I grew up in Fairfield, CT, which is next to a city, Bridgeport, that is always aiming for “revitalization.” They’ve talked about a building a casino for years, and they even built a minor league baseball stadium. It’s hard to say whether that has helped or hurt, but it seems that Bridgeport is at least doing a little better than it was a decade ago. I’d imagine that the real reasons for improvement have come from smaller projects that are more in tune with the city’s communities’ needs. These are the kinds of projects that The Reinvestment Fund invests in in cities in the Mid-Atlantic. They are “a 24 year old nonprofit financial lending institution with a strong social mission” and offices in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. They started out as a small community development organization, and they’ve grown to become something much bigger. Continue reading about The Reinvestment Fund…
You know what’s not hot right now? Real estate. You know what is hot right now? Web video. What happens when you combine the two? Do you get something that’s lukewarm. Not exactly. You actually end up with WellcomeMat, a New York City based (with an office in Boulder, CO) startup, that is taking advantage of the current climate in real estate to try to incite a video revolution. I’m not sure how many college students check out real estate listings, but if you do, you know that they’re pretty one dimensional. There’s some hyperbolic language about how great the property is and a few pictures from the best possible angles. Places almost never look like the pictures in the listing. Video can change that, and that’s why WellcomeMat is building a platform “where video newbies meet and hire video gurus, a place where local video producers can be found helping do-it-yourselfers, a place where the stars of real estate marketing harness the unmatched power of online video and a place where superior video presentations and tours are born.” Continue reading about WellcomeMat…
Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I have cooking on my mind. I’m trying to make sure that I have everything that I need, because Thanksgiving Day always comes with some essential ingredient or cooking implement missing. A run to the store for an ingredient usually isn’t a problem, but a meat thermometer or baster can be a little tougher to find. That’s why you might want to make a day before Thanksgiving stop by Williams-Sonoma, and while you’re at it, you might want to think about whether they offer internships. In case you’re not familiar with Williams-Sonoma, they’re “the premier specialty retailer of home furnishings in the United States.” Their brands include Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen, Williams-Sonoma Home, and West Elm, and they “cover every room in the house: from the kitchen to the living room, bedroom, home office, and even the hall closet.” Williams-Sonoma, the brand, is best known for kitchen wares, which is why I associate them with Thanksgiving. Continue reading about Williams-Sonoma…
Now, I usually write themed posts for holidays, but since today is only a holiday for me and those whom I force to celebrate (it’s my birthday), I don’t have a themed post. I will, however, be announcing a contest later today where we’ll be giving away an iPod touch in celebration of my birthday. We also have another great internship opportunity for you today. Last week, a woman named Stephanie Johnson from Rent Marketer e-mailed me and told me that she had “relied on One Day, One Internship (and Job) to get ideas about what a great internship looks like.” She wanted us to share the details internships with you, and since flattery works we’re telling you about it today. Rent Marketer is in the business of helping property owners post their rentals to dozens of sites all at once. Repeatedly posting For Rent ads can be mind numbing (kind of like applying to a lot of internships), and they do it all for you in a simple and cost effective way. Continue reading about Rent Marketer…
Rue 21 is all about fashionable clothing at a reasonable price. They sell both men’s and women’s wares in their stores, which stretch across 41 states. As of now they’re strictly a brick and mortar operation, although it looks like they might be moving towards an online store at some point. Rue21 appears to have a significant internship program, but getting details on it has been a bit difficult. Here’s what we’ve found out. Continue reading about Rue21…
A couple days ago I spent most of the day with a realtor driving around downtown Chicago looking at apartments. I’ll be moving out here in a couple months, so I thought it was important to get familiar with the process, even though it’s too early to actually find a place that will let me move in on my desired date. The whole process is bewildering, and I’m glad that I have a girlfriend from Chicago to inform me about the ins and outs of each of the neighborhoods. I’m also lucky enough to have a budget that should put me in a pretty decent place. The decision of where to live is an important one, and it can be extremely difficult for anyone. It can be especially hard for people of low-income who often lack the information they need to pick the right location to look in. MoveSmart is “a start-up non-profit organization that fosters vibrant and diverse neighborhoods by empowering housing seekers to move to opportunity.” Continue reading about MoveSmart…
We won’t be making a habit out of it, but this is the second Friday in a row that we’re writing about internships in real estate. Although it may seem counterintuitive because of the weak real estate market, the internships that we do find in real estate are really exciting. We think it’s because the companies that do things differently are the ones who are least affected by recession, and companies that do things differently are often great places to intern. SHVO is a real estate marketing firm that has seen impressive growth over the last few years – much to the chagrin of others in the real estate industry. Why the chagrin? SHVO doesn’t play by “the rules.” Continue reading about SHVO…
Real estate. Don’t let those two words scare you away. Just because the market is ugly right now doesn’t mean that you should stop considering a future career in realty. First of all, you’re at least a year from graduation – market conditions will likely change (although not necessarily for the better). Second, we’re really good at finding you great internships in struggling industries – like how we told you to look at non-profit internships in finance. Third, a bad market almost always yields new opportunities for innovative companies. Redfin is a company that we’ve found that is insulating itself by using technology and price competition to take advantage of a weak market, and they’re still hiring interns. Continue reading about Redfin…
