One Day, One Job » Wisconsin

Tomato Mountain Farm

Willy Franzen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:56:30 +0000

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We’re supposed to reach a high of 56 degrees today in Chicago, which is great even if it’s foggy and gloomy. Spring is on its way, and in only a couple of months it will be farmers market season again. Although my city is short on farms (we have a few, really), there are a ton within driving distance. Many of them haul the food that they produce into the city on a weekly basis and sell it to the yuppies who love eating fresh, organic, locally grown food (also known as me). One of these farms is Tomato Mountain Farm, which is based in Brooklyn, WI. They have a presence somewhere in Chicago 6 days per week, and their produce offerings range from basil and beets to watermelons and zucchini. Obviously, they also grow a lot of tomatoes.

Grow Your Career

Tomato Mountain Farm is “a 12-acre certified organic farm and processing kitchen located 25 miles south of Madison, Wisconsin.” Beyond their produce, they also offer products like salsas, sauces, and preserves. It may be a small operation, but they’re growing a wonderful business based on serving everybody’s most basic need in its most basic form: fresh food. If you are interested in what Tomato Mountain Farm is doing, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for two people to work farmers markets for them. You can find the full position description here (.doc file). In many ways these are entrepreneurial opportunities, so it could be a cool way to spend the summer and get your career started.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you frequent farmers markets?

Laughlin Constable

Willy Franzen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:47:48 +0000

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Today’s company has nearly pushed me to plagiarism. I love their tagline so much that I want to steal it and make it my own. Instead of “Our business creates ideas. Our ideas create business.” I’d use “My job is to create ideas. My ideas create jobs.” Ok, it isn’t perfect yet, but I guess that’s why I need to stick to coming up with my own ideas. Laughlin Constable, owner of the slogan, is a Milwaukee, WI based creative agency with locations in Chicago and New York City. When you look at their client list, you won’t see the long list of huge brand names that hire some of the other agencies that we’ve featured. That’s because Laughlin Constable has a thing for the underdog—they “help brands challenge bigger brands.” For their clients execution isn’t enough. They need big ideas that can help to challenge the status quo.

Laughlin Your Way to a Job

Laughlin Constable takes a “full circle” approach to branding. They know that’s the only way to do it right. You can’t have one group doing PR, another focusing on advertising, and another on social media. Branding needs to be coherent and concerted. That’s why Laughlin Constable’s services include Advertising, Design, Digital, Media, PR, and Planning. Despite what I said about Laughlin Constable’s fondness for the underdog, they do actually work with some big names like McDonald’s, HBO (check out HBO’s jobs from yesterday), Kleenex, and Master Lock. To get a sense of what Laughlin Constable has done for these clients, you have to go no further than their Work page. So, what about jobs at Laughlin Constable? They actually don’t have any positions posted on their Jobs page, but they do have a Facebook page and a Twitter account dedicated to their “Cool Jobs.” This provides a perfect opportunity for you to reach out the people at Laughlin Constable and find a way in. It may not be as easy as applying to a job posting, but it looks like it’s worth it (you may want to look around LinkedIn to get a feel for what kind of entry level positions they have offered in the past).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Laughlin Constable?

Sportsman Channel

Willy Franzen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:54:49 +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.

Much to my girlfriend’s chagrin, I love watching fishing shows. I’d rather be out on the water, but when I’m trapped on the 30th floor in the middle of downtown Chicago and it’s -15 outside, there aren’t many other options. Unfortunately, ESPN has cut back on their fishing programming, and that doesn’t leave me with any other options on my cable package. If only we got Sportsman Channel, then I’d be much happier. They are “the only television network providing 100 percent hunting, shooting and fishing programming.” Unlike some other outdoor focused networks, they’re staying true to what they are instead of watering down their programming in hopes of better ratings. I haven’t had a chance to watch any of their programming, but I’m sure I’d like it. Sportsman Channel is based in New Berlin, WI, and they also have locations in New York, Denver, and Atlanta.

Tune In and Get Hooked

Sportsman Channel was launched in 2003, and they appear to be growing (they were purchased by a private equity firm that focuses on outdoor media in 2006). They have a huge market considering there are 82 million sportsmen in the United States, so you have to like their ability to grow a business based on targeted advertising. If you love the outdoors and want to work in tv or media, then it’d be hard to find a better place to work than Sportsman Channel. Their location in Wisconsin is prime for the outdoors lifestyle, and I’m sure that they promote such a lifestyle for their employees too. If you’re interested, you can check out Sportsman Channel’s Jobs page, although it doesn’t include any postings—just a Résumé Submission form. The company seems pretty small, so using LinkedIn to reach out to some people might be a worthwhile strategy.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you like to watch fishing shows?

Lucky Brand

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

Next March I’m going to regret not saving this one for my St. Patrick’s Day holiday themed post, but today we’re going to take a look at Lucky Brand. They’re a clothing manufacturer and retailer that is “rooted in rock ‘n ‘roll with a signature sense of humor.” Their About page will tell you that they stand for “independent thinking, individual style and a feeling as authentic as love” and that they’re known for “great-fitting, vintage-inspired jeans;” however, I think it’s much simpler than that. One of their founders came up with the idea to put the phrase “Lucky You” behind the flies of every pair of pants that they made. It was an instant point of differentiation, and I think that it has a lot to do with why Lucky Brand is going strong 19 years after they started. It really is pure, politically incorrect genius. Lucky you…

Get Lucky

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

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

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

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you consider yourself lucky?

Mattel

Willy Franzen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:10:29 +0000

Take a second and think of your favorite toy growing up. Was it a Barbie? Matchbox Car? American Girl Doll? View-Master? Magic 8 Ball? Rock’em Sock’em Robots? Hot Wheels? Polly Pocket? Even if it wasn’t one of those, there’s a good chance that it was made by Mattel. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the El Segundo, CA headquartered toy company before, but I bet you never realized just how many toys they actually make. Not only do they have some of the biggest toy names in the world, but they’re also behind all of Fisher-Price’s toys. If you always wanted to be like Tom Hanks in Big and work for a toy company, Mattel is your chance to live every child’s dream.

All Work and No Play Makes You a Dull Job Seeker

Usually, the problem with companies that seem really cool (especially in the fashion industry from what I hear) is that they know they’re hot stuff. That means that they treat their employees like commodities because they know that there’s always someone who wants to work for their brand. This isn’t the case with Mattel according to the FORTUNE list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Despite the fact that they did go through some layoffs last year, Mattel appears to be hiring now for quite a few positions. There is a Campus Recruiting section on the Mattel Careers site; however, it doesn’t say anything about entry level jobs.

To get the scoop on what kind of opportunities Mattel has, you’re going to have to dive into their Applicant Tracking System instead. Their are 54 jobs posted right now, and a few look suitable for new grads. They include Mechanical Engineer(New York, NY), Associate Art Director – American Girl (Middleton, WI), Key Account Coordinator – Fisher-Price (East Aurora, NY), Key Account Representative (Brondby, Denmark), and Child Testing Researcher (El Segundo, CA). Mattel’s locations El Segundo, CA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; East Aurora, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Middleton, WI; Minneapolis, MN; and New York, NY, so keep that in mind if you don’t see something posted that fits what you’re looking for. You can apply for all of the jobs directly from Mattel’s Applicant Tracking System (which isn’t all that bad compared to others that I’ve dealt with).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What was your favorite Mattel toy?

Weidert Group

Willy Franzen — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:51:06 +0000

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

While I certainly wouldn’t name Wisconsin as a hotbed for public relations jobs, Weidert Group in Appleton would be a fantastic place to launch your career—particularly if you’re interested in social media. In addition to social media, you can gain experience in many different areas, ranging from public relations planning, execution, and training to event planning/management. Like many small agencies, Weidert Group is a tight-knit environment that values its team members. They seek people “who exhibit both strategic and imaginative thinking; whose perspectives have been influenced by quality education, significant responsibilities, and notable accomplishments; who demonstrate motivation, drive, and passion for their work; and who are able to contribute as part of a high-performance team.” The average age of this team is 30, and they specialize in serving health care, financial services, manufacturing, education, and food/food service clients.

Becoming the Apple of Their Eye

While Weidert Group doesn’t currently have any openings, their entry-level position is Public Relations Assistant. The agency prides itself on hiring quality employees to join their team and work on behalf of regional and national clients. In order to be added to their public relations department in this role, you must be outgoing, persistent, energetic, goal-oriented, competitive, passionate about a career in PR, and have an impressive portfolio with relevant intern work experiences. Unlike many small agencies, Weidert Group offers a full range of benefits, including paid holidays, paid time off, health and dental insurance, 401(k), and a bonus plan.

Want to join their team? First contact public relations specialist Abby Gutowski at agutowski@weidert.com with a résumé and explanation of why you would be a good addition. Then, she will pass you along to the organization’s decision-maker, Greg Linnemanstons, president and partner at the agency.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

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

Epic Systems

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:17:17 +0000

My Dad is an architect, and he often likes to send me suggestions on which companies I should feature next. Sometimes he finds some pretty cool stuff, and a month or so ago he sent me a link to the Winter 2009 online issue of HQ Magazine, which features an article called “Top 20 Places to Work.” Usually such lists focus on a range of reasons for a place’s being great to work at, but HQ is an architectural publication, so this list is all about office space (not the movie). The section of the article on Epic Systems says: “Epic’s campus fits into idyllic pastures and farmland, providing serene, relaxing views from within. Outside are hiking trails, playing fields, a treehouse. Meeting rooms have working fireplaces to further the sense of calmness.” It sounds amazing. Epic systems is a Wisconsin based, privately held, employee owned healthcare software provider.

Epicly Helpful

Epic Systems only has 170 clients, but “they are some of the most respected organizations in healthcare.” Epic’s software apparently makes the patient experience a lot better, but until it makes waiting rooms obsolete, I’m not quite sold. Basically, what Epic’s software does is that it records every touch that a patient has with a healthcare provider. The information is kept securely, but in a way that allows patients to access it when they need it. Epic Systems provides a product that keeps doctors, nurses, and patients fully informed about what’s going on. We all know that the healthcare industry is a mess, but it’s also growing rapidly. Epic Systems seems to be taking advantage of this environment by making a product that makes healthcare better for all parties involved.

Here’s a sample situation from Epic’s website:

Imagine this: you’re from Dallas, but you’re on vacation in Seattle. Shortly after trying some of the free samples at the fish market, you come down with something nasty and end up in the Emergency Room. You can’t remember the names of the medications you’re taking at home, but you mention to the doctor that you’re normally seen at Black Springs Clinic in the Dallas area. The doctor in the ER is able to access your chart from the clinic without the need to place a call or retrieve a fax. Your ER doctor sees not only the specific medications and doses you were last prescribed at home, but also that you’re allergic to Iodine, preventing a potentially severe reaction during your care.

You get back on your feet after a few hours in the ER and are given a couple medications and a recommendation to see your doctor at home once you’re back from vacation. While still in Seattle, you pull out your laptop and are able to send a secure message to your physician in Dallas, letting him know briefly what happened. You also sign up for a follow-up appointment for when you return. When you arrive, your doctor has access to your clinic chart, as well as the information documented during your visit to the ER in Seattle.

Sounds pretty great.

Do Something Epic

Epic may have only made the list of Top Places to Work because of their building, but they look like they belong on any general list of the best places to work. Their Careers site is loaded with information – especially the Life and Work section. We could go on and on about how cool it looks to work at Epic, but you’re better off checking it out on your own (start by taking a tour of their campus). Epic allows you to browse their jobs by both Career Type and Educational Background; however, I prefer to look at their listing of all available positions. The jobs are insanely easy to scan for entry level positions, so there’s no need for me to list them here, and you can apply online. Although they are a software company, they have job openings in areas that include Accounting, Biotechnology, Botany, Consulting, HR, IT, Project Management, Writing, and, of course, Software Development.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Epic’s Campus.

Activision

Willy Franzen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:41:54 +0000

As we noted when we featured Blizzard’s entry level jobs, video game sales tend to do really well when unemployment is high. This is one of those times that you’re probably thinking about buying a Wii/Xbox 360/PS3 and forgoing the job search for the comfort of your parents’ basement. As much fun as it might be for the first 6 months, that’s not the answer. That’s why Jason Seiden and I are announcing our 21 day online job search training course today. It’s called Found Your Career, and it’s open for enrollment. We’re offering an introductory price to the first 100 students to sign up, so get in before the price goes up. It’s a great way to put all of that video gaming energy to good use (and it’s much more affordable). Another way to put that energy to use is by considering jobs with Santa Monica, CA based Activision, the company that is behind Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and many more games. Video games are hot now, but now’s not the time to hone your expert level skills on Guitar Hero, it’s time to hone your job search approach by developing new skills and focusing on industries that are still growing in tough times.

Entry Level Job Hero

You’ll know that “You Rock!” when you get hired. Until then, you’re playing a game called Entry Level Job Hero. If I was to go any further with this metaphor (that people who have never played Guitar Hero won’t get), I’d say that the current level/song is “Activision.” Anyway, Activision makes extremely popular video games, and video games in general are really popular right now. It’s no big surprise that they have close to 70 job listings (including internships) posted. You can find out plenty about the company on their About and Investor Relations pages. You may notice that the company is now known as Activision | Blizzard because the two companies have joined forces, but since they both generally operate separately, we’re featuring their jobs separately. Activision does have a University Relations page; however, it only has information on internships. That means that you’re going to have to browse through Activision’s job listings to get the scoop on entry level jobs. We also can’t link to the specific job listings because of the way Activision’s Applicant Tracking System is set up. When you’re browsing the listings, keep an eye open for job titles like Web Application Developer, User Interface Artist, Staffing Assistant, Software Engineer, QA Tester (ok, fine, this job actually requires video game expertise – get practicing), Network Programmer, Inventory Analyst, Junior Publicist, and quite a few more (unfortunately they pulled the Bullshot Artist job). Most of the jobs are located in Santa Monica, CA, but they also have locations all across the country and the world. You can apply for the jobs on Activision’s website, so start researching and get at it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you going to enroll in Found Your Career?

National Wild Turkey Federation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:00:23 +0000

My thoughts about Thanksgiving are still lingering like leftovers in the fridge, so we’re going to look at some more turkey related jobs today. The National Wild Turkey Federation is a “non-profit conservation and education organization with a mission dedicated to conserving wild turkeys and preserving hunting traditions.” They’re not talking about the turkeys that you had for dinner (at least not most of you), these are the ones that you may have seen in your backyard. It wasn’t too long ago that seeing a wild turkey was a rare occurrence, but these days it seems like they’re all over the place. That doesn’t mean that the work of the National Wild Turkey Federation is done, though. In fact, their numbers are expanding faster than those of wild turkeys. Since the Federation was founded in 1973, wild turkey numbers have increased from 1.3 million to more than 7 million, in the same time the Federation has grown from 1,300 members to almost half a million. That’s called success.

Bringing a New Meaning to the Job Hunt

It may seem counterintuitive that hunters are the ones who are trying to save the animals that they hunt, but it makes sense when you think about it. The individuals who utilize a natural resource are also the most likely to want to protect it. I guess that analogy doesn’t work for job hunters though. I’m sure that you’ll be more than happy to take another job off the market, and that’s why you should check out jobs with the National Wild Turkey Federation. Their Jobs page shows a number of available opportunities, and a couple of them seem perfect for entry level candidates. There are seasonal positions in the NWTF’s Warehouse, Frame Shop, and Customer Service departments in Edgefield, SC, but those aren’t what caught our interest. The Regional Director positions in Wisconsin and Oregon are. They look like awesome opportunities for new grads who are ready to take on a lot of responsibility. If you love wild turkeys and want to do everything in your power to conserve the resource, then head over to the NWTF’s Jobs page, read the job descriptions, and apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Any turkey hunters out there?

Jennie-O

Willy Franzen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:21:12 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for reading and helping to make the first year of One Day, One Job a great success. Last year we told you about jobs at Plimoth Plantation and Colonial Williamsburg, which are still a great option if you want to be reminded of Thanksgiving every day when you’re at work, but this year we’re going to take the easy way out and talk about turkey. I was first introduced to Jennie-O when I tried some of their turkey bacon. It’s good, if you haven’t had real bacon in a while. Since my Thanksgiving cooking philosophy is that bacon makes everything better (especially when it’s put on top of the turkey and doused in maple syrup, seriously, try it), I’ll let Jennie-O provide the turkey, but I’m getting the bacon somewhere else. In the three or four years that I’ve been familiar with the Jennie-O brand, I’ve noticed that they’ve revved up their branding efforts. You’ve probably seen some of their tv commercials, which are pretty funny, but you may have overlooked the fact that they’re working hard to expand recognition of their employment brand with college students.

Gobble, Gobble. Jobble, Jobble.

Ok, so Jennie-O’s Career page has a corny headline – “It’s everything you’ve wished for” with a picture of a wishbone. Whatever, it works for them, and it’s pretty witty. Their whole Careers site is top notch, so we can’t hold one pun against them. Not only do they have all kinds of information about what it’s like to work for Jennie-O, but they also have a section specifically for college students. It includes a calendar of recruiting events (which have already happened) and other general information. One unique feature is an image that shows which entry level jobs and internships at Jennie-O match up with which college majors. You should find this extremely helpful, although it doesn’t seem like Jennie-O lists specific job openings. It appears that instead they just take applications and then figure it out from there. They do provide a list of jobs that they offer throughout the company and a map with company locations (in Minnesota and Wisconsin), but the Application page asks you to fill out an application form and e-mail it to them. That’s it.

Jennie-O typically offers entry level jobs in Accounting, Human Resources, Industrial Engineering, Information Technology, Live Production, Maintenance Engineering, Production Management, Product Marketing, and Quality Assurance with jobs titles like Associate Live Production Supervisor, Associate Applications Analyst, Associate Maintenance Engineer, Associate Product Manager, Associate Technical Analyst, Industrial Engineer, Production Manager, Quality Assurance Supervisor, and Staff Accountant, so you can use these as a guideline when deciding whether or not you want to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried maple bacon wrapped turkey?

Levy Restaurants

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:50:27 +0000

Yesterday I told you how my move to Chicago has extended my baseball watching season, but I’m not sure that I mentioned that I have tickets to today’s Cubs game! I’m pretty excited about it, although I’m not excited about the fact that it might get into the 40s tonight during the game. October baseball is not for fair weather fans – the types who might prefer a catered event at the stadium to a real baseball game. Whether you’re a fair weather fan, an insanely devoted fan who just wants to be as close to your team’s stadium as possible at all time, or even if you just enjoy fine dining, a job with Levy Restaurants might be something worth thinking about. They’re a company that is all about hospitality and dining experience, and they happen to do catering/events at some pretty amazing venues – Wrigley and U.S. Cellular Field included.

The Levy Difference

A caterer doesn’t get the right to cater at top flight sports venues with out offering a fantastic experience. Levy Restaurants attributes their success to what they call “The Levy Difference.” There happens to be a video on their website with the same name, so we’re going to recommend that you watch that before you dig deeper into internships with Levy Restaurants.

Now that you’ve watched the movie, let’s take a look at Levy Restaurants’ entry level job offerings. Their job descriptions don’t offer a lot of detail, but we’re pretty sure that a number of their jobs can be considered entry level. If you look at all of their current job openings, you’ll see quite a few Assistant Director of Operations positions (Conseco Field House – Indianapolis, IN; Live Nokia Theater – Los Angeles, CA; Qwest Field – Seattle, WA; Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO; and STAPLES Center – Los Angeles, CA). Any job title that includes “assistant” has a pretty good chance of being a well suited to new college grads. There are also an Accounting position at Lambeau Field (Green Bay, WI) and a Marketing Coordinator position at Chase Field (Phonenix, AZ) that may be worth looking at. Finally, there are a number of jobs as Sous Chef (many locations). These require significant culinary knowledge, but may be considered entry level for you if you just graduated from culinary school. Levy Restaurants is based out of Chicago, IL, but has locations all across the country, so be sure to check out their list of venues to see where they might be hiring in the future. They don’t provide an HR contact or an e-mail address, so the only way to find out more information about jobs with Levy Restaurants is to apply online directly from the job descriptions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever experienced the Levy Difference? What’s it like?

Major League Baseball

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:51:01 +0000

I never thought that moving to Chicago would prolong the baseball season for me. Living in the New York City area gave me 13 straight years of October baseball, and now that I’ve left, both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium will remain empty for the rest of the fall before they eventually face demolition. It’s lucky for me that I’m now living in a new city that happens to have two teams that are still in it. I get a 14th straight year of local baseball in October! Playoff baseball is by far the most exciting baseball of the year, but it also means that season will soon be over. Those of you who are baseball fans know how long the winter seems when there is only hot stove chatter to keep you entertained while you wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training. While you’re still excited about baseball, you should start thinking about how you can land a job with Major League Baseball. Jobs with the MLB are in hot demand, so it’s a smart move to get familiar with their hiring process as soon as you can.

Take Me Out to an Entry Level Job

As far as we can tell, there are 2 ways to get jobs in Major League Baseball – there are jobs with MLB.com and jobs with specific MLB teams. There also seem to be jobs directly with the league (I have a friend on Facebook who is a member of the Major League Baseball network), but I’m not sure how you can go about finding them online. Here’s a rundown of the two types of jobs that we’ve found and how you can apply for them.

MLB.com Jobs

MLB.com is part of MLB Advanced Media, which is a separate arm of Major League Baseball. They run all 30 team websites and allegedly have editorial independence from the league. Their focus is entirely on multimedia and production, but they offer all kinds of jobs. Right now, the only openings that may be suited to new college grads (and are still a stretch) are in Database Marketing and Marketing Production. MLB.com offers internships in Finance, Marketing, Club Marketing, E-Commerce, Legal, Technology, Sponsorship, Design, and Public Relations, so there are a number of areas in which jobs with MLB.com can pop up periodically. These jobs are located in New York City, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to jlc@mlb.com.

Jobs with MLB Teams

There’s a separate site where you can search for jobs with all of the Major League Baseball teams. This is where the MLB follows the lead of other major sports leagues do and uses TeamWorkOnline to post their jobs. Right now there are listings from most of the teams (although only some are entry level), but this will probably change over time, as different teams have different hiring schedules. If you’re waiting to hear about jobs with a specific team, you can sign up for Job Notification e-mails or you can subscribe to the MLB Teams Jobs RSS Feed. There is an online application process for jobs with MLB teams, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to navigate.

The TeamWorkOnline site also lists some jobs with MLB Networks, so it’s possible that this is where they post opportunities with the league as they become available. We’re not sure about this, but we can’t find anywhere else that MLB jobs are posted. If you know anything about Major League Baseball’s hiring process, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who do you think is going to win the World Series?

Brunswick

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:18:33 +0000

Bowling, billiards, and boating – sounds more like plans for retirement than what you’ll be doing after you graduate, right? Not if you end up working for Brunswick. They’re a company that has been in a lot of businesses since John Brunswick started the Cincinnati Carriage Making Company in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854. They’ve added and dropped many product lines, even over the last 10 or 15 years, but recently they’ve settled on marine engines, pleasure boats, fitness equipment, bowling, and billiards. These groups of products aren’t necessarily related, but they’ve proved to be the most profitable for Brunswick over the years.

Not Quite Early Retirement

Brunswick may be in the business of producing great leisure products, but that it’s all fun and games. Brunswick has to work hard to be the best in the industries that they have stuck with, and they’re looking for lots of college students to help keep up the tradition. The Brunswick website is very easy to navigate, so you should have no problem finding all the relevant information that you need for your job search.

The first thing that you might notice when you look at Brunswick’s Careers page is their Financial Leadership Development Program. It’s a rotational program for new college grads who have a background in accounting, finance, business administration or other quantitative fields of study. Participants get to work in General Accounting and Reporting, Manufacturing and Product Cost Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Financial Information Systems, Treasury, and Audit and Corporate Governance. Assignments can be at Brunswick Bowling & Billiards (Lake Forest, IL; Bristol, WI; Muskegon, MI), Brunswick Corporate (Lake Forest, IL); Brunswick Boat Group (Knoxville, TN; New Bern, NC; Lowell, MI; and Various Florida Locations), Life Fitness (Chicago, IL); Mercury Marine (Fond du Lac, WI; Charleston, SC; Stillwater, OK), Sea Ray (Knoxville, TN and Various Florida Locations), and US Marine (Seattle, WA). The online application for the Financial Leadership Development Program doesn’t seem to be working, so we recommend that you send your cover letter, resume, and transcript to:

Brunswick Corporation
Attn: Human Resources – FLDP
1 North Field Court
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

That’s the first option for new grads at Brunswick, and it offers quite a bit of variety, but there are more entry-level jobs available for those who don’t have the Finance background.

More Options for New Grads at Brunswick

The rest of Brunswick’s job opportunities for new grads can be found by searching their Open Salaried Positions. If you leave the search box blank, you’ll get a listing of all current job opportunities. From here you can browse the listings that include job title, location, and brand. Any job that doesn’t have “Senior,” “Supervisor,” or “Manager” in its title has a high likelihood of being a good fit for entry-level candidates, so take a look and see what you come up with. The jobs tend to be in the same locations and with the same brands that we mentioned when talking about the Financial Leadership Development Program; however, most of the jobs are for grads with a background in Engineering. There are a few exceptions, so students with all backgrounds who are interested in Brunswick’s core businesses should take a look at what’s available.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which of Brunswick’s brands is your favorite?

Ford Models

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:35:13 +0000

Are you a fashionista? Do you just like being around beautiful people? Do you secretly wish that you could be a model despite the fact that you are way too awkward to walk down a runway without tripping? If you said yes to any of those questions, then you might want to look into Ford Models. They’re a tough company to research, since there’s a ton of online information about them, but very little that is job related. Getting a job at Ford Models doesn’t look like it’s an easy task, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.

But I Can’t Turn Left

Go look in the mirror. Take a good long look at yourself. You should be paid to be beautiful, shouldn’t you? You’re a perfect candidate for Ford’s modeling opportunities. We know you’re good looking. Everyone who reads One Day, One Job is, right? Now here’s one more test, to make sure that giving up on your job search and becoming a model is the right choice. Walk down a hallway in your house, pose, turn left, and come back to where you started. Ahh… that left turn snagged you up didn’t it? It’s not as easy as it looks. If you can’t turn left, you can’t be a model. Looks like you’ll have to consider Ford Models’ entry-level job opportunities instead.

Ford Models doesn’t list specific job opportunities on their website, but they do invite individuals who “have an understanding of the dynamic changes in the fashion talent industry and an innovator’s desire to create value” to send a cover letter and resume to careers@fordmodels.com. There’s a significant internship program at Ford Models, which makes us think that they are relatively likely to hire new college grads; however, you’d have to think that competition for jobs at Ford Models is pretty fierce. Everyone wants to be around beautiful people, and there are few jobs that offer better opportunities for that. Ford Models takes on most of its interns in New York City, so that’s probably the place they’re also most likely to do entry-level hiring. They also have offices in Miami, FL; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Chicago, IL; Scottsdale, AZ; Canada (Toronto and Vancouver); Brazil (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), and France (Paris). Our guess is that job opportunities might be in Marketing or PR, with an outside shot at some other areas. If the careers@fordmodels.com doesn’t work out for you, you can also try using the contact information for individual offices found on Ford Models’ home page in the Location – Division link (we can’t link to it, because it’s Flash based).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Ford Models.com (Flash site, can’t link to individual pages)
FordModels.tv
Ford Models on YouTube
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ford Models from the Freakonomics Blog

Are you too good looking for an entry-level job? Then stop reading this site and go fill out a modeling applications.

Organic Valley

Willy Franzen — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:00:57 +0000

Organic food is back. First it was for hippies. Then it was for wealthy foodies. Now it’s hitting the mainstream with many every day supermarkets having an organic aisle. In just a few short centuries, we’ve come full circle from all organic farming (there were no other options), to chemically dependent factory farming, back to organic. Organics may be a little more expensive, but there is a growing population that is willing to pay a premium for food that they consider healthier, more humane, and better tasting. Organic Valley is a cooperative between 1201 farmer-owners that allows small organic farmers to combine their growing power and sell products on a scale that is usually reserved for industrialized farming operations. Yes, it’s true. One Day, One Job finally has a post for the aggies out there (although Organic Valley also has plenty of opportunities for people with a non-agricultural background).

“At Organic Valley, our philosophy and decisions are based on the health and welfare of people, animals and the earth. In today’s world, in order to make a difference, companies need to think differently. Since our first seven farmers started working together in 1988, we’ve been doing just that.” That pretty much sums up why we think Organic Valley is a great place to start your career. If you want more detailed information on their products, organic farming, or how they started, you can visit their web site. A google search will also turn up myriad articles and websites that go into more detail about Organic Valley and their accomplishments. Wikipedia also has an entry on Organic Valley.

As good as Organic Valley’s general website is, their employment site is hindered by the applicant tracking system that it is built on. Not only is the site slow, but it’s a bit confusing (and sometimes stops working). It also doesn’t let us link to individual jobs. We don’t want you to go through the pain that we did going through Organic Valley’s job listings, so we’ve picked out the jobs that appear to be the most appropriate for entry-level applicants. The exciting news is that there are a lot of them. New college grads should be well qualified for any of the following positions: Inventory Associate II, ERP Setup Associate, Sustainability Program Manager, Logistics Support Specialist, Sales Services Coordinator, Graphics Designer, California Hauling and Quality Coordinator, Regional Farmer Relations Representative, Farmer Communications Coordinator, and Product Development Technologist.

Almost all of these positions are based out of La Farge, Wisconsin, and there’s a wide range of fields represented – from accounting to marketing to agriculture. We did our best to make sense of the job descriptions, but they were a little unclear, so give them a good look before you apply.

We don’t want to end this post on a sour (like non-organic milk) note, because Organic Valley truly does look like an awesome place to work, so we’ll highlight a few of the perks that come with working for them. Organic Valley employees get to participate in the Kickapoo (yes, that’s the real name) County Fair. Blue jeans and t-shirts are appropriate attire. And shoes are optional, yes, optional, in the Summer.

Note: On April 24th we revisited entry-level jobs at Organic Valley.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you eat organic?

Northwest Service Academy

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:00:05 +0000

There are many options after graduation – starting work right away, enjoying one last Summer off, or taking a short-term job while you think things over. Northwest Service Academy falls into that last category, and the best part is that you will get to enjoy working in the great outdoors while you reflect on your education and your future.

Northwest Service Academy is a non-profit organization that does “hands-on watershed restoration, environmental education, trail construction, resource conservation and volunteer mobilization projects throughout the beautiful Pacific Northwest.” They see themselves as a place for young people to develop leadership skills that will open up opportunities that require more experience than typical entry-level jobs.

Jobs at the Northwest Service Academy include: Trail Team Leader and Member, Wildfire Fuels Reduction Team Member, Wilderness Backcountry Ranger, and Stewardship Assistant (many of the links are now dead, so use the Northwest Service Academy’s jobs page to find current opportunities). Most of these jobs have multiple openings, and the start dates range throughout the year (for more informations see Northwest Service Academy’s recruitment timeline).

Most of the Academy’s jobs are in their Trout Lake, WA and Portland, OR centers, but there are also positions in Wisconsin and a few other places. Northwest Service Academy has done an impressive job of communicating their employment brand online, so you should be able to find a wealth of information about them through Google, including their Wikipedia entry (which we just linked to, so you won’t have to search for it).

We especially like Northwest Service Academy because their employment opportunities are so easily accessible online. All the information you could want to know about working for them is on their website and easy to find. That’s why we’re keeping it brief today.

Note: On April 27th we revisited entry-level jobs at Northwest Service Academy.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

We hope your last semester (if you’re Seniors) is starting off well, and don’t forget to use the special One Day, One Job discount at Better World Books when you buy your textbooks. Not only will you get 20% off, but the money from your purchase will help fund literacy programs.