway, you couldn’t do better than a hot dog.” The article went on to discuss how RKS, a Thousand Oaks, CA based industrial design firm, was playing with ideas on how to redesign the hot dog. That’s a big task to bite off, but RKS was able to come up with some pretty cool concepts in their brainstorming. It shows why they can claim companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Nissan, and HP as clients.

Bite Off More Than You Can Chew at RKS

Despite their work on sausage design (did I ever mention that I took a Meat Science course in college?), RKS actually isn’t usually focused on food. While they seem willing to work on any type of project, their areas of focus include: Product Definition, Consumer Research, Market Analysis, Brand Strategy, Brand Communications, Industrial Design, Engineering, Prototyping, Human Factors, User Interface, Manufacturing Liaison, Packaging Design, Web Design, Channel Strategy, and Experience Design. RKS says that they “create designs that harmonize function, aesthetics, and emotions,” and that’s the key to what they call Psycho-Aesthetics®. Those are all nice words, but to really see what it all means you need to look at RKS’s portfolio and case studies. The RKS website is filled with great information about them, so you should definitely spend some time getting to know what their business is about. Once you do that, you can check out their Jobs page. They don’t post any positions on there, but they do allow you to apply for a job in the following areas: Industrial Design, Design Strategy, Graphic Design, Engineering/Innovation, Project Management, Model Shop, and Business Development. I’m not sure what it takes to get an entry level job at RKS, but you can be sure that you have to be very good at what you do. In addition to their web submission form, you can also reach out to RKS about employment opportunities at careers@rksdesign.com or by contacting Amalia Azzam Human Resources at amalia@rksdesign.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How would you redesign the hot dog?

Zinch

Willy Franzen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:46:38 +0000

If you’ve been in the job search for very long, you’d probably do anything to go back to Senior year of high school when you were applying to college. It’s not that the admissions process is particularly fun, but at least it has a set timeline and a fixed set of options. Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement. That’s why there are quite a few young entrepreneurs who have built companies that aim to make the college process better, just like I’m doing with the entry level job and internship searches. One of these companies is San Francisco based Zinch, which was founded by Mick Hagen, a Princeton dropout. They’ve created a social network that allows high school students to connect with the colleges that they want to attend. There are more than 700 colleges and universities that invest in Zinch, which is why more than 1.5 million students have created Zinch profiles to show off to admissions counselors and to apply for scholarships and financial aid packages.

Getting a Job Is a Zinch

Zinch’s motto is simple: “I am more than a test score.” They’re all about helping students make their case for why they’re a great fit at a given institution of higher learning. It’s the anti-common app. But what about Zinch’s business model? How does it work? Well, Zinch is free for students, but colleges must pay an annual fee to connect with students. This may seem strange to you, but you have to remember that colleges are essentially businesses, and they need a constant flow of customer. While schools like Harvard and Princeton constantly have way more qualified applicants than spots in their Freshman classes, most colleges aren’t so lucky. They need to market themselves to students. Traditionally they’ve done this by inundating the mailboxes of high school juniors and seniors based on data from standardized test scores. (Side story: My mom forced me to check the “do not mail me” box on all of my testing stuff, so I felt left out when all of my friends were getting recruited and nobody was sending me anything.) Zinch thinks that’s a poor model, so they’ve stepped it up a bit. They’ve created a new marketing platform for colleges, and it seems to be working out pretty well.

This means that Zinch is growing and hiring. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they are looking for people in Engineering/Software Development, Sales/Marketing, Internet/Search Marketing, Graphic Design, Public Relations, and Videography/Cinematography. To apply for any of these positions, you need to e-mail work@zinch.com with the following:

1) An attachment of your resumé/CV
2) Answers to the following questions:
+ If you could change/add one thing about Zinch, what would it be and why?
+ How would you move Mount Fuji?
+ What are three things you want to accomplish before you die?
+ What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done (crazy can be defined as, for example, dangerous, silly, stupid, etc)?

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you wish that you had Zinch when you were in high school?

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?

Riot Games

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:56:51 +0000

Apparently my parents and sister have engaged in a never-ending series of online Scrabble games played via iPhone. I’m with my parents in Florida right now, and every five minutes they’re bugging each other to make the next move. It’s crazy. Free online gaming has hit the masses, and it isn’t pretty. There are tons of new online gaming companies, and while some are focusing on bringing new gamers to the market, others are more focused on gaining ground with serious gamers. Culver City, CA based Riot Games is a perfect example of the latter. They are behind League of Legends, a free online role-playing game that is set in an imaginative world. The game has been downloaded more than a million times, and Riot Games has received $20 million in venture capital investment based on the game. $8 million of that investment came from a Chinese gaming company that has a huge user base, so this is very much an international play.

Incite a Riot

The interesting thing about Riot Games and League of Legends is that the game is essentially console quality. It’s the type of game that serious gamer would pay to play, but it’s free. Riot Games’ business model is more akin to that of Zynga than that of Blizzard. What that means is that Riot Games makes League of Legends free to play, but they charge for in-game item purchases. It seems like a smart idea, and if it works, they’re going to have a huge leg up on the game makers who charge an upfront cost for their games. With all of the recent investment, Riot Games is growing its headcount rapidly. A quick look at their Jobs page will show you that they have nearly two dozen full-time openings. Not all of them are geared towards entry level candidates, but enough are. Riot Games’ current openings are in Art, Programming, Design, Production, QA Operations, Customer Service, and Web, so check them out and see if you find something that fits your interests. If you do, you can apply e-mail and hopefully land a job where you’ll enjoy perks like ninja nerf gun battles, full expense trips to the bathroom, and stock advice.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played League of Legends?

The Economist

Willy Franzen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:00:13 +0000

I’ll admit it, I don’t read The Economist regularly, but plenty of my friends do—mostly the smart ones. It’s a magazine (they call themselves a newspaper, but you’d likely identify it as a magazine) that stands apart from other periodicals in a variety of ways. It’s not the topics that they cover—they offer both news coverage and analysis and opinion on business and politics—it’s more the way that they cover those topics. The most interesting thing about The Economist is the fact that all of their articles are written anonymously. It’s about “a belief that what is written is more important than who writes it,” but you have to like the fact that anonymity allows the writers the freedom that they need to address topics in the ways that they should be addressed. The Economist is all about free trade and free markets, yet it “considers itself the enemy of privilege, pomposity and predictability.” The Economist is based in London, but they are very much an international business and magazine.

Put the Free Market to Work

I can’t imagine that you could take a job with The Economist without being an avid reader. If you’re already one, then I’m sure that you’re chopping at the bit to see what kind of jobs they have available, and if you aren’t, then you better go pick up a copy or start browsing their website. You’re certain to find yourself challenged in a way that you never have been before. Not only does The Economist’s approach make them stand out editorially, but it also makes them stand out as a business. While many huge names in the print media are struggling—the New York Times is a perfect example, The Economist continues to thrive and grow. This article from PaidContent.org goes into more detail about The Economist’s economic successes, which are even more impressive considering that their parent company (half owner) Financial Times is struggling. So what about those jobs? The Economist has job offerings all across the world, but we’re going to focus on their US based opportunities, which are mostly located in New York City. Potential entry level opportunities include UI Developer, Account Executive – EIU Enterprise Subscription Sales (Chicago, IL), Distribution Customer Service Analyst, Integrated Marketing Coordinator, and Drupal Developer. All of the jobs look really interesting, and you can apply by using the HR contact info on The Economist’s site. If you’re looking for a job on the editorial side, I’m sure that you have your work cut out for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read The Economist?

Acquia

Willy Franzen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:56:35 +0000

I’m a huge fan of open source software. I build all of my sites on the WordPress platform, and I am amazed at how powerful the blogging software has become over the years. Still, I know that it can’t do everything. If I get too much more advanced, I’ll probably have to move to a platform like Drupal—another open source content management system. The problem with that is that I’m not a programmer, and Drupal is a bit more complex than WordPress. Luckily, there’s a support option. Acquia is a Woburn, MA based company that provides “products, services, and technical support for the open source Drupal social publishing system.” They were founded by Dries Buytaert, the guy who created Drupal, so there’s no question about whether they’re the right people to offer Drupal support—they know the platform inside and out.

Acquia a Job

It may seem strange that powerful software like Drupal is available for free to anyone. Why would software developers give away their hard work? Maybe some of it is altruistic, but it turns out that there are a lot of business models that can be built on top of free software—and they work better when the software has more users. Acquia is a perfect example. Support is worth big bucks to many Drupal users, so $8,000 annually for Acquia’s Enterprise package is money well spent. Acquia has been growing rapidly; with an infusion of capital last year, they have been able to grow their team pretty quickly. If their Jobs page is any indication, this trend hasn’t stopped. Right now Acquia has a number of positions open that seem suitable for new grads. These include Front-End UI Developer, Client Advisor, Technical Consultant, and Inside Sales Rep. You can apply online for any of these positions through this form.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Had you heard of Drupal before?

Demand Media

Willy Franzen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:39:28 +0000

I’m sure that you’ve heard a lot in the news about how traditional media companies are having trouble taking their business models online. You may be under the impression that making money from web content is near impossible, but there’s a dirty little secret: it’s not. While companies like the New York Times stick to editorial integrity and chasing Pulitzers, there are companies out there that craft their content with the sole purpose of making money. A perfect example is Santa Monica, CA based Demand Media. They’ve secured more than $355 million in venture capital funding, grown annual revenue to more than $200 million annually, and reached a valuation north of $1 billion all by taking an ROI based approach to content development. How does that work? Demand Media has developed an algorithm that helps them find profitable topics. By using data from Google AdWords, they’re able to estimate the demand for a given piece of content (example: an article and video on how to tie your shoes) along with the revenue that the yet to be developed piece of content could be expected to make given a certain number of pageviews.

Demand a Job

This may sound unsavory to some of the writers out there, but I’d imagine the business students are in awe. Demand Media delivers their content through a number of web properties, and some of these include eHow, Cracked, and Livestrong.com. In addition to distributing profitable content across their web properties, Demand Media also licenses some of the social media tools that they’ve developed internally to other businesses. One of the amazing things that I learned about Demand Media while researching them is that they publish approximately 4,000 articles and videos every day. Demand Media is YouTube’s largest contributor, and the number of pageviews that they’re driving across their network is staggering. They’re able to develop so much content through an army of freelancers who work through a site called Demand Studios. If you’re a Writer, Filmmaker, or Copy Editor, that’s the first option for getting a “job” (it’s only freelance, and the rates are kind of low) through Demand Media. Your second option is to check out Demand Media’s Corporate Job offerings. They have a number of positions that seem suitable for new grads including HR Coordinator (Bellevue, WA), QA Engineer (Austin, TX), Marketing Associate (Bellevue, WA), QA Engineer (Santa Monica, CA), Algorithm Scientist (Austin, TX – PhDs only), Account Manager (Bellevue, WA), and Web Developer/Graphic Designer (Austin, TX). You can apply online for any of these positions, but before you do, take an hour to learn more about Demand Media—there’s a ton of information available about them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Demand Media’s business model?

Knewton

Willy Franzen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:45:31 +0000

You thought that you were done with test prep, but now the economy is in a rough spot and the job market is kind of weak. You’re thinking about grad school, and that means doing the standardized test thing all over again. Luckily, things have changed since you took the SAT or ACT. The one size fits all approach of classroom instruction is out, and “adaptive learning” delivered through an online platform is in. Knewton is a New York City based startup that is one of the leading innovators in the test prep market. They seem to be mostly focused on the graduate school test prep market, although they do offer an SAT prep course too (PrepMe is a similar company that focuses only on pre-undergraduate test prep). Knewton is not only focused on improving the quality of test prep results, but they’re also working hard to make test prep more affordable and more interactive.

Get a Knew Job

Knewton’s key point of differentiation from other test prep companies that provide online courses is its adaptive learning technology. While “traditional classrooms and textbooks provide the same material to every student, Knewton dynamically matches lessons, videos, and practice problems to each student’s ideal learning arc.” Along with the technology, they’re matching their students up with top notch teacher who provide both live and on-demand video instruction. The test prep market is huge, and Knewton is primed to take a big bite out of it. They’re well funded and have a leadership team with a ton of industry experience. They appear to be a growing company, and growing companies usually have jobs. Knewton is no exception. Their Jobs page shows 10 openings, and a number of them seem suitable for new grads. These positions include Interactive Visual Designer, Content Developer, Jr. Machine Learning Specialist, XHTML/CSS/JS Front-end Developer, Online Marketing Analyst, and maybe even Teacher. You can apply online for any of these positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you plan on ever taking a standardized test again?

Intellectual Ventures

Willy Franzen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:30:53 +0000

One of the books that I’ve been reading lately is SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance. It’s a great follow-up to the original Freakonomics, and it once again shows how changing your mindset can lead you to all kinds of new ideas (this is a really important lesson for job seekers). One of the companies that is mentioned in the book is Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, WA based invention company. They’re all about ideas. Things like product design, product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and service all come later, and Intellectual Ventures doesn’t want anything thing to do with those processes. They just invent, invent, invent. The company isn’t tied to one specific area—they’re working on problems like stopping Malaria, preventing hurricanes, and counteracting negative effects from climate change should they ever happen.

An Intellectual Venture for Your Career

For Intellectual Ventures it’s all about owning the intellectual property. They want to come up with the ideas, make them work, and then let other companies do the rest. The business side will be about licensing the technology to the right people on a non-exclusive basis possibly including spin-off companies, but for now it’s all about building a technology portfolio. Intellectual Ventures has been actively inventing since 2003, and since then they’ve filed thousands of patents. These patent applications “span a broad range of areas including computer software and hardware, user interface design, semiconductors, biomedical devices, advanced medical procedures, digital imaging, nanotechnology, nuclear energy and advanced particle physics.” As you can probably tell from that list of topic area (and the company’s name), Intellectual Ventures is filled with extremely smart people. It was founded by two former C level Microsoft executives.

If you’ve always been fascinated by invention and you think that you have the intellect, then you should check out Intellectual Ventures’ Jobs page. They have 50 positions posted right now, and most require a high level of education and experience, but a few seem suitable for new grads. Whether or not a position is right for you will rely heavily on how relevant your background is, so it makes more sense to browse the listings yourself to see what fits. You should also note that Intellectual Ventures has satellite offices in Silicon Valley, Austin, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, and Bangalore.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you read SuperFreakonomics yet?

Willy Franzen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:39:19 +0000

A lot of people find it ironic that I put an end to my job search by starting a company that helps other people with their job searches. I’ll admit that it’s a bit odd, but it seems to be working out pretty well. Maybe you’ll do something similar by landing a job at a job-search focused company like Mountain View, CA based LinkedIn. There are plenty of other companies trying to build professional social networks and online résumé sites, but none of them seem to have any hope competing with LinkedIn. LinkedIn reached critical mass first, and that’s why they’re one of my favorite online job search tools. Not only do they allow you to visualize your own professional network to see whom you’re connected to, but they also let you browse through the networks of different companies to learn more about their organizational structure. Where else can you get access to the résumé of someone whose job you want to have five years down the road? LinkedIn is an amazing tool for smart job seekers, and it’s also an amazing business—they’ve been profitable for nearly three years (which is impressive for a startup of their size and scope).

Get LinkedIn

LinkedIn is obviously much more than a job search tool, but that’s its most common use for new and recent college graduates. If you’re not already on the site, you should sign up today. If you are, you should invest some time and effort into learning more about how to use the site—we have some great tutorials in our job search training course, Found Your Career. This goes doubly if you want to land a job at LinkedIn—I can’t imagine their hiring anyone who isn’t extremely familiar with their product. It wouldn’t make sense. Oddly enough, LinkedIn’s Careers site and Job Search function leave something to be desired. Maybe it’s because I expect theirs to be best of breed, but I’m disappointed. The Careers site provides all of the normal information that you’d expect, and the Job listings are just that—a list of jobs. They do allow a few ways to sort them, but they’re not very helpful. It’s actually better to use the general LinkedIn job search tool and specify that you’re looking for jobs at LinkedIn. It makes the results a little easier to sort through. None of LinkedIn’s current job postings are explicitly entry level (which I find a bit surprising), but they do have a number of positions on the Software Development side and Account Management/Advertising side that look like possibilities for recent grads with the right background. Since LinkedIn is all about networking, you may even want to skip the job postings, and just focus on using the site to connect with people at the company—that would show true knowledge of how their product works.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use LinkedIn?

Cobalt

Willy Franzen — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:09:06 +0000

Check out this week’s sponsor, New York City Teaching Fellows. They’re seeking new grads with no prior teaching experience or background in education to help make a difference in NYC’s public schools.

When I last bought a car in 2001, the best way to go about it was to stop by dealerships to see what they had in their inventory. I remember using the Internet to some extent, but it wasn’t all that helpful. Although I haven’t purchased a car since, I’m pretty sure that the web is playing a much larger role in the car buying decision process these days. That’s why Cobalt, a Seattle based company, is doing so well. They’re in the business of automotive marketing, and they made the Inc. 5000 last year with 134.0% three-year revenue growth to $168.4 million. Cobalt works with both dealers and manufacturers to “increase their retailing effectiveness and profits.” The company has been around since 1995, and it consists of three key subsidiaries: Dealix, UsedCars.com, and IntegraLink.

Drive Your Career in the Right Direction

The big reason that Cobalt has been so successful is that they were ready for the transition to digital marketing from the start. A lot of people in the automotive industry weren’t ready for a change in their business model, but luckily they have Cobalt to rely on for marketing. More than two thirds of auto manufacturers and one half of dealers in the US use Cobalt’s services in some capacity. Cobalt is a lot like a fully-integrated marketing agency in terms of the areas in which they work, but their business doesn’t appear to be quite as client focused (for instance they run a UsedCars.com—a destination site). If you’re intrigued by what Cobalt does, then you’ll want to take a look at their Careers page. It goes into a lot of detail about what it’s like to work at Cobalt, and then it will direct you to take a look at their job postings. There are lots of opportunities for new or recent grads including: Data Normalization Clerk (Columbus, OH), Technical Customer Support (Columbus, OH), Website Technical Support (Lynnwood, WA), Online Marketing Specialist (Lynnwood, WA), Technical Inside Sales (Redwood City, CA), Operations Analyst – Inventory (Seattle, WA), UI Web Developer (Seattle, WA), Build and Release Engineer (Seattle, WA), and Sales Operations Specialist (Seattle, WA).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

When is the last time that you bought a car?

Lunchbox

Willy Franzen — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:46:14 +0000

If you haven’t already checked out this week’s sponsor, New York City Teaching Fellows, take a look now. They’re recruiting new grads with no prior experience or education in teaching to teach in NYC public schools.

Although Twitter’s search results are getting filled with more and more junk, I’m still finding that Twitter is a pretty easy way to find jobs and internships that wouldn’t typically be on your radar. That’s how I came across Lunchbox, a Culver City, CA based “full-service agency that specializes in creating complete-branded content packages.” Since I have no idea what that actually means, I took a look at Lunchbox’s portfolio to get a better idea of what their work entails. Basically Lunchbox helps build brands by developing new ways for their clients to introduce their brands to customers. It may be creating stuffed animals for Discovery Channel or designing a magazine for CMT. Whatever the challenge is, Lunchbox brings an amazing creative team that has worked in the past with some of the world’s biggest brands.

What’s in Your Lunchbox?

My take on interactive agencies like Lunchbox is that the best way to judge whether you want to work for them is to look at their portfolio. Not only should you consider the names that they work with—Lunchbox has worked with Pepsi, Nick at Nite, Walmart, Warner Bros., and plenty more—but you should also look closely at what kind of work they put out. I’m impressed with what I see from Lunchbox, but it’s up to you to determine if you’d fit in with them. If you think you will, you should check out Lunchbox’s Jobs page. They have 7 positions open right now, and the most likely fits for new grads are Back-End Software Engineer, Front-End Software Engineer, Interactive Developer, QA Analyst, and Video Production Assistant. Lunchbox seems much more focused on talent than experience, so get ready to impress if you’re going to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Lunchbox’s portfolio?

‘peeps creative

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:59:21 +0000

When it comes to company names, I’ve seen a lot of things—all lowercase, weird characters separating two names, all caps, odd uses of numbers, and much more; however, today I’ve come across a first. ‘peeps creative is a company whose name starts with an apostrophe (as you have probably already noticed). It’s pretty unusual, but I guess it’s the kind of thing that you should expect from a creative firm. ‘peeps creative is based in Akron, OH, and they “build meaningful and demonstrably profitable marketing initiatives in the digital and traditional spaces.” They’re all about innovation and spotting trends, as long as it helps them deliver “high-end brand experiences.”

Make a Peep

Being creative isn’t easy. You probably know that from the job search. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and keep looking at the same job boards and applying for jobs at the same kinds of companies. Creative people often do have natural gifts, but a big reason for their ability to come up with new ideas is that they create an environment that breeds creativity. For ‘peeps creative that means using “methods including but not limited to high-minded concepting, creative direction, research, in-house photography, nurturing creative culture, sushi, mind-bending digital development, an almost debilitating attention to detail, content creation, nerf products, video games and real estate.” If that sounds like the perfect environment for you, then you should take a look at jobs at ‘peeps creative. Right now they’re looking for an Interactive Designer/Developer and a User Interface Designer/Developer; however, they’re always open to hearing from talented people who don’t fit into the posted positions too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about ‘peeps creative?

Bonobos

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:00:28 +0000

Want to get $30 off your first Bonobos purchase? They have an awesome referral program, so if you want a Bonobos invite, just leave a comment below with your real e-mail address in the proper field (it won’t be displayed). We’ll send you a referral coupon code for $30 off.

Pants are important. Especially when you’re trying to land a job. Going to a job interview without pants is the kind of disaster that only happens in nightmares. Showing up with wrinkled pants is a more likely problem for most recent grads—it makes you look sloppy and careless. Wearing ill fitting pants is almost as bad, even if you have demonstrated to your potential employer that you know how to properly use an iron. The problem is that there aren’t a lot of non-jean pants out there that fit men well. At least that’s what Bonobos, a New York City based fashion startup, thinks. They kind of have a Web 2.0 feel to them, even though they’re in a business that is hundreds of years old. They pride themselves on making great fitting men’s pants (they do suggest a pants hack for women who want Bonobos), offering unbeatable customer service, and providing an overall wonderful shopping experience. I just bought my first pair of pants from Bonobos last night, and I’m excited to see if they live up to the hype. If they don’t, I can take advantage of their free two-way shipping and “any pant, any time, any reason” return policy.

Get in on the Monkey Business

So, the Bonobo isn’t actually a monkey—it’s a “sexually promiscuous Great Ape that possesses nearly all of modern man’s better traits” according to Bonobos’ website. I’m not sure where Bonobos got their name, since chimps don’t wear pants, but the company appears to be extremely committed to saving the Bonobo (they donate $1 for every new customer to an ape sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo). The company was started by two guys from Stanford Business school, one of whom was altering his own pants with a girlfriend’s sewing machine to improve the fit. Word spread about his great fitting pants, and now there’s a company funded with $3 million in angel investment and valued at $15 million pre-money. If that’s not enough, Bonobos is on their way to doing $4 million in sales this year, and they were featured by Forbes earlier this year and by the New York Times just a few weeks ago.

Bonobos seems to be on a hot streak right now, and they’re intent on keeping it going. That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise to see that their Jobs page is loaded with opportunities. These positions include Junior Art Director/Stylist, Technical Designer, PR Ninja, Operations and Warehouse Ninja, Style Ninja, Field Ninja, and Front End Developer. Bonobos has a great perspective on talent in that they don’t get too hung up on experience, so you shouldn’t hesitate to apply for any of these positions as long as you can demonstrate that you’ll be the best person for the job. I think that Bonobos does exceptionally with their job postings—the only thing I don’t get is why they use the term “ninja” in many of their job titles. I guess hiring a PR Chimp and a Style Chimp might put some people off. The application instructions vary from job to job, so be sure to look at the postings closely. Also, you should note that they’re very open to applications for unlisted positions, so that’s an option too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

BillShrink

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:55:32 +0000

We’re officially in the Christmas season, and that means lots of good things. One thing that isn’t so good is all of the spending that comes with buying people gifts (whether you enjoy the consumerist aspects of the holidays or not). It feels great to be generous, but only until you look at your credit card statement at the end of the month. Cutting back on gifts or making your own is one idea, but it’s a lot easier said than done. Your best bet is probably to find some other ways to save money so that you can buy everyone what you want to buy them. A great way to do that is BillShrink. They’re a Redwood City, CA based startup that offers “a free, personalized savings tool that helps you save money on your everyday bills.” If you can cut your cell phone, credit card, and gas bills, then you’ll be able to buy me (or someone you actually know) more gifts.

Shrinkage Is Good

The way that BillShrink works is pretty simple. You fill out a few forms and share some personal information with them (nothing too scary), and then they make recommendations that will save you money. Right now they focus mostly on credit card and cell phone bills, but they have plans to add more verticals in the future. The big question is: how does BillShrink pay their own bills? They have revenue sharing plans with their partners. That means that when they recommend that you change cell phone providers, they’re going to get some sort of payment for referring you. You’re still saving money, they’re making money, and their partner is also making money. The only loser is the company that was charging you too much. It’s a great business model, and it should continue to grow as people get more comfortable with using these kinds of services. If BillShrink sounds like something that you’d like to be a part of, you should check out their Jobs page. Although some of their internship offerings appear to be non-technical, the only entry level job they have right now is as a Front End Engineer. You can apply online and should also keep an eye out for other opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried BillShrink?

SeatGeek

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:52:27 +0000

Last spring when sports fans on the North Side of Chicago were still hopeful, Amy and I decided that we wanted to go to a Cubs game. It was the day of the game, and we didn’t have tickets. We checked out StubHub, and saw some pretty good prices, but we decided that waiting would get us even better prices. We waited. The prices went down. We waited some more. The prices went down some more. And then disaster struck. StubHub stops selling tickets 2 hours before a game. We were shut out. We ended up heading to Wrigley and buying from some “ticket brokers” outside of the park. We got a pretty decent price, and we had a great time (I may or may not have been listening to the Yankees game on my iPhone at the same time), but we were left with the question of when is the best time to buy tickets on the secondary market. Apparently SeatGeek has the answer—they’re a New York City based web startup that predicts the price of sports and concert tickets. We’ve seen similar startups succeed in the travel market, and I think this business may make even more sense for event tickets.

Cheap Seats, Great View

With SeatGeek sitting in the cheap seats isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They’ll not only help you find the best deal on tickets right now, but they’ll also help you figure out how long to wait to buy tickets before you get shut out like I did. They claim greater than 80% accuracy, which is due to the fact that they’re using some pretty heavy statistical methods to predict prices. SeatGeek still has a ways to go before it’s a popular service (I tried a few searches that gave me no results and no suggestions of what else to try), but I think that they’ll have a pretty easy time building a profitable business. If you want to get in early, you should check out jobs at SeatGeek. Current postings include Lead Web Developer, Frontend Web Developer, Director of Statistics, and VP of Business Development. Don’t be scared off by the job titles, at least give the job descriptions a look to see if they make sense for you. To apply for any of the positions send a résumé and cover letter to jobs@seatgeek.com. And if you want more information, check out TechCrunch’s coverage of SeatGeek.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried SeatGeek?

Brightcove

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:45:33 +0000

It took long enough, but Internet video is everywhere. Yes, we had online video 10 years ago, but now it actually looks good—and works. The main reason for this is that end users (you and me) finally have technology in their homes that can handle playing online video. This means high speed Internet connections and computers with enough processing power to not crash when a website uses a Flash video player. The issue for content creators is that delivering video still poses some challenges. Sure, I was able to produce an online job search training course that relied heavily on video with little trouble, but I wasn’t delivering video to thousands or even millions of people (I wish I had the problem). As your use base increases, the challenge of delivering video increase exponentially. Moreover, managing video content in an organized fashion is a completely different challenge than organizing text and images. Brightcove is a Cambridge, MA based company that provides an online video platform for many of the worlds biggest brands.

Are You Bright Enough?

I’ve probably said this before about other companies, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen a client list as impressive as Brightcove’s customer list. It includes names like The New York Times, Discovery Channel, Sony Music, U.S. Army, and Ticketmaster, so you know that Brightcove isn’t just some flash in the pan startup. They have top flight clients who are paying lots of money for the Brightcove platform. With that said, it will be interesting to see how online video delivery develops in the next 5 to 10 years and how Brightcove adapts to those changes. If you want to be a part of the future of online video, then you need to check out Brightcove’s Job listings. Most of their current openings are either experienced or internship positions, but there are a couple of jobs that seem suitable for new grads. These include Customer Solutions Specialist and Part-Time Training Operations Assistant. Brightcove also has a listing for applicants who can’t find a job posting that fits them. Whether you are looking for something in Software/Web Development, User Experience, Quality Assurance, Marketing, Sales, or Business Development, it’s probably worth reaching out to Brightcove to see if they might have something for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you seen websites that use Brightcove to deliver video?

SurveyMonkey

Willy Franzen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:06:05 +0000

One of my goals with One Day, One Job is to get more interactive. I’d like to get more feedback from you, the readers, on what you want to see, and I’d also like to use the collective wisdom of thousands of college aged job seekers to develop better content. The best way to do that is through reader surveys, which is why I recently signed up with SurveyMonkey. They’re a Menlo Park, CA (formerly Portland, OR) based “startup” that has been helping people run online surveys for the last decade. While most Internet companies that started in 1999 have since flamed out and most companies started in the 2000s have relied on flashiness to bring in venture capital money, Survey Monkey and its outdated look have been laughing all the way to the bank. By providing a dead simple way for business owners (they’ve worked with more than 80% of the Fortune 100) to collect data, SuveyMonkey has built an insanely successful business.

SurveyMonkey Says…

As TechCrunch reported last month, SurveyMonkey has finally taken on some outside money and started to take growth seriously. They’ve more than doubled their staff over the last year, and they’ve revamped their management team. You won’t find a lot of information about SurveyMonkey online, but you will find a lot of people who have used their software. SurveyMonkey has never seemed to care much for flash or attention. Instead they have used the “Freemium Model” to bring in thousands of paying customers. If you’ve always wanted to work at a web startup, but were wary of the “scene,” then SurveyMonkey might be the right place for you. They have a number of job openings posted, and a few seem suitable for new grads. The most likely is Front-end Engineer, but they also have some positions in Marketing, Product Management, Technical Operations, and User Experience Design that might be work looking at. And if you don’t see anything that suits you, you can always use their online form to apply for an unlisted position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever responded to a SurveyMonkey survey?

TechSmith

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:49:20 +0000

One of the more effective ways that I’ve found to teach online job search tactics is to use screencasting. I do a number of screencasts in Found Your Career, and they seem to work really well when walking people through how to use sites like Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook for job search. TechSmith is an Okemos, MI based company that is “the world’s #1 provider of screen capture and screen recording software for the individual and professional user.” They’ve been in the business since 1987—which is an insanely long time for a company in their industry, and they’ve actually been doing screen capture for most of that time. I’ve never used any of their products, but I’ve heard from a number of people who rave about Camtasia, TechSmith’s main screen recording software.

ScreenCast Your Way to a New Job

Although Michigan got some bad news last night with the Tigers’ loss, you have to like seeing tech companies that are doing their best to revitalize the state’s economy. TechSmith is doing just that. Although they may appear to be a small software company, they actually have about 200 employees and are hiring more. In fact, they even do on campus recruiting at a few select schools. Most of their entry level jobs seem to be geared toward people with a tech background; however, some of their internships are a little less techie—that may mean non-tech jobs will be available in the future. Of the jobs posted on TechSmith’s site, the following appear to be suitable for new grads: Mac Developer, Software Engineer, Software Test Engineer, User Experience Designer, and Web 2.0 Developer. They go into a lot of detail about what they’re looking for, so read the job descriptions carefully. You can apply online; however, if I were apply for a job at TechSmith, I’d probably find a way to get them to watch a screencast of why they should hire me. That’s just me, though.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used TechSmith’s software?

Memeo

Willy Franzen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:15:59 +0000

Before I get started, I’d like to ask you all for a favor. Businessweek is seeking nominations for their list of the Best U.S. Entrepreneurs 25 and Under, and I happen to be under 25 and an entrepreneur. I’d love to be on this list, but only if you think I should be. If One Day, One Job has helped you with your job search or you just love what we’re doing, please nominate me. It won’t take more than 90 seconds. Thanks!

When I was growing up, I kept all of my most prized possessions in a small wooden box that my Dad gave me. I knew that if the house ever caught on fire, I’d grab that and run (because there was no way I’d be able to carry my entire baseball card collection). These days I still think the same way, but my laptop is definitely the first thing that I’d grab before running out of a burning building. Maybe I’m unique because I run an online business, but I think that you’d probably grab your laptop too. Our prized possessions are increasingly in the form of data—our pictures, our movies, our contacts, and many of the other things that can never be replaced. Memeo is an Aliso Viejo, CA based company that recognizes how important data is to our lives. They build products that simplify your digital life. They have backup software, syncing software, and file sharing software. Yes, there are plenty of software companies that make these kinds of products, but Memeo makes it simple and easy to manage your digital assets.

Did You Get the Memeo?

The cool thing about Memeo is that they combine simple to use desktop software with the ability to put your files “in the cloud” (that means online). Although more and more applications like the ones that Memeo produces are moving to the web, it’s nice to have the robustness of a desktop application. Sometimes working through your web browser just isn’t ideal. If you like the sound of what Memeo is doing, you should check out their Jobs page. There are quite a few opportunities available, and a few of them seem suitable for new or recent college grads. They’re all posted on the Job Listings page, so look out for the following positions: Product Manager, Mobile Wireless Application Developer, PHP Developer, Mac Software Developer, and User Interface / Graphics / User Experience Designer. Most of these jobs wouldn’t be considered entry level, but you’ll be able to tell by the technical job descriptions whether you’ll be a good fit. To apply, send a cover letter and résumé to jobs@memeo.com with the title of the position that you’re applying for in the subject line.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Is your data your most prized possession?

Invention Machine

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:49:03 +0000

A lot of people think inventing is easy. You see those guys like Billy Mays screaming on tv, and you think to yourself, “I could have thought of that.” Believe it or not, even those stupid infomercial products aren’t easy to come up with, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the world of invention. Inventing a new product is a long, arduous process that requires a ton of resources. Invention Machine is a Boston based software developer that “drives sustainable innovation by enabling global organizations to consistently generate breakthrough ideas that accelerate product development.” It’s hard for a non-inventor to understand how software can help the inventing process, but judging from the number of large corporations that are using Invention Machine’s software, there’s something there.

Become a Part of the Machine

Since Invention Machine has a corporate video that goes into more detail about what they do, I’m going to give you a little break from reading.

If you head over to Invention Machine’s Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of job openings right now. None of them scream entry level at me, but you should certainly take a look at both the Inside Sales Representative and User Interface Designer positions to see if they might give you an idea of where you can fit in at Invention Machine. They do offer a number of internships, so they clearly value young talent. They say that you “may submit your resume for a specific position, multiple positions or general employment by emailing a resume to jobs@invention-machine.com,” so don’t be shy about reaching out to them about a job opportunity.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever invented something?

Adify

Willy Franzen — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:16 +0000

I finally got around to reading a review copy of Sramana Mitra’s Entrepreneur Journeys
over the weekend, and it offered a pleasant surprise. Beyond providing an inside look at the lives of more than a dozen entrepreneurs, it also provided me with a number of ideas for companies to write about here. Today, we’re going to take a look at Adify. They’re a San Bruno, CA based company that helps media companies build vertical ad networks by combining “advanced ad serving and targeting technology together with an invaluable layer of expert human judgment and monitoring.” In other words, they make it technologically easy for content companies to monetize their websites.

Jobify

What Adify does may seem a little complex if you’re not familiar with the online advertising industry, but it’s actually pretty simple. Say that you have one of the most popular websites on fly fishing, and you want to sell advertising targeted to fly fishermen. Unfortunately, there’s no ad network that does the specifically, so you need to use a large ad network like Google’s that doesn’t really understand the audience as well as you do. With Adify, you can create your own ad network so that not only your site’s ad inventory can be sold, but you can also get other similar sites to join your network and sell their ad inventory. Adify provides the back end technology for all of this, while you can focus on content and selling advertising. It’s pretty cool. Right now Adify has a bunch of jobs posted, and a couple seem like they might be well suited for new grads. If you head over to their Jobs page, you should be sure to check out the QA Engineer, UI Engineer, Solutions Engineer, and Platform Solutions Associate. You can apply for any of the jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@adify.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

kgb

Willy Franzen — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:47:46 +0000

Have you always wanted to be a secret agent? Well here’s a mission, if you choose to accept it: try to land a job with New York City based kgb. No, I’m not talking about Russia’s version of the CIA. I’m talking about “the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services.” Formerly known as INFONXX, kgb is in the business of making information easily available. If you’ve seen their commercials, then you’re probably most familiar with their “Ask Us Anything” service. I personally think it’s for lazy people, but that’s because I’m a huge advocate for developing your own research skills. If getting the answer to your question is worth 50 cents, then that’s cool, but I’m gonna Google it myself. The good news is that kgb’s business goes well beyond charging lazy people who need their stupid questions answered.

Join the kgb

Now, if you want to get a job with kgb, you’re going to have to do some serious sleuthing (or maybe you could just spend 50 cents to ask via text what kind of jobs they have available). It’s not that they’re all secretive, being the kgb and all, they’re just kind of disorganized with their recruitment message. On the main kgb.com site, the only prominent link is for their work at home opportunities (they title it “become an agent”). These jobs basically entail answering questions for a cut of the 50 cents, so that’s probably not what you’re looking to do with that college degree that you just got. Hidden in this section is a link to kgb_USA’s Careers page. Here you’ll find some more interesting opportunities. They’re sorted by location, so you’ll have to check each location to see all the jobs. They have Customer Service Representative positions in San Antonio, TX; Lubbock, TX; and Hawaii. Additionally, they have jobs in Database Administration and Accounts Receivable in Bethlehem, PA. That’s not it, though. There are also jobs with kgb web in New York City posted on Startuply. These include positions like Developer of Data, Master Ruby Developer, and Usability Expert. As you can see, jobs with kgb are kind of all over the place. How you apply will depend on which positions you’re applying for, so show off your research skills if you want to land a job with kgb.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used kgb?

Wolfram Research

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:49:42 +0000

If you’re an Internet geek like me, then you’ve probably noticed all of the buzz around Wolfram|Alpha. Some have dubbed it a “Google killer,” but as far as I can tell, they’re way off the mark. They’re wrong because Wolfram|Alpha isn’t a search engine – it’s a knowledge engine. The goal is “to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone.” The concept is kind of hard to grasp until you try it, but once you see how it works, I think that you’ll be impressed. So, who is behind Wolfram|Alpha? Wolfram, of course! They’re based in Champaign, IL, and they’re “one of the world’s most respected software companies–as well as a powerhouse of scientific and technical innovation.” They’re the company behind Mathematica – a software package that excels in ” computation, modeling, simulation, visualization, development, documentation, and deployment.” I’ve never had the pleasure of using it, but I know math teachers who think it’s pretty awesome.

Join a Powerhouse

From what I can tell, Wolfram is about as academic as a company can get. They use their expertise in computer science to create amazing tools that help smart people do their jobs and research better. Yet, Wolfram’s ambitions go beyond that. This Wolfram|Alpha thing seems to be a well received attempt at going mainstream, and it’s only in its early stages. You have to love a company that is constantly working to make people smarter and more effective, which is why you should consider jobs with Wolfram Research. They don’t have specific job openings listed, but they are constantly looking for people in the following areas:

Algorithm Development
Software Engineering
Financial Engineering
Image and Signal Processing
Control Systems
Geospatial Information Systems
Instrument Control
Experimental Data Analysis
Statistics
User Interface Development
Applications Development
Software Quality Assurance
Technical Support
Technical Marketing
Business Development
Project Management
International Business Development
Special Projects
Mathematica Programming
Information Technology
Customer Relations
Educational Outreach
Technical Writing
Sales
Scientific Business Development
Technology Licensing

There’s a single online application form for all of these positions, and it’s really in-depth. So, if Wolfram Research already has you fascinated and “you’re clear-thinking, pragmatic, and energetic about getting things done well,” then go ahead and apply ASAP. Additionally, Wolfram Research has some Science and Technology R&D Fellowships that you may want to check out. Beyond Wolfram’s headquarters in Champaign, IL, they also have locations in Boston, MA; Oxford, United Kingdom; Paris, France; and Tokyo, Japan.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Wolfram|Alpha’s capabilities?

Harvest

Willy Franzen — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:22:57 +0000

Yesterday I got an e-mail from a fellow Cornell grad named Danny Wen. He graduated a couple years before I landed on campus, but he and another Cornellian named Shawn Liu are also entrepreneurs. After graduation they started working at Internet consultancies, but eventually they decided to go into business for themselves in New York City. Just like me, they decided to solve a problem that they were facing. Unlike me (the guy who couldn’t find a job), their problem was tracking all of the money that they were making. Their response was Harvest, a web-based solution for freelancers and small business to track time and invoice clients. I know that keeping a small business organized is really hard, so it makes sense that a dead simple tool like Harvest would be in high demand.

Harvest Yourself a Job

Now, Danny Wen didn’t just contact me to say hi. Ok, maybe he wanted to do that too, but he has a job for you guys, and he wanted me to share it with you. His company is growing, and they’re looking for young talent to help continue that growth. Right now there’s only one job opening, but it’s a good one. Harvest is looking for a Community Manager to “organize and support the growing community of Harvest users from around the world.” This job comes with all kinds of different tasks, but almost all of it boils down to communication. You need to know social media, be able to write well, engage with customers, and, obviously, manage Harvest’s community. The job sounds awesome, and Harvest also sounds like a pretty cool place to work. The position is Contract to Hire, and you can apply here.

Additionally, Harvest’s parent company (I think that’s what it is) Iridesco is also hiring an Interface Designer, so that’s another job that you might want to check out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t you want to work here?

Wikinvest

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:38:50 +0000

Who would have thought that you could build a whole startup off of a Wiki? I mean, I know that Wikipedia is wildly successful, but they’re run by a non-profit called the Wikimedia Foundation. Building a real business off of that same idea almost sounds too easy, but that didn’t stop the founders of San Francisco based Wikinvest from trying it. It all started when two Harvard students were day trading in their dorm rooms during the height of the Internet bubble. They were making money, so they thought they were smart investors. When the bubble burst, they realized that they weren’t nearly as smart as they thought they were. As they tried to educate themselves, they noticed that most financial websites leave a lot to be desired (kind of how I noticed that most job search sites leave a lot to be desired). Instead of building a team of salaried experts, the guys who started Wikinvest decided to crowdsource their content through a Wiki. So far it seems to be working well for them – they raised $2.5 million in a first round (although that was 18 months ago).

Wikinvest in Yourself

Some challenge that Wikinvest is inherently flawed because anyone can submit information. You’d think the pump-and-dumpers would be all over it, but the site still appears to be loaded with quality content (and not rife with spam). There’s also the question of why you would want to share good investing information publicly instead of keeping it for yourself and making lots of money. I certainly see the validity in those arguments, but I think that they miss the point of Wikinvest. The point is to learn key concepts and basic information that will allow you to understand more in-depth information that might not be found on the site. For instance, you can’t invest in Corn if you don’t understand the basic concepts behind Corn Prices. Since all new grads should be investing (even if it’s a small amount), Wikinvest is a great resource, but it’s also a place to consider employment. Despite their investment background, most of their jobs are actually on the software/web side. Their Jobs page shows a number of positions that seem geared towards new grads – Software Developer, Web Developer, User Interface Architect, and Flex/Flash Developer. You can apply for any of these jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@wikinvest.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you using Wikinvest to help you plan for your future?

Mozilla

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:53:19 +0000

I remember the days of browser wars. It was Netscape vs. Internet Explorer, and it was ugly – the Internet that is. Back then it was all about whether or not your browser displayed pages properly, and people were passionately in favor of one browser or the other (or maybe some weird 3rd option). Now it’s all a lot simpler (unless you’re still using Internet Explorer) – your browser probably displays most sites just fine, and you’re more worried about speed and bells and whistles. That’s where Mozilla shines with their Firefox browser. They’re absolutely dominant with web savvy users (except with me – I still use Safari), and they are constantly making their products better. The Mozilla Corporation is a Mountain View, CA based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit, while the Corporation calls itself a “public benefit organization.” That means that they are “dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet” – even if by definition they’re still a for profit.

Browse Mozilla’s Jobs

Not too long ago it seemed that the browser wars were over. Microsoft had come out on top, and they had even decided that there was no need to keep working on building a better web browser. Out of nowhere an open source project started gaining traction. Internet Explorer is still an industry behemoth, but Mozilla’s Firefox continues to grow and can now claim 15% of the world market share. That means that there’s still a lot of room to grow, and with Mozilla’s focus on user experience, you can be sure that Firefox will continue eating away at Internet Explorer’s user base.

One of the coolest things about working at a company like Mozilla is how many people they reach. Most of my daily work is done on the web, and my web browser is almost like my office. Most of our computing needs are moving to the web, and Mozilla is doing everything in its power to make that experience as enjoyable as possible. So, how can you become a part of Mozilla and their awesome projects? You can start by checking out their Careers page. It’s really well done, and includes information on the company, the team, life at Mozilla, first person experiences, and – obviously – job listings. Their jobs are posted in a number of sections that include College Recruiting, Engineering, Engineering Operations, Finance, Labs, Legal, Marketing, Quality Assurance, and User Experience. We obviously want to take a look at College Recruiting which includes jobs like Firefox Engineer, Platform Engineer, and Web Developer. Don’t just focus on those jobs though, there’s the chance that some of the other jobs might be suitable for some entry level candidates too. You can apply online (through your web browser, obviously), so get to it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which web browser do you use?

Meetup

Willy Franzen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:22:48 +0000

One thing the Internet has done for us that doesn’t get talked about a lot is that it has made it so much easier to organize real-life events. You can send a meeting request, create an event on Facebook, organize a Tweetup, or a Meetup. It’s amazing that phone calls and invitations are nearly obsolete when it comes to organizing an event. With that said, there’s still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to online tools to getting people together. That’s what Meetup, which is based in New York City, is all about. They provide a place for people to organize meetups and to share them with the rest of the world. Whether you want to join The Chicago English as a Second Language Meetup Group or The NYC Cranium Meetup Group, you can do so with the help of Meetup.

Meetup with a New Job

Meetup is a pretty simple idea – make it easy for people with similar interests to find each other. It’s put well in The Meetup Manifesto:

Let’s be fearless. Let’s exercise our human right of assembly. Let’s exploit it big-time. Let’s use the Internet to get people off the Internet. Let’s bring back the handshake. The verbal debate. The smile. You know, some good ol’ face-to-face, eye-to-eye contact. When people get together amazing things happen. They advocate, argue, learn, laugh and share. Let’s be a group. Let’s be a real group. Groups have a history of making history. People unite, motivate, activate and mobilize. Groups give us the power to face a health crisis, start a political movement, pursue a passion, launch a business, and turn strangers into friends. To be bigger than ourselves. Let’s step away from our screens for a moment. Do without the PC, the TV and the phone. People are more powerful than pixels. A real group can beat up a virtual group any day of the week. Let’s find the others. The ones that want the same thing. Let’s meet in real time, in real places, and make a real difference.

Let’s Meetup.

Meetup’s business model is also simple. They charge Meetup organizers a monthly subscription fee to use the site. Meetup has been around since 2001, and they moved to this revenue model in 2005. They’re still around, and they’re still hiring, so it must be working. Current entry level opportunities at Meetup include Software Engineer, User Interface Engineers, Quality Assurance Engineers, and Bilingual Customer Service Specialists. You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@meetup.com, but be sure to check out the individual job descriptions first.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to an event organized on Meetup?

Salesforce.com

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:55:30 +0000

Managing relationships is hard. Even with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, e-mail, text messages, cell phones, and every other tool that we have to stay in touch with people, it’s just not that easy to actively maintain a lot of relationships. Now, imagine that your job is all about managing relationships with people who pay your company money. Welcome to a job in Sales. It’s not easy, and managing all of your relationships with an address book, rolodex, or your cell phone’s saved numbers isn’t going to cut it. You need help with customer relationship management (CRM), and Salesforce.com is CRM (seriously, their stock ticker symbol is CRM). Salesforce’s big tagline is “No software” (their phone number is actually 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE), but they don’t really mean it. Their business is all about providing software, but it’s software as a service. That means that Salesforce eliminates most of the headaches of traditional CRM software by being really easy to use. It may be software, but the goal is for the end user (the guy or girl working in Sales) not to realize it.

Join the Salesforce

Despite the fact that Salesforce sounds like it’s all about Sales and has nothing to do with software, the opposite seems to be true when it comes to their jobs. Ok, that’s not quite true, they have plenty of Sales related jobs too. They really have all kinds of jobs that are located all across the country. They also have specific jobs for new grads and a great section of their website devoted to University Recruiting. The good news is that Salesforce appears to be doing a ton of hiring, but their entry level hiring is relatively slim. If you check out their job listings and scroll to the bottom, you’ll see that their entry level openings (in San Francisco at their headquarters) are for Usability Analysts and User Researcher. You may be able to find more jobs by scanning the rest of the job postings. You should also check out Salesforce’s University Recruiting Brochure and their University Recruiting Calendar (they’re still visiting campuses this spring).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you manage your relationships?

New York Magazine

Willy Franzen — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:05:35 +0000

These days a magazine’s website is absolutely essential to its success. Many are saying that there’s a day not too far off when most of the magazines that we know and love won’t be published in hard (soft?) copy and will only be found online. Things are changing, but some magazines seem better suited to weather the changes than others. New York Magazine is one of those that seems to be keeping up with where the industry is going. NYMag.com gets well over a million unique visitors per month, and that’s excluding the month that they published nude photos of Lindsey Lohan when their traffic increased by 2,000%. (No, we’re not going to link to them. You can find them yourself). New York Magazine “covers, analyzes, comments on and defines the news, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion and personalities that drive New York City” on a weekly basis. Basically it’s everything New York.

Do You Love New York… Magazine?

If you want to work for New York Magazine, you should probably start reading. I can’t think of a better way to prepare for a job with a content publisher than knowing the content that they publish. You might also want to check out Wikipedia’s page on New York Magazine since New York Magazine, like most magazines, doesn’t provide much information about themselves on their website. One thing that seems to be unique about New York Magazine is that they’re not part of a huge media conglomerate (as far as I can tell). There are so many magazines that are owned by companies that publish dozens and dozens of magazines, but New York Magazine doesn’t appear to be one of them.

Once you’re familiar with what New York Magazine is all about, you can check out their Jobs page. Their listings are kind of sparse right now, but they do have freelance opportunities for Web/Interaction Designers and Copy Editors. These job postings may be a bit outdated, but they’re still posted, so it’s worth inquiring about them. At the very least it’s a chance to learn about other jobs that they might have available right now. The application details depend on which position you’re applying for, so head over to New York Magazine’s Jobs page for al of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read New York Magazine?