Indiana Jobs Out Of College

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by Brandon Russell

Success is measured differently by each person. The school you attended, the company for which you work, the balance in your bank account, among other criteria, are all yardsticks by which people measure personal success.

I was recently handed an article by my CEO, asked to read it and share my thoughts.

The article came from the Harvard Business Review, and was authored by Clayton M. Christensen (Yes, the Clay Christensen who penned The Innovator's Dilemma - the penultimate authority on disruptive technology, and a great read for anyone interested in technology and how it interacts with and impacts society.)

The article, titled, "How Will You Measure Your Life," discusses the common pitfalls college and graduate school students experience when plotting their futures - and puts forth a simple, yet poignant truth - success is defined by how you, not others, measure your value and merit.

A Harvard Business School professor, Christensen's theories on management, disruptive technology, and leadership serve as the foundation of his lectures as he empowers his students to dissect real-life organizations and understand how decisions and practices, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, can have a major impact on an organization.

That's all great, but I know those of you who have bothered to continue reading are wondering, "How does this relate to me? Why is this relevant to the Orr Fellowship, and why do they let you write these blogs, Brandon?"

I was getting to that. But first I had to lay some groundwork. On the last day of class each semester, Christensen asks his students to turn these theoretical lenses on themselves. How have their decisions, even small ones, impacted their lives, and eventually led them to where they are today?

He asks them to study themselves, and find answers to 3 simple questions:

How can I be sure I'll be happy in my career?

How can I be sure my relationships with my friends and family become an enduring source of happiness?

How can I stay out of jail?

Okay, the third question is a little odd, but Christensen was classmates with former Enron President and current resident of the Englewood, Colorado Correctional Facility, Jeffrey Skilling - so it's relevant.

After reading the article, I turned these lenses on myself and the decisions I've made that have led me to where I am, and have reached out to others in the Orr Fellowship to do the same here's what I've found:

1) How can I be sure I'll be happy in my career?

This was big for me. Like many other Orr Fellows, and I'm sure many Orr Fellowship candidates - I had offers for distinguished post grad jobs from companies whose names have serious brand equity, companies where my entry-level paycheck would have allowed me to purchase many leather-bound books and housing that smells of rich mahogany, but with me, as with the other Orr Fellows I included in my little experiment - it isn't all about the money, the title, or the bravado that comes from saying, "I work for Company X."

We joined the Orr Fellowship and took positions at high-growth startups because of the opportunity the program offers. The opportunity to network with professionals and leaders in the community, to grow personally and professionally, and the opportunity to create strategies for our lives. What the Orr Fellowship lacked in glamour, our clout, it has made up in spades through the opportunities we've been afforded.

Orr Fellowship companies are some of the best places to work in Indiana, and the entrepreneurial spirit in each organization, and the dedication to the personal and individual success of each employee is something you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere but a high-growth startup.

2) How can I be sure my relationships with my friends and family become an enduring source of happiness?

I know. This is a blog about work, and business, and technology, not the Dr. Phil Show. But, It's time to get personal. Plus, let's face it - to be productive at work, you need to be happy outside of work, and vice-versa. Relating this to my, and others' time in the Orr Fellowship, the common thread was the relationships I've developed within the program ARE an enduring source of happiness for me. Digging deeper, it's not just the relationships with other Fellows that add value to our experiences, it's our relationships with our non-Fellow co-workers, our executive sponsors, and the people who speak at our Business Leader Meetings, who augment our experiences.

Yes, as Orr Fellows we spend a lot of time together and get to know each other on a personal level. But our culture as an organization, goes beyond that. We develop common bonds. We become friends. And these interactions, both positive and negative, ensure we continually grow as professionals and as people.

3) How can I stay out of jail?

I don't really need to go into much detail on this one - it's pretty self explanatory. Just don't do anything illegal. One Fellow went a philosophical on us and asked, "Why does jail have to mean prison?" He continued, "I think sometimes people build jails for themselves as a result of the choices they make, so I would challenge everyone to not only stay away from the illegal, but go one step further and stay away from the immoral, the ill-advised, and the unjust, as well. I'd challenge us to live lives of which we can be proud, not just try to stay out of jail - because a lot of guilty people aren't in prison."

At the end of his article, Christensen offered one extremely sage piece of advice, and that's how I'll end this post.

"Choose the right yardstick."

Only you know what's best for you. Do not measure your success by how others measure you. Choose the path that will allow you to be happy in your career, happy in your relationships and interactions with others, and keep you out of jail.

If you've read this far, I applaud, and thank you. I can be a bit long-winded. If you'd like to read Clay Christensen's full article, and turn this lens on yourself (I'd recommend it), Click Here.

The Young and The Proud

Thursday, August 25, 2011 by Breana Buchler

Last week, I received a very interesting email. This message informed me that Mayor Ballard, and Governor Mitch Daniels would be paying a visit to Angie's List, my host company, the following day. As I drove up to the ever eclectic Angie's List campus the next morning, the energy was undeniable. The entire company was counting down the minutes until 9:15, when the two were scheduled to arrive. At about 9:00am, my department was buzzing was eagerness. We all walked over to the courtyard where a mix of employees, including many Orr Fellowship alumni, sat on hand-me-down picnic tables, looking on as Angie Hicks introduced the mayor and the governor.

The first statement Governor Daniels made was that he was proud of this organization and the impact it has made on the near east side of Indianapolis. As he continued his speech, I could not help but feel pride as well. I am proud to be a part of Angie's List. I am proud to be associated with one of the Best Places to Work in Indianapolis; a company that will be providing over 500 jobs in the city of Indianapolis in the next 5 years. I then looked around at all of the Orr Fellow alumni, and thought about their positions within Angie's List, as well as all of the entrepreneurial endeavors they work on after hours and the career opportunities they are pursuing.

I could not help but feel, in that moment, that I was beginning to fully realize the mission of the Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship in Indiana. Angie Hicks, Co-founder of my host company, is motivating me to take a career risk. The current Orr Fellows and alumni I associate with, aside from their distinguished post-grad jobs, are motivating me to do more with my energy than just a 9-5 job. Governor Daniels and Mayor Ballard are motivating me to make a tangible impact on the city of Indianapolis.

As I left my office that day, my head was buzzing with opportunities to pursue around the city. I spent that evening sending emails and brainstorming how I could give back to this community that is offering so much to me during my fellowship experience. I found myself reaching out to connections I have already made through the Fellowship to offer help in various volunteer avenue. I was beginning to take advantage of post-graduate networking in Indianapolis. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the influence of city and state leaders just three short months out of college.

Like a good whiskey

Sunday, August 7, 2011 by Alec Synnestvedt

The Orr Fellowship just keeps getting sweeter as time passes.

When I was going through the recruitment process almost a year ago, I was all kinds of fired up about the chance to be mainlined into a high growth Indiana company. The prospect of learning from host company executives and Indianapolis business leaders in my first job out of DePauw University had my mouth watering. The idea of gaining more experience in two years than most college grads get in five thrilled me. And in December, after I earned a position in the Orr Fellowship and my host company, T2 Systems, I could hardly wait to get started in June.

But I also had a lot of unanswered questions. I had no idea what life as an Orr Fellow was like. As a creative writing major, I didn't know what to expect from the tech industry. And, being from Detroit, I wondered about what life in Indianapolis had in store for me.

Maybe you, like me, are excited by the Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship. (You would be silly to regard it as anything other than a wonderful opportunity). And maybe you also want to know more about what it comes with. So my next few posts will constitute a snapshot of my experience so far, a month and a half in.

Here are some of the things I did today:

Attended a Venture Club of Indianapolis meeting with Chris Palmer and an executive at my company. Our CEO spoke on the guest pannel.
Helped develop my company's social media presence
Worked on my salesforce database skills while sending messages out to customers
Had a bbq pork sandwich and a beer in the office as part of our thirsty Thursday tradition.
Wrote this post.

Questions? Email me at alec.synnestvedt@orrfellowship.org

Business Leader Meeting with Rob Smith: President of Lilly Foundation

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 by Corey Kime

Today we had the amazing opportunity of having Rob Smith come and speak to us at our Orr Fellow Business Leader Meeting. Rob is the President of the Lilly Foundation and currently runs Lilly's Corporate Responsibility efforts. Rob spent over an hour talking with us about issues ranging from the responsibility of corporations in today's age to initiatives that the Lilly Foundation is working on to improve education and health care both in Indianapolis as well as worldwide. Below are a couple takeaways I had from his talk:

Just adding people will no longer solve the problem: Rob talked with us about how not too long ago, simply adding educated people to a country's workforce and not necessarily worrying about productivity gains within that workforce would bring about increases in economic growth for the country. That day in age is long gone now and becoming more productive as a workforce with less resources is driving economic growth much more than simply adding another body to the stem.
Finding new and innovative ideas to solve big problems is as important now as it ever has been: Much of the time in conversation with Rob revolved around the issues that the Lilly Foundation has identified in education and health care and how they are trying to solve them. One thing I found refreshing about his approach to solving issues was trying to find workable solutions on a small scale before advocating them on a large scale. For example, in the education field, the Lilly Foundation doesn't try and solve entire country's problem in one big cash-flush solution, but instead they take small, but calculated, bets on Indianapolis and Indiana based initiatives that are innovative and take new approaches to solving problems of things such as getting more students to graduate and improving the quality of education. Then if they see success in these smaller initiatives they advocate these solutions on a larger scale, thereby advocating for more proven and refined solutions then ones that are great in theory but may not be great in practice.

It was obvious to all of us in attendance that Rob is extremely passionate about his job and has taken on great challenges in his time at Lilly. Being able to have this kind of informal meeting with a highly respected and successful business leader is just another example of the exciting opportunities that the Orr Fellowship provides us. Not only was this a great networking opportunity in Indianapolis for us as fellows, but it was a great learning opportunity that we wouldn't have gotten at a regular out of college job. Business Leader Meetings like the one we had with Rob Smith today are just another reason that the Orr Fellowship is a great opportunity for college graduates!

Orr Fellow Alum

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 by Fellow Stories

Name: Brennan Knotts
School: Indiana University

Brennan Knotts is currently the Director of Marketing for Xemion web design directory and MobileDeveloper.net, a directory for mobile developers. As a former Orr Fellow, he spent 2+ years working for his host company Cantaloupe.tv and co-founded Pocket Tales, a social reading game for kids whose investors include east coast-based Startl and Dreamit Ventures.

Welcome to the newest Orr Fellows and congratulations! This post is for you. It's a short collection of advice I received or wish I'd received when I entered the Orr Fellowship. Follow this plan and you will earn the full potential of your salary in the Fellowship, which if no one told you is actually a lot more than that number on your paycheck.

1. Schedule drinks/coffee/lunch whatever with alumni as soon as you can

One of the smartest things I ever did as an Orr Fellow was reach out to alumni before I even started work. I'll admit it wasn't a master plan of mine - I just happened to meet some cool Fellows and wanted to hang out with them more (okay, I was in no condition to drive so I crashed on their couch and got brunch the next morning).

Not only did I build lasting friendships during those early days, but I received advice on my career and life that is still useful 4 years later.

I can promise you no alumni will turn you down. Even if they're not local they will make themselves available for a phone call. Just ask and be respectful of their time.

2. Don't ever miss a business leader meeting

I'm proud to say I never missed a business leader meeting during my tenure. No one is handing out trophies for this accomplishment, but you owe it to yourself to take advantage, exploit even, the opportunities you get during your two years.

Sometimes you will be tempted to believe that working late the night of a business leader meeting is more important than attending the BLM, but I assure you it isn't. Unless your boss is demanding you stay (in which case, we need to have a talk about that boss...), find a way to go.

At some point you'll grow tired of hearing someone else's "how I made it" story. You'll become restless and want to stop all this meeting and talking and start doing.

THAT's when you'll know you've internalized everything you've learned from these stories, because when you boil each down to its simplest element, each is a story about someone who went out and DID something.

3. Get a side project

Your work at your first job post college will not be intellectually stimulating. You'll hear this a million times but for some reason you won't believe it until you experience it yourself. (I think the bottom line is that only 20% of the meaningful work anyone does is the hard-thinking type of work and the other 80% is the tedious execution work, but that's for another post to debate...)

This is an advantage for two reasons: 1) because it allows you to learn the blocking and tackling of being in the working world, learning to work with people, prioritize your tasks, work effectively in meetings, etc. and 2) when you get home from work you're not emotionally and intellectually drained.

Use this leftover energy to work on something meaningful to you. Learn to code, start a business, help run a non-profit, pick up the guitar, start a blog, write for someone else's blog - just do something. You will never have as much available energy as you do at your entry-level job.

This side project also has the benefit of giving you something interesting to talk about when your networking with alumni.

4. Think big

Indiana is a big greenfield. That might be true literally, but I mean it figuratively. There are so many ways for you to leave a permanent mark on this community. Get an ambition and take up a cause. No idea is too big. You decided to come to Indiana so take advantage of the fact that it's not New York or San Francisco and that you can actually get access to the movers and shakers in the community and that everything hasn't "been done before."

Co-founding Hackers and Founders, now Verge, was my contribution in this regard. And although Verge has addressed a huge gap in the Indianapolis tech community, there are so many more big opportunities - and that's just the tech community. I challenge you to find your own big idea and go after it.

Are you looking for entry-level jobs in Indiana or business jobs in Indianapolis? Learn more about the Orr Fellowship at www.orrfellowship.org.

Indianapolis Living

Thursday, October 14, 2010 by Kate Carrico

If your friends are anything like mine were senior year of college, a bunch of them are talking about getting out of Indiana after school is over and heading to a big city like Chicago. You could even be one of those people that thinks Indiana is only made up of corn and basketball and can't wait to leave after graduation...

But don't discount Indiana that fast! As the commercials for Indiana Beach say, there's more than corn in Indiana! Indianapolis is home to one phenomenal football team, a huge number of conferences and sporting events, multiple cultural districts, museums, art galleries, and a symphony orchestra. There is always something going on around town and it's a breeze to get involved. Also, there are many great neighborhoods to live in, the commute times are short, and the city is easy to navigate!

If you're interested in high growth start-ups or technology jobs, Indianapolis could also be for you! There is a great small business community as well as a phenomenal network of high tech start-ups throughout the city.

The Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship is a two-year commitment for new college grads that takes advantage of the business culture in Indianapolis and looks to keep it booming by bringing incredible young talent to promising companies. From industry leaders such as ExactTarget to up and coming companies such as BlueLock, the Orr Fellowship partners with the outstanding business community to provide a phenomenal experience for both host companies and Orr Fellows.

If you're a college senior looking for jobs, check out the Orr Fellowship today!

Thinking Outside the Box When Job Searching

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by Robert Tichy

A year ago seems like yesterday as I begin remembering my job recruitment journey. At my alma mater, Indiana State University, the career fair is very local-heavy with companies and opportunities. The only jobs that were outside of the Wabash Valley were with Target as a part of their retail training program. I'd worked retail throughout my entire college career, so I knew that wasn't going to be in my best interest. Therefore, I was in a bit of a bind - how do I find more opportunities without blindly submitting my resume online?

Luckily, I remembered that there was a nationally recognized undergraduate business school less than an hour away from ISU - the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

I started researching when the career fairs took place, and found the sales and marketing fair to be my best bet. I called a good friend of mine who attended IU and asked if there were any prerequisites to get into the career fair. He mentioned I needed to have an IU student ID, which I obviously didn't have, but said I could use his - I'm in!

I drove down to Bloomington and was able to get in to the career fair without any issues. I walked in and was amazed at all of the tremendous companies and names: Procter & Gambel, Kimberly-Clark, Otis Elevator Company, News Corporation, among others. I stopped by all of these booths, but was somewhat displeased with their demeanor and bland answers to questions.

I decided to start going to a few smaller companies and my first stop was the Orr Fellowship. Talking for just a few minutes, I knew immediately that the Fellowship was a unique experience that would allow me to work in a small company (as I had interned in college) and could have an impact right away.

As they say, the rest is history. I applied to the Orr Fellowship, went through the interview process and was lucky enough to land with ExactTarget in Indianapolis.

The moral of my journey to IU is that when looking and applying for a job, get creative. Now more than ever it's imperative that graduating seniors stand out from the rest, and having the opportunity to tell recruiters that I had driven from ISU just to attend the career fair was a great talking point, not to mention it introduced me to the Orr Fellowship.

It's that time of year again...

Friday, October 1, 2010 by Skip Tokar

That's right, its job application season again. Its the annual time of year that college seniors come to the realization that undergrad school is going to end and they have to do... something. Some people pursue graduate schools while other focus on Entrepreneurship Careers, Indiana Job openings, or even graduate fellowships (possibly the Orr Fellowship...); however, all eventually come to the realization that they need a great resume.

I am no resume expert but I picked up a couple of tips and tricks back in the day that I am willing to share with my numerous dedicated readers. You might be saying to yourself "Who is this guy and why does he think he is even remotely qualified to give me tips?" This is a valid point, but, if you apply to the Orr Fellowship, I could be the person reviewing your resume and my tips worked out pretty well for myself. So just sit back and let my insightful resume knowledge engulf you.

In no particular order here is a sampling of my vast resume understanding:

When putting your GPA on your resume go to a maximum of 2 decimal places. If you Major GPA is significantly higher than you cumulative GPA then list that as well (it needs to be obvious that that is specifically your major GPA)
Don't be afraid to include distinguishing experiences. This could include time studying abroad or brief descriptions of your more complicated projects/papers. Just make sure that these things fit in the natural flow of your resume and are not under or overstated.
Do not include stuff from high school, unless they are so ridiculously outstanding that there is no way you could sleep at night knowing that potential employers had no idea how great you were in high school.
Make sure your experience/work history is organized logically. Ideally these sections will flow chronologically because if you planned things correctly, each job/internship builds on the last one, hopefully leaving your most recent experience as the crown jewel on your resume. In addition to this, avoid time gaps in your employment.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when a person just puts "selected" or "completed" said internship on their resume. If it is on your resume I know you worked there and eventually completed the job/internship/program. Your resume needs to be about what YOU have done and what results YOU achieved. No company is going to hire you just because you were selected to participate in a particular program. Companies want to see how you progressed trough an internship and the impacts that you made while there. Sometimes showing how you went about something is just as important as the results. Interviewers know that summer jobs/internships are typically not long enough to make any really significant gains, but they want to see that you have demonstrated the aptitude to get things done.
Make sure you don't sell yourself short or embellish your accomplishments. A lot of times it is plain to see that a person has done some pretty significant work, but their resume does not reflect upon these accomplishments. If you have done impressive things make sure it is known. On the other hand, people can tell if you are trying to make something appear more significant. You don't want to claim more than you really did or use synonyms for every word.
Don't leave dangling words on a line. You should either add words or take out words so there is not just one word all by itself on a line. This is valuable space, don't waste it.
Don't make a resume that is more than one page. I don't care how good you think you are, at this point in time you have not done enough to merit more than one page. You only want to include the very best experiences that are most relevant to the position you are applying for.
There needs to be a balance of good details without jamming some much in there that your resume looks squished and cluttered. You really want your experiences to POP OUT not be hidden in the mess.
Be sure to have a good balance of activities and experiences. Companies, especially the Orr Fellowship, want to see that you are a well rounded individual that has done well in school, has had good work experience, has been involved in campus activities, has held leadership positions, and somehow finds time to volunteer.

These are just some of the resume tips that come to mind. I would have written more but frankly I got tired of writing. If you want to make sure you have good career opportunities and don't end up like this guy then follow my advice.

Follow these guidelines and constantly revise and improve you resume. This is a never ending process but if mastered you will really stand out to all the companies that are hiring new grads, which will lead to you getting a great entry level job and, with any luck, ending up like this guy.

Until next month... This has been Skip Tokar (Special Thanks to Editor Bryan Watson)

What Do Orr Fellows Really Do? - A Day in the Life

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Bryan Povlinski

With school now back in session we're quickly approaching the fall recruiting season. It's an exciting (and somewhat stressful) time for college seniors as they look to secure jobs after graduation. It's also an exciting time for Orr Fellows because we'll be back on campus over the next couple months trying to bring some of the best and brightest in Indiana into our program.

The biggest question that I had through the entire recruiting process when I was looking for entrepreneurial job opportunities in Indiana was - What will I be doing on a daily basis? What kinds of responsibilities will I have and what kinds of things will I need to get done?

8:15-9:00 - Check web analytics
I manage all of the marketing analytics for our corporate web site as well as the 2 ecommerce sites that we run. When I get in on Monday morning I check through the stats from the past week and make a note of any major events or abnormalities. For our corporate site I take a look at all of the networks that Google Analytics has listed as accessing our site and parse those down to actual prospects for our sales team.

9:00-9:30 Make changes to pay-per-click campaign
Through the analytics I can see how our pay-per-click campaigns have been performing for our ecommerce sites. We just recently started a new campaign and it needs to be constantly monitored and improved. Today I tweaked a few of the under-performing ads to see if we can improve our campaigns and drive more targeted visitors to our site.

9:30 - 11:00 Begin drafting requirements for enhancements in new software release
Fifth Gear provides services to companies who sell goods online - so order fulfillment, ecommerce software, and marketing services are our specialty. A big part of that is constantly improving our ecommerce/order management software. All of our clients run their businesses on this software, as well as our warehouse so it is important that we keep it updated. I am a quasi project manager that acts as a facilitator between our software development team in India and our warehouse and operations team in Missouri. I spent some time this morning writing out the requirements for 2 new enhancements in our software platform

11:00 - 11:30 Send emails to our development team in India
To make sure everyone is on the same page I'm often communicating with our team in India to see if they need any additional information to complete their software development work and also to check on the status of projects in motion to see when we can schedule our next meeting to discuss new enhancements

11:30 - 1:00 Lunch with a local business owner
Although this particular lunch had more to do with my own personal networking than the Orr Fellowship many Orr Fellows will set up lunch meetings with others involved in the program or other business people in the community. It's a great way to expand your network and to find more growth opportunities

1:00 - 2:00 Continue drafting requirements documents
Spent some more time getting the requirements finished up. We're working on incorporating an exchange rate API into our software with the addition of an international client and also working on simplifying our order import process.

2:00 - 3:00 Systems/Operations team meeting
We have a weekly meeting to discuss all of the different projects going on within our team, and we get updates on what might be coming up next.

3:00 - 4:00 Miscellaneous Planning and Email
I wanted to make sure I kept a few smaller projects moving and that required sending emails and talking with a few people around the office. I scheduled a meeting with a new liquidation client that will be selling goods on one of our ecommerce sites, talked with a manager about next steps in the financial analysis that I prepared on one of our sites, and sent emails to set up a meeting with development team on an upcoming enhancement

4:00-5:30 Write blog post and prepare for career workshop
It's not every day that I spend time working on Orr Fellowship activities, but today I spent the end of my afternoon writing this blog post and preparing for our career planning workshop that I'm organizing in 2 weeks.

So that's my day in a nutshell, and the best part about working for a high growth start-up is that it will likely be completely different tomorrow. I have a few recurring responsibilities, but projects and priorities can change quickly and I always have to be ready for the next thing that might be thrown my way. It's also likely that my day looks almost nothing like some of the other Orr Fellows. Some people might be working in finance or going out on sales calls so our experiences at different companies might be completely different.

For those of you interested in joining the Orr Fellowship I hope that gives you a better idea of some potential day-to-day tasks, but don't be afraid to press any of us to hear different perspectives.

Fertile Times in Silicon Prairie

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Greg Slisz

The complaint, it seems, is a familiar one. "I want to get out of Indianapolis and go to (insert 'cooler' city here)," say graduates at Indiana colleges. Super Bowl-winning Colts notwithstanding, Indiana seems to have gotten somewhat of an unfair reputation as a boring place to live. Young people flee from the state every year, chasing jobs in investment banking in "sexier" cities such as Chicago and New York or tech jobs on the West Coast in cities like Seattle and San Francisco. But in the words of the great Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!"
Although it may lack the sex appeal of the Big Apple or the Windy City, Indianapolis is a great place to live for new college graduates. And tech companies are no longer just on the west coast. In fact, there are a number of tech high growth startups right in Indianapolis. Orr Fellowship host companies such as Compendium Blogware, Bluelock, Weblink, and my very own ExactTarget are all helping to turn Indianapolis into a hotbed within Silicon Prairie.

In fact, ExactTarget has not only helping to lead these Silicon Prairie efforts, but is also leading the entire email marketing industry. Some of the company's most-recent developments include

-International expansion to offices in London and Australia, as well as stateside offices in San Francisco and Seattle
-An industry-leading one-to-one marketing conference in downtown Indianapolis, featuring guest speaker Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, and Grammy-winning artist Train
-Cutting edge market research that examines the demographics and behaviors of email subscribers, Facebook fans, and Twitter followers.
-And in case that wasn't enough, ET was recently ranked third on a list of the Best places to work in Indianapolis (with break rooms fully-stocked with free snacks and drinks, might I add!).

So much for Indiana being nothing but cornfield. ExactTarget is just one of many Indianapolis success stories that is also a host company in the Orr Fellowship. Click here and check out some of the other outstanding career opportunities that exist with these other fast growing Indianapolis companies.

Perception

Sunday, August 29, 2010 by Brandon Russell

Today I went golfing with 25 of my friends. Last night, a few of us got together for some drinks after work, on Thursday we're touring the FedEx facilities in Indianapolis for our monthly business leader meeting and in October a group of us is heading to West Virginia to whitewater raft at Upper Gauley.

When I joined the Orr Fellowship I knew I was getting an entry-level job at WebLink International, a fast growing Indiana software and technology company. I knew I'd have networking opportunities with executives from high-growth Indianapolis companies, and I knew I'd be preparing myself for the future.

What I didn't know, or at least didn't expect, was to instantly gain 40 close friends. We all work very hard, as most people in entry-level jobs do, but we also like to have fun. Honestly, I was worried about the transition from college to the professional world, and while big changes are never easy - knowing there are close to 30 other people who are going through the exact same things as me really helps.

People join people. While the Orr Fellowship offers opportunies for post-graduate employment at some of Indiana's most progressive and dynamic companies, it offers something more. At today's golf outing I saw Orr Fellows who completed the program several years ago together on course. They talked about work, families, and other things you'd expect old friends to reminisce about - and that's when it hit me. The most valuable thing I'm going to get out of this two-year program is the relationships. While the retreats and business leader meetings will become a thing of the past, and, let's be honest, who knows where the road will lead me professionally, I can say, with a high degree of certainty, the friends I've made in the 3 short months I've been an official Orr Fellow will stay with me indefinitely.

How Does Time Fly So Quickly?!

Sunday, August 22, 2010 by Amber Mohling

My, my, my ... how quickly a year flies! I'm officially entering my second year in the Orr Fellowship and my position at Compendium. Back in college, I'm not sure I could have imagined myself in a technology job in Indianapolis and working for one of the best high growth start-ups. However, I couldn't feel more blessed to be here!

In addition to my job at Compendium, I love having a network of 30+ twenty year olds going through very similar experiences with me. Not only are the fellows my friends, others are also co-workers, and even one is my roommate (shout out to The Teresa Becker).

If you're a college senior, please be sure to apply to the Orr Fellowship for your opportunity to land a post-graduation job with one of the best places to work in Indiana!

The Orr Fellows meeting Governor Mitch Daniels

From The Punch Guy to The Orr Fellowship and ASI

Saturday, August 21, 2010 by Zac Workman

My name is Zac and I am a recent grad from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Like many of you, I too was beginning to think about where the future would take me about this time last year. With interviews and job offers just around the corner, I had absolutely no idea where I would end up come graduation. But that's not the whole story.

As a sophomore at IU, I decided one day that it might be cool to start my own company. I mean who doesn't like the idea of being your own boss and setting your own hours? I would just start a company and the dollars would start rolling in. It sounded like a great plan at the time so I founded an LLC and began creating Punch Energy Drink. Well turns out that running a company wasn't as easy as I thought once the new wore off and we had to get down to business. Within six months we had signed a contract with Anheuser-Busch and we were on store shelves and receiving plenty of media attention. Things were looking great and I was thinking to myself how easy it was. We had been featured as one of the coolest college start-ups for 2009 by Inc. Magazine, Fox Business Network ran a story, and BevNET had given our product fantastic reviews.

However, the 2009 blues hit us hard and with the economy Punch was beginning to be less viable as a competitor among the cash kings within the industry. We simply couldn't compete at a level that would allow us to grow and stay within our very limited budget. A co-sponsored Indy 500 car and lawsuit later, Punch had seen better days. That was my senior year, but I wasn't ready to give up on Punch or my entrepreneurial spirit just yet.

The Orr Fellowship was the answer I had been looking for and an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I knew that they could place me within an entrepreneurial company and that I would be at one of the best places to work in Indiana with a network of people just like me. The opportunity to be part of a program that allowed me to network with business leaders in Indiana as well as expand my social network while staying involved with Punch, was all I needed. It was the perfect opportunity for me and it has turned out to be a perfect fit.

Now, as an Orr Fellow, I work full time for Author Solutions Inc. as a Marketing Specialist. I primarily work with our core brands and partners within the online realm of brand awareness and development, but I also work closely with our product development team. This is very similar to what we did with Punch and fits me very well. When we launch new products we have to go through the same process that I did with launching Punch and it is a great opportunity to learn each part of the business. The Fellowship is a great way to take a step into the real world without having to take a dive into the typical corporate America setting as just another number at company XYZ.

The Question Every College Senior Asks

Monday, August 16, 2010 by Corey Kime

About this time last year, I was winding down my summer job and gearing up for my last year of college at Indiana Wesleyan University. Like most college seniors, one thought came up over and over again in mind:

What am I going to do after I graduate???

Fast-forward twelve months and not only have I settled down in a new job, but I have been exposed to opportunities that I never thought I would be this early out of college. I was able to get this job through the Orr Fellowship, an organization dedicated to the development and retention of Indiana students and natives. The fellowship seeks to match college graduates with high-growth companies in Indiana. I was fortunate enough to be hired on at Compendium, one of many entrepreneurial companies in the Indianapolis area.

Since the start of my job two months ago I have been exposed to many different areas within Compendium that a normal entry-level job may not provide. The accessibility to executives within your company and the hands on experience that I've gotten in just two months has been both exciting and a great opportunity to learn.

Not only do you get a great job with one of the fast growing Indianapolis companies when you are in the fellowship, but you get to go through the fellowship with several other recent graduates just like you. I have developed good friendships with several people in the fellowship and it has given me an instant network of recent grads in an area where I would not have had that big of a network without it.

So if you are about to head back to school for your senior year like I was twelve months ago right now wondering how you are going to find a job and what you are going to be doing, be sure to consider the Orr Fellowship. The opportunity to work at high growth start-ups along with the instant network of friends your age is a tough combination to beat.

Who is the Orr Fellowship For?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by Bryan Povlinski

As we near Finalist Day when the class of 2010 Orr Fellows will make their decisions on whether to accept an offer to join the Fellowship, I think it's worth looking at who the Orr Fellowship is for. Working with high growth start-ups takes a certain kind of person, and it's certainly not for everyone. Here are a few characteristics that you might want to keep in mind.

The Orr Fellowship might be a good fit if you…

- Are graduating from an Indiana college or you’re originally from Indiana, and you have a strong GPA (preferably 3.5 and above)

- Enjoy working with smaller companies where everything is usually fast paced and everyone has to be willing to help out on various projects and different functional areas like marketing, finance, etc.

- Are someone that is eager to take initiative and make things happen rather than waiting to be told what job you need to do everyday

- Are interested in working in a variety of different roles. Many Orr Fellows rotate through different departments or work for a company that’s small enough to require every employee to be multi-dimensional.

- Would like to have a network of like-minded peers that you can work on potential business ideas with and get together socially

- Want to work for a fast growing Indianapolis company, and have the ability to get to know executives from other high growth start-ups

- Want to define your own career path by taking on big responsibilities in a small company rather than being a number in an entry level program at a large corporation

The Orr Fellowship might NOT be the right program if you…

- Are hoping to travel and have opportunities to work abroad right away. Although many Orr Fellows will have the opportunity to take smaller trips through the course of their job, the program is not designed to be travel intensive

- Need a boss to tell you exactly what to do every day. The most successful Orr Fellows are the ones who take initiative and execute beyond what they’re expected to do

- Expect to be in charge of the most important projects from Day 1. As an Orr Fellow you will likely have some less than glamorous projects at some point. However, they’re only opportunities to over deliver and build your reputation so that you can lead major projects in the future

- Base your job search on finding the highest possible starting salary. If you make it through the Orr Fellowship recruiting process you can find a better paying entry level job in Indiana or elsewhere. The Orr Fellowship is not for people who are looking for the money now, but for students that are more interested in learning, establishing a network, and getting a great experience so they can advance their careers more quickly in the long term.

This is not a comprehensive list of characteristics that define the Orr Fellowship. Hopefully it does give you at least a slightly better idea about whether or not the program is right for you. Among business jobs in Indianapolis, the Orr Fellowship may be one of the best opportunities for college graduates.

Orr Fellowship Recruiting Secrets Unveiled

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

So you've heard about the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship, but one thought that may have crossed your mind is, "how do I get noticed by the Orr Fellowship, and what types of attributes/experiences are they looking for in their candidates?" For the next couple of minutes I'm going to share with you some of our recruiting secrets that will undoubtedly make you a more attractive candidate for this prestigious Fellowship opportunity in Indianapolis.

First and foremost, we firmly believe that the most valuable experience that one can attain while in college is leadership experience. Now that I've said this, let's take a minute to try and better understand what I'm talking about. When we're going through Orr Fellow candidate applications, having a candidate that was a "member" of twelve different clubs on campus in no way compares to a candidate that was president of two or three reputable clubs on their campus. To take this one step further, having a title means nothing if you didn't have any notable achievements while holding that particular position. We want to see that you were elected by your peers for a leadership position, but it is much more important that you made a positive impact to your organization during your tenure as officer. Leadership experience can be gained in many different ways, so there's no excuse for a lack of leadership on your resume.

The next piece of information from your resume that we find extremely important is your GPA. This may come as no surprise, but the easiest way to demonstrate your intelligence is by getting good grades. Being that you're looking for Indiana jobs out of college, much like thousands of other students in their senior year of studies, this is one of the only standardized means of measurement that we can use to juxtapose you with the rest of the candidate base. So what if your GPA isn't as good as you'd like it to be? If this is the case for you, it in no way means that your chances of getting into the Orr Fellowship are gone. What you do have to figure out at this point, however, is how you're able to justify your lower GPA, in addition to being able to describe what qualities/experiences you have that make you a perfect fit for this distinguished entrepreneurial fellowship.

Another attribute that we look for in our candidates is their ability to demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit in their lives. One of the inherent qualities that all Orr Fellowship host companies possess is a strong sense of entrepreneurship. In fact, it is critical that our Fellows hold that same entrepreneurial attitude so that they can seamlessly integrate themselves into these high-growth Indianapolis companies. As history has shown, joining the Fellowship often leads to entrepreurial opportunities after the two-year committment of being in the Orr Fellowship has been completed. Since this is the case, candidates that demonstrate this entrepreneurial attitude in their own lives prior to joining the Orr Fellowship typically find themselves fitting in well within the Fellowship and their respective host companies.

So what are the most important attributes/experiences that the Orr Fellowship looks for when evaluating their candidates each and every year? We are looking for hard-workers, well-rounded students (being a college athlete is a nice bonus), and intelligent people. More specifically, though, we are seeking people that have great life stories and are passionate about our organization. We truly believe that what you've done in your life defines who you are today. In addition, being passionate about the Fellowship and what it stands for is something that is necessary for all Orr Fellows - choosing to join the Orr Fellowship is making an investment in the future of your career, and it takes a certain kind of person to be willing to take the "leap of faith" and join the Orr Fellowship.

Now that you know what kind of people the Orr Fellowship is looking for, do you think you have what it takes? Do you fit any or all of these criterion? If so, and you're looking to secure one of the most distinguished post-grad jobs in Indianapolis in 2011, apply today on the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship Homepage.

A Day in the Life of an Orr Fellow

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

One of the questions that I commonly receive from Orr Fellowship candidates is, "What types of things do you do at work?" For most Orr Fellows this is a straight-forward question, but for me, the answer is a bit more long-winded.

When I accepted my offer with the Orr Fellowship, I also accepted an offer with ExactTarget. ExactTarget has participated as an Orr Fellowship host company for many years now. It differs from the rest, though, in that it offers a particular program for recent college graduates - the Catapult Rotational Program. The Catapult Program is designed to provide college graduates the opportunity to rotate through three departments within ExactTarget. It allows you to develop your professional skill-set while obtaining cross-functional experiences. Upon completion of the three two-month rotations, "Catapulters" are placed in a permanent position that allows them to deeply impact the success of both their department and ExactTarget as a whole.

Now, back to the question that I was previously talking about. When answering the posed question about my typical day at work, I generally describe my current and past rotations. My first rotation at ExactTarget was in the Human Resources department. I then transitioned to Customer Relationship Management. My third, and current rotation, is in Sales Operations. So what types of things am I doing during my time at the office? I'm currently preparing to lead a portion of our Sales Training On-boarding class that is now taking place. When a salesperson joins the team at ExactTarget, they go through a rigorous, two-week long training course. Within the first two days in my current rotation, my manager asked me to learn everything I possibly could about our Salesforce Integration application through AppExchange, while creating the presentaton from scratch, in order to set myself up to teach the group of new hires. Needless to say, I feel ready to go for next Tuesday's class!

After I've shared my experiences with these college seniors, I like to turn the focus on them. I ask them if there are other career opportunities that they're pursuing that allow them to join a company and immediately be able to make an impact within the organization. The answer is almost always a resounding "no."

So why do Orr Fellows get the leg-up when it comes to career-growth opportunities? From talking to several different employers and upper-level management, the overall consensus is that the Orr Fellowship has a reputation of supplying high-growth Indianapolis companies with talented, hardworking employees. I consistently hear these business leaders talk about how comfortable they feel putting these Fellows in a sink-or-swim environment because they always know that these young professionals will find a way to come out on top.

So when considering your first full-time job out of college, think about what I've said. If you're looking to grow professionally while making a positive impact in your organization, the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship might be for you!