One Day, One Internship

BUMP

Willy Franzen — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:12:39 +0000

If there’s a driving holiday, it has to be Memorial Day. I didn’t spend much time in the car this year, but last year I was in a nasty traffic jam coming back from Michigan. The jam was exacerbated by some buffoon who decided to block off a lane for at least a mile by driving slowly (it was closed for construction ahead). If only there was a way to contact him and let him know that he should read Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). Then he’d know that full lane utilization with a zipper merge at the obstruction is the most efficient way to deal with a lane closure. BUMP is a La Jolla, CA based company that wants to create “the world’s largest communication, marketing, and safety network” by connecting license plate numbers with online profiles.

A BUMP in the Road

While I can see the value of BUMP, it does seem a little weird. Where I grew up, people knew my car, so I wasn’t really anonymous. But now that I live in a big city, I feel completely anonymous when I’m driving. While BUMP doesn’t identify you to other drivers, it does allow you to contact them. If you want to get a better idea for how BUMP works, I highly recommend that you read BUMP’s FAQ. While I’m not sold on all of the social networking stuff, I think that BUMP has the potential to be a competitor with AAA. By offering membership benefits, safety services, and car buying and selling opportunities, there’s the opportunity to build something really big. If you want to be a part of it, take a look at BUMP.com

What do you think about BUMP?

Char-Broil

Willy Franzen — Mon, 28 May 2012 12:43:58 +0000

For many people Memorial Day is the start of the grilling season. I think there’s something wrong with those people–I grill year round. I did bone-in rib eyes on Saturday, smoked ribs for 7 hours yesterday, and I’m not even sure what I’ll be grilling today yet. My preference is to use Charcoal, but my building’s rules have forced me to use gas for the past few years. I’m a Weber guy, and I’m not sure that will ever change. But it does look like Char-Broil makes some pretty nice grills. Apparently Columbus, GA based Char-Broil sells more gas grills in the US than any other gas grill manufacturer, and they also claim to be “#1 in infrared” (which is more technology that I don’t need in my opinion.” Anyway, Char-Broil has a Jobs page, but doesn’t have any jobs or internships posted. They say not to contact them unless something is posted, but you know better than that, right? Do some research on LinkedIn (they’ve had interns before!), and see if you can find a way in. Or look for other Memorial Day inspiration for your internship search.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What are you grilling today?

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Willy Franzen — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:58:15 +0000

Last week a guy I knew in college e-mailed me looking for some career guidance. I’m happy to help just about anyone as long as they ask pretty specific questions, but I’m especially willing to do whatever I can to help him out. Why? While I thought I was taking a risk by doing a startup after graduation, he’s been flying helicopters in Afghanistan for the Army. It’s easy to forget that there are people like him who are risking their lives every day to protect us. Memorial Day weekend is all about thanking them and remembering those who have lost their lives in the call of duty. That’s why we’re going to take a look at an organization called Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America today. They’re based in New York, NY and Washington, DC, and they are the “country’s first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Join the Movement

There’s a PSA that I see on tv all the time from the IAVA and the Ad Council, you’ve probably seen it. It’s worth watching, but I think you’ll get more information from this IAVA video called Join the Movement:

The IAVA’s goal is to help build “the next greatest generation with a three-pronged model based on advocacy, awareness, and assistance.” Membership for veterans free, and it offers access to programs like an online community just for veterans, health, education and employment resources, and free rewards and exclusive offers. It’s all about preparing our veterans for success when they get back home. If that sounds like something that you want to be part of, then you should take a look at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s Job and Internships page. While they only have jobs posted now, here’s their internship posting from 2011. They offered paid positions in both New York (Communications, Development, Digital Engagement, Executive Office, Membership, and Strategic Partnerships) and Washington, DC (Advocacy and Research). Check them out and consider reaching out about a future internship–especially if you’re a veteran (and if you are, thank you!).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you thanked a vet?

NatureBridge

Willy Franzen — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:51:20 +0000

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to spend as much time as possible enjoying nature. Along the way I’ve learned a lot of stuff without realizing it. For instance, I can tell you about the the entire lifecycle of mayflies or the spawning behavior of salmon. Yes, I’ve read about those things to supplement my knowledge, but you can’t really understand how it all works until you see it in action. That’s the premise that NatureBridge is based on. They’re a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that has spent the last 40 years introducing “1 million young people to the wonder and science of nature in the world’s best classrooms—our national parks.”

Cross the Bridge

NatureBridge envisions “a world where every student learns about the science of nature, is inspired by its beauty, and is motivated to take action to protect the natural world.” That sounds good to me, but it’s not something that can be accomplished in a normal classroom. NatureBridge uses five venues for its programming: Yosemite National Park, Golden Gate, Olympic National Park, Santa Monica Mountains, and Channel Islands National Park. They have a fantastic website, so I urge you to dive in and start exploring it. There’s a lot of information bout their School and Group Field Science, Family & Youth Programs, and Training & Tools. NatureBridge looks like an amazing organization, so you should definitely check out their Jobs page. While they don’t have any internships posted there right now, they do have an unpaid Development Intern position posted on Idealist, so check that out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you enjoy nature?

Cogo Labs

Willy Franzen — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:23:33 +0000

The last time that I was involved with an incubator was in 5th grade when my class was hatching chicks. Between then and when I graduated college, the word incubator was irrelevant to me. Now it’s coming up all the time. I’ve been involved with and interested in startups for the past five or so years, and in that time I’ve seen the idea of the incubator blow up. Incubators typically provide capital, guidance, office space, and much more to help startups get off the ground. Cogo Labs (formerly Adverplex) is a Cambridge, MA based incubator that focuses on growing Boston based web companies. They offer a unique value to their portfolio companies in that they have an in house “platform of proprietary technologies for algorithmic marketing, data mining, and quantitative business analytics.”

Go Cogo

Because of Cogo Labs’ proprietary platform, they tend to have a narrower set of companies in their portfolio than other incubators. Right now they list three companies: CourseAdvisor, Autotegrity, and AdHarmonics (all of these have their own separate job postings, so check them out). That’s two lead generation companies, and one company that essentially helps other companies with lead generation. It’s pretty clear that Cogo Labs is all about combining online marketing with serious data crunching technology. If that sounds like fun to you, take a look at Cogo Labs’ Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for Software Engineering Interns (I’d assume the positions are paid). I haven’t seen any past internships in other areas from Cogo Labs, but it could be worth reaching out if you want to work on the marketing side or something.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Cogo Labs?

PrintEco

Willy Franzen — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:08:42 +0000

My life is about as paperless as it gets. I avoid having to use a printer at all costs. Yet, I still think I know something about the paper and printing industry. It’s not because my mom is a graphic designer who dragged me along to pick up printing jobs when I was a kid. It’s because I watch The Office, obviously. Believe it or not, printing costs are still significant for most companies–”corporations spend $500 per employee annually on printing costs.” PrintEco is a Chicago, IL based company that claims they can cut 17% off of most companies’ printing expenses and help the environment at the same time. When you see how they do it, I think you’ll be pretty impressed.

Press Print

For a long time the main role for most computers was to create stuff to be printed. We’ve moved beyond that now, but it’s hard to believe that printing functionality has remained mostly the same the entire time–you print exactly what you see on the screen. Whether you’re printing a proof for a magazine ad or travel directions, the printer reacts the same way. What if instead of trying to replicate what’s on the screen your printing was optimized for paper/ink efficiency? That’s what PrintEco’s software does. You can take a tour here. Basically they have a plug-in for applications like Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and major web browsers that reorganizes your print jobs so that you get more information on a single page while using less ink. It’s crazy that nobody thought of this before. PrintEco offers their software free for personal use, but charges per user fees at the small business and enterprise levels.

If you like what EcoPrint is doing, take a look at their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a paid college graduate Marketing Intern and an unpaid undergraduate Marketing Intern. Considering that they’re essentially the same position, maybe you can convince them to pay you even if you’re not yet graduated.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you print?

HowAboutWe

Willy Franzen — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:34:05 +0000

I’ve been off the market for almost 7 1/2 years, so I have no experience with online dating. But I do have a lot of friends who use the web to find dates, and I even have a few who are working on projects in the space. One of the sites I’ve been hearing a lot about lately is HowAboutWe, which is based in New York, NY. It’s a site that is more about getting people out on dates than finding them a perfect match. They don’t want you obsessing over profiles, sending lots of messages, and spending some of your best years in front of a computer screen. They want you to get out and do stuff with people who might end up being people you want to spend more time with.

HowAboutYou

If you’re looking for love and a job, maybe you should join HowAboutWe and post “How About We… Get an Internship.” If you’re not sure that’s the best way to start a relationship, you may want to browse through HowAboutWe’s Date Ideas. You can see what’s popular on the site and how its users are interacting. HowAboutWe faces a similar problem to One Day One Job in that a successful product actually causes them to lose users. That’s why they started HowAboutWe for Couples, which provides “One-Click Planning. One-Of-A-Kind Experiences. Built For Two.” This is a free service that will be supported by some sort of local deals platform, while the HowAboutWe site for singles is a paid service. You have to like HowAboutWe’s unique approach to online dating, so why not take a look at their Internships page? Right now they’re looking for unpaid interns in Editorial, Direct Marketing & Business, and Marketing. They look like awesome opportunities, so go get them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried HowAboutWe?

Forbes

Willy Franzen — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:40:48 +0000

I’m a big fan of magazine lists. They can be a great tool for your internship search, and I’m not just talking about the “Best Place to Work” lists. One list that you may not think to use but you should is the Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires. Take a look at what the world’s most successful people have done to get where they are today–it might just lead you in some interesting directions. Forbes is a company that is best known for its lists. The New York, NY based publisher goes by the motto “The Capitalist Tool,” though that sounds like something a NATO protester called me this weekend (just kidding). But seriously, when you hear the name Forbes, you think money, right?

Start Your Way to the Forbes List

Forbes made their name with their magazine Forbes, but they also have Forbes Asia, ForbesLife, The Forbes Investors Advisory Institute, and The Forbes Newsletter Group. But my favorite Forbes business has to be the Social Register Association, which “is considered by many to be the only reliable, and the most trusted, arbiter of Society in the United States.” In other words, it’s a directory (complete with addresses and phone numbers) of the country’s elite. I bet getting your hands on one of those could really help your job search (too bad you can only get one if you’re listed in it). Obviously, a big part of Forbes’ business has moved online. You’ve probably tried to read an article on Forbes.com, but decided against it after being hit with an interstitial ad. Forbes also owns and operates ForbesWoman.com; RealClearPolitics.com; RealClearMarkets.com; RealClearSports.com and RealClearWorld.com.

If you want to join an old media name that is trying to make it work in the digital age, then take a look at Forbes’ Careers page. Right now they’re looking for an Editorial Wealth Intern. I’m not sure if it’s a paid position that will actually help you learn something about wealth, but it’s worth a closer look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read Forbes?

Doximity

Willy Franzen — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:28:39 +0000

If you haven’t heard something about the Facebook IPO in the past few days, you must have had a really good weekend. What annoys me about successful startups is all the knockoff attempts. A lot of people think that a good idea is enough to build a business on, so they copy the successes and usually fail miserably despite having a “good idea.” A much better approach is to take inspiration from the big successes and apply what you learn to a more focused niche. Doximity has done exactly that–they’re a social network for doctors and healthcare professionals. The San Mateo, CA based company has picked a great market in that a big part of being a doctor is communicating with other doctors. It’s also a market with amazing monetization possibilities.

Increase Your Proximity to Doximity

Let’s be honest, most of the things that most of us do on social networks is pretty frivolous. Doximity avoids this problem by focusing on specific things that are important to healthcare professionals. They offer the typically features to allow people to connect socially and professionally, but they also make it easy to find contact information for other doctors’ offices, provide a free digital fax line, and offer opportunities for doctors to earn more money through “research, 2nd opinions, and medico legal consulting.” While you won’t be able to sign up for Doximity since you’re not a healthcare professional, you can tour their product. If you’re excited by what you see, then go take a look at Doximity’s Internships page. Right now they’re hiring paid Product Development Interns. This looks like a really cool opportunity, so give it a close look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Doximity?

Society for Neuroscience

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:49:23 +0000

Neuroscience is a word that is about as intimidating as astrophysics. Most people have no idea what it means, but they’re pretty sure that its definition is over their head. The truth is that neuroscience is simply the study of the brain and nervous system. That’s not to say it’s a simple science, but it’s a science that covers equipment that we all have. With that said, neuroscience gets a bit complex as it draws from “other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics, medicine and allied disciplines, philosophy, physics, and psychology.” (Here’s the Wikipedia article on Neuroscience.) The Society for Neuroscience is a Washington, DC based non-profit member organization for the scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system.

Get Your Neurons Firing

The field of neuroscience is young as sciences go, which is why the Society for Neuroscience was only founded in 1969 (I know that seems like a long time ago to you). Back then they only had about 500 members, but today they have more than 40,000. The Society for Neuroscience is similar to other scientific non-profit member organizations in that it works in a number of ways to move the field forward. These activities include creating “venues for sharing great science in an expanding field”; “connecting people around the globe and across specialties”; educating “the public about the wonders of the brain”; and advocating “for policies that promote research.” If you’re interested in things like brain development, sensation and perception, learning and memory, movement, sleep, stress, aging, and more, then you have to take a look at the Society for Neuroscience’s Internships page. They’re currently looking for paid interns in:

Finance
Grants & Development
Human Resources
Information & Decision Support
Membership & Marketing
Operations & Governance
Professional Development & Global Programs
Neuroscience Policy & Education Fellow

The postings say that the internships were already supposed to start, but they just reposted them, so you can still apply. Neuroscience is a fast growing field, so now is a great time to get involved. And the Society for Neuroscience is a great place to get a start even if you don’t have a background in neuroscience.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about neuroscience?

buildOn

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:52:22 +0000

It’s easy to think of the developing world as having completely different problems from the ones we have in the U.S. But when you look more closely, you start to realize that the link between poverty and a lack of good education is consistent across the world–our inner cities and the developing world have similar problems that require similar solutions. buildOn is a non-profit organization based in Stamford, CT that aims to break “the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education” by “putting youth in service and building schools in developing countries.” Most non-profits either focus on education abroad or domestically, buildOn is unique in that they believe that they can better solve both problems by working on them at the same time.

Build Something

You’ll probably want to start your research on buildOn by reading Founder Jim Ziolkowski’s story. After that you’ll want to dive into the “buildOn Is a Movement” video:

buildOn’s domestic programs are based in Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; New York, NY; Oakland/San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; and Stamford, CT. The goal is to engage 100,000 U.S. based students every week by 2031. In the same time period, they want more than 1 million students to be attending schools built by buildOn. It sounds like an amazing movement, so if you want to get involved, head over to buildOn’s Careers page. Right now they have a couple of unpaid internships posted: Finance Intern (Stamford, CT) and Leadership Program Intern (New York, NY). These look like amazing job opportunities, so give them a close look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about buildOn?

Fareportal

Willy Franzen — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:51:43 +0000

It’s supposed to be in the 80s and sunny all weekend here in Chicago. This is the weather that we wait all year for, yet I”m starting to think this may have been a good weekend to get out of town. Why? The NATO Summit is in Chicago this weekend, and so are the protesters. If I was going to get out of town, I might try one of the services offered by Fareportal to book something. They’re a New York, NY based company that has a “technology platform which enables millions of travelers to book a myriad of travel products from almost every corner of the world.” They operate a number of consumer brands including CheapOair (I’ve used them at least once), CheapOstay, HotelPricer, and Clubmiles. Fareportal also has travel trade brands including Fare Buzz, Travelong, Fareportal Media Group, and Dukes Court Travel.

Fare Enough

The easiest way to describe Fareportal is travel + technology. They are the “7th largest online travel group in the US” and the “4th largest online travel agency.” When you add it all up, they get more than 30 million travel searches every month. That’s pretty impressive for a company that is just 10 years old, but what’s next? Fareportal’s home page proclaims that they are “one of the fastest growing travel companies in the world,” so clearly what they’re doing now isn’t enough. That’s why Fareportal is hiring big time–you can see their full Careers page here or you can go straight to the listings for their New York City headquarters. Right now they’re looking for paid interns in Search Engine Marketing and Graphic Design. If you love travel and technology, then it would be hard to find a better place to intern than Fareportal.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Treehouse

Willy Franzen — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:41:55 +0000

What have you done in the past week to make yourself a better candidate for the jobs that you’ll apply for after you graduate? E-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com and tell me. Seriously. Developing new skills isn’t just about being better qualified for a job or internship–it’s also about showing employers that you’re constantly trying to better yourself and willing to invest time and money to do so. Companies love people who show a desire to grow into new roles. Luckily, there are more and more companies that offer online education with the purpose of actually teaching you applicable skills, not giving you a worthless piece of paper. One of these companies is Treehouse, which is based in Orlando, FL. Their “goal is to teach Web Design, Web Development and iOS, to everyone in the World who wants to learn.”

Climb Up to the Treehouse

I know this isn’t reassuring, but the stats say that most grads take many months to land a job. That’s more than enough time to learn some extremely valuable technical skills with Treehouse. Think you can’t afford it? Think again. Treehouse costs $25 a month (and they had a student plan at $9 a month, though I don’t see it on their Plans page). If you can’t scrounge that together, you’re not trying hard enough (and even then Treehouse offers a lot of their video content for free). I’ve actually used Treehouse to improve my coding skills, and it’s fantastic. The content is top notch, but it’s the code challenges that really help you make the most of it. There’s a reason that people pay for Treehouse when there are decent alternatives out there for free. Just like you (hopefully), Treehouse wants to keep getting better, which is why they’re hiring. They only have one paid internship posted in Animation/Motion Graphics, but if you’re interested in Video, Audio, Content, Sales, Lead Generation, or another relevant area, I think it would be well worth your time to reach out to them about an internship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you try Treehouse?

Crate and Barrel

Willy Franzen — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:42:41 +0000

Furniture shopping brings out the worst in me. I tend to revert back to my childhood when my sister and I would team up (by fighting of course) to make our parents miserable so that we could leave the furniture store sooner. Luckily, my fiancée loves going furniture shopping with me. She’s found that if she creates conditions for success (making sure that I’m in a good mood and have recently had a meal), I can actually act like a human being at places like Crate and Barrel. In case you’ve never been to a Crate and Barrel, it’s a giant furniture and housewares store that is essentially my worst nightmare. It all started with one store in downtown Chicago, but now Crate and Barrel is headquartered in Northbrook, IL and has more than 170 stores including CB2 and The Land of Nod locations.

You Can’t Spell Crate and Barrel Without Career

It’s almost as if a trip to Crate and Barrel or CB2 (which is targeted towards a younger crowd) is a rite of passage after you land your first job and move out of your parents’ place. You may not end up buying anything, considering that an entry level salary won’t get you very far at Crate and Barrel, but it’s at least worth a look. If you’re not quite at that point in your life yet, you still may want to visit a Crate and Barrel to get an idea of how they operate and what their style is. Then you can go take a look at the Crate and Barrel Internship page. From there you’ll be led to their current positions. Right now they only have one internship posting. They just call it Summer Internship, but the Internships page mentions opportunities in Retail Sales, Store Design, Inventory Management, Distribution, Merchandising, Finance, Graphics, Store Operations, Logistics, and Human Resources. There’s no word on pay.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you shop at Crate and Barrel?

Sparkpr

Willy Franzen — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:07:34 +0000

I get a ton of PR pitches every day (I just got another one while I was writing this). They typically range from very bad to downright terrible, so I either ignore them or send a nasty reply asking the person to remove me from their list. I checked my e-mail archives, and I’ve never received a pitch from anyone at Sparkpr, but my guess based on their reputation is that they’d actually take the time to send me a decent pitch if it was appropriate. They’re a San Francisco, CA PR firm that was started in the late 90s “at the height of the Internet explosion in Silicon Valley.” They’ve maintained their close ties to the tech scene through the ups and downs, and they’ve won a ton of awards along the way.

Spark Something

You’ll probably recognize the names of some of the companies that Sparkpr has done work for: Bing Travel, Electronic Arts, The Economist, Flickr, Mozilla.org, Nielsen, Nokia, NVIDIA, Sony PSP, Skype and Yahoo! (Etsy, Good, Twilio, and Acquia are just a few Sparkpr clients who have also been featured on One Day One Job at some point.) What I really like about Sparkpr’s approach to PR is that they align their program with business objectives. General good PR is fine, but PR is at its best when its targeted at generating a specific outcome. If you’d like the sound of this, check out Sparkpr’s Careers page. Their job postings show that they’re currently hiring PAID (this is rare in PR) interns in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London. These look like amazing opportunities, so go get them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Sparkpr?

Shoptiques

Willy Franzen — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:43:48 +0000

I do as much of my shopping online as possible, but that’s because I don’t really enjoy shopping. It’s all about minimizing my time doing something that I don’t want to do. For some people online shopping is great for the opposite reason–it allows them to spend even more time shopping (at work, on the train, walking down the street, on the couch, etc.). The big problem with online shopping is that the experience feels a bit homogenized–you’re typically buying from major retailers or e-commerce companies. Shoptiques is a New York, NY based company that is trying to make online shopping better by bringing boutiques to the web. Why boutiques? Boutiques offer the ultimate shopping experience: “beautiful hard-to-find hand-picked fashion and knowledgeable advice from the owners who know so much about style and how to make you look beautiful.” Boutiques are anything but homogenized, but their business models don’t translate well to the web–at least they didn’t until Shoptiques came along.

Go Career Shopping

Shoptiques may seem like another e-commerce site on the front end, but once you start browsing through their selection, you’ll notice a difference. The bigger difference is behind the scenes. Shoptiques doesn’t hold inventory–they just facilitate the sale between you and the boutique that you’re buying from. When you order, Shoptiques e-mails the store with a prepaid shipping label. You pay Shoptiques, they pay the boutique after taking a fee, and the boutique ships your purchase. If you want more details, you can check out Shoptiques’ How It Works page. If you love boutiques and can’t wait to see more of them online, you have to take a look at Shoptiques’ Careers page. Right now they’re looking for an unpaid Shoptiques Intern. If you love shopping online and at boutiques, it would be hard to beat this position (unless you found a paid internship of course).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you shop at boutiques?

Queens Botanical Garden

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:38:53 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day! While the best gift that you could possibly give your mother is for you to get a job–flowers, brunch, or a card will have to do for now (not many people get hired over the weekend). I think flowers make a pretty awesome gift, but it sucks that they are eventually going to die. Why not give your mom a flower experience instead? Take her somewhere like the Queens Botanical Garden, which is a Flushing, NY based “urban oasis where people, plants and cultures are celebrated through inspiring gardens, innovative educational programs and demonstrations of environmental stewardship.” Could there be a better place to take your mother?

Treat Your Mom Like a Queen

The best way to learn about Queens Botanical Garden is to visit, obviously. If you can’t do that right away, you can read up on planning your visit or take a look at their gardens and collections. You may also want to learn more about their Programs and their Education & Cultural Research. If you love flowers and plants and like what you’ve read about the Queens Botanical Garden, then you have to take a look at their Internships page. Right now they are looking to fill the following unpaid internships: Children’s Garden Assistant and Children’s Garden Communications Assistant. There’s also a High School Horticulture Internship posted.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you visited Queens Botanical Garden?

National Ability Center

Willy Franzen — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:38:43 +0000

I absolutely love playing sports and participating in other outdoor activities. Physical activities are great because they provide nearly immediate feedback. You have a great idea of how you’re performing and how hard you can push yourself. That’s why the National Ability Center in Park City, UT uses activities like “alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, swimming, cycling, waterskiing, horseback riding, rafting,” and more to aid the “the development of lifetime skills for people of all ages and abilities.” By using specially designed equipment and well-trained instructors (many of whom are individuals with disabilities), The National Ability Center is able to bring these wonderful activities to people who may otherwise never have a chance to participate.

Discover Your Abilities

Last year the National Ability Center delivered lessons and outing to 15,545 individuals. The participants were able to “build self-esteem, confidence and physical development,” which are absolutely essential skills that can be taken back to everyday life. The National Ability delivers their programming with a number of core values in mind. These include Innovative, Integrity, Affordable, Caring, Inclusive, Empowerment, Quality, and Customer Service. The National Ability Center website is a bit hard to navigate, but they do provide a ton of information on their programming, so I highly recommend that you dive in and learn more. If you like what you see, then you can move on to their Internships page where they have unpaid opportunities including:

Recreation Therapy Internship
Camp Management Intern
Water Sports Intern
Equestrian Programs
Volunteer Management
Adventure Learning Program
Equine and Facility Management
Marketing & Outreach
Non-Profit Management
Recreation Management
Ski & Snowboard Intern
The Mission Continues Fellowship
Coach Program Internship (for individuals with visual impairments)

These look like amazing internship opportunities, so don’t pass them up.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about National Ability Center?

FindTheBest

Willy Franzen — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:41:35 +0000

I know some people who research their purchases to death. They end up never buying anything because new versions of the products come out before they can make a decision. It’s a never-ending process. I’m all for doing my due diligence before buying something expensive, but I try to make it as quick as possible. FindTheBest is a site that makes comparing anything super easy. They’re a Santa Barbara, CA company that offers “a powerful tool for making quick and informed decisions.” Whether you’re looking for the best breed of dog for your lifestyle or the best financial advisor in your area, FindTheBest offers you just the facts “stripped of any marketing influence.”

AreYouTheBest?

FindTheBest calls itself “an unbiased, data-driven comparison engine.” They rely on three sources for all of their data: public databases, primary sources (manufacturer websites) and expert sources. They pull it all together and put into an easily digestible format that is sortable and allows head to head comparisons. FindTheBest also offers what are called “SmartRatings”–one overall score compiled from a multitude of ratings. They give you all of the information you need to make a decision, no matter how deep you want to dive into the details. While FindTheBest does offer advertising (there’s the business model), they are very clear that they will not make it “difficult and time consuming to distinguish objective information from paid placements.” If you think FindTheBest might want to list you as one of their best, take a look at their Careers page. Right now they’re looking for paid interns in Business Development, Software Development/Engineering, and Product Management. These look like great opportunities, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried FindTheBest?

SnagFilms

Willy Franzen — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:05:26 +0000

Every once in a while I get on a documentary kick. Sometimes it’s just because I come across one on tv, but I’ll also seek them out on Hulu or Netflix. Next time that I’m looking for a documentary, I’m definitely going to check out SnagFilms. They’re a Washington, DC based company that aims to “bring the world of independent film to broader audiences.” Their main property is SnagFilms.com, which “offers the broadest collection of great independent movies you can watch right now, on demand, for free, and share with others.” SnagFilms’ other major property is Indiewiere, which is “the web’s leading news, information and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the film industry and moviegoers.” Basically they’re doing everything that they can to make independent films available to the masses, for free.

Snag an Internship

One of the most impressive things about SnagFilms is the names behind the company. The Founder is Ted Leonsis, and one of the key investors is Steve Case. If you don’t know who they are, go look them up now. Guys like that don’t mess around with something unless they have a really good reason to. Obviously, the best way to get a feel for SnagFilms is to use the site to watch some documentaries, but I also highly recommend that you read the About SnagFilms and About SnagFilms.com pages. They go into great detail about why they’re doing what they’re doing, so it’s well worth reading. If you like what you see, then go to SnagFilms’ Internships page. Right now they’re looking for unpaid interns in Production, Operations, Acquisitions, Marketing, and more in New York, NY. There’s also and individual posting for an Acquisitions Intern.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you watched anything on SnagFilms?

Chloe + Isabel

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:02:38 +0000

There are essentially two completely different jewelry businesses. There’s the high-end business that is centered around gold, platinum, diamonds, and other gemstones (I know all about that having recently bought an engagement ring). Then there’s the fashion focused business that is more about completing an outfit. The latter is where Chloe + Isabel is focusing. They are a New York, NY based startup that targets 18 to 28 year old women with jewelry in the $18 to $200 price range. That’s not all that unique. What is unique is that Chloe + Isabel is approaching this market by combining direct selling with web-based social technology. Essentially they’re bringing affiliate marketing to a group of people who may not even know what affiliate marketing is.

You + Chloe + Isabel

I tend to be skeptical of direct selling “opportunities,” but I know that they can be great for developing entrepreneurial skills. I think Chloe + Isabel really gets it right with their online platform. You don’t need to make an initial investment in inventory to sell for them–you can just use their “personalized online dashboard” to put together your “own boutique shopping experience.” To get a better sense of Chloe + Isabel’s style, I recommend that you take some time to browse their jewelry. Then you probably want to read up on their Merchandiser opportunity and watch this video about it:

A lot of college students have done this as an internship, and you can read about them here. If you’re more interested in a “real” internship, then you’ll want to check out Chloe + Isabel’s Quality Assurance Internship. Either way, you’ll have a great opportunity to learn a lot while working with really great looking jewelry.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you purchased anything from Chloe + Isabel?

MooBella

Willy Franzen — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:29:05 +0000

Yesterday a friend let me tag along to the National Restaurant Association’s annual show because he had an extra pass. I spent the first half of the show chowing down on free samples, and the second half looking for cool companies to tell you about (while chowing down on free samples). While getting into conventions like this can be a bit pricey, they’re an amazing opportunity for internship seekers to see trends, learn about companies, and connect with people in their target industries. While I didn’t find a ton of companies with internships posted, I did see two major trends: frozen yogurt and web-based technologies. However, the coolest thing that I saw was a machine that allows you to design your own ice cream with a touchscreen. You pick a flavor, mix-ins, and more, and have a delicious cup of ice cream in 45 seconds. It took me a while to find the company behind the technology, but I’m almost certain that it’s MooBella, which is based in Taunton, MA.

Make a Smart MOOve

Despite my thinking MooBella is the coolest thing in the world, the technology doesn’t seem to have taken off yet. There are only a handful of their machines out in the wild (mostly in the Northeast). MooBella got $18 million in financing back in late 2009, so you’d think there might have been some more growth since then. While MooBella doesn’t have a jobs page, they do have a Contact page. If you’d like to consider interning for them, reach out and see what’s possible. I checked on LinkedIn, and they’ve had at least one intern in the past. The lesson here isn’t just about MooBella–put yourself in situations like conventions where you can find interesting stuff. Then follow up and see what kind of internships are possible. You may be surprised at how well it works.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried going to any conventions for your job search?

Pop Labs

Willy Franzen — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:20:41 +0000

These days it seems that just about everyone claims to be an expert on things like social media and SEO, but very few people have a track record that shows a repeated ability to deliver results. Why is that? Because online marketing is really hard. We see stupid things go viral and think that anyone can do it, but we overlook the fact that getting someone to look at something is very different from getting someone to buy something. Pop Labs is an interactive marketing agency in Houston, TX that is known for getting results. I’m not just talking about for their clients either. Pop Labs nearly tripled their revenue between 2007 and 2010, which shows that what they’re doing works for them as well as for their clients.

Make It Pop

Pop Labs’ main focuses are SEO, Social Media, Conversion Optimization, and Advertising, but it’s really all about ROI. That’s why Pop Labs’ Case Stuides talk about numbers that can be directly tied to revenue. Pop Labs doesn’t have a long list of client names on their website (which is often how I judge big agencies), but that’s ok. It’s a lot harder to do good work for a “Consumer Services Retailer in Nevada” or a “National Marketing Information Provider,” than some big brand who already has resources that you can leverage. If you want to dig in and really learn about online marketing, then you should take a look at Pop Labs’ Jobs page. Right now they have a General Internship Posting in addition to a Social Media Intern posting. They don’t mention pay, but it looks like you’ll have the opportunity to learn a lot.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Pop Labs?

New York City Ballet

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:25:10 +0000

I’m the last person that should be telling you anything about ballet. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ballet performance, but I guarantee you it was at something like a middle school talent show. Despite my knowing nothing about ballet, I can tell you that the New York City Ballet is a big deal. They train their own artists and produce their own works, and with 90 dancers, they are “the largest dance organization in America.” It all started with Lincoln Kirstein, who had a vision of “an American ballet where young native dancers could be trained and schooled under the guidance of the world’s greatest ballet masters to perform a new, modern repertory, rather than relying on touring groups of imported artists performing for American audiences.” He met a guy named George Balanchine in London in 1933 and invited him to help start the school. The rest is history.

Nothing to Dance Around

If you want to read about that history, you can find it here. If you’re interested in learning more about the New York City Ballet from an artistic standpoint, there’s plenty to find on their website–you can read up on their dancers or their costume shop. If you really want an in-depth look at how the NYC Ballet operates, look no further than their Annual Reports. If everything looks good to you, then you may want to take a look at the New York City Ballet’s Internships page. Right now they’re looking for a Graphic Design Intern and a Development Department – Membership Intern. Both positions are unpaid, but they look like great opportunities for ballet lovers.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to the ballet?

Project Sunshine

Willy Franzen — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:44:22 +0000

There aren’t many things sadder than children suffering from medical problems. It’s completely heartbreaking for everyone involved. No matter what the situation, one of the most important things is to keep the kids and their families in a positive emotional state. That’s what Project Sunshine does. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit organization that “provides free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families.” They work in more than 150 cities across the United States and also have “satellite sites” in Canada, China, Israel, Kenya and Puerto Rico. Through volunteers they’re able to serve more than 60,000 children and their families.

Rays of Sunshine

Project Sunshine’s programs range from being purely focused on improving morale like Arts and Crafts to more specific programs targeted at things like Caregiver Wellness and living with HIV/AIDS. You can get a full rundown of Project Sunshine’s program offerings here. You may also want to spend some time looking through their Photo Gallery, as it will give you a closer look at the work that they do and how it affects the people they serve. If you like what Project Sunshine is all about, then you’ll want to take a look at their Careers page. Right now they’re looking for a Senior Non–Profit Management Training Intern as well as General Interns. The former position is paid, but I’m not sure about the latter.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Project Sunshine?

Highlights

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:10:02 +0000

Yesterday I almost got highlighted. I was in a boat, on a river, fishing with my Dad and a guide. A thunderstorm came up behind us, and we decided to tuck the boat in a cove under a bunch of trees and take cover. It wasn’t the best spot, but there wasn’t anywhere else for us to go. When it started hailing, I got a little nervous. And then BANG! A bolt of lightning hit the water about three feet to my right. You and I are both lucky that you’re reading this today. This story has nothing to do with today’s company except for the fact that yesterday’s near death experience made me want to regress back to being a little kid–the kind that reads Highlights. If you’re not familiar, Highlights is a Columbus, OH company that develops products for children with a common theme: “Fun with a Purpose.” It’s all about “wholesome fun” that “is dedicated to helping children grow in basic skills and knowledge, in creativeness, in ability to think and reason, in sensitivity to others, in high ideals and worthy ways of living.”

Share Your Highlights

I definitely had a subscription to Highlights at some point in my life, but even after it lapsed I still picked up the magazines in places like doctor’s offices. You can get a feel for what Highlights looks like today by taking a look a their Favorite Characters and Features page. My favorites were always the What’s Wrong and Hidden Pictures. I truly hope that these somehow find their way into Highlights’ hiring process. It wouldn’t be right any other way. You may also want to check out Highlights’ State of the Kid 2011 Report. It will help you get in touch with today’s Highlights reader. If “Fun with a Purpose” describes your approach to life, then you have to take a look at Highlights’ Careers page. Right now they’re looking for an Editorial Intern in their Honesdale, PA office. It looks like a pretty cool opportunity (they don’t say whether it’s paid or not), so before you apply, be sure to pick up a recent issue of Highlights and get reacquainted.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you read Highlights as a kid?

The Limited

Willy Franzen — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:47:32 +0000

I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve seen about dressing for interviews. Almost all of them can be summed up with three words: use common sense. If that’s not enough insight for you, how about this: look like you belong. There are way more important things to think about before your interview, but I do believe that most people perform better when they feel like they look good. If I had an interview coming up, my go to place to shop would be Bonobos. I’m not sure where I’d shop if I was female, but it looks like The Limited is a reasonable place to buy professional women’s clothing. The Limited is a Columbus, OH retailer of women’s clothing with a long and somewhat confusing history.

Know Your Limits

The Limited got its start with one store in 1963. As they added more stores, they became Limited Brands and went public in 1969. From there they went on an acquisition spree that included Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Henri Bendel. They also added some new brands along the way, and they were all rolled up into Limited Brands. Abercrombie & Fitch was spun off in 1996 as its own publicly traded company, and then The Limited was sold off to a private equity firm in 2007. That means that The Limited, the flaship brand, is no longer part of Limited Brands. The Limited is its own company with one additional brand, eloquii by The Limited (plus size). The story behind The Limited is pretty confusing (I relied heavily on Wikipedia for it since The Limited’s own site doesn’t offer much information), so browsing through the products on their website might be the best way to get a feel for them. If you like what you see, then you’ll want to continue on to The Limited’s Careers page. Right now they only have one unpaid internship posted,
Product Development & PR Intern (New York, NY). I know that The Limited has offered all kinds of other internships in the past, so you could reach out to them about other opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you shop at The Limited?

Instructure

Willy Franzen — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:22:49 +0000

When you’re a kid, you think that teachers have an easy job. They have good hours, lots of vacation with summers off, and they get to stand in front of a room and tell you what to do. As you get older, you start to realize that teaching also includes grading papers, planning lessons, communicating with parents, writing comments for report cards, and a whole lot more. A grade book just isn’t a good hub for managing all of this. Teachers need something industrial-strength, and that’s what Instructure provides with their Canvas Learning Management System. The Sandy, UT based company offers a suite of tools that enable teachers to spend way less time on administrative stuff, and more time teaching and working directly with students. They serve educators at all levels–from Kindergarten to some of the world’s top universities, which shows you just how flexible the Canvas platform is.

Follow Instructure

What do teachers want from a Learning Management System? Something that just works. Here’s Instructure’s video explanation of why the technology behind Canvas offers exactly that experience:

Go take a look at the product. You can sign up for an instant demo and get a feel for exactly how it works. There’s no better way to get to know a company than by using their product. If you like the feel of Canvas, then take a look at Instructure’s Careers page. Right now they’re looking for a paid Public Relations Intern. They’ve offered a couple of other internships in the past, so it may be worth pursuing even if you’re not into PR.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have any experiences with Learning Management Systems?

Spongecell

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:49:32 +0000

Ads make the Internet go ’round. Most of the content that you consume (including what you’re reading right now) wouldn’t be possible without advertising. The problem is that most ads are annoying–they interrupt you from doing what you want to do–so you start to ignore them. As you ignore more and more ads, advertisers are forced to find new ways to catch your attention. Sometimes that leads to ads that are actually interesting, and sometimes it leads to ads that are more interruptive. Spongecell is a New York, NY based company that allows advertisers to “transform standard banner ads into dynamic flash ads with rich media-like functionality.” That may sound more interruptive, but the ads that Spongecell enables are no bigger than a typical banner ad–they just come to life when you hover over them with your cursor.

Be a Sponge

I’m really impressed with the different types of functionality that Spongecell offers in a standard ad unit. There are video, maps, social feeds, coupons, carousels, lead generation, and more. These ads allow you interact with them before you leave the page that you’re on, which immediately makes them more effective. You can see what the ads look like in Spongecell’s extensive gallery. They’ve worked with all kinds of big names to develop rich media ads that target a specific behavior, whether it’s watching a video or getting you to find a bank’s nearest location. If you don’t mind ads and you’re intrigued by what Spongecell is doing, then head over to their Internships page. Right now they’re looking for an Ad Operations Intern and a Campaign Analyst Intern. They don’t say whether the positions are paid or not, so you’ll have to find that out on your own.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you mind online ads?

Work Market

Willy Franzen — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:59:55 +0000

In college I studied Industrial and Labor Relations, which means that I spent four years focusing on the world of work. The curriculum covered everything from slavery and indentured servitude to unions and the movement of capital to find lower cost labor. The common theme was that the way that we define and think about work is constantly changing. Today’s trend is all about having a flexible workforce–people who can join on for a project form wherever they live and then move on to a new project with someone else. Work Market is a company that “give businesses access to an on-demand scalable work force along with tools to manage three categories of labor: employees, contractors and third parties.” Many businesses in this space focus on actually building the market where labor can find work, but Work Market takes it one step further and offers the software for businesses to build their own market.

Are You in the Market?

Work Market’s business is built on taking a cut of every assignment that they make happen. Their fees start at 9%, which sounds high, but is actually extremely competitive. The beauty of Work Market’s platform is that it covers everything that needs to be covered–things like background screening, tax compliance and filing, payment, competency validation, and lots more. We’re going to see more and more of this going forward–not only as a way to get work done but also as a hiring tool. Why use an interviewing process when you can have someone truly audition? If you like the approach that Work Market is taking, you can take a look at their Internships page. Right now they’re looking for interns with backgrounds in Business, Statistics, Finance, Mathematics, Computer Science and more for positions in Sales, Accounting, Legal, and Product Development. All of the positions are unpaid.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you join Work Market?