We want our readers to be our Valentines this year, so the next three days are going to be devoted to jobs that have something to do with Valentine’s Day. We love our devoted readers (as does Better World Books), and we want to know that you love us too! Show us by becoming a Facebook Fan, subscribing by RSS, or signing up for our daily e-mails. We hope that our posts over the next three days don’t just give you great ideas for your job search, but also help you come up with last minute ideas to let that special someone know that you love them. And for those of you who just can’t stand Valentine’s day, why not browse through our archives of entry-level jobs to see what you’ve missed.

I first learned about ProFlowers during my freshman year of college. I didn’t have a Valentine, but I wanted to send my mom flowers to let her know that although I had moved away, I hadn’t forgotten about her. During my junior year, I finally got a girlfriend and realized that I was in the awkward situation of having to do Valentine’s Day only a month into my new relationship. I really liked this girl, so I wanted to do my best to impress her. I had an exam and an essay due on the 15th, but that wasn’t going to stop me from executing my plan for a perfect first meaningful Valentine’s Day. The only easy part was picking out an arrangement from ProFlowers and having them delivered directly to her dorm room. I barely got everything I had to do done as the day flew by, and my chronically over-punctual self had to delay picking my new girlfriend up for our date by half an hour.

In the end, everything went smoothly on Valentine’s Day, except I almost missed a delivery that my Mom had arranged for me. I had not yet told her that I had a new girlfriend, and she thought that sending me a big foam cooler full of steaks would be the best answer to a lonely Valentine’s Day (see, sending your Mom flowers pays off). Guys, get familiar with ProFlowers. It pays off. Girls, steaks make a great gift for guys, and ProFlowers has a sister company called Uptown Prime that will ship steaks anywhere (I’ve never had them, so I can’t vouch for the quality). There are also two other sister companies: Cherry Moon Farms and Secret Spoon. All four of these companies fly under the flag of their parent company, Provide-commerce

Now that we’ve given everyone some great last-minute gift ideas, let’s get down to business. ProFlowers currently has two entry-level job openings. One is as a Logistics Analyst, and the other is as a Merchandising Product Data Analyst. We were pretty pleased with the descriptions for all of Provide-Commerce/Proflower’s Job Openings; they get right to the point and tell you what you will be doing and what types of skills and qualifications are necessary. There’s a fine line between jargon and being descriptive, and ProFlowers remains descriptive throughout.

Beyond a simple, but helpful careers site, there were two other things we found during our research that we liked about ProFlowers. First, they were named the #1 Employer in San Diego between 100 and 499 employees for 2006 by San Diego Magazine. As if being located in San Diego isn’t a big enough benefit, they’re also the best employer for their size and they encourage you to wear flip flops to work. Second, ProFlowers has built their own ProFlowers recruitment social network using Ning (a company we’ve already featured). This shows that they’re engaged with candidates, and clearly see the future of recruiting. We wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the kind of company that has someone stop in and join the conversation about their entry-level jobs.

ProFlowers is a great example of how you can build great job search ideas from your day to day needs. You need to get your new girlfriend something for Valentine’s Day. As you think about that “problem,” keep your need for a job after graduation in the back of your mind. Trying to solve one problem can often lead to the solution of another problem. It doesn’t need to be flowers, but that’s just one thought. Keep thinking, and let us know what you come up with.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• ProFlowers.com
• The Provide-commerce Home Page
• Careers at ProFlowers
• The ProFlowers Recruitment Social Network
• Job Openings at ProFlowers
• Corporate Culture at ProFlowers
• San Diego Magazines List of Best Employers

Another way you can show us you love us is by leaving a comment. All you need to do is fill out a quick form and tell us you love us. You can also tell us about your Valentine’s Day plans. They might even give us an idea for a new company to feature.

We've identified ProFlowers as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• analyst
• California
• e-commerce
• holiday
• logistics
• merchandising

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