I’m sure that you’ve heard a lot in the news about how traditional media companies are having trouble taking their business models online. You may be under the impression that making money from web content is near impossible, but there’s a dirty little secret: it’s not. While companies like the New York Times stick to editorial integrity and chasing Pulitzers, there are companies out there that craft their content with the sole purpose of making money. A perfect example is Santa Monica, CA based Demand Media. They’ve secured more than $355 million in venture capital funding, grown annual revenue to more than $200 million annually, and reached a valuation north of $1 billion all by taking an ROI based approach to content development. How does that work? Demand Media has developed an algorithm that helps them find profitable topics. By using data from Google AdWords, they’re able to estimate the demand for a given piece of content (example: an article and video on how to tie your shoes) along with the revenue that the yet to be developed piece of content could be expected to make given a certain number of pageviews. Continue reading about Demand Media…
I’m a big proponent of making personal finance part of your career planning. By managing your money wisely (even if you barely have any as a student), you’re creating a project for yourself that you can use to demonstrate to employers how you’ll be an effective intern. When I need information on personal finance, I always look to Ramit Sethi, the founder of a website called I Will Teach You To Be Rich and the author of a book by the same name
One of the books that I’ve been reading lately is SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
I have no idea how I’ve made it through nearly two years of posts on One Day, One Internship without featuring ESPN. I covered ESPN’s entry level jobs on One Day, One Job, but never took the time to look at their internship program. As you probably know, ESPN is the “worldwide leader in sports.” They’re a huge media company with multiple television stations, a magazine, and an enorous web presence—they also have branded restaurants. When it comes to sports coverage, there’s no competition; ESPN is king. They also have an amazing employment brand not only because they offer jobs and internships in sports, but also because of their awesome commercials that take place in their Bristol, CT office. I have to imagine that internships at ESPN are some of the most sought after internships out there. Continue reading about ESPN…
When I was in 6th or 7th grade, I played a trading card game called Magic the Gathering. Being a baseball card collector, I was more interested in what the cards were worth than actually playing the game. I occasionally played with my friends, but when they lost interest, I went back to baseball cards. Many trading card games came after (I didn’t play any of them), but apparently Magic the Gathering was the first. I had long forgotten about Wizards of the Coast, the company that was behind Magic cards, when I came across their name again. I took a look, and was surprised to see that the Renton, WA based company has grown quite a bit over the past decade and was eventually purchased by Hasbro. Wizards of the Coast is still a gaming company—the world leader in hobby games—and their brands include Dungeons & Dragons, Duel Masters, Heroscape, Axis & Allies, and Star Wars in addition to Magic the Gathering. Continue reading about Wizards of the Coast…
When I last bought a car in 2001, the best way to go about it was to stop by dealerships to see what they had in their inventory. I remember using the Internet to some extent, but it wasn’t all that helpful. Although I haven’t purchased a car since, I’m pretty sure that the web is playing a much larger role in the car buying decision process these days. That’s why Cobalt, a Seattle based company, is doing so well. They’re in the business of automotive marketing, and they made the Inc. 5000 last year with 134.0% three-year revenue growth to $168.4 million. Cobalt works with both dealers and manufacturers to “increase their retailing effectiveness and profits.” The company has been around since 1995, and it consists of three key subsidiaries: Dealix, UsedCars.com, and IntegraLink. Continue reading about Cobalt…
I love boring businesses. It may not seem like it considering the fact that I’m often featuring startups that are on the cutting edge of technology, but I really do appreciate when a company is able to take an extremely simple idea and make it profitable. Uline is a perfect example. They are a Waukegan, IL based company that considers itself “the leading distributor of shipping, industrial, and packing materials to businesses throughout North America.” It all started in 1980 when Liz and Dick Uihlein identified a need for a local shipping supplies distributer. They started the business in their basement with the H-101 carton sizer, and now they have a product line that fills a 452 page catalog. That’s a lot of growth, and I expect it to continue as e-commerce and the shipping that results from it keep expanding (I have about a dozen boxes in my apartment from various holiday season shipments). And if for some reason the shipping business does slow down, Uline can always reorganize as a producer of forts for children—I always loved playing in cardboard boxes. Continue reading about Uline…
I have to say that democracy is a pretty darn good thing—even if it is the only government system that I’ve ever known. It certainly has its flaws, but I’m not sure that we’ve found a better way to ensure the freedom of a nation’s citizens yet. I don’t think that there is a lot of debate about whether spreading democracy is a good thing—most of the debate centers around what are appropriate ways to spread it. The National Endowment for Democracy is a Washington, DC based “private, non-profit, grant-making organization” that aims to “strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts.” They’re funded through “an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress through the Department of State;” however, they are not a government organization. They make grants to pro-Democracy groups across the world with the goal of helping democracy evolve naturally in a way that suits the nations culture and history. Continue reading about National Endowment for Democracy…
A year or two ago I read an interesting book called Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small
When I was a freshman at Cornell, a bunch of my friends decided to form a group called the Red Revelers. We would go to sporting events and act rowdy. We had t-shirts and everything. I guess that’s why Revel Consulting caught my eye when I was browsing through the Inc. 5000 (expect to be hearing a lot about that list in the next few weeks—it’s my favorite resource for finding cool companies). They’re a Kirkland, WA based consulting firm that has expertise in Product Management, Program & Project Management, Change Management, Process Engineering, Sales and Marketing Management, Strategy Development & Measurement, and Cloud Computing. They’re also the 34th fastest growing private company in the United States. Beyond an awesome growth rate, they were also “named to the list of 100 Best Companies to Work For by Seattle Business magazine based on job satisfaction, work environment, and professional growth opportunities.” Continue reading about Revel Consulting…
Considering that we covered some PR/Communications internships yesterday, the name of today’s company may make it seem like we’re not providing you with variety. That’s not true at all. Fisher Communications is not a PR firm. They’re “a Seattle-based communications company that owns or manages 13 full power, 7 low power television stations and 8 radio stations.” When they say communications, they mean over radio signals. If you’ve always wanted a career in tv or radio, you probably know that it’s best to start local. If you can land an internship at a major national network, that’s great, but it isn’t easy. It’s not like getting an internship with a local company like Fisher Communications is easy either, but it’s definitely more attainable. Continue reading about Fisher Communications…
Not too long ago, the only unmanned aerial vehicles were planes flown by women (yuck, yuck, yuck). Now we live in a world where planes can fly themselves. Sometimes I like to consider myself high-tech for running a business on the web, then I think about the companies that design, develop, and produce autonomous aircraft and realize that I’m not high-tech at all. Bingen, Washington’s Insitu is one of those companies. They build UAVs that have amazing reconnaissance, communications relay, and geophysical surveying capabilities. Most of their work has been with the military so far, but Insitu is operating in an infant industry with an amazing potential for growth. In fact, from 2004-2007 Insitu’s revenue grew by 1,702.4% to $50 million annually. This performance put them on Inc. Magazine’s List of the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2006 and 2007. Insitu CEO Steve Sliwa was also named CEO of the Year for 2007 by Seattle Business Monthly. Insitu is clearly comfortable with taking off. Continue reading about Insitu…
Since you’re looking for an internship, it’s probably a safe assumption that you are not familiar with “expensing” things. Hopefully you will be one day (soon). Many companies (especially consulting firms) allow their employees to pay for travel, lodging, and food, and then submit receipts to the company to get reimbursed. It can be pretty sweet if you’re getting $30 a night to spend on dinner, while racking up credit card points and frequent flier miles at no expense to you, but the downside is that submitting expense reports to get reimbursed is time consuming and quite annoying. Concur, a Redmond, WA based company that I learned about in Sramana Mitra’s Entrepreneur Journeys
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…
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 being wowed by a virtual world called The Palace back when I was in middle school. Looking at it today, it’s not nearly that impressive, but in the 90s it was pretty amazing to have an online avatar represent you to other people. I was pretty interested in the technology, but I never really understood the appeal of having an online alter ego. I guess I missed the boat, because Second Life, which is produced by Linden Lab, is absolutely huge now. In case you’re not familiar with Second Life, it’s “a revolutionary new form of shared experience, where individuals jointly inhabit a 3D landscape and build the world around them.” Put simply, it’s exactly what it’s name says it is – a second life. If you want a more detailed look at what Second Life is, you can find an overview here. So, it’s a virtual world. Big deal. Yes, big deal. Many companies are making a big deal out of having a presence on Second Life. They’re opening up stores and evening hold job fairs – for real jobs! In fact, Second Life even has its own economy. Continue reading about Linden Lab…
First of all, if you haven’t enrolled in Found Your Career (our job search training course) – yet, there couldn’t be a better time. The first group of students who signed up before the launch are already 1/3 of the way through the class and making a ton of progress. Since we have an automated content delivery system, you can start classes at any time. With the economy the way it is, you need every advantage that you’ve got. Even new grads are applying for internships now, which means more competition. Speaking of the economy, remember the good old days when paid Software Development internships were a dime a dozen? Those days are over. There are still a ton of internships in the software industry, but it seems like everyone wants you to work for free now because even startups are hurting. One exception is companies that ride the coattails of Apple. If you’re developing software for Macs, or better yet, iPhones, then there’s a good chance that you’re doing pretty well. I mean, iFart is making its developer hundreds of thousands of dollars. One company that is certainly taking advantage of Apple’s surging popularity is The Omni Group, a Seattle, WA based software development house. They may not make farting applications, but they do create some pretty cool software. Continue reading about The Omni Group…
Yesterday was a holiday for a lot of people, and I’m going to guess that not a lot is going to get done today because everyone will be watching the inauguration. Many of you will probably try to use holidays and events as a way to put off your daily internship searching, but here at One Day, One Internship we try to make the most out of these situations by using them to generate ideas. Yesterday we look at internships at The King Center, and today we’re going to check out internships with the United States Secret Service. Why? Because today is a big day for the Secret Service. Managing security at an event like the Presidential Inauguration is a daunting task, but the Secret Service is at their best for events like this. That’s why we instantly thought of them when we tried to come up with some Inauguration related internships. Continue reading about United States Secret Service…
Maybe I’ve started too many posts like this, but I was doing my daily scan of Twitter for interesting internships when I came across a tweet from @bethcromwell about StrategyOne internships. I clicked the link and was surprised to end up on the website of Edelman. Apparently StrategyOne is a part of Edelman, so I decided to take a look at Edelman’s entire internship program. Edelman is a huge PR firm. They have 3,100 employees across 51 worldwide offices. They were voted PRWeek’s Large Agency of the Year for 2008 because of their position as a thought leader in new and social media. It’s cool to see the big guys as early adopters, so that’s why we think an internship with Edelman might be worth considering. It’d also be worth considering because Edelman is the PR Agency that was behind the launches of Halo 3 and Adobe CS3. Sweet! Continue reading about Edelman…
I never thought that moving to Chicago would prolong the baseball season for me. Living in the New York City area gave me 13 straight years of October baseball, and now that I’ve left, both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium will remain empty for the rest of the fall before they eventually face demolition. It’s lucky for me that I’m now living in a new city that happens to have two teams that are still in it. I get a 14th straight year of local baseball in October! Playoff baseball is by far the most exciting baseball of the year, but it also means that season will soon be over. Those of you who are baseball fans know how long the winter seems when there is only hot stove chatter to keep you entertained while you wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training. Although it may seem ridiculously early, now is the time to start thinking about your Summer plans if you want to intern with Major League Baseball. It’s pretty obvious that there is a lot of demand for these internships, so you need to make sure that you’re on the ball and beat all of the deadlines. Continue reading about Major League Baseball…
If you’ve been keeping up to date with our daily internship posts, you know that we’re starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. We’re not saying that the Summer opportunities that are available in late (yes, the 22nd is late) May are necessarily of lower quality, but it’s like a Black Friday Sale – the good stuff usually goes fast (and the best internship programs usually do their hiring months in advance). Well we were shocked to come across a company called Russell Investments that is one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2008 and is still hiring Summer interns. We actually found out about these internships from the Twitter profile of Amod Damle Russell’s Manager of College Recruiting. Continue reading about Russell Investments…
As we continue to help you in your hunt for last minute internships, you need to remember that our daily posts are just jumping off points for your internship hunt. Just because the company that we feature isn’t near where you live or isn’t in the industry that you want to work in doesn’t mean that you should pass over it. Think about similar companies or fields and use the ideas that you come up with to formulate your own internship search plan. For instance, we are looking at internships at Wild Waves Theme Park in Federal Way, WA today. There may not be a ton of you out there who live near Wild Waves, but there’s a good chance that many of you live a commutable distance from a theme park. Use the job search techniques that we’ve taught you and see if you can find an internship at your local theme park.
Whether you’re looking for summer jobs or internships, theme parks are a great place to look because they’re always hiring college students. Theme parks are generally large operations, so there’s more to working for them than taking tickets, selling hot dogs, or dressing up as a character in a costume that is 140 degrees on the inside. Wild Waves Theme Park is looking for interns in Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Food Service, Information Technology, and Retail. The only specific information that we could find about individual internships were job postings for their IT Internship, Marketing Internship, and Finance Internship. From those postings you can apply directly for the internships. We’re not quite sure if the other internships are still available, as they’re not listed in Wild Waves’ job openings, so your best bet is to fill out a general application and to state your desired internship. You could also try calling 253-661-8027, which appears to be the phone number for their HR office.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Found a cool internship, but it wasn’t for you? Tell us about it so that we can share it with other readers.
Today I’m posting from Cornell University, because I’ve returned to my alma mater for Slope Day. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s Cornell’s version of Spring Weekend. It’s the last day of classes, so everyone skips out, goes to a big hill on campus, and behaves as you’d expect they would during a campus-wide party. It’s definitely important to check your privacy settings before posting Slope Day pics on Facebook. Since Spring Weekends are usually described as “ridiculous,” we’re going to go with that theme for today’s internships. I Can Has Cheezburger? is a website that has its entire revenue model based on pictures of cats with funny captions – better known as Lolcats. Continue reading about I Can Has Cheezburger?…
