One Day, One Job » Virginia

Fantazzle

Willy Franzen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:47:34 +0000

It’s a tough time of year for fantasy sports enthusiasts. The football season is over, and it’s still a bit early to be preparing for your fantasy baseball draft. There’s hockey and basketball, but they’re right in the middle of their seasons. The excitement of the draft is long gone, and the playoffs are still too far away. You need an outlet for all of that fantasy sports energy, and Arlington, VA based Fantazzle might be the perfect outlet. They’ve only been on the scene for a couple years, but they’ve already been acknowledged by The New York Times’ Fifth Down Blog as having the most accurate preseason fantasy football rankings for the 2008 season. I haven’t played any of their games, but it appears that they run weekly games instead of full season games. It’s for players who don’t the attention span to last a whole season (or maybe players who get discouraged by being in last place after a couple weeks).

Dazzle at Fantazzle

When I first came across Fantazzle, I had a few hesitations about featuring them. The only games that they have available today are fantasy golf and fantasy racing. The site also doesn’t seem to be generating much traffic, which means that they’re probably not generating much revenue. They are, however, an early stage startup, and they received $352,000 in funding over the past few months. They do a charge a fee for some games and they do offer cash prizes (hopefully that’s not considered gambling by the government), so they do seem to have a business model that will scale nicely. Despite my hesitations, I think it would be pretty cool to work at a fantasy sports startup. Fantazzle’s Jobs page shows that they’re looking for a Fantasy Sports Social Media Professional. The salary is pretty low, but there you’ll get flexibility (they’ll let you work virtually) along with some perks. You can apply online, but you’ll probably want to do a little more digging to get the full read on where Fantazzle is going first.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play fantasy sports?

Palantir

Willy Franzen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:09:27 +0000

I have to admit that the “jobs” that I’m most concerned with today is Steve Jobs. I can’t wait to find out what Apple is announcing today, and I wish that I had some relevant jobs to bring you. I don’t, but I did come across a really cool list yesterday called 5 Butt Kicking Companies You (Probably) Never Heard Of. The list is exactly what it promises, as it features 5 later stage startups that are growing rapidly and hiring lots of people. The first company on that list is Palantir, a Palo Alto, CA based company (with another office in McLean, VA) that “is working to radically change how groups analyze information.” They were founded by former PayPal employees and Stanford computer scientists. Right now the company is focused on two verticals: Government and Finance. Both areas deal with massive amount of data and information, so it makes sense that Palantir is starting with them.

Analyze This

The cool thing about Palantir is that they still have a startup attitude and culture despite the fact that they’re focused on two industries that most people don’t associate with fun. The types of problem that Palantir is trying to solve include “national security, global finance, cyber defense, regulation & oversight, public health, and disease control.” This isn’t just some Web 2.0 startup—it’s a serious business with clients who expect perfection. That’s why culture is so important at Palantir. They only hire the best: “Less than 3% of candidates who receive a phone interview will receive an offer.” It’s a strict meritocracy, with a family feel. They have the XBOX, masseuse, and on-site gym that you come to expect from startups, but there’s also the expectation that “‘work’ and ‘life’ are not separate universes.”

Palantir appears to do a lot of on-campus recruiting with a focus on engineers from elite schools. They don’t provide any information on college recruiting on their site, but you can take a look at current job openings. The most likely fits for new grads include Business Development Associate, Audio Visual Engineer, Software Engineer, Salesforce Applications Developer, Software Developer in Test, Web Developer, Quality Assurance Engineer, BD Operations IT Analyst, BD Operations Analyst, Facilities Operations Analyst, and Operations Administrative Analyst. There are plenty of entry level opportunities at Palantir, so apply online and see if you can be one of the few that make the cut.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Palantir?

Grafik

Willy Franzen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:51:19 +0000

Design matters. It’s the reason that Apple can sell devices that essentially do the same thing as those of their competitors for a significant premium. It’s the reason that you choose to trust one website over another. It’s the reason that you buy brands. Yes, functionality matters too, but that’s a given. Grafik gets it. They’re an Alexandria, VA based integrated marketing agency that appears to put a heavy focus on visual design. Their main service offerings are brand strategy, integrated communications, and interactive marketing, but it’s very obvious from looking at their website (and their name) that graphic design is a key part of what makes Grafik successful. Browsing through a gallery of their work only confirms this.

Are You Grafikly Inclined?

My one beef with Grafik is that their website puts design way ahead of function. They may impress with design, but their use of Flash makes it impossible for me to link to specific pages. Additionally, their Clients page has some sort of flaw that makes the content disappear almost immediately. Still, the experience on Grafik’s website is impressive—it explains why they have clients like the AARP and Accenture (I was able to spot those before the list disappeared). You’ll have to browse around their site to get a feel for what they’re all about. After you do that, you can navigate to their Careers section by clicking the About link. They don’t provide job descriptions, but I’d imagine that the Junior Designer and possibly the Interactive Designer positions are most suitable for new grads. You can apply by sending a cover letter, résumé, and link to your portfolio to careers@grafik.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Grafik’s website?

Mars

Willy Franzen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:10 +0000

Tomorrow is Halloween, which means that we need to talk about candy today. We’ve already looked at companies like Jelly Belly, The Hershey Company, Charles Chocolates, Vosges, and Just Born Quality Confections. We’ve also discussed jobs at Mars & Co., which is a consulting firm, and not to be confused with Mars, the CPG and candy company. You probably know them best for M&M’s, Snickers, Dove, Milky Way, Twix, and Mars bar; however, they’re also behind Pedigree, Whiskas, Uncle Ben’s, and quite a few other brands. For your sake I hope you only run into the good stuff and not Whiskas or Pedigree during your trick-or-treating. While headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars has locations all across the world. They’re a huge company with a ton of international business, which makes for a great place to gain some experience.

Take a Trip to Mars

It all started in 1911 with butter cream candies in a kitchen in Tacoma, WA. Frank C. Mars and his wife started selling these candies, and now you’d be hard pressed to find a person who has never tasted one of his company’s confections. If you’d like to be part of this true American success story, then you need to check out Mars’ Careers page. They offer a lot of information about their company and what it’s like to work for them, and they even have a separate section for students. It seems that most of the information that they provide is on International careers, but they have a job search function that will let you find what you’re looking for. And since you’re in the trick-or-treating mood, I’m going to leave that up to you—but just so you know, they have job opportunities in areas including Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Logisitcs, Manufacturing, Marketing, Purchasing, Research & Development, & Sales.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite candy from Mars?

Tandberg

Willy Franzen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:57:54 +0000

I think that I’ve mentioned before that my first experience with video chat was was with CU-SeeMe in an Internet cafe in the mid 90s. Back then the potential for social interaction over online video seemed pretty promising, but the potential for business uses (not that I thought about that when I was 13) was even greater. Real-time video has been slower to take hold on both the social and business fronts than I expected, but now that the quality is so good, we’re seeing more and more businesses embrace video conferencing. Tandberg is a company that is at the forefront of this movement. They have dual headquarters in Oslo, Norway and New York City, and they are both “the market share leader and the fastest growing company in the video conferencing industry.” Their 30% annualized revenue growth for the past 10 years may not be Inc. 5000 material, but it’s still hugely impressive.

I Wonder If They Use Video Interviews

While video conferencing can be as simple as opening up iChat and using the built-in iSight in your Mac, Tandberg offers a higher end experience. They offer products and services that offer superior a superior user experience with a focus on business uses. I remember using video conferencing in a class in college, and I was amazed at how effective it was for presenting to the company that we were working with on our project. It’s all about changing the way people communicate, and if that’s something that gets you excited, then you should check out Jobs at Tandberg. They have opportunities in the United States, Asia Pacific, and Europe. We’re going to focus on the US where they have entry level opportunities like Service Sales Account Manager – Western US, Service Sales Account Manager – Eastern US, Training Operations Supervisor (Reston, VA), Regional Support Specialist Chicago, IL or Reston, VA/Atlanta, GA, and Global Marketing Writer (Reston, VA). You can apply for any of the positions by sending a cover letter and résumé to hr@tandberg.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you ever use video conferencing?

Rosetta Stone

Willy Franzen — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:39:19 +0000

While the Inc. 5000 is filled with exciting companies that you’ve probably never heard of, there are also some familiar names on the list. Rosetta Stone is a popular brand with job seekers, not because of their jobs, but because many new grads decide that they should put their free time to good use and learn a new language. (I think they’d be smarter to invest in a job search prep course, but I’m biased.) Rosetta Stone is far and away the biggest brand name when it comes to learning new languages, so it’s no big surprise that the Arlington, VA based company has grown from $48.4 million in revenue to $209.4 million over the past three years. In fact, the growth has been so strong that they recently held an IPO that was considered very successful.

A New Tongue, A New Job

While many companies in the business of selling content are struggling these days, Rosetta Stone continues to thrive because of their unique approach. They created a system for effectively teaching people languages on the computer, and then they modified the process for 30 different languages. Even though it costs them very little to administer their content to a new customer, they’re able to charge a significant amount of money because of how well their software works. If you love languages, then it’d be hard to find a company as interesting to work at as Rosetta Stone. They have a really nice looking Careers page, but they blow it by listing their jobs on CareerBuilder.

It’s actually relatively easy to browse Rosetta Stone’s 100+ job listings, I’m just averse to anything related to the big three job boards. In fact, you can even narrow down Rosetta Stone’s job listings to just entry level positions. Right now you’ll see listings for Customer Security Representative, Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Customer Care Representative, Associate Product Manager – Consumer Learning Products, and Consumer Product Support Specialist. There’s a good chance that some of Rosetta Stone’s other jobs are also suitable for new grads, but you’ll have to browse through the job postings yourself to find them. Since all of the positions are on CareerBuilder, you’ll have to apply through their website. You might also want to check our Rosetta Stone’s Facebook Recruiting page, where they talk about their campus recruiting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used Rosetta Stone to learn a language?

College Hunks Hauling Junk

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:52:17 +0000

Today is the last day to enter our Maghound Your Way to a New Job contest. With so few entries so far, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll win a one-year subscription to an awesome new magazine subscription service (3 monthly magazines for free!).

I’m still on my Inc. 5000 kick, and today we’re looking at a company whose name immediately caught my eye. They’re called College Hunks Hauling Junk, and that’s exactly what they are. Omar Soliman wanted to make some money during the summer, so he borrowed his mom’s cargo van to start hauling away people’s junk. He then entered his business plan in the Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition and won the $10,000 first prize. He realized that he had a business that he could grow, and now College Hunks Hauling Junk is doing $2.9 million in revenue. Guess that’s why Omar and his co-founder Nick were named (also by Inc.) as Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30. College Hunks Hauling Junk is headquartered in Tampa, FL, but through expansion and franchising they now operate in Anne Arundel, MD; Baltimore/Howard County, MD; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Richmond, VA; San Francisco/San Jose, CA; Tampa Bay, FL; and Washington, DC Metro.

Are You Hunky Enough?

College Hunks Hauling Junk certainly has a provocative name, but that’s part of their success. Finding someone to haul away your junk isn’t that hard, but it’s really easy to go with the brand you recognize. College Hunks Hauling Junk is all about grabbing attention so that they’re the company that you choose when you need to get rid of some junk. It doesn’t hurt that they can call themselves green, as they recycle 60% of the junk that they collect. Now, College Hunks Hauling Junk obviously has plenty of jobs available. If you want to get in the business of hauling junk to pay your way through college, they can help, but they’re also a growing company with growing needs. They have a bunch of corporate job postings that consist solely of titles. Since they’re a college startup, it’s hard to say how much experience they’re looking for with each position, but you’ll have to apply to find out. The posted job titles include Truck Captain/ Wingman, VP – Franchise Development, Client Loyalty Associate (Inside Sales Rep), Operations Manager, VP – Marketing, VP – Public Relations, VP – Finance, VP – Business Development, and VP – Information Technology.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used College Hunks Hauling Junk?

Triumvirate Environmental

Willy Franzen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:35:37 +0000

In the environmentalist’s ideal world there would be no such thing as hazardous waste. Everything would be pure and natural and “green.” Unfortunately, that will never happen (partially because every living thing is its own little hazardous waste factory). How we deal with this hazardous waste is what truly determines the future of our environment. Triumvirate Environmental has figured this out, and they’ve spent the last 21 years building a business that provides “turnkey environmental and hazardous waste management services to clients across four niche sectors; Education, Healthcare, Industrial, and Life Sciences.” They’re based in Somerville, MA with locations across New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic, and they also appear to be masters of social media.

Join the Triumvirate

I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard of Triumvirate Environmental until today. They’re totally on top of employment branding and social media use, so you’d think they’d be on my radar screen (I actually have an entry level job radar that gives me ideas for posts). This is impressive because they’re doing a great job making hazardous waste management exciting for job seekers and customers alike. Triumvirate Environmental has 9 blogs on topics that include The Environment, Environmental Careers, Higher Education, Healthcare, Industrial and Manufacturing, Life Sciences and BioPharma, Engineering Blogs, National and International Environmental News, and Social Media. It almost seems like too much, but if blog readers turn into customers or employees, then it’s well worth it. Triumvirate is all over Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube as well.

Although I find Triumvirate’s social media use impressive, I’m more impressed with their customer service philosophy, which is built off of their mission to “build the most productive, long-term, customer-intimate, environmental services firm by WOWing! each employee, and each customer, every day.” It’s all about WOWs! I’ve found that companies that treat their customers well, also treat their employees well, and the same can be said for companies that have Career blogs. That’s why you should definitely check out Triumvirate’s Career Center. Right now they have 22 job openings, and a number of them are suitable for new grads. These include Environmental Specialist (Somerville, MA; Providence, RI; Portland, CT; and Astoria, NY), Help Desk Specialist (Somerville, MA), and Environmental Service Representative (Portland, CT). There are also a number of jobs that are more “hands on” that only require a High School degree and some certifications. You can apply for all of these positions online, but I’ll bet that using social media to reach out to some people at Triumvirate Environmental may be a more effective way to get noticed.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you heard of Triumvirate Environmental before?

Vecna Technologies

Willy Franzen — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:48:19 +0000

Don’t get freaked out, but imagine an earthquake. Part of the building that you’re in collapses and you’re injured. There’s no way for you to get out, and there’s no safe way in for a rescue team. It’s too dangerous to send people in to get you out, but your injuries are life threatening. You need medical attention ASAP. Luckily, there’s a BEAR. No, not a trained wild animal (although that’s almost a good idea), but a “versatile, humanoid robot capable of lifting
and carrying humans and other items over 600 lbs.” This isn’t some fantasy. It’s a reality because of Vecna Technologies, a high-tech startup whose corporate mandate is “Better Technology, Better World.” They’re based in Greenbelt, MD, but they also have offices in Skyline, VA; Cambridge, MA; and Silicon Valley, CA. Robotics like those found in the BEAR is just one sliver of the things they’re doing to put technology to amazing uses.

Better Technology. Better Jobs.

Since Vecna works in so many different areas, I’m going to use their words to tell you more about what they do:

Vecna is the driving force on important and exciting projects such as designing cutting edge health care infrastructure and life-saving AI software for hospitals around the world, helping NIH with genomics research, providing high-tech consulting to government and commercial clients, and building enterprise web-based systems. Vecna’s robotics division is making history with the BEAR robot and is rolling out several new robotic products. The breadth of our projects keeps work fun and challenging for the whole team.

It’s really cool stuff, and if you want a more detailed look at what they do, you can check out all of their Solutions.

What about jobs? There are quite a few of them, and Vecna Technologies does a great job of selling themselves as an employer. Their Careers page has a ton of information – even a link to a page that asks Is Vecna Right for You? and a rundown of the hiring process. After checking that out, you’ll probably want to take a look at Vecna’s Current Job Openings. Those positions most suitable for new grads are Electromechanical Technician (Boston Area), Implementation Engineer (DC Area), Robotics PhD (Boston Area), and Software Engineer (Boston or DC Area). You can apply for these positions online; however, Vecna does offer a referral bonus. The process is a bit complicated, but it’s worth it – because I’ll split the $4,000 bonus with you. So, if you’re going to apply for a job with Vecna Technologies, e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com first. I’ll get right back to you with the referral #, and you can win doubly if you land the job.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How cool is the BEAR?

Scottrade

Willy Franzen — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:58:44 +0000

After I graduated from college, I decided to take a responsible approach to my personal finances (I wish I had taken the same approach to my job search, but I didn’t, which is why I’m here teaching you how not to be a loser like I was). It took me a while to get my act together, but once I did I started investing in the stock market through Scottrade, an online discount brokerage company that is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. (And before I go on with more information about Scottrade’s jobs, I need to give Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a plug because it just came out and is the best personal finance resource for young people that I’ve come across.) So, Scottrade allows me to buy and sell stocks at 7 bucks a pop. They also have a solid web interface that gives you access to all kinds of information, and they have 399 branches with helpful employees to answer you questions and get your accounts opened. If you’re interested in opening an account with Scottrade, let me know at willy@onedayonejob.com and I can give you a link that gets us both free trades. If you’re interested in working for Scottrade, keep reading, duh!

Trade Up to an Entry Level Job with Scottrade

Now, you may be thinking, “Ummm… Willy, the stock market sucks right now, why would I want to get involved with that business?” There are quite a few reasons. First of all, Scottrade is growing at an excellent rate, which is why they were included in the Inc. 5000. Second of all, they’re not one of these big banks that is on the edge of failure. They’re a discount brokerage that focuses on customer satisfaction, not playing with money in risky ways. Third of all, they’ve been named one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. Oh yeah, and the 4th reason is that they are hiring at the entry level. They do some college recruiting, but they also post plenty of positions on their Jobs site.

Jobs at Scottrade’s St. Louis headquarters that might interest new grads include IT Web Architect, Business Analyst, Business Analyst Specialist, and quite a few more – especially in the IT/Software Development Areas. Additionally Scottrade has jobs at its brokerages across the country. The Stockbroker position seems most appropriate for new grads, and you can do it almost anywhere – St. Louis, MO; Richmond, VA; Miami, FL; Oakland, CA; Greenville, SC; Albany, NY; Aventura, FL; Bloomington, IL; Boca Raton, FL; Castro Valley, CA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Lafayette, LA; Midvale, UT; Ocala, FL; Parsippany, NJ; Redding, CA; San Antonio, TX; Santa Rosa, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; St. Cloud, MN; Yoba Linda, CA; Redding, CA, and probably a lot more places in the future.

You can apply for all of the jobs online on Scottrade’s Jobs site.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you invest? Do you use Scottrade?

Emotive

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:29:52 +0000

As we learned in the most recent round of elections, the Internet matters. Even 4 years ago there was a lot of talk about the importance of campaign website, but not a lot of real value. Now it’s absolutely essential to use the web to organize your base and to reach swing voters. Add to that the fact that politics are recession-proof (unfortunately), and you’ll understand why Arlington, VA based Emotive is so well positioned right now. They’re a direct marketing company that specializes in online solutions for political campaigns, trade associations, and issue-based coalitions. If you want to see some of the work that they’ve done, you can check out the websites for The Governator and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. They offer complete solutions, so as they put it, “We’re not only going to build you a Cadillac, we want to be your chauffeur.”

A Job at Emotive Doesn’t Make You an Emo

Whether you’re interested in direct marketing, web development, politics, organizing, or all of the above, Emotive could be a really interesting place for you to work. They’re conveniently located in the DC area, which is smart considering their clientele. Their website doesn’t say a ton about what they do, but I think that the Portfolio on their About page should tell you everything that you need to know. Just yesterday, Emotive posted 3 job openings on their LinkedIn Company Profile. The job titles are Interactive Designer, Interactive Developer, and Account Manager, and all of them look like they may be suitable for new college grads. You can apply for the jobs through LinkedIn, and you can also find out a lot more about the company from their profile.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How important do you think the web is to political campaigns?

SPARTA

Willy Franzen — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:57:37 +0000

Usually when I’m looking at the job requirements to determine whether a position is suitable for new college grads, I’m looking at things like education, experience, skills, and job functions. It’s not often that I’m thinking about security clearance, but at today’s company, SPARTA, it’s essential for most of their positions. (Now, don’t worry if you don’t already have Top Secret Clearance, they still might have jobs for you as long as you didn’t get into too much trouble during your college years or before.) The reason that there’s all this talk about clearance is that SPARTA is a company whose “core business areas include strategic defense and offense systems, tactical weapons systems, and space systems” and whose “major intelligence credentials include intelligence production, computer network operations, and information assurance.”

This Is SPARTA

If you’ve spent your time in college attending peace protests, then SPARTA probably isn’t for you, but if you have a hard science or engineering background that you’d like to put to practical use, then you’ll be fascinated by the job titles that SPARTA is hiring for. Current openings include Weapons Effects Analyst, Cyberspace Analyst, and WMD Engineer (don’t worry, this job is about “supporting national efforts in developing, integrating and synchronizing capabilities to combat weapons of mass destruction”). These aren’t SPARTA’s entry level jobs, but they demonstrate what kind of projects the company is working on. They have more than 100 jobs listed right now, and quite a few of the opportunities actually are entry level. These include Integration Engineer, Software Engineer, Systems Engineer, and Linux/Unix Software Engineer. These are the only jobs that are identified as entry level, but you should definitely check out the rest of their job listings. You can apply online, and SPARTA has locations that include Arlington, VA; Aurora, CO; Bel Air, MD; Bellevue, NE; Billerica, MA; Centreville, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, MD; El Segundo, CA; Huntsville, AL; Laguna Hills, CA; Lake Forest, CA; Nashua, NH; Newport News, VA; Orlando, FL; San Diego, CA; and Sunnyvale, CA.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you fascinated by SPARTA’s job titles?

Luck Stone

Willy Franzen — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:21:57 +0000

Although people mostly associate St. Patrick’s Day with drinking, I like to think of it in terms of searching for something good. Just think – there’s the four leaf clover, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and… ok that’s it. Well, you can also use St. Patrick’s Day as motivation for your job search. That’s why we’re looking at Richmond, VA based Luck Stone today. Not only are they a company that fits in with our St. Patrick’s Day theme, but they’re also a company that is all about searching for something good. The only thing that’s different about them is that they consider the stuff that you dig through to be the “pot of gold.” Yes, that’s right. It’s the stone that they’re after.

Bring Luck to Your Job Search

Lucky Stone “is the largest, family owned and operated aggregates company in the U.S. and is the 12th largest producer of crushed stone in the nation.” That means that they dig stuff up, and they sell it. It’s 21st century alchemy with an Irish flair! The good news for you is that you can stop eating your Lucky Charms in your underwear at noon every day and turn stone into a job because Luck Stone has a strong college recruiting program. Their job listings don’t show any jobs for new grads, but their College Recruiting page invites interested entry level candidates to contact their Talent Acquisition Consultants. It’s easier than finding a four-leaf closer, so get on it!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

National Student Partnerships

Willy Franzen — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:10:53 +0000

How’s the relationship between your college or university and the town or city that it’s in? Let me guess. Not so hot. It always seems that students and “townies” don’t get along too well. Beyond that, there can also be situations like at Yale in New Haven, CT where the students are generally much wealthier than the people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. This just exacerbates the fundamental gap between the university and the community. National Student Partnerships is a non-profit organization that was started in New Haven by two Yale students who wanted to close this gap. They “designed a program where college student volunteers work one-on-one with community residents, coordinating access to employment opportunities and social services, including job training, housing, health care, child care, and transportation.” It’s a wonderful idea, and it’s working – look at the success stories.

Become a Part of NSP

In a lot of ways college students are an untapped resource. They generally have a lot of free time, a lot of energy, and a lot of brains – they’re just lacking a bit when it comes to “real world” experience. Putting them to work whether it be an internship or a volunteer program like NSP just makes sense. Additionally, college students are our future, which is why “NSP seeks to unite a national movement of students dedicated to direct service now, so that the systemic challenges we inherit do not become ones we will pass on.” Beyond offering volunteer opportunities and internships, NSP also has some entry level jobs for new grads. You can find the listings on NSP’s Jobs page, and they include openings for a Site Coordinator and a Regional Program Manager. The Site Coordinator positions are available in Baltimore, MD; Bronx, NY; Cambridge, MA; Chicago, IL; Evanston, IL; New Haven, CT; Philadelphia, PA (2 Offices); Pittsburgh, PA; Richmond, VA; Somerville, MA; and Washington, DC, while the Regional Program Manger position is located in Boston, MA. You can apply for the Site Coordinator jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@nspnet.org, and for the Regional Program Manager job by sending your materials to joinus@nspnet.org

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How is your college’s relationship with the community?

Positive Energy

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:59:42 +0000

How much energy do you use every day? I’m not talking about Calories, although I’d be surprised if you knew that, I’d be shocked if you could tell me how much energy you consume on a given day. You might know how much you spend (and that might be more important), but as energy becomes a bigger and bigger issue, you need to be an informed “consumer.” Everybody needs a little Positive Energy, right? Well Positive Energy is an Arlington, VA based company that is working to “engage the 300 million Americans who are in the dark about their energy use through a combination of cutting edge technology, analytic direct marketing, behavioral science and world-class design.” Sounds pretty cool to me.

Positive Energy for Your Job Search

Positive Energy is a relatively new company, but it looks like they’re already well on their way to offering products and solutions that are going to change the way that we think about energy. Their approach is different from other companies and organizations with similar goals because Positive Energy relies on four areas of expertise: Behavioral Science, Direct Marketing Analytics, Measurement and Verification, and Private Industry Engagement. This must be working for them, because they have quite a few job openings available on their Jobs page. Jobs that might interest new or recent college grads include Implementation Engineer, QA Engineer, Account Executive, and Business Analyst. The job descriptions are relatively in-depth and can be found at the bottom of Positive Energy’s Jobs page. To apply for any of these jobs, you can send a cover letter and resume to jobs@positiveenergyusa.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Positive Energy’s approach?

Omniture

Willy Franzen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:53:47 +0000

Maybe it’ll sound sad to you, but web analytics are a big part of my life. When your job is running websites, it’s often the best feed back that you can get. I have to admit that it makes me feel better about myself when I get more visitors, more subscribers, and more comments. And I really like it when people sign up to learn more about a job search training course that I’m releasing in the next few days. I’d imagine that employees at large corporations aren’t nearly as emotionally tied to web analytics as I am, but maybe they are – they often hold titles like Web Analytics Manager. While I’m happy with the information that Google Analytics provides me, many companies have much greater needs when it comes to tracking users on their websites. That’s why the big boys like Apple, Adobe, NBC, Chevrolet, Gap, Neiman Marcus, The New York Times, PayPal and Target use Omniture, a Utah based web analytics company. If those names trust Omniture for analytics, then you can be pretty sure that Omniture is the best out there.

Analyze This

If you don’t know a lot about web analytics, then maybe you should. Not only is it going to be essential for many jobs in the future, but it’s also good to know how much websites actually know about you (it’s kind of scary). A company that uses web analytics properly can significantly improve their bottom-line by constantly adjusting to the continuous flow of feedback that they’re getting. Companies can now adjust their marketing and advertising campaigns within the course of a day and know what’s working and what isn’t. In the days before the Internet, adjustments were often made over the course of months or even years. I find web analytics absolutely fascinating, and if you do too, then a career with Omniture might be something worth considering. Job (unless otherwise noted, jobs are located in Orem, UT) at Omniture that appear to be suitable for new college grads include: Search Engine Optimization Consultant, Administrative Assistant, Web Analytics Consultant (Dulles, VA), Business Consultant/Analyst, Software Engineer, Financial Analyst (San Francisco, CA), Accountant, Network Operations Center Technician/Linux Administrator, Optimization Specialist – Client Services, Professional Services Engineer, and Technical Support Consultant. Some of these jobs are listed at multiple levels, so even though the description may look more tailored to a Senior level person, there may be a corresponding Junior position. You can apply for all of these jobs directly from the job descriptions, and you may also want to check out Omniture’s Open Positions to see all of their jobs including International positions. Omniture has a great website (big surprise there), so it shouldn’t be hard for you to find all of the information that you need to make an informed decision about working for them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you fascinated by web analytics?

Rackspace

Willy Franzen — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:47:37 +0000

You may not think of it this way, but every time that you visit a website, you’re downloading files from someone else’s computer (server). The server that One Day, One Job is hosted on is shared with quite a few different sites (including One Day, One Internship). Even though there are thousands of people coming to our sites every day, they’re only downloading text and images, so it barely puts a strain on our server. Facebook, on the other hand, has millions of people on their site who are doing hardware intensive things like uploading photos and searching huge databases. They need thousands of their own servers to handle all of the activity. Somewhere between the server needs of One Day, One Job and Facebook is a middle ground where many businesses find themselves. They have major server needs, but they don’t need to do it all by themselves. That’s where Rackspace comes in, they are an “IT hosting company that delivers enterprise-class web infrastructure and hosting services to businesses of all sizes.”

There’s Space for You at Rackspace

There are a lot of companies that do what Rackspace does, but very few who do it as well as they do. Hosting is an easy business when everything is going right, but it’s when things go wrong that they really get tested. That’s why uptime and support are two of the most important factors in deciding which hosting company to choose. Rackspace has a Fanatical Support Promise, which is exactly the kind of customer service philosophy that you should want to see in a company that you choose to work for.

So what about working at Rackspace? It sounds pretty awesome. They have a laidback work culture, excellent benefits, and most importantly happy employees. The whole RackspaceCareers.com site is impressive, as it does a fantastic job of telling the company’s story. Where it does fall short, though, is on the Student Careers page – it looks nice and has a lot of information, but you’ll notice that their slick looking Campus Recruiting Calendar is empty and their Student Job Listings page is blank. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any jobs for you. If you actually go to their Job Listings and select “Entry” as job level, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Open positions at the entry level currently include Lead Generation Specialist, Business Development Associate, Datacenter Operations Technician, Mailtrust Lead Generation, and Quality Assurance Engineer (part-time). All of the jobs are located in San Antonio, TX except the Datacenter Operations Technician position, which is located in Herndon, VA. Rackspace does have an RSS feed of their job openings, so you can use that to see if they post any new jobs, and you can apply online if you’re excited about the positions that we just mentioned.

Rackspace does a really nice job with most of their Career site, but the job listings section is kind of disappointing. They just kind of stuffed their Applicant Tracking System inside of a really nice looking careers site. It’s like the opposite of putting lipstick on a pig. Still, Rackspace is a company that is worth a good long look – they’re #32 on Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For and they also have a seemingly awesome training and development program called Rackspace U. Finally, if you’re in the San Antonio, TX area this coming weekend, you should check out Rackspace’s Career Fair for IT and Sales positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of RackspaceCareers.com?

Global Impact

Willy Franzen — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:40:29 +0000

Although many people don’t realize it, almost every non-profit organization spends a considerable amount of time and resources on raising money. Some call it development, and others call it fundraising. Whatever you call it, it’s time and resources that charitable organizations have to direct towards something other than their missions. Global Impact is a non-profit organization that makes it its mission to raise money and awareness for other non-profit organizations. With the money that it raises, Global Impact works directly with U.S. based international organizations to help the world’s most vulnerable people. Despite the fact that Global Impact is all about fundraising, they still think that it’s important to limit administrative costs, which is why they’re able to give away 88% of the money that they raise while only 5.3% of their spending goes to administration and fundraising. Much of Global Impact’s proficiency in fundraising comes from their participation in and promotion of workplace giving programs. Global Impact is very selective about where their money goes, so member organizations are expected to meet very specific criteria before they are able to receive funds. Global Impact has

Help Make a Global Impact

Global Impact isn’t doing a lot of hiring, but their Jobs page shows a couple of openings that should be of interest to philanthropically minded new college grads. Right now they’re looking for a Member Services Associate and a Microsoft Application Developer. You can find detailed job descriptions on Global Impact’s Jobs page, and you can apply by scrolling to the bottom and filling out their contact form. There’s not much more information available beyond the fact that Global Impact is based out of Alexandria, VA.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Global Impact?

ATA Engineering

Willy Franzen — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:36:04 +0000

If you’ve read our article on 9 Magazine Lists That Will Find You a Job, you know that we’re always looking for new lists of great companies who might be hiring new grads. We recently came across the Wall Street Journal’s Top Small Workplaces 2008, so of course we’re going to poach from it to bring you more companies with great entry level job opportunities. The list is alphabetical, and we didn’t even have to go past A because ATA Engineering Inc. looks like an awesome place to work, they appear to hire a lot of new college grads, and this is just one of many awards that they’ve won. They’re an employee-owned engineering consulting firm, and they specialize in the areas of Spacecraft, Launch Vehicles, Entertainment, Electronics, Airframes, and Software. ATA Engineering is all about teamwork, and their compensation plans and hiring processes reflect that. They only thing that they don’t do for their employees is give them an iPod on hire, but if you win our contest, you’ll already have one.

Alphabetically the Best Small Workplace for 2008

ATA Engineering’s Jobs page starts with a question: “Are there really career opportunities with a company that designs, analyzes, and tests amusement park rides, aircraft, launch vehicles, satellites, consumer electronics, sports equipment and more?” Obviously the answer is yes, and ATA Engineering really does all of those things. They don’t specifically have job listings for new college grads, but they have quite a few jobs posted that only list academic requirements. These jobs include: Dynamic Test Engineer, Analysis-Driven Design Engineer, Engineering Applications Software Development Engineer, Thermal Analysis Engineer, and Structural Analysis Engineer. All of the positions that ATA Engineering is hiring new grads for require an Engineering background, but they do occasionally have positions in Administration and Business (we don’t know if they’re ever entry level though). ATA Engineering is looking for the best of the best, so you better have excelled in college if you’re going to apply for one of their jobs. ATA Engineering is headquartered in San Diego, but they also have regional offices in Los Angeles, Denver, Albuquerque, and Northern Virginia. All of the jobs that we listed above appear to be based out of San Diego, except the Software Development position which can be in San Diego, Denver, or Northern Virginia.

To apply for a job with ATA Engineering, you should send your cover letter and resume to careers@ata-e.com. Since many of their contracts require access to government, defense, and classified information, they’re not able to consider applications from people unless they are a US citizen or possess a US permanent resident alien visa (green card). Also, if you do land an interview, be sure to be nice to everyone. ATA Engineering’s hiring process is team oriented, and a single employee has the power to veto any hire.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have any insight on what it’s really like to work at ATA Engineering? Please share it with us in the comments.

World Cocoa Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:21:26 +0000

Back in the earlier days of One Day, One Job, we used to occasionally feature companies that didn’t even have any entry level jobs posted. We always made sure to pick really cool companies, and then we would encourage you to do a little extra research and give cold calling a try. We’re going to bring back that practice for today, because we found a non-profit organization that many of you would be totally pumped to work for. It’s the World Cocoa Foundation, a non-profit that “encourages sustainable, responsible cocoa growing.” Investment bankers and consultants can drop the names of their employers all they want, but they’ll never top saying “Oh yeah, I work for the World Cocoa Foundation.” That’s an instant conversation starter.

Working at the World Cocoa Foundation?

Like I said, there’s no indication that the World Cocoa Foundation is hiring at the entry level, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask (or even try to convince them that they need to hire you). They are currently looking for a Finance Manager with 4+ years of experience, but that’s probably out of the league of even the most qualified and experienced new grads. So that you can cold call competently, let’s take a deeper look at what the World Cocoa Foundation actually does.

The Foundation’s mission is to “a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social development and environmental conservation in cocoa growing communities.” They do this by “eveloping and managing effective, on-the-ground programs, raising funds and acting as a forum for broad discussion of the cocoa farming sector’s needs.” According to the WCF there are 40-50 million people who depend on cocoa for their livelihood. That’s a stunning number, and I think that most people who depend on chocolate for their happiness would want to ensure that those who provide them with the raw materials for their delicious treats are well compensated for their work. Whether sustainable agriculture is your passion, you’re all about fair trade, or you just love chocolate a job with the World Cocoa Foundation could be a dream come true. They may not have a job for you now, but you won’t know if you don’t ask. The World Cocoa Foundation is based in Vienna, VA (just outside of Washington, DC), and the best way to reach out to them about the possibility of entry level employment is to use the contact information on their Contact page. Don’t cold call without having done your research, so be sure to use the links below to get a good sense of what the organization is all about.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about the World Cocoa Foundation? Do you like posts like this or would you prefer that we stick to organizations that definitely have entry level jobs?

Live Nation

Willy Franzen — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:15:18 +0000

Artists and record labels are starting to realize that live music is a great way to stay profitable. Although the digital download business is seeing amazing growth, the idea that people should pay for songs has pretty much gone out the window. If you can fill up a venue with adoring fans (who paid an arm and a leg for tickets) and sell them t-shirts, posters, and whatever else people buy at concerts, you can still make a lot of money. If this trend continues Live Nation should be primed for success, they have the “most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web.”

Entry Level Jobs at Live Nation

If you love live music, a job with Live Nation might be something worth thinking about. Their website, LiveNation.com, is targeted towards becoming the world’s largest concert search engine, and they also own and operate the House of Blues, “a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine.” It seems that they’re trying to cover all of the bases when it comes to making it easy for fans to see their favorite artists in real life. They make searching for concert tickets simple and they provide in-depth information about artists and venues. Beyond that they also run House of Blues which hosts a ton of live music events.

Live Nation’s Jobs site won’t allow us to link to specific job postings, so we’ll tell you which job titles to search for and you’ll have to use their search function to find the jobs. You’ll have to list all jobs, and then scan the jobs for the titles that we mention. Live Nation is apparently headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, but the jobs that we’ve found are located everywhere but LA. The only clear cut entry level position is as a Field Management and Team Development Coordinator (New York, NY), but you may want to take a look at Account Manager (Charlottesville, VA), Accountant (Bala Cynwyd, PA), Assistant Merchandise Manager (Fort Worth, TX), and Sales Manager (Dallas, TX) because the experience requirements are minimal. There are also a lot of hourly jobs at House of Blues locations, but we won’t go into detail about those. You can apply for jobs with Live Nation on their website.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you go to see live music?

Alcoa

Willy Franzen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:39:04 +0000

This is a sponsored post. We’ve worked directly with Alcoa to bring you the inside scoop on their top entry-level career opportunities.

My introduction to Alcoa came through the Baseball Express catalog. I was a high school baseball player, and I spent hours poring over the pages dreaming about saving up enough to buy a brand new baseball bat made out of cutting edge materials. The catalog’s copy had me convinced that a bat made from Alcoa’s latest alloy was the key to hitting home runs. Had I spent more time in the batting cage, and less time researching my baseball bat purchase, maybe I would have done more than played Club Baseball in college for a year. Then again, the bat that I finally chose did hit the ball a lot farther than the bats that I had used in previous years. Since you probably had better things to do in high school than read baseball catalogs from cover to cover, you may not be familiar with Alcoa, but you should know that producing aluminum for baseball bats is just a tiny sliver of what they do. It is, however, an excellent example of how Alcoa seems to have a hand in almost everything.

What Does Alcoa Do?

In one word: aluminum. Alcoa’s major cash cow is their Global Flat Rolled Products business, which “offers the widest variety of aluminum plate and sheet in the world.” If you’re using a product made out of aluminum, there’s a good chance that it started out at Alcoa’s Global Flat Rolled Products. Just think of all the cool things that are made from aluminum – baseball bats, beer and soda cans, airplanes, consumer electronics – we could keep going. If you really want to see some of the coolest things that have been made out of aluminum, you should check out Alcoa’s blog posts from the Consumer Electronics Show. The possibilities with aluminum as a material are seemingly endless, and that’s why Alcoa has branched out over the years into an a amazingly diverse array of businesses that include Defense, Plastics, Energy, Recycling, Propulsion, HVAC, and many more. They’re blogging about their work in Recycling and Aerospace, so check those blogs out for a unique look inside Alcoa.

When it comes to researching Alcoa, you could spend weeks learning about the entire company – it’s huge. They have 97,000 employees who work in 34 countries. Your best bet is to focus on the divisions that interest you the most, and learn about them and their specific entry-level opportunities. You may never have considered a job at a major industrial corporation, but you should look closely at Alcoa. It’s likely that they’ll exceed your expectations. For example Alcoa has recently been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies and one of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies. They also send their employees on Earth Watch trips and invite them to blog about their experiences. Pretty cool, huh?

What Can I Do at Alcoa?

Alcoa is a major entry-level employer, and they typically add about 175 new college graduates to their ranks every year. The positions that they hire for are as diverse as the businesses that they operate in, and they have locations all across the country – there’s something for everyone. They’ve worked with us to identify the positions that One Day, One Job readers will be most interested in, and you will find those listed below. They’ve also provided a link directly into their applicant tracking system for students who can’t find a job listing that is well suited for them. If you don’t find anything below, use this link to submit your cover letter and resume for consideration by Alcoa’s college recruiting team. If you look like a good fit, they’ll work with you to find the right position in the company.

We know that Alcoa has a very strong internship program, so we asked the folks at Alcoa what kind of jobs their interns who stay with the company usually take after they graduate from college. We were told that last year’s intern class went into areas like Legal, Electrical Engineering, Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Finance. We were also told that Alcoa counts internships, volunteer work, and other similar activities as years of experience. That means that even if a job listing says that 3 years of experience is required, you shouldn’t be afraid to apply.

Here are Alcoa’s entry-level jobs for new college graduates with the most recently posted listed first:

ABS Technician (Continuous Improvement/Lean Production/Manufacturing) – Global Primary Products – Point Comfort, TX
Communications Specialist – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Associate Buyer – Alcoa Corporate – Springdale, AR
Capital Council Commodity Analyst – Alcoa Wireless Services – Pittsburgh, PA
NDT Level III – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation (Howmet Castings) – LaPorte, IN
Business Analyst I (HRMS) – Alcoa Corporate – Pittsburgh, PA
Product Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Safety Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
EHS Professional – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Massena, NY
Tooling/Product Engineer – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation – Flexible Location
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Metallurgical Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Winsted, CT
Electrical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Alcoa, TN
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Mechanical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Metallurgical Engineer – Global Rolled Prod & Hard Alloy Ext – Warrick, IN
Safety Specialist – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Cost Accountant – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Reliability Engineer (Power Distribution) – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Sr. Accountant – Engineered Products & Solutions – Torrance, CA
Product Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Project Specialist – Aerospace Automotive and Commercial Transportation (Howmet Castings) – Whitehall, MI
Process Engineer – Global Primary Products – Rockdale, TX
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Senior Treasury Analyst (Global Leasing) – Alcoa Corporate – Pittsburgh, PA
Safety Coordinator – Engineered Products & Solutions – Hernando, MS
EHS Engineer (EHS-RD) – Alcoa Technical Center – Alcoa Center, PA
Mechanical Engineering Technician – Engineered Products & Solutions – Cleveland, OH
Marketing Analyst – Engineered Products & Solutions – Nashville, TN
Jr. Business Analyst – Engineered Products & Solutions – Simi Valley, CA
Project Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Eastman, GA
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Eastman, GA
Facilities Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Whitehall, MI
Environmental Engineer – Global Primary Products – Wenatchee, WA
Engineered Products & Solutions – Global Primary Products – Nashville, TN
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Manufacturing Engineer – Sapa (Alcoa Extrusions) – Morris, IL
Production Planner – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Process Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – LaPorte, IN
Plant Sales Representative – Engineered Products & Solutions – Dover, NJ
Manufacturing Engineer – Engineered Products & Solutions – Hampton, VA

If you see something that catches your eye, just click the link, read the description, and apply. They’ll know that you came from One Day, One Job. If you’re intrigued by these jobs, but don’t see anything in your desired field or location, you can still send your resume and cover letter to Alcoa through this online form or you can use their search function to find newly listed opportunities. You may also want to look at Alcoa’s GREA Acquiring Talent Program, which is a Leadership Development Program and has a separate application process.

Thanks to Alcoa for working with us to bring you these excellent entry-level job opportunities. Now go get researching!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Alcoa.com
Careers at Alcoa
About Alcoa
Working at Alcoa
Profiles of Employees at Alcoa
Why Alcoa?
Alcoa’s Career Opportunities for Students (Mostly Internship Related)
Alcoa’s Businesses
Alcoa’s Vision and Values
Alcoa’s Annual Report

What’s your favorite product that’s made out of aluminum? Leave a comment.

Exponent

Willy Franzen — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:00:28 +0000

Imagine getting a job as a MythBuster, except instead of debunking urban legend, you’re investigating real life problems that plague businesses and sometimes hurt people. That’s what you could be doing at Exponent. Founded in 1967 by five Ph.D.-level researchers, Exponent was originally known as Failure Analysis Associates. They started out in the energy industry studying stress and fracture mechanics, but very quickly they were “investigating and analyzing accidents and failures of all kinds.” They eventually became The Failure Group, and were listed on the NASDAQ with the ticker FAIL. In 1998 they realized that they had outgrown their name, and changed again to Exponent, because it means “one who expounds or interprets.” We don’t usually get so deep into how a company chooses it’s name, but with the popularity of the FAIL meme (see also: FAIL Blog), we thought that you might be amused.

Failures Need Not Apply

Despite their fascination with failure, Exponent has a staff of nearly 800 people with backgrounds in over 90 scientific and engineering disciplines. In other words, people who work at Exponent deal with failure often, but they try to keep it at an arm’s length. Are you still not sure what we mean by failure? Here are some examples of projects that Exponent has worked on: investigating defects in automatic revolving doors; determining the path and altitude of Delta flight 191 which crashed and killed 134 people; recreation of the accident that killed James Dean for an NBC series, and testing the Suzuki Samurai for rollover vulnerabilities. There are many more projects that Exponent has worked on, and you can view multimedia presentations on many of them in the Exponent Multimedia Archive. We could keep writing about Exponent’s work for hours – it’s that interesting – but they have a plethora of entry-level job opportunities that we need to talk about.

Entry-Level Jobs to the Xth Power

Exponent’s web site is about as entry-level friendly as we’ve seen, although they could do a better job of making sure that new college grads can navigate to the right jobs. When you visit Exponent’s Careers Page, you’ll notice that they’ve prominently linked to their University Recruiting page. Their approach to University Recruiting on the web is really cool, but it’s not intuitive. There’s a text box that allows you to enter in your school name to search for current alumni from your school and to learn about upcoming recruiting events on your campus. There’s also a list of the 20 schools from which they employ the most alums. For instance, take a look at Cornell’s page (I’m not biased or anything – GO BIG RED!). It’s a really cool way to engage students, but it only works if the students go to a school that Exponent has a page for. A lot of students probably end up on the University Recruiting page and don’t know what to do next.

This is where a little searching helps. If you visit Exponent’s How to Apply page, you’ll see information for entry-level candidates. Here they direct you to contact their College Recruiter, Jenny Irwin, at jirwin@exponent.com or to take a look at their entry-level job listings (these are opportunities specifically for new grads). Here you’ll find a ton of fascinating jobs in a variety of locations. We will warn you, however, that seemingly all of the entry-level jobs currently listed with Exponent require some sort of advanced degree (MS or PhD). Since so many Engineers seem to stick around and get a Masters, we thought it would still be appropriate to feature Exponent’s jobs today.

Some of the most recent listings on Exponent’s site include Engineers, Vehicle Engineering (Menlo Park, CA and Natick, MA); Scientists, Public Health & Industrial (Menlo Park, CA; Bellevue, WA; Wood Dale, IL; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Irvine, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Alexandria, VA; and Washington, DC); and Engineers, Technology Development (Menlo Park, CA; San Diego, CA; and Washington, DC). There are many more opportunities listed on their site, and you can apply online through their applicant tracking system. If you want to work for Exponent but are just finishing up undergrad, then you better start thinking about graduate school.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you feel like your entry-level job search is a failure of such grand proportion that Exponent may have to investigate what happened? Subscribe to One Day, One Job (it’s free), and make sure that doesn’t happen.

NHL Teams

Willy Franzen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:47:20 +0000

Considering that it’s July, you probably don’t have hockey on your mind right now, unless, of course, you’re sweltering in a room without air conditioning dreaming of the cool air inside the rink. The offseason is a time for National Hockey League Teams to address their needs, and that isn’t only about the personnel who wear ice skates. It looks to us like summer is a big hiring time with NHL teams, so while most people are focused on baseball and the Olympics, you should get back into that hockey mindset and try to find a job with an NHL Team.

Entry-Level Jobs with the NHL Teams

We’re going to keep the description to a minimum today, because there are so many jobs in so many fields from so many teams. There’s no way that we can generalize about these opportunities, so what we did was we ran through all of the jobs offered by the NHL and its teams and identified all of the positions that look appropriate for new college grads. The NHL’s Jobs site is built on the same job board software that we talked about when we covered the NFL’s entry-level jobs. We generally like it. It’s easy to navigate, and you can apply for the jobs easily online. When we covered the NFL’s jobs, we organized everything by team, but with the NHL we did it by field. Occasionally the league includes its jobs as well as jobs with other closely related organizations, but for the most part you will find entry-level jobs with NHL teams below.

The quality of job descriptions on these openings varies based on which team wrote them, but for the most part the NHL teams do a good job of identifying exactly what they’re looking for in candidates. Summer looks like a great time to get a job with the NHL, so get out of the penalty box and start researching.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

I was just reading some articles about some hockey players from Cornell who graduated (or didn’t) with me and how much they’re making in their “entry-level jobs.” I think that they made the right choice.

Arena Stage

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:25:56 +0000

Continuing with our patriotic weekend, we’re going to take a look at Arena Stage, a non-profit theater company that produces “huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit.” They put out all types of productions “from vast epics to charged dramas to robust musicals.” Located in Washington, DC, Arena Stage has been around 6 decades and was one of the first non-profit theater companies. They reach an annual audience of over 200,000 people (we reach more here!) and strive “to instill in the public a life-long love of and participation in the theater arts through [their] education programs.”

Jobs Off Stage

Arena Stage has a number of job opportunities for the drama enthusiasts in the crowd. The most interesting opportunity is Audience Development Manager, which unfortunately isn’t described as entry-level. This job is all about “identifying and cultivating relationships with corporations and organizations to augment Arena’s group sales efforts.” They say that they want 3 years of prior experience, but if you did something like this in a college organization, it might be worth applying. Arena Stage also has job openings for Carpenters (set design), Inbound Sales Associates, and Telemarketing Sales Associates. If you want to get involved with a non-profit theater company, these are some great opportunities to get your foot in the door. We wonder if Arena Stage might have some opportunities specifically tailored to new grads, since they do appear to have a strong internship program. Keep an eye on their Jobs page, or send them an e-mail and see if they have anything else available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We hope you had a great July 4th weekend. We sure did.

Viget Labs

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:30:54 +0000

There’s no getting around it – when it comes to the web, how you look matters. The easiest way to separate a spammy site from a quality site is a quick glance at the design. Yes, there are examples like Google and Craigslist that have become wildly successful despite (or because of) their sparse designs, but they are rare exceptions. When a visitor hits a web page, there are just a few seconds to convince the visitor not to press the back button. There is almost no better way to draw in and engage a visitor than a beautiful, usable design. Judging from Viget Labs’ own site as well as those of their clients, we’re pretty sure they understand the importance of great web design. Beyond design, they also help their clients focus on creating “solid web strategies” and developing “functional applications that actually work” while leveraging “the latest online marketing tactics to grow their reach.”

Four Labs

Viget Labs works with two types of clients: web start-ups and offline companies. In either scenario Viget’s goal is to help the client build a web business. The services offered by Viget are focused in four distinct areas: Strategy, Design, Application Development, and Online Marketing. For each area of business, Viget has separate blogs which are named for what they help their clients do: Advance, Inspire, Extend, and Engage. Viget also has a general company-wide blog. These blogs are extremely useful for both researching the company and engaging with people who currently work at the company. Whether you’d like to learn more about what it’s like working at Viget or you’d like to interact directly with their CEO, leaving a comment on one of their blog is a surefire way to begin the conversation.

Since they’re such a web savvy company, there is a ton of information available about Viget on the web. Beyond the blogs there are Twitter accounts and Flickr pages. We also found this gem that answers one of the most important questions that you’ll have about Viget, especially if you’re going into an interview. How do you say Viget? Here’s a hint, it rhymes with “dig it.”

Working at Viget

It should be no big surprise that Viget’s Careers page is outstanding. It’s not only beautiful, but it’s also loaded with helpful information and extremely easy to navigate. Beyond listing their job openings right on their Careers page (seems like common sense, but it often takes 3 or 4 clicks on other companies’ sites to get to actual job listings) they also talk about their benefits and link to a photo tour of their headquarters. These additions are right in line with Viget’s recruiting message:

At Viget — aside from all-you-can-drink sodas, a casual dress environment, flex hours, informal Wii bowling tournaments, free lunch on Fridays that doubles as our weekly staff meeting, regular industry or community gigs (some local, some not, thanks to a $2,500 per person conference/training budget), and team-building events like paintball or go-karts — you can expect to work in a culture of growth; one that fiercely protects integrity and respect as core values.

We also found a Viget recruiting mini-site called Team Viget which is focused on recruiting designers specifically. The only thing that we didn’t like on Viget’s site is that they have a really obvious HTML coding error on one of their job descriptions. Viget is clearly one of the best at what they do, but having a paragragh tag inside a title tag on a site for a web development company looks really bad. Hopefully they’ll read this and fix it immediately.

Web Talent Wanted

As for entry-level jobs at Viget, there are a couple current openings that seem to be geared towards new college grads. These are Internet Marketing Specialist and Ruby on Rails Developer. In addition, there are a number of jobs that could probably be done by new college grads, although the job descriptions ask for 2+ years of post-collegiate work experience. These include Front End Developer, User Experience Specialist, and Web Designer, and Web Project Manager. We understand that Viget wants to hire people with professional experience, but it’s hard to overlook the considerable web talents that many new college grads have. Hopefully Viget will be flexible with the experience requirements.

Each job description on Viget’s site is extremely in-depth and well written. It should tell you almost everything that you need to know before you choose to apply for the job. Opportunities with Viget are available in Fall Church, VA and Durham, NC. Some positions can be filled in both locations, while others are specific to one or the other. The job descriptions will tell you which jobs are where and which e-mail address to send your resume and cover letter to. If you have more questions about working at Viget or you don’t see a position that is a good fit for you, you can use their Keep in Touch page to reach out to them for more information.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you like our design? Did it keep you from clicking the back button? If you’re reading this, we’re going to assume that it did, but leave a comment and tell us anyway.

Conservation International

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:38:20 +0000

I grew up in suburban Connecticut, but I spent a lot time outdoors, both around my house and in more wild places. During my childhood I rarely saw deer, turkeys, coyotes, or hawks. Only a few times did I ever hear or see a woodpecker. Seeing wildlife was special. As I got older that began to change. I see all of the above relatively often now, and I swear that I hear a woodpecker banging away every day now. I definitely consider this a victory for local conservationists who have worked hard to save and bring back wildlife habitats; however, I also know that many species of flora and fauna are still in danger across the world. Conservation International is an organization whose mission statement should be “saving life on Earth.” Instead they have chosen the slightly less terse:

We believe that the Earth’s natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally, and economically. Our mission is to conserve the Earth’s living heritage – our global biodiversity – and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.

Either way, they’re doing great work towards helping the world balance the needs of society with nature.

Conservation Across the World

The first thing that we noticed about Conservation International is that they have a gorgeous website. It looks great, it’s easy to use, and it’s full of information. They have a multimedia player on the right hand side of their web pages and articles on career ideas and job search tips. They also provide in-depth information on a wide range of conservation related issues. Their approach to conservation is also fascinating. Since their website is so great, and we have a graduation ceremony to be at today, we’ll leave most of the research up to you.

Working in Conservation

Although Conservation International doesn’t appear to have tailored any jobs specifically for new college graduates, they have a number of entry-level job opportunities. These include Editorial Assistant, Graphic Designer, Project Manager, Training Assistant, and Web Producer. The job descriptions are really detailed, so it should pretty easy to get a sense of which jobs are best to apply for. All the positions that we listed are located in Arlington, VA. We were especially impressed by some of the job descriptions for senior positions at Conservation International. It looks like the organization is working on some fascinating topics.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you hear/see more woodpeckers than you used to? We’re really curious, so please leave a comment.

Equinox

Willy Franzen — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:08:37 +0000

The time after graduation is perfect for rest, relaxation, and taking care of the things that you’ve ignored in college, for instance, your bank account or your waistline. In January we offered up Mint as a company that has entry-level jobs and a product that will help you manage your finances. Today we’re going to look at Equinox, a company that operates full-service fitness facilities in New York, Illinois, California, Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and also has quite a few career opportunities at the entry-level.

A Fitness Lifestyle Brand

Equinox, started in 1991, has “developed a lifestyle brand that represents service, quality, value, innovation, attention to detail and results.” They offer a wide array of products and services, including strength and cardio training, group fitness classes, personal training, spa services, apparel, and food/juice bars. The difference between Equinox and other gyms is the way that they do things. Equinox is upscale in every way. Just look at the right sidebar on their Press Page – recent celebrities spotted at Equinox locations include Hilary Swank, Renee Zellweger, Matt Damon, and Barack Obama. Ok, so who cares if celebrities work out at a health club? They may need to have nice bodies, but are they really physically fit? Well, fellow One Day, One Jobber Amy happened to have a membership at an Equinox club two summers ago. She was often working out next to members of the great Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 90s. So, yes, when it comes to working out, Equinox clubs are the places to be.

Winter to Spring, Summer to Fall

Although the following are full-time, year-round jobs, an equinox represents the change of seasons, which is a perfect metaphor for the life changing decisions that joining (or working for) an Equinox club can initiate. Equinox takes fitness seriously, so a job with them is a lot more than picking up sweaty towels and wiping down equipment. They have a number of job opportunities for new college grads across the country. The best way to find a job listing at Equinox is to use their job search function. Current offerings that appear to be entry-level include: Membership Advisor (Westchester, NY; Long Island, NY; Aventura, FL; Newport Beach, CA; San Francisco, CA; and New York, NY), Assistant General Manager (Dallas, TX; New York, NY; Long Island, NY; Los Angeles, CA; and San Francisco, CA), Sales Advisor (Boston, MA), or Personal Trainer Tier 1 (Westchester, NY; Darien, CT; Miami, FL; Vienna, VA; Long Island, NY; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Chicago, IL). These positions require varying levels of work experience, but they’re all positions that a new grad could fill. If you’re interested in being a trainer, but don’t have the required background, you may want to look at the Equinox Academy for Trainers.

As you can see, there are Equinox locations all across the country. Whether you’re interested in getting serious about your own health (Equinox offers their employees complimentary memberships), or helping others to do the same, a job at Equinox is a great way to get started on a career in the world of physical fitness.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever worked out at an Equinox club? What’s it like?

CustomInk

Willy Franzen — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:07:05 +0000

Today’s post is coming live (ok, not quite so live) from Cornell University, where it’s Slope Day! For those who aren’t familiar with Slope Day, it’s Cornell’s version of Spring Weekend. In other words, it’s the last day of classes, when college students do all those stupid things (and often take photographs of themselves doing them) that they’ll have to hide from employers on Facebook. It’s a really big, campus-wide party. If today is your Spring Weekend, we urge you to behave yourselves well enough that your actions today don’t ruin any chance of future employment. Still, we want you to enjoy the day and have some fun. You’ve worked hard and earned it. Instead of writing about a company that reinforces bad behavior, we’ve chosen to feature a company that supports one of our favorite Slope Day traditions – funny group t-shirts. CustomInk is an online provider of custom t-shirts.

Getting a Job… is Gorges

Here at Cornell, one of the most common t-shirt themes is to play on the “Ithaca is Gorges” design. You get such gems as “Your Mom is Gorges,” “Ithaca is Cold,” “Ithaca is Gangsta,” and my personal favorite – “I am Gorges.” One year an entire sorority here did “(Sorority name) is Gorges,” only to be outdone by a fraternity that didn’t like them so much and responded with “(Sorority name) is Ugly.” It’s an ever-escalating arms race to have the funniest Slope Day t-shirt, and there’s no better company to help you than CustomInk. They allow you to submit a design online, and within a week you can have your custom designed t-shirt at your doorstep. Their online T-Shirt Lab makes it really easy, and CustomInk guarantees customer satisfaction. Not only do they offer a money back guarantee, but they also have uncensored customer reviews on their home page as they come in – that takes confidence.

Wear T-Shirts to Work

We always like writing about companies that offer great customer service, because we know that they’ll be great places to work. CustomInk is no exception – they’ve been named One of Washington’s Great Places to Work by Washingtonian magazine. They’re also an employer that is especially friendly to new grads. Maybe it’s because the company was started in 1999 by a few recent graduates, or maybe it’s because college students are an important customer base. Either way, CustomInk has some great entry-level jobs listed at their office in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia. These include Desktop Support Technician, Production Artist, Web Developer, and Service / Sales Representative. The descriptions are quite detailed, so they should give you a good idea of whether or not you’d be right for the job.

Save your research for another time and go have fun today. Just be safe.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s the best custom Spring Weekend t-shirt that you’ve seen? Tell us in the comments.

Orvis

Willy Franzen — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:00:56 +0000

If you consider going fishing after work and being in bed by 10 a night well spent, then working at Orvis will be perfect for you. Ditto if you enjoy helping your co-workers train their dogs on your lunch break. How do I know? I spent the summers after my sophomore and junior years as an intern in the Human Resources Department. Why did I pick Orvis? Because I am a life long fly fisherman and I love their products.

Distinctive Country Living

Orvis has been around since 1856, which apparently makes them the oldest continuously operating catalog company in the country. They have an extremely rich history, which is still a significant factor in the way the company operates today. You should be familiar with this history because it will help you write an impressive cover letter and interview well. The single best resource on Orvis’ history is The Orvis Story, but that costs money, and if you get an internship, then you can use Orvis’ generous 50% employee discount to buy it. So what about web resources on Orvis’ history? There’s this page on the history of Orvis, a timeline of Orvis’ accomplishment, and a very detailed Wikipedia entry on Orvis.

Orvis’ storied history is based on sporting traditions (mostly hunting and fishing), and with that has come their modern focus on distinctive country living. As much as they are known for their fly fishing equipment, Orvis is not just a sporting company; however, their product selection is targeted at people who enjoy the sporting life. Orvis also puts a huge emphasis on environmental conservation, so they are constantly involved with projects that protect the resources, like cold water fisheries, that drive their business.

Drop Them a Line

Orvis doesn’t have an entry-level hiring program by any means, but they are certainly an employer that is friendly to young people (as long as those young people enjoy the outdoors). A few positions that we identified as being well suited for a new college grad are: Web Liquidations Merchandise Specialist, Application Developer / Analyst Merchandising Systems, and Web Developer. It appears that Orvis would prefer candidates with experience for these positions, but there’s no reason that you can’t impress them enough to get hired.

Beyond their regular job listings, Orvis also lists positions at Orvis Endorsed Operations on their Job Openings Page. These aren’t actually Orvis jobs, but they do offer the opportunity to work for an amazing resort at a big name destination. A lot of these jobs are as fishing guides, but a few are in hospitality management as well.

What Vermont Has to Offer

Orvis’ corporate office is in Sunderland, VT on the edge of a 377-acre natural black bear habitat. The office is absolutely beautiful and fits perfectly with both the surroundings and Orvis’ mission. There’s a small gym on-site, hiking trails, a casting pond, and a cafe with great food. With that said, it’s in the middle of nowhere – the Orvis office doesn’t even have a zip code. The Manchester area of Vermont is not the most happening place. Yes, they have outlet shopping, but beyond that it’s all about the outdoors. Restaurants are closed by 9, and gas stations close by 10. So if you’re out fishing after that, you’re not going to find anything to eat except what’s in the refrigerator.

Orvis also has a service center in Roanoke, VA and retail locations across the United States; however, the jobs that best suite new college grads will be mostly located in Vermont. Like I’ve said, Orvis isn’t for the city slickers, but for the right people it’s a dream come true. If you’d like to know more about working at Orvis, feel free to contact me by leaving a comment. I’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Looking for an internship at Orvis?

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