A child’s first sign of teenage (pre-teenage?) rebellion often begins at the radio dial. The parent’s up-to-this-point unchallenged decision of what to listen to while in the car is called into question, and all hell breaks loose. If there are multiple kids in the family (or even just in the car), the negotiation can quickly becom more heated than a multi-lateral peace process in a war-torn nation. The parent will fight hard to maintain his or her right to National Public Radio, but the kid will persist in his or her challenge to hear something that feeds a suddenly “eclectic” taste in music. Often the parents cede this battle in hopes of winning in the future (bad idea!), which results in the parent’s driving the kids around the mini-van listening to rap music that would be a lot more offensive if the parent knew what some of the words meant. Eventually the rebellious tykes will grow up and realize that they too want to be more cultured, and they slowly, but surely come around to listening to NPR. Or maybe some kids just never speak up. They like NPR from the start. Maybe those are the ones who end up taking internships at NPR. Continue reading about National Public Radio…
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. Continue reading about A Better Chance…
I don’t know if you noticed, but internships are kind of hard to find now. Summer opportunities are mostly filled, and recruiting for Fall internships hasn’t quite begun yet. That means that I’ll be taking the next two weeks off from posting, and then I’ll start back up, hopefully, with lots of Fall opportunities to tell you about. I chose today’s company strictly become of their name: The Barbarian Group. I had a great history teacher in high school who loved talking about barbarians. The only problem was that the word often came out of his mouth with a bunch of spit. I chose to sit directly to his left, which was out of the zone of expectoration, where I could sit safely and be amused by the flying saliva as it came dangerously close to landing on my classmates’ textbooks. That’s why I like the word barbarian. You’ll like The Barbarian Group, because they’re a totally sweet “digital services and creation company” based in Boston, NYC, and San Francisco. Their employees also collectively own 3,909 pairs of shoes. You can add to that. Continue reading about The Barbarian Group…
Most scientific literature isn’t what I’d call an easy read, so I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you aren’t beating down the doors to get your hands on the newest research papers. Unless you are a big consumer of research literature, then you probably don’t care much about the openness of scientific and medical publishing, but you should. Open sharing of information can significantly promote innovation, and who can argue against wanting more advances in science and medicine? The Public Library of Science is all about open sharing, as they are a San Francisco, CA based “nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a public resource.” They were founded in 2000, and since then they’ve been pushing for scientific and medical journals that “are immediately available online, with no charges for access and no restrictions on subsequent redistribution or use.” Continue reading about Public Library of Science…
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.
Bite Communications touts a “fearless and boundless” approach to B2B and B2C communications. They have seven offices worldwide—three of which are in the U.S., including Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. “Public relations” and “media relations” used to be synonymous, but no longer at Bite Communications. They recognize different clients have different challenges that require different approaches. Starting your career at a progressive agency is the best way to go—you’ll end up a more rounded professional and thus be more marketable.
As a full-service agency, Bite Communications offers everything from strategic counsel to new media programs to influencer relations—and everything in between. Some client names you might recognize include Sun Microsystems and Vonage. Joining the Bite Communications team would mean joining 150 other brightest minds in the industry. According to their People section, they only hire “the best.” With an average age of 29 years old, the agency is not adverse to a young staff.
Currently, Bite Communications has two public relations internship positions open—one in New York City and one in San Francisco. Both internships are paid, so they’re seeking candidates with strong writing skills, exceptional organizational abilities, an interest in the technology industry, and a basic understanding of news and social media. Interested? Apply online through the links above. To get a better feel for the people with whom you would be working, read some of their biographies.
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.
I’ve already written posts about internships at Activision (Guitar Hero) and jobs at Harmonix (Rock Band) and Tapulous (Tap Tap Revenge), but can you ever really get enough of the music playing video game genre? Of course not! That’s why we’re looking at JamLegend today. How are they different from the other game makers that I just mentioned? First, JamLegend is free. Second, it offers more songs. Third, you can use your computer keyboard as a guitar. Fourth and most importantly, it’s social! You can play your friends, you can play the world, and you can even enter tournaments to win prizes. JamLegend isn’t just the name of the game, it’s also the name of the company, a small startup based out of San Francisco. Continue reading about JamLegend…
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.
When I was in college, I wanted nothing more than to work at Fleishman-Hillard. Renowned for their corporate culture, Fleishman-Hillard is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has 80 offices throughout the world, does business in more than 20 languages and has 29 practices areas. In 2008, the firm’s work and culture earned them the “Best Agency to Work For” by The Holmes Report. But their list of awards hardly stops there, including “103 Silver Anvil Awards, 90 CIPRA/SABRE Awards, and numerous other national and international awards.”
And Fleishman-Hillard doesn’t just win awards outside the organization, but also with its own employees. In 2007, 98 percent of Fleishman-Hillard employees called the firm an organization “of which they can be proud,” according to an employee satisfaction survey. Fleishman-Hillard rewards their employees in return, giving out two awards annually – the “team player” and John D. Graham – recognizing “individuals in various geographic regions for unparalleled commitment to the client, the agency and their team.” Managers also give awards at their discretion for “their heroic efforts.” I’ve known many individuals who’ve worked for Fleishman-Hillard over the years, including one of my college mentors, and I’ve heard nothing but good things. Continue reading about Fleishman-Hillard…
I’m not sure about this one, but… it definitely caught my eye. Apparently the Lingerie Football League is looking for interns. I guess professional sports is mostly about fine physical specimens (pro bowling excluded, of course), so this isn’t too far of a reach. I mean, the AVP relies on sex appeal too. Oh wait… the women and men on the AVP Tour are actually exceptional athletes. Apparently that’s not the case with the Lingerie Football League. It’s more about creating a women’s football league that the masses will want to watch. I think that it’s pretty ridiculous and that it will probably be a bust (pun intended, and I realize that the article that I just linked to made the same pun), but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be cool to intern with them. Having that on a resume will at least be a conversation starter (or ender depending on who’s looking at your resume). Continue reading about Lingerie Football League…
3D has been around a long time, but it hasn’t been very good until recently. I remember getting 3D glasses for movies as a kid, and it was kind of cool, but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. The real future of 3D is in renderings and modeling. And that’s what El Segundo, CA based CyberCity 3D is doing. They are a “3D geospatial modeling company specializing in the generation, distribution, analysis and visualization of reality-based 3D city, facility and infrastructure models.” That may sound kind of techie, and it is, but this stuff isn’t just for architects and engineers. CyberCity 3D is putting their venture capital funding to use by taking a “a special focus on 3D web publishing and advertising for residential and commercial real estate, apartment rentals, travel destinations, government agencies, and geographic information systems (GIS).” Continue reading about CyberCity 3D…
Despite the fact that I’m only 24, I like to consider myself an Internet veteran. I think that I first got online in 1994 or 1995 on Apple’s eWorld. WIRED Magazine beat me to the punch. They’ve been exploring “the ideas, innovations and people that are reshaping our world” since 1993 with a specific focus on technology. I’ve been an occasional reader of Wired (both online and in print), and I’ve always enjoyed their content. They may have been around a long time, but they still seem to be on the cutting edge when it comes to covering new ideas and the next big thing. Despite their techie focus, they’re a part of the struggling publishing industry, and they’ve had to lay people off as recently as November. Maybe that’s why they’re looking for interns. Still, you have to love a brand that has covered the Internet as it has grown up with the Internet. Continue reading about WIRED Magazine…
Part of my daily routine is reading Greg Mankiw’s Economics Blog. When I saw his post announcing that the text book that he wrote will now be accompanied by an interactive learning tool, I was intrigued. I quickly read the Washington Post article that Dr. Mankiw linked to in the announcement to learn more about Aplia, the company that developed this educational tool. It turns out that Aplia, which is based in Belmont, CA, was developed by a Stanford economist named Paul Romer who was very successful in developing a theory to explain why different economies grow at different rates, but not so successful at engaging students. Since Dr. Romer is clearly a problem solver at heart, he developed a product (and company) called Applia that “offers high-quality, auto-graded assignments” and is “dedicated to improving learning by increasing student effort and engagement.” Continue reading about Aplia…
Nearly every t-shirt that I own, I got for free. College is a great place to amass free t-shirts, but now that I’ve been out a few years, my collection is starting to wear thin (in more ways than one). I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I don’t want to start paying for them. I’ll leave that to the customers of Michael Stars who throw down 50… 60… 100 bucks for a tee. Hey, they’re nice looking shirts, and there’s definitely a market for them. It may not be recession chic, but it works. Just look at Jessica Alba, Courteney Cox, Eva Longoria, and many more celebs wearing Michael Stars shirts. If that doesn’t impress you, then maybe you should check out the charity work that Michael Stars does. It may be hard to justify spending a lot on a t-shirt, but it definitely won’t be hard to justify taking an internship with Michael Stars in Hawthorne, CA. Continue reading about Michael Stars…
My first experience with video chatting was with CU-SeeMe in an internet cafe in the mid 90s. It was insanely cool, but it was also terrible quality. Things have come a long way, and once again people are using video chat to meet random people online. I was a little creeped out when I first saw WooMe, but I think that I get it now (even if I’m still creeped out). It’s a website that allows you to meet new people through “60 second one-on-one online video sessions.” Basically, it’s speed dating on the web. I was almost too sketched out to cover them here, but I figured if TechCrunch didn’t rip on them too hard and they’re able to get $17 million in investment, there has to be the potential for a real business. Continue reading about WooMe…
When you don’t know how to do something (like find an internship), what do you do? You probably head straight to Google and look for an online resource to tell you how to do what you want to do. It didn’t used to be that easy. You’d either have to ask someone, or buy a book (if you could figure out which book to buy), or figure it out yourself. Answering “how to” questions wasn’t easy, but now it is because of websites like New York City’s Howcast. Whether you head straight to Howcast or you find their answer to your question through Google, you’ll be delighted to find what they call “the best how to videos on the web.” Howcast covers nearly every topic you can imagine – from How to Adopt a Child to How to Psyche Out the Competition and – more relevant for our purposes – from How to Deal with a Smelly Coworker to How to Dress for a Job Interview. Each topic has both a video and a Wiki with written instructions, and the content is either user submitted or Howcast produced (it’s generally very high quality content). Oh yeah, and Howcast was named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2008. That’s pretty cool. Continue reading about Howcast…
I wasn’t going to write an Earth Day post today, because I hate the environment. (That’s not true, it’s just what I tell Green Peace people who harass me as I walk down the street. The real reason was that I was going to do Administrative Assistants’ Day instead.) However, I came across San Francisco based New Leaf Paper, which couldn’t be a more fitting company to feature on Earth Day. According to their web site, they lead “the paper industry in the development and distribution of environmentally superior printing and office papers.” It’s kind of like Dunder Mifflin gone green and moved to California (there’s an idea for the Michael Scott Paper Company!). If you’re surprised that a paper company can offer both quality and affordability while being eco-friendly, then you should check out New Leaf’s Eco Audit. I don’t know what to make of all those numbers, but hopefully you will. At the very least it sounds phenomenal that they saved 118 Trees, 5,551 Pounds of solid waste, 50,178 Gallons of water, 84 Million Btu of energy, and more. Continue reading about New Leaf Paper…
The world of non-profits is built on fundraising. Organizations big and small take money from donors and put it to use how they see fit. The system works, but it leaves a lot to be desired. What if you want to know where your money is going and whom it is helping? What if you want to decide where your money goes? You often can’t. With San Francisco based Kiva you can. You can loan money directly to the working poor. And if you make a wise investment and the person you loan money to succeeds, you’ll get your money back and get to loan it again. You can lend money to a man who runs a food market in Togo or a woman who sells traditional coats in Tajikistan. The choice is yours. Kiva is all about “connect[ing] people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” It’s a really simple idea that couldn’t have taken hold before the Internet. Now it’s changing the way that we think about giving through microfinance and microfunding. Continue reading about Kiva…
Happy Easter! Last year we took a look at internships with Easter Seals to celebrate, and this year we’re going to have even more fun with the holiday theme. I’m a big fan of the Easter Bunny, because he still brings me delicious treats despite the fact that I’m way too old to still be getting anything from him. I’m not sure how rabbits became indelibly tied to Easter, but they are, which is why we’re taking a look at Rabbit Rescue today. They are a Paramount, CA based non-profit, no-kill shelter for rabbits that is staffed and run entirely by volunteers. Yes, that means that there’s no mention of internships on their site, but I couldn’t find any bunny related non-profits that were hiring interns. In case you didn’t know, there’s a big problem with people who get bunnies as Easter gifts and then fail to take care of them. You can read about it here. Rabbit Rescue is doing great work to save rabbits, but they may be a little short on internships. Your Easter challenge is to find a non-profit (or even a for-profit company) with better bunny related internships. Report back in the comments! Continue reading about Rabbit Rescue…
Easter is almost here, and since we’ll be covering a non-profit on Sunday, it’s time to talk about candy again! Last year we checked out internships at Just Born Quality Confections (the manufacturer of Peeps), so this year we need to give jelly beans their due respect. And if we’re talking about jelly beans, it’s hard to ignore Jelly Belly. Although I have a soft spot for those simpler jelly beans with less creative flavors (except for the nasty licorice flavored ones), I know that Jelly Belly is the king of the jelly bean industry. They offer an insane variety of flavors that includes Buttered Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Toasted Marshmallow, and Jalapeño. While Fairfield, CA basedJelly Belly has branched out a bit from their jelly bean roots, they seem quite committed to furthering the success of the bean. They’ve even brought jelly beans to the sports market to compete with the drinks and gels that most people are accustomed to. Continue reading about Jelly Belly…
Remember The Jetsons? They were my first indication of what the future would look like – flying cars and video phones were my favorites. Apparently we aren’t much closer to flying cars, but video phones are here – sort of. We’ve had the technology for quite a while, and many of you have probably used video chat at some point, but it hasn’t caught on quite like the creators of The Jetsons thought it would. I’m sure that you can come up with a number of reasons why, but I think the big thing holding us back from more video communications is the lack of a common platform. If I want to call someone, I can pretty safely assume that they have a phone that I can call. If I want to video chat with someone, I need to make sure that they not only have the right hardware but also that they have software that is compatible with mine. TokBox is a San Francisco based startup that is using the common platform of the web browser to enable video chatting. When you want to video chat, you just go to TokBox and they’ll give you a link. You send that link to a friend, they click it, and assuming that both of you have webcams and fast enough connections, you’ll be video chatting in no time. Continue reading about TokBox…
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? 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 it a lot more worthwhile. The question of whether the actual content being broadcast is worthwhile is up to you. Continue reading about Justin.tv…
I always say that when it comes to ad agencies, marketing companies, and PR firms, the best way to evaluate the company is to check out their client list and look at the work that the company has done. It’s not going to tell you everything that you need to know, but it’ll give you a solid idea whether or not the company is a place that you might want to work. If you want to work with big brands who are willing to take big risks with their advertising campaigns, then Crispin Porter + Bogusky might be the place for you. The Subservient Chicken is one of their more successful campaigns that started out virally, while the Microsoft campaign with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld was one of their well-publicized flops. CP+B is headquartered in Miami, FL, while they also have major locations in Boulder, CO; Los Angeles, CA; and London, UK. Their client list sits at the bottom of every page on their website – probably because it is so impressive. Continue reading about Crispin Porter + Bogusky…
After I graduated from college, I decided to take a responsible approach to my personal finances (and I wish I had done it sooner, so all of you current students listen up). It took me a while to get my act together, but once I did I started investing in the stock market through Scottrade, an online discount brokerage company that is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. (And before I go on with more information about Scottrade’s jobs, I need to give Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich
One of the cool things about the world that we live in these days is that not every decision need to be politicized. You aren’t restricted to voting your social conscience once a year on election day. You can also vote with your pocketbook/wallet/loose change. There are all kinds of products that not only serve your everyday needs, but that also represent a social idea. I’m not just talking about brands either. That Nike symbol on your t-shirt doesn’t really mean anything, but building a house with LEED certified green materials or buying Fair Trade Coffee allows you to ensure that you’re spending your money in away that aligns with your moral stances. TransFair USA, based out of Oakland, CA is the non-profit organization behind the Fair Trade Certification – as you can see from the logo to the right. They have programs that certify coffee, tea, chocolate, vanilla, fresh fruit, rice, sugar, and much more along a specific set of guidelines. Continue reading about TransFair USA…
Usually when I’m looking at the job and internship requirements to get a feel for what a company is looking for, I’m looking at things like education, experience, skills, and job functions. It’s not often that I’m thinking about security clearance, but at today’s company, SPARTA, it’s essential for most of their jobs and even some of their internships. (Now, don’t worry if you don’t already have Top Secret Clearance, they still might have jobs for you as long as you didn’t get into too much trouble during your college years or before.) The reason that there’s all this talk about clearance is that SPARTA is a company whose “core business areas include strategic defense and offense systems, tactical weapons systems, and space systems” and whose “major intelligence credentials include intelligence production, computer network operations, and information assurance.” Continue reading about SPARTA…
I’m an iPhone guy, so I tend to feel sorry for people who are constantly thumbing away on their BlackBerries. That’s just my being a smug Apple user though. I realize that a lot of people love their BlackBerries and for good reason. They’re pretty remarkable devices, and they’re perfectly tailored for business use. (Although not as perfectly tailored as my iPhone! Ok, I’m done.) That’s why Research In Motion, the company that makes BlackBerries, has a 16.6% share of the smartphone market. They seem to have hit a bit of a rough spot lately (at least their stock price makes it look like they have), but their market position is still very strong. That’s why it’s no surprise that they appear to have a huge internship program; however, the real reason that I wanted to feature Research In Motion here is that they chose an unfortunate, yet inappropriately hilarious domain name for their Jobs site (it redirects now, but I think that you can figure it out). Continue reading about Research In Motion…
I remember the days of browser wars. It was Netscape vs. Internet Explorer, and it was ugly – the Internet that is. Back then it was all about whether or not your browser displayed pages properly, and people were passionately in favor of one browser or the other (or maybe some weird 3rd option). Now it’s all a lot simpler (unless you’re still using Internet Explorer) – your browser probably displays most sites just fine, and you’re more worried about speed and bells and whistles. That’s where Mozilla shines with their Firefox browser. They’re absolutely dominant with web savvy users (except with me – I still use Safari), and they are constantly making their products better. The Mozilla Corporation is a Mountain View, CA based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit, while the Corporation calls itself a “public benefit organization.” That means that they are “dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet” – even if by definition they’re still a for profit. Continue reading about Mozilla…
When NBC Universal and News Corp. announced a new online video venture, I rolled my eyes along with nearly everyone else who had an interest in online video. Large corporations had consistently proven that they just didn’t get it. They were too busy removing videos from YouTube and suing college kids for file sharing. That’s why I was really surprised when I started using – and loving – Hulu. The fact that I can watch new episodes of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, reruns of Doogie Howser, M.D., and Speed 2: Cruise Control (ok, their movie selection is still a little week) all for free with limited commercial interruption is pretty awesome; in fact, I now watch Hulu more than I watch tv. It’s no wonder that Hulu, which is based out of Los Angeles, CA, is winning all kinds of awards now. Continue reading about Hulu…
Managing relationships is hard. Even with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, e-mail, text messages, cell phones, and every other tool that we have to stay in touch with people, it’s just not that easy to actively maintain a lot of relationships. Now, imagine that your job is all about managing relationships with people who pay your company money. Welcome to a job in Sales. It’s not easy, and managing all of your relationships with an address book, rolodex, or your cell phone’s saved numbers isn’t going to cut it. You need help with customer relationship management (CRM), and Salesforce.com is CRM (seriously, their stock ticker symbol is CRM). Salesforce’s big tagline is “No software” (their phone number is actually 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE), but they don’t really mean it. Their business is all about providing software, but it’s software as a service. That means that Salesforce eliminates most of the headaches of traditional CRM software by being really easy to use. It may be software, but the goal is for the end user (the guy or girl working in Sales) not to realize it. Continue reading about Salesforce.com…
Being a travel writer is a dream job for a lot of people, but it’s not an easy field to be successful in. That’s because everyone wants to (and thinks that they can) be a travel writer. Sure, I’ll go to Europe for 3 weeks, write an article, and pay for my trip. Yeah right! You can blog about your travels, but once again making it pay is a completely different story. Today’s internships aren’t paid, but they will give you some much needed experience in travel writing that you’ll need if you eventually want to make a career out of it. Offbeat Guides is a San Francisco based startup that has taken a new approach to travel guides. Their product offers a level of customization that isn’t present in other guides. You give them some basic information about yourself and your travel plans, and they’ll create a guide that is specific to your needs. It looks awesome. Continue reading about Offbeat Guides…
I love Apple products, and I have for almost 20 years. My first computer was an Apple IIe, and now One Day, One Internship, One Day, One Job, and Found Your Career are all run from a MacBook Pro and an iPhone (ok, we have a server that is not a Mac). I’m constantly amazed by the innovation that comes out of Apple, and I’m probably unreasonable about how much I prefer Apple products. I mean, I sit in front of my computer and watch live blog updates whenever they’re making product announcements. In my mind there’s no cooler company than Apple, so it’s surprising that it took me this long to feature their internships. Continue reading about Apple…
