One Day, One Job

Sterling Publishing

Willy Franzen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:47:50 +0000

Who knew that Barnes & Noble owned a publisher? I certainly didn’t, but it makes a lot of sense. If you own the sales channel, you might as well start creating your own product too. That’s why Barnes & Noble acquired New York City’s Sterling Publishing a few years back. It’s allowed them to squeeze more profit out of their dominance in retail book sales. It seems to me that the scope of the types of books that Sterling publishes is expanding, but their main focuses are in puzzles, photograpy, crafts, gardening, and do-it-yourself. If you really want to take a close look at what types of books Sterling Publishing puts out, you can see a list of their imprints with descriptions on the Sterling Publishing About page.

A Sterling Start

Sterling Publishing’s mission is “to publish high-quality books that educate, entertain, and enrich the lives of [their] readers.” I’m not sure that differs much from any other publisher, yet they say that they stand out because they “have the reach of the major publishers yet the passion & creativity of an independent press.” You’ll have to take a closer look at Sterling and the books that they publish to get a feel for whether they’ll be the right place for you. If you do think that you’ll be a good fit, then you should head over to Sterling’s Careers page. They don’t have specific job listings, but they mention that their “learning and development programs begin at the entry level and continue through to senior management.” They also have a quote from Meaghan F. in the Publicity Department about how easy it is to get a good start at Sterling Publishing:

I started at Sterling as an Intern during my senior year of college. I ended up getting a full-time job out of that experience and years later I still learn something every day as a Children’s Publicist. The opportunity for growth at Sterling is tremendous.

It’s hard to say what specific entry level positions Sterling may be hiring for, but I would guess that they are similar to the jobs that you’d find at other publishers. The easiest way to find out is to submit salary requirements, cover letter, and resume to hr@sterlingpublishing.com. I know that they are located in New York City, but I think that they might also have a location in Asheville, NC with job opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite book published by Sterling Publishing?

Justin.tv

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:39:41 +0000

You know about YouTube. You’ve known about YouTube for years. It’s the place to go for online video. There are some competitors that offer some pretty great services, but YouTube is still the default. Now, what if you want to watch live video? Or what if you want to broadcast live video? The Bay Area’s Justin.tv beats out YouTube when it comes to live stuff. You can watch white labrador retriever puppies, live soccer, or some kid in your dorm’s lifestream. The options are pretty much endless. You may ask why anyone would want to sit on a computer and watch puppies, but you’d miss the obvious answer – they’re cute. Actually, there’s an audience for just about anything these days. Justin.tv taps into that. Live video on the Internet isn’t new. There were people doing it in 1996, but the technology now makes doing it much more worthwhile. The question of whether the actual content being broadcast is worthwhile is up to you.

Webcast Your Career

Justin.tv started with Justin Kan, a guy who decided to broadcast his life 24/7. A lot has changed since then, but you can still watch the Justin.tv office live. Now “Justin.tv is the largest online community for people to broadcast, watch and interact around live video [w]ith more than 41 million unique visitors per month and 428,000 channels broadcasting live video.” That’s crazy! But Justin.tv isn’t just about people broadcasting their lives. There are all kinds of cool content, and there’s some really cool technology behind the platform.

Justin.tv’s live video platform scales to support massive audiences by measuring demand in real-time and intelligently replicating streams to additional servers to meet that demand. Constructed by a team of MIT and Yale graduates, the Justin.tv platform pushes more than 177 Gbps of video at peak usage – the equivalent of 16,946 standard DVDs per hour.

Justin.tv is doing cool things, which is why it’s no big surprise that they’re offering some pretty cool jobs. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of opportunities that should appeal to recent grads. These include Ad Integration Engineer, Software Engineer, and Flash Developer. All of these jobs require pretty strong technical skills, and the job descriptions are pretty descriptive, so make sure that you really show off when you apply to jobs@justin.tv.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used Justin.tv?

Travers Collins & Company

Willy Franzen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:46:00 +0000

“Go Local” is a pretty common buzz phrase these days. You’re supposed to eat local, shop local, and even study local. To some people this is a new idea, but businesses like Travers Collins & Company have been focusing on working locally for a long time (in their case since 1995). They saw a void in the Buffalo, NY area when it came to advertising, public relations, interactive and investor relations, so they filled it. Judging from the number of times “Buffalo” shows up on their client list, that seems to have been a smart move. They’re now “one of Buffalo-Niagara’s largest locally owned and operated integrated marketing communications firms,” as they have more than 40 employees.

Buffalocal

It’s always hard to differentiate between marketing communications firms, as they all kind of look alike. The easiest way to get a quick read on whether one of these companies is right for you is to take a look at their portfolio. It also can’t hurt that the “Buffalo-based agency won 24 of 63 Excalibur awards, which were presented by the Buffalo/Niagara chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.” If you like what you see, you’ll want to check out Travers Collins’ Jobs page. They don’t have specific listings, but they do have an open call for applicants as well as internship listings with points of contact in Public Relations, Advertising Account Management, Investor Relations, and Creative (there’s also a contact for Interactive on their Contact page). I’d imagine that those might be the same people that you want to talk to about entry level jobs; however, they list employment@traverscollins.com as the best way to apply for a job.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you know anything about Travers Collins & Company?

ChannelAdvisor

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:48:05 +0000

Now, I know that the name ChannelAdvisor sounds like some sort of new and improved tv guide that you can buy on the infomercials, but bear with me for a second and I’ll tell you what ChannelAdvisor is really about. The simple version is that they’re a Morrisville, NC based company that helps other companies sell online. The more complex story is that ChannelAdvisor “helps the world sell online with solutions for retailers to efficiently distribute their products across multiple online channels, drive shoppers to those products, and then convert those shoppers into customers.” That sounds good, but what does it really mean? Major retailers often have thousands of products. Their first e-commerce priority is to get their products listed on their own site, but after that they want to extend their reach to comparison shopping sites. There are tons of these comparison shopping sites, and they all have different data requirements for listing products. The retailer can try to do it on their own, or they can hire ChannelAdvisor to do it for them.

Don’t Change the Channel

ChannelAdvisor appears to be the best in breed when it comes to understanding online sales channels—just look at the list of respected brands on their customer list. Clearly they know what it takes to drive traffic and sales online. Unfortunately, the story on ChannelAdvisor isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows. They did go through a round of layoffs last year while at the same time securing $20 million more in funding. The good news is that this resulted in their first operating profit in January. Now that things have settled down, it appears that ChannelAdvisor is hiring again. Their Jobs page shows 15 open positions, and a number of those seem suitable for new grads including Customer Support Analyst, Customer Support Engineer, Inside Sales Specialist (Surrey, UK), and Inside Sales Specialist. All of the jobs (except the one in UK) are in Morrisville, NC, and you can apply for them online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about ChannelAdvisor?

People Capital

Willy Franzen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:49:13 +0000

I was lucky enough to graduate from college without having had to take out any student loans, but even if I had needed to take out a loan, at least it would have been before the “credit crunch.” These days it’s a lot harder for students to finance their educations than it was just a couple of years ago. Credit in general is extremely tight right now, and beyond that, lenders are being very picky about whom they lend to. For students with no credit history, getting a loan can be a big pain in the butt. People Capital is a New York City based startup that is aiming to change that through what they call a “peer-to-peer lending platform.” They’ve developed a Human Capital Score “to assess the creditworthiness of those just starting their credit histories,” and they’re now building out a network of borrowers and lenders to bring the idea to life. It’s kind of like Kiva for education, but with a for-profit incentive keeping things efficient.

Add Your Human Capital to People Capital

When People Capital’s idea catches on, it has the potential to completely change the lending industry—not just the student loan industry. We used to trust banks to make smart financial decisions, but those days are over. Now we can micro-manage our lending and borrowing through peer-to-peer lending. Borrowers can get lower rates based on information that goes beyond the traditional credit score, and lenders can make a profit while financing the educations of promising students. It’s hard to say whether people are ready for this kind of a business model yet, but if they are, People Capital is going to be growing at insane rate pretty soon (if they aren’t already).

If People Capital sounds like the kind of place that you want to start your career, then you should check out their job listings on Startuply. Right now they’re looking to hire people to help them with Business Development in Philanthropic/Endowment/Affinity Channels and in Capital Markets. You can apply for these positions online right now, and keep your eyes peeled for more new jobs as peer-to-peer education lending becomes all the rage in the world of microfinance.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about People Capital’s concept of peer-to-peer lending?

A Better Chance

Willy Franzen — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:17:05 +0000

Having spent 7 years at a private prep school, I know the educational value that such institutions offer. I also know that private schools aren’t accessible to everyone (but neither are great public schools). That’s why I think that it’s pretty cool that a New York City based non-profit organization called A Better Chance is achieving its mission “to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society” by enrolling students of color in Member Schools (which are apparently both public and private). Since 1963 when “23 headmasters of selective independent schools made a mutual commitment to change the profiles and compositions of their student bodies,” A Better Chance has improved the educational outcomes of more than 12,000 alumni.

A Better Chance for You

A Better Chance just keeps getting bigger and bigger. They now have “a record 544 new Scholars in a growing national network of more than 300 Member Schools.” That’s more students than my school had K-12! A Better Chance’s website doesn’t go into a ton of detail on the specifics of their program (at least as far as I can tell), but I’m sure that some deeper research will give you a full view of how the program works. As for jobs, they have a number of opportunities across the country that seem as though they may be suitable for new grads. These include Resident Director positions in Simsbury, CT; Winchester, MA; and Lower Merion, PA. There are also some non-paying Resident Advisor and Tutor positions available. The application instructions vary by position, so be sure to look closely at each job description.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about A Better Chance?

National Safety Council

Willy Franzen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:00:16 +0000

Last year we took a look at jobs with Phantom Fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July, but this year it’s a weekend, and that means non-profit entry level jobs. I decided to play things a little safer, so my first thought was The National Council on Fireworks Safety, but they don’t appear to have any jobs. That led me to the Itasca, IL based National Safety Council, which is also concerned with fireworks safety. Fireworks safety is just one small piece of what the National Safety Council does though, as their mission is to “educate and influence people to prevent accidental injury and death.” And that’s just want we want to do on July 4th.

Bring Safety to Your Job Search

First and foremost, I want you to focus on having a safe holiday weekend, but after you’ve accomplished that, you might as well combine your quest for safety with your job search. The National Safety Council focuses on safety in transportation, at home, and in the workplace, so they’re much broader in scope than other safety organizations. The NSC works through 39 state and regional chapters that “identify safety needs of particular interest to their areas and deliver community-based programs and services, trainings, conferences, workshops and consultations, and serve as a local voice for safety advocacy.” If that sounds like something that you want to be a part of, then you should check out the National Safety Council’s Jobs page. Right now, they don’t have anything available at their Itasca, IL office, but they do have an Instructor Coordinator position that appears to be entry level available in their Syracuse, NY office.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you safety conscious?

National Archives

Willy Franzen — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:46:55 +0000

Since I’m going to have a non-profit for you tomorrow, let’s start celebrating the Fourth of July today. Now, I know that you probably have fireworks, the beach, hot dogs, and hamburgers on your mind, but let’s take a minute to appreciate the Declaration of Independence. It’s the best “I Quit” letter in the history of the world. It’s like that letter that you wrote to your parents when you were 14 and decided that you were moving out, except it isn’t completely nonsensical. The Declaration of Independence has a lot to do with why this country is so great, so I hope that you’ll take a minute to give it a read today. And where do you go if you want to read the Declaration of Independence? The National Archives, of course! You can see the original document in all its glory, or you can check out a more readable version. If you’re not familiar with what the National Archives is, basically they “are the nation’s record keeper.” They preserve and keep forever 1%-3% of our government’s documents for both legal and historical reasons.

Declare Your Independence with a New Job

One Day, One Job has its own archives, but it’s nothing compared to what the National Archives has (duh!). The National Archives serves many constituencies, as there are all kinds of uses for historical documents. These include: the General Public, Genealogists/Family Historians, Veterans and their Families, Educators and Students, Researchers, Records Managers, Preservation and Archives Professionals, Information Security Specialists, Federal Employees, Members of Congress, Press/Journalists, and more I’m sure. You could spend hours learning about the National Archives and what they have preserved, so I’m going to leave that research up to you.

What I do have for you is an inside look at what kind of jobs they have available. You can start learning about what it’s like to work at the National Archives by visiting their Careers page, and from there you can check out their Jobs page. Here’s where it gets a bit confusing because there are a lot of options. You want to select Jobs for the General Public or Federal Career Intern Program. The former takes you to the USAJOBS.gov site where you can see all of their job listings. Right now the best option is Archives Technician, but there might be some other options for you. The latter isn’t actually an internship program; it’s an entry level hiring program. It doesn’t have any openings right now, but it’s worth keeping an eye on because it looks great.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited the National Archives?

Amp Idea

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:13:00 +0000

I know just what you’re thinking right now! “I don’t get advertised to enough.” (If you’re really thinking that, why don’t you check out our job search prep course that will teach you how to get a job faster?) Ok, so that’s not really what you’re thinking, but it’s what the guys at Boston based Amp Idea are thinking. They think that online advertising has developed some amazing ideas, while outdoor advertising (and other similar mediums) have lost their effectiveness. They want to bridge that gap through things like Taxi Interactive Screens, Hotel Tourist GPS, Tabletop Restaurants, and Limo and Bus interactive devices. Over at One Day, One Internship we checked out a company called Captivate Network that is doing this kind of thing in elevators, so it seems as though there is a lot of room for growth in “digital advertising in the out of home space for business owners.”

Get Amped About Amp Idea

Amp Idea is very early stage startup, but they’re already deploying interactive taxi screens in Boston, and they plan to expand to New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. in the very near future. It’s a really cool idea, and if they can gain market share quickly, they’re going to have a very serious business on their hands in a couple of years. According to the company’s LinkedIn Profile the company has 5 employees, and they’re looking to add more. They have an Outside Sales Executive position posted on Startuply that looks pretty interesting. Now, they have this posted as a commission only position, so I think that they’re going to have a tough time finding the person with 2 years in the Advertising Industry that they’re looking for. That means that if you think that you have what it takes, you’ll probably have a pretty good shot at landing this job (it’s not a lot of risk to them). Now it’s up to you to decide if a job without base salary is something that you can do (and if it isn’t, you can always try negotiating).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about interactive advertising in taxi cabs?

Topspin

Willy Franzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:29:26 +0000

We all have at least one friend who “has a band.” He’s the one that sends you a Facebook Event invitation for his “gigs” every other week. He’s also still on MySpace (because it’s awesome for bands, of course). It may just so happen that you friend is actually really good, but he’s still waiting for his big break. Regardless of your friend’s talent level, there’s a good chance that he’s struggling with marketing his band. (That’s why that big break hasn’t come yet.) Your friend may think that MySpace is advanced as band marketing gets, but it’s not. There’s a new game in town, and it’s called Topspin. They haven’t launched yet, but they’ve already put a lot of work into achieving their mission “to provide artists the tools they need to build successful businesses.”

Your Résumé Needs a Little Topspin

I know that’s it’s hard to get really excited about a company that doesn’t even have a public product yet, but sometimes you just have to trust the judgment of venture capitalists. You also have to like the fact that Berklee College of Music (one of the most prestigious music schools in the country) has teamed up with Topspin in an “exclusive partnership to develop online music courses designed to teach artists, managers and labels on effective use of the Topspin platform to market music and develop fan relationships.” That Topspin platform sounds a little mysterious, but as far as I can tell, it’s a web app that will allow bands to easily mange things like catalogs, connecting with fans, and generating demand for music.

Topspin has offices in Santa Monica and San Francisco, and they already have a sizable team. Their Jobs page says that they’re looking to add to the team, although it doesn’t get specific. If you have an interest in music, marketing, business, and technology, then you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to work than Topspin. You can apply by sending a personalized cover letter and a résumé to jobs@topspinmedia.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do any of you have friends whose bands are actually good?

STATS

Willy Franzen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:41:20 +0000

I love statistics—especially when applied to sports—so it should be no big surprise that some of my favorite blogs include The Wage of Wins Journal, Sabernomics, and FanGraphs. Surprisingly, the statistical knowledge found on the best blogs these days is often far ahead of what you will find in the front offices of many major sports teams. The reason for the recent advancement in statistical sports knowledge of laypeople has a lot to do with how easy the Internet and computers have made it to collect and analyze in-depth data. A big reason that sports data is available is because of Northbrook, IL based STATS. Their story is pretty cool. They were founded in 1981 and “began as a grass roots operation tracking baseball in a unique, esoteric fashion.” Now, they’re “the world’s leading sports information, content and statistical analysis company.” I guess that numbers worked out for them.

Do Your STATS Match Up?

If you’re a sports stats geek like me, you’re probably already dying for a job with STATS. As you look more closely at the company, I think that your excitement will grow. They couldn’t be a bigger deal when it comes to sports statistics—they cover an insane number of sports, and their clients include the NFL, the NBA, CBS Sports, Google, Yahoo!, and quite a few other impressive names. So what about jobs at STATS? There are quite a few opportunities, and plenty of them appear to be suitable for new college grads. Current entry level positions include Part-Time Paralegal, Soccer Optical Tracking Position – Major League Soccer, Database Administrator, Computer Programmer, Data Collectors (Golf, Football, Baseball, or Soccer), and STATS Reporter. All of these jobs look awesome, so apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to jobs@stats.com (a few positions require you to apply in a different way, so be sure to check out all of the Job Listings first).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

And if you ever wondered about proper sports grammar, you need to check out STATS’ Style Sheet.

MGH, Inc.

Willy Franzen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:27:18 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.

There have been some complaints in the Public Relations industry that agencies are not evolving quickly enough; however, Baltimore’s MGH, Inc. is never a subject of those complaints. While their Web site, and their entire agency, is currently “under construction,” they invite you to explore their “old” site for information—and by old they mean 2008. That’s how quickly they are willing to evolve.

But wait, there’s more. MGH was founded in 1995 by professionals who disagreed with the large agency mentality of overworking employees to the point of being burned out. Instead, MGH’s founders left their “comfortable jobs” to start an agency centered around retaining talented, happy employees. Today, they are 71 people strong.

Check Your Ego at the Door

In addition to the great work life MGH offers, they also give back to the community, believe all employees should have a life outside of work, and don’t take on clients who they believe will disrupt the excellent corporate culture they’ve built. Need I say more? Oh yeah, not surprisingly they are a full-service firm with big-name clients, such as MERCK, Papa John’s Pizza, Pfizer, and Texas Instruments.

MGH is currently seeking an Account Coordinator. This is a typical entry level job in which you will need several internships under your belt, strong writing skills, media pitching skills, organizational skills, a strong attention to detail, a passion for public relations, general knowledge of social media and WOM marketing, and a creative mind.

Interested? Send your cover letter that explains why you think MGH should be your home away from home and a résumé to careers@mghus.com.

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.

campusCATALYST

Willy Franzen — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:59:38 +0000

I’ve mentioned before that I’m on the board of advisors for a startup non-profit called National Coaching Fellows. During my time on the board, I’ve learned how challenging the non-profit world can be. Luckily, NCF has had the support of a “student-driven consulting corps for non-profits” to get through some of its growing pains. That consulting group is Chicago’s campusCATALYST, an organization that “seeks to direct the innovation, ingenuity, and problem solving skills of America’s future leaders towards community development by cultivating a rich academic and social entrepreneurship experience for college students and tangible solutions for nonprofits.” In other words, they take students from the University of Chicago and Northwestern and put them on consulting teams that help non-profits achieve their missions.

A CATALYST for Your Career

Although I haven’t interacted directly with campusCATALYST, I have heard nothing but good things about them. They’ve certainly helped National Coaching Fellows, and they’ve also had a significant impact on other local non-profits. campusCATALYST is only starting its second year, but the level of quality that they appear to have built into their program already is outstanding. They’ve created an amazing opportunity for current college students who have an interest in non-profit work and consulting, but they’re also growing into something more. That’s why they’re hiring. Right now they have a Program Director position posted on Idealist. It’s not necessarily an entry level job, but considering the fact that campusCATALYST was started by an ‘07 Northwester graduate named Molly Day, I doubt that your graduation year will be their main concern. The job looks awesome, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to cC@campuscatalyst.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are your thoughts on campusCATALYST?

New Canaan Nature Center

Willy Franzen — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:05:17 +0000

Having grown up in Fairfield County, Connecticut, I took at least one school field trip to the New Canaan Nature Center. I think that I was pretty young, so I don’t remember the trip very well, but I do know that I always loved nature related field trips. If you’re not familiar with the idea of a nature center, it’s simply a “visitor center designed to educate people about nature and the environment.” At least that’s what Wikipedia has to say about the topic. New Canaan Nature Center certainly accomplishes that, as they have some pretty awesome facilities. In addition to a Visitor Center, they include a 4000 square-foot Greenhouse, an Education Building and Annex, an Apple Cider House, an Animal Care Building, an Herb Garden and Cottage, Two Observation Towers, Staff Residences, an Arboretum, a Wildflower Garden, and quite a bit more. It’s the perfect place for people to step out of suburban Fairfield County life and get a taste of the nature around them.

Be a Part of Nature… Center

One of the things that I didn’t mention about New Canaan Nature Center’s is their Birds of Prey exhibit. It features seven aviaries, and sounds awesome (maybe it’s just me, but I’m absolutely fascinated by birds of prey). The birds of prey in the exhibit include a Bald Eagle, a Barred Owl, a Common Raven, a Great Horned Owl, a Harris’ Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a Turkey Vulture. If you get even more excited about this stuff than I do, then a career as an Environmental Educator at New Canaan Nature Center might be worth considering. Although they’d like someone with some experience in the field, I’m sure that there are plenty of new college grads who have that type of background. You can apply by sending a cover letter, résumé, and three references to jobs@newcanaannature.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to a nature center?

CB Richard Ellis

Willy Franzen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:55:21 +0000

Considering the fact that I drove by a house in Michigan that was on sale for $12,500 just a few days ago, it’s pretty obvious that the real estate market still has some rebounding to do. There has been a lot of hurt in the industry over the past couple years, but maybe things are looking up. A friend who works at CB Richard Ellis let me know about a position that they’re trying to fill, and after I checked their Careers page I saw that they’re hiring for more than 200 positions. Considering the fact that they just went through a round of layoffs at the end of last year, I’d say all those job postings is probably a good sign for where the company (and maybe the economy?) is going. If you have heard of CB Richard Ellis before, you should know that they’re headquartered in Los Angeles and they’re “the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2008 revenue).” Clearly $12,500 houses aren’t a problem for them.

Be with CBRE

CB Richard Ellis is a huge company. Not only are they world’s revenue leader in commercial real estate, but they also happen to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 employees and 300 offices. That makes finding an entry level job with them a little bit intimidating. It’s hard to know where to start, especially when they don’t have anything tailored to recent grads on their site. They do have a Career Paths section on their site, but it only allows you to self-select as Experience Professional or MBA. Neither of those pages offers much information that would be helpful to a recent grad. This means that we’re going to have to dive into the dreaded job search function to find entry level jobs at CBRE.

Unfortunately, CBRE’s job search function doesn’t let us link to specific jobs, and there are 200+ jobs to wade through. CBRE does have jobs all across the country, so getting ultra-specific with your query still should turn up a few results that might interest you. CBRE’s job areas include Administrative/Operations, Business Development, Client Services, Commercial Real Estate, Executive Management, Facilities Management, Finance/Accounting, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing/PR/Communications, Project Management, Property Management, Purchasing/Procurement, Research Management, Risk Management, Sales/Brokerage, Technology, and Transaction Management, so there really is something for nearly everyone. There’s also the position that my friend told me about: Marketing Coordinator (.doc file) in Woodbury, NY. You can apply for this specific position by sending your cover letter and résumé to joscelyn.wippern@cbre.com. For other positions you can apply online through CBRE’s Applicant Tracking System, or you can apply through e-mail to cbreresume@cbre.com. If you still have questions about the CBRE hiring process you can check out their Careers FAQ.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about CBRE?

Charlie Trotter’s

Willy Franzen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:56:16 +0000

When I moved to Chicago last year, just days before my 24th birthday, my parents decided that they wanted to treat me to a truly amazing Chicago experience to start off my life in the city right. They took me and my girlfriend to a dinner at Charlie Trotter’s, one of the finest restaurants in Chicago and the world. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, Trotter’s is usually found somewhere on Restaurant Magazine’s list of the Top 50 Restaurants in the World (although they seem to have dropped off the list this year).

When I dined at Charlie Trotter’s I chose the Grand Menu, which is an 8-course tasting menu. Although the menu is constantly changing, I had the pleasure of enjoying: Prince Edward Island Oysters with Sea Water & Pickled Daikon; Chilled Snow Lake Trout with Roe, Watercress & California Crayfish; Four Story Hill Farm Quail with Spring Onions, Chanterelle Mushrooms & Chorizo; Grilled Nantucket Bay Scallop with Boudin, Pig’s Tail & Fennel; Forty Eight Hour Braised Short Rib with Lobster Mushrooms & Fermented Black Garlic; Concord Grape Sorbet with Grape Leaf & Parsnip; Honey Crisp Apples with Cider Granite & Ginger Jelly; and Black Mission Figs with Shaved Fruit Cake, Marcona Almonds & Pedro Ximenez. It was an amazing meal that took food to a level that I didn’t know it could reach.

Trot Out Your Best

Yes, Charlie Trotter’s is obscenely expensive if you look at it as just a dinner, but there’s so much more to the experience than just eating. What you have to understand about Charlie Trotter’s is that everything is perfect. Your food will never be cooked improperly. If you tell them that you don’t like cheese, they will prepare you something without cheese. Your water glass will never be empty. You are experiencing something at its highest level. It’s like Albert Pujols’ swing, Yo-Yo Ma’s music, or my fly fishing (just kidding)—Charlie Trotter is one of the best at what he does. And that’s why you should consider a job with him. If you are able to land a job at Charlie Trotter’s—and it won’t be easy—you will be a part of something that is pure excellence. Even if your future isn’t in hospitality, you will gain an appreciation for performing to the highest expectations. That will translate to any job, just like working at the best consulting firm, investment bank, or ad agency. And if you want to stay in the culinary field, then there’s obviously no better place to start than Charlie Trotter’s.

Just ask Grant Achatz, the chef at 10th ranked Alinea (also in Chicago). He got his butt kicked during his try-out at Charlie Trotter’s, but he’s clearly better for it. This isn’t some company that you can just send your résumé to and hope that they take you, but if you meet the below criteria, you should give it a shot:

No matter what level of education or job experience you may have, we are always seeking to meet individuals who have a great attitude, are willing to commit themselves to learning, are passionate about food and wine and have a great work ethic. All of these attributes are of equal importance to us during the application process at Charlie Trotter’s.

You can submit your résumé to Matt Merges at Matthias@charlietrotters.com for culinary positions and to Christian Giles at Christian@charlietrotters.com for service positions. Just make sure that you bring “your A game.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever dined at Charlie Trotter’s?

Triage Consulting Group

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:16:16 +0000

Jason Seiden and I often refer to the work that we’re doing with Found Your Career and other courses that we’re developing as career triage. It’s a practical, informal, and just-in-time approach that gives you what you need when you need it. I’m sure that Triage Consulting Group (which is based in both San Francisco and Atlanta) chose their name for a similar reason, although it might also have something to do with the fact that they’re “financial consultants to the healthcare industry.” The company was started to serve the needs of hospitals, and they do this through 10 services that drive 98% of their revenue: Payment Review, Workers’ Compensation Review, Contract Analyses and Negotiations, Litigation Support, Clinical Denials, Medicare Review, Revenue Cycle Consulting, Silent PPO Review, Capitation Risk Pool Audits, and Government Compliance Audits, including Medicaid and TRICARE.

Get Yourself in Triage

Ok, that stuff doesn’t sound all that much fun to me, but if you have a mind for numbers and an interest in the healthcare industry, it would be absolutely fascinating work—especially given all the talk about healthcare reform right now. Triage Consulting Group is a relatively small company with somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 employees; however, they’ve been named one of the “Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America” by the SHRM and the Great Place to Work Institute for the last five years. Triage’s Careers site definitely reflects this, as it’s loaded with in-depth information about what it’s like to work for the company. It’s definitely one of the most in-depth Careers sites that I’ve seen. They seem to do most of their recruiting on campus for their entry level Associate position, but they do have a page that allows you to apply online. Unfortunately, it says, “At this time, we are no longer accepting applications. Please check back with us in the summer.”

Well, it’s summer now. Time to pounce. While other candidates are getting discouraged by this notice and waiting around until they’re told to apply, you should jump on this opportunity and see if you can network your way into a job with Triage Consulting Group. That’s the kind of stuff we teach in our “career triage” course, Found Your Career. We’ll leave it up to you how to make the first contact, but I’ll recommend that you start with their company LinkedIn Profile or their team page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Triage Consulting Group?

Ooyala

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:37:17 +0000

When we were developing Found Your Career (our entry level job search prep course that we guarantee will help you get a job faster), we spent a lot of time figuring out how we were going to host all of the video content. Once your video hosting needs go beyond YouTube and the other free sites out there, things start getting a little complicated. Had we known about Ooyala, we might have tried using them to host our videos. They’re a Mountain View, CA based startup that provides “an end-to-end solution for content owners to transcode, manage, deliver, analyze, and monetize their video assets.”

Jobs Worth Watching

With the way that video is growing on the web, it makes a lot of sense for a company like Ooyala to make the process of getting video to a site’s users easy. Or as Ooyala puts it, “We focus on the technology and integration so you can focus on your business.” There are a lot of companies that offer similar products and services to Ooyala, but what makes them stand out for me is their list of customers. A lot of major sites are using Ooyala for the technology behind their video content. They include National Geographic, Motley Fool, Bebo, and the AVP. If you’re intrigued by Ooyala’s business model, then a job with them might be a perfect fit. You can see everything that they have available on their Jobs page; however, if you’re a techie then you’ll probably want to check out the Jr. System Administrator and Front-End Application Engineer positions. If programming isn’t your strong point, then you might be more interested in their Inside Sales Representative and Account Coordinator (also available in New York City) positions. You can find the full job descriptions on Ooyala’s Jobs page, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to careers@ooyala.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Heard anything about Ooyala?

Project SaaSure

Willy Franzen — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:57:20 +0000

All of the cool new websites are built on the Software as a Service model these days. How often do you actually go out and buy a box with software CDs/DVDs in it and install it on your computer? How often do you download something and install it on your computer? Probably not nearly as often as you use a website like Google Docs, Flickr, LinkedIn, or even Facebook. It makes so much more sense for the company to run the software and hold the data on their servers, while all that you have to do is login from an Internet enabled web browser. Project SaaSure is a San Francisco based startup that “was started on the premise that businesses need an easier, more cost-efective way to manage their web applications.”

Join the Project

Now, I’m not sure how you pronounce Project SaaSure’s name, but I do know that building a company that helps SaaS providers make their products better is a smart idea. They don’t go into a lot of detail about what they plan to do to turn subscription-based web applications into an intelligent, integrated Cloud Area Network, but I’ll trust the founders on this one (they have very impressive résumés). Right now, as far as I can tell, Project SaaSure consists only of its co-founders Todd McKinnon and Frederic Kerrest. Lucky for you, they’re trying to change that. Right now their Jobs page shows that they’re looking for Front-End, Web Application, and Back-End Engineers. They’re also open to be convinced on hiring someone else who has all of the right skills and the right attitude to do something else. If you want to join Project SaaSure, send your cover letter and résumé to changetheworld@saasure.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite software as a service?

Fatherhood Educational Institute

Willy Franzen — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:45:27 +0000

Father’s Day is almost always a little bittersweet for me, as it marks the end of a week long fly fishing trip with my Dad to Northern Michigan. I hate for the trip to be over, but there’s no better way to celebrate the holiday than having spent a week with my Dad doing what we love—catching fish. Last year I searched high and low to bring you a post about the National Fatherhood Initiative, and this year it wasn’t easy to find another Dad related non-profit. Lucky for you, I came across the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which is based in Chicago. I know that I couldn’t have done half the things that I’ve done in my life without my Dad (like start this business), so it makes a lot of sense that the Fatherhood Educational Institute aims “to promote positive fatherhood involvement in povery stricken communities.” Great fathers are so important to the success of their children.

Now, the Fatherhood Educational Institute doesn’t have any job listings that I’ve been able to come across, but they do seem big enough to have the potential for some job openings. Some of their undertaking include the Incarcerated Fathers Project and Fatherhood Support Groups. Both are aimed at achieving the Fatherhood Educational Institute’s mission:

a) introduce indigent and incarcerated fathers regarding fatherhood through the use of clinical and related educational tools; and

b) to promote fatherhood in poverty stricken neighborhoods and in the general public through events and any other means of educating the public on the importance of patriarchal involvement in children’s lives.

Like I said, there’s no word on any jobs, but if you think that a job at the Fatherhood Educational Institute might be right up your alley try reaching out to them through the info on their Contact page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How are you celebrating Father’s day?

Public Architecture

Willy Franzen — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:14:16 +0000

As much as I should have a great appreciation for architecture because my father is an architect, but I must admit that I’m still not quite there yet. However, as a guy who occasionally builds websites, I fully appreciate “the practical problems of human interaction in the built environment.” That’s why I think that San Francisco based Public Architecture is a pretty cool non-profit. Their logo is their mission statement, and if the font is too small for you to read (ummm can we say problems of human interaction?), then here’s what they do: they put “the resources of architecture in the service of the public interest.” How do they do that? Through a method, a model, and motivation.

Jobs for the Public

This three-pronged approach allows Public Architecture to do some pretty cool things. They are able to take the economic constraints of good architecture out of the picture by using the funds they raise to support projects that they deem important. Their method also allows them to give direction to projects that would otherwise lack guidance (and funds). Finally, through their work they set an example that motivate other architects to commit to projects for the public good. One way that they do this is the 1% Project which “challenges architecture and design firms nationwide to pledge a minimum of 1% of their time to pro bono service.” Overall it’s a very cool non-profit, and certainly one that an architecturally minded new grad might want to work for. Although budding architects would probably be better off actually working at an architectural firm, this Operations Associate sounds like a pretty cool opportunity for other recent grads. They do want someone with at least a year of prior work experience, but I’m sure a couple internships should do. If you want to apply, “send your resume, a writing sample, and a cover letter that explains your interest and fit for the position by email to info@publicarchitecture.org with ‘Operations Associate Application’ as the subject of your email.” They’d prefer if you send it all as single PDF.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about Public Architecture?

Archie McPhee

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

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

Enjoy the Novelty of an Entry Level Job

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

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Archie McPhee product?

Skyhook Wireless

Willy Franzen — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:18:48 +0000

In my opinion one of the coolest features of the first generation iPhone was its ability to accurately give you your location despite its lacking a GPS chip. The technology is based on using Wi-Fi access points and cellular tower triangulation to determine your coordinates. Obviously a GPS chip is a better alternative (at least as long as you don’t have a roof blocking your satellite signal), but there are plenty of applications where Wi-Fi location comes in pretty handy. That’s why Boston based Skyhook Wireless is a growing company. They’re behind the technology that provides location to non-GPS equipped iPhones (as the New York Times covered quite well), and they’re also using their technology for geotagging, device recovery, social networking, and much more.

Locate Yourself at Skyhook Wireless

Now, it may sound to you as though GPS is a major threat to Skyhook Wireless’ business, but that’s not the case at all. If you take a look at the graph below, you’ll see that Skyhook’s XPS is a hybrid of GPS and Wi-Fi Positioning, and that it provides an amazing level of reliability in nearly all situations.

Beyond just being able to give people their locations, Skyhook Wireless also focuses on what people do with those locations on whatever device they’re getting them on. We’ve barely even touched the surface with using location data in our every day lives, so I think that Skyhook Wireless has a pretty bright future. If you want to be a part of that future, you should check out their Jobs page. A few of Skyhook’s job openings look like they might be suitable for new or recent grads: Wireless Product Manager, Web Product Manager, and Embedded Device Engineer. To apply for any of these positions (or maybe an unlisted one) send a cover letter and resume to careers@skyhookwireless.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Where are you?

e-Dialog

Willy Franzen — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:29:09 +0000

Try 5 lessons from One Day, One Job’s Job Search Prep Course Found Your Career for free. It will help you get a job faster.

Nobody likes getting spam in their inbox, but a well-crafted, beautifully designed marketing message from one of your favorite brands isn’t always that bad—especially if it includes a special offer (kind of like the one above). We’ve already talked about Aweber and Constant Contact in terms of e-mail marketing, but today we’re going to talk about a company that does it on a much bigger scale. Burlington, MA based e-Dialog “is the proven provider of advanced e-mail marketing and database technologies, products, strategies, and services for permission-based e-mail marketers,” and they can back that up with a client list that includes the NFL, Nintendo, the NHL, OfficeMax, Harvard Business School Publishing, and many more serious brands.

Start an e-Dialog

E-mail marketing isn’t an easy business, but when you get it right, it’s a gold mine. There are companies who can send out a single e-mail to their list and instantly drive millions of dollars in revenue. I’m guessing those are the players that e-Dialog works with. Here are the 5 ways that e-Dialog helps their clients deliver an outstanding ROI:

1. Sophisticated yet easy to use tools for reporting, message deployment, segmentation, and analysis – considered some of the strongest and most comprehensive tools, as noted by Forrester Research
2. Proactive and reliable account management teams
3. Deliverability expertise, strong ISP relations, and a unique response management team that ensures all messages are properly responded to
4. Thought leadership on e-mail and multi-channel marketing strategies
5. Efficient integration of data from multiple sources and the ability to analyze that data and make it actionable

If you want to learn about the world of e-mail marketing, e-Dialog is a great place to do it. Right now they have 24 job openings in the US, and quite a few seem appropriate for new college grads. These include Receptionist, Software Engineer, and Technical Support Specialist. You can apply online, so head over to e-Dialog’s Jobs page to get all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you heard anything about e-Dialog?

W.L. Gore & Associates

Willy Franzen — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:59:17 +0000

This week One Day, One Job is coming to you from the Northern woods of Michigan, which means that I have fly fishing on my mind. At least half my days up here are spent in waders—boots that go all the way up to your chest so that you can walk around in the river without getting wet—which gave me a great idea for a company to feature today. Newark, DE based W.L. Gore & Associates “is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets,” but they are most relevant to me (and probably to you too) as the company behind GORE-TEX®. If you’re not familiar with it, GORE-TEX® is a waterproof fabric that is breathable. That means that waders and rain jackets that are made out of GORE-TEX® not only keep you dry from the water on the outside, but they also keep you from drenching yourself with sweat on the inside.

Stay Dry with Gore

Most of Gore’s products are probably things that you won’t notice in your every day life, but they really hit the consumer products jackpot with GORE-TEX®. When you realize how important the other products that they manufacture are to everything that you do, I guarantee that you’ll be impressed. The good news on Gore is that beyond making amazing products, they’re also an amazing place to work. They’ve been named to FORTUNE magazines list of “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” every year since the list has been published, and it all can be attributed to Gore’s fabulous their culture. They have an excellent Careers site and even have a special section with Opportunities for New Graduates that lists the following positions: Process Engineer, Product Development Associate, Manufacturing Engineering/Operations Associate, Application Engineer, Process Control Engineer, Operations Management Associate, and Technical Sales Associate. Unfortunately that page doesn’t tell you were to go to apply for these jobs. Your best bet for applying is to use Gore’s job search function to search for jobs that match these titles (or you can just check the box “Early-Career Professional”). They also offer the option to apply for an unlisted position, so that might be a good thing to try too. They certainly could make things a little more clear for new grads though.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite GORE-TEX® application?

Racepoint Group

Willy Franzen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:39:39 +0000

This is a guest post by Heather R. Huhman. Heather is the media relations manager at a national health care professional association and entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com.

“Leverage the power of traditional and digital media relations to elevate premium and emerging technology, health and science brands” – that’s what global public relations agency Racepoint Group works hard toward on a daily basis. While their worldwide headquarters is outside of Boston, Racepoint Group also has offices in San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; a European headquarters in London; and a global network of partners and affiliates spanning four continents.

Racepoint Group’s practice areas include corporate, crisis and issues management, employee relations, financial communications, government relations, marketing communications and public affairs, while their industry expertise includes technology, health and science, social commerce, mobile and energy. And while many agencies claim to be “award-winning,” Racepoint Group really means it. In 2008 alone, they won more than 20 industry awards.

Race to the Finish Line

If you want to be on the cutting edge of the public relations industry, definitely take a look at Racepoint Group. Each of their client campaigns reflect the increasing transformation of media from traditional print and broadcast channels to new digital spheres of influence – blogs, reputation aggregators, e-communities and social networks. And, they have their own proprietary tools to help execute and measure each one.

Racepoint Group is currently seeking an Account Coordinator in its Washington, DC office. Account Coordinators are critical team members who perform public relations tasks such as developing media lists, editorial calendars, speaking calendars, clip reports, briefing materials, draft press releases and press material development. To land this position, you’ll want to have several internships under your belt, strong writing and proofreading skills, and effective verbal and written communication skills.

Interested? Send your cover letter and résumé to HR@racepointgroup.com with the subject AC-Corp or submit your application online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Dress for Success

Willy Franzen — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:00:49 +0000

At some point during your job search, you’ve probably read at least one article about what to wear to a job interview . If you’ve already had an interview or two, you were probably stressed out about the decision: blue shirt or white shirt? or some other mundane detail like that. For a lot of people, what to wear to an interview is a much bigger issue. That’s where Dress for Success comes in. They are a New York City based non-profit that aims to “promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.” Every year Dress for Success and their affiliates across the world help more than 40,000 women become better prepared to land a job.

Get Dressed for Success

Here’s how Dress for Success works. Women have to be referred to Dress for Success by government or non-profit organizations like homeless shelters, immigration services, job training programs, educational institutions and domestic violence shelters, and the woman must already have an interview scheduled to receive clothing. From there:

On her initial visit a woman receives a suit appropriate for the industry in which she is interviewing and, if available, accessories. After a woman finds a job she returns to Dress for Success for additional clothing that can be mixed and matched to make several outfits, providing her with the foundation for a professional wardrobe.

While we may be best known for providing suits to women, it is our employment retention programs that are the cornerstone of the organization. Soon after Dress for Success was founded we came to recognize that finding work is only one step in a woman’s journey towards economic independence; remaining employed and building a rewarding career are essential if a woman is to become self-sufficient.

You know how stressful the job search process can be, so I’m sure you can appreciate how awesome the Dress for Success’ work is. If you’d like to become a part of their team, you should check out their Jobs page or, actually, their Idealist page which has a couple of entry level jobs posted. These include Development Associate and Affiliate Relations Coordinator. The application details vary, so check out the job descriptions for all of the info. You also might want to check out Dress for Success affiliates across the world for other job opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget to Dress for Success!

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:28:02 +0000

There are countless celebrities who support charitable causes. There are many who throw their full support behind a single organization; however, few celebs are as personally invested in their charitable work as Michael J. Fox is. Why is he so invested? Because his life is on the line. He is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, “a degenerative disease of the brain that often impairs motor skills, speech, and other functions.” If you’ve seen Michael J. Fox on tv lately, you’ve seen what Parkinson’s does to the human body. It’s a tragic disease that will hopefully be cured due to the work of the New York City based Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. As an accomplished actor and someone who is living with Parkinson’s, Michael J. Fox is the perfect person to lead the fight against the disease.

Outfox Parkinson’s

The MJFF’s mission is pretty simple; they are “dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease within the decade through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today.” The Fox Foundation has already funded $142 million in Parkinson’s research, but they’re clearly not satisfied stopping there. To accomplish that, they need a top notch staff, so it’s no big surprise that they’re hiring. If you head over to the MJFF’s Jobs page you’ll see 5 open positions. 3 of them require significant previous work experience, but the other 2 seem well suited to new college grads—Grant Administrator – Research Programs and Development Assistant. You can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to foxjob@michaeljfox.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research?

Agency Nil

Willy Franzen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:58 +0000

Considering that I do this nearly every day, I see a lot of companies and a lot of jobs, but today I came across something that I’ve never seen before. It’s called Agency Nil, and it’s an full-service advertising agency, except it’s nothing like any ad agency that you’ve ever seen. They don’t have a physical location, they don’t have a salaried staff, and they don’t have set fees. It’s almost as they don’t exist (I think that’s where the “nil” comes in), but they do. As PSFK puts it, Agency Nil “hopes to channelize the skills of experienced but laid-off talents from the advertising industry, as well as that of graduate students from advertising programs – people who just can’t seem to lay their hands on that elusive job.” In other words, they’re trying to put the glut of available talent to good use. It’s brilliant.

Will Work for All It’s Worth

The whole idea behind Agency Nil is that clients pay what they think the work they get is worth. They do have to cover any expenses, but beyond that the billing is completely discretionary. It allows them to put all of the risk on the agency, and that means the client is likely to get a lot more creativity than they would ever get in house. Ageny Nil’s slogan is “cheaper than freelance, better than interns,” and I think it’s pretty obvious why. Agency Nil was started by Hank Leber, a recent grad of the graduate program at VCU Brancenter, and he’s looking for more talent to join him at Agency Nil. If you’re interested in working in a pure meritocracy with a lot of uncertainty, send something impressive to audition@agencynil.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the Agency Nil concept?

Concur

Willy Franzen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:15:31 +0000

Since you’re looking for your first job, it’s probably a safe assumption that you are not familiar with “expensing” things. Hopefully you will be one day (soon). Many companies (especially consulting firms) allow their employees to pay for travel, lodging, and food, and then submit receipts to the company to get reimbursed. It can be pretty sweet if you’re getting $30 a night to spend on dinner, while racking up credit card points and frequent flier miles at no expense to you, but the downside is that submitting expense reports to get reimbursed is time consuming and quite annoying. Concur, a Redmond, WA based company that I learned about in Sramana Mitra’s Entrepreneur Journeys, solves this problem through their “on-demand Employee Spend Management business services.” Put simply, they have a suite of solutions that enables companies to automate the expensing process.

Do You Concur?

Expense management is a complicated process that you’re probably not going to understand fully any time soon, but all you need to understand about Concur is that they make the process much simpler. Or as Concur puts it, their “unified approach to managing employee spend delivers a 360 degree view into all employee expenses, helping companies globally enforce policies and monitor vendor compliance, while delivering unprecedented control and valuable insight.”

The cool thing about how Concur started is that they fixed a problem that was bothering them. Concur’s current CEO, Steve Singh, was complaining to his business partner about how he had to file $150,000 in receipts a week before a project closed to make sure that he’d get reimbursed. From this complaint came Concur—a solution. The company has grown significantly since it was founded in 1993, and they seem to still be growing as they’re hiring now. They do have a College Recruiting Page, but it seems a bit out of date. Your best bet to get the scoop on jobs at Concur is to check out their main Careers page and then take a look at their specific job openings. The most suitable options for new grads are Records Maintenance Clerk (Redmond, WA), Market Development Representative (Prague, Czech Republic), Account Manager (Eden Prairie, MN), Collections Specialist (Sydney, Australia), Collections Specialist (Eden Prairie, MN), and Accountant – Internal Auditor (Redmond, WA). You can apply online directly from those job descriptions, so get at it!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever dealt with an onerous expensing process?