Thank you for including Jump in your job search! We’re always on the lookout for talented and passionate people to join our team.

Got Questions? Check out our Careers FAQs.

What’s the Jump Externship?

This 4-month position offers competitive pay and benefits, active hands-on coaching, and a strong and supportive work culture. You’ll work on a team full-time alongside experienced Jumpsters on high impact client projects covering a range of disciplines:

Needfinding
Find out what keeps people up at night. Go into their environments and learn about their lives firsthand. Extract the universal experiences, explore the deeper meaning, and develop compelling insights and frameworks that give our clients a new, unique way to look at their world.

Design
Create products and services that connect with ordinary folks. Develop new business models and families of products to help our clients leverage the rich insights gained from Needfinding.

Business Strategy
Plan for the big picture. Structure families of offerings to set clients up for sustainable success. Create roadmaps that help them grow their business in the short and long term.

Client Relationships
Build trust. Shepherd clients through the process. Facilitate meetings and let them hear your thoughts and insights. Help them get the most out of their relationship with Jump.

The Jump Externship has been key to our growth. Externships entail the possibility of a full-time hire. Over the years, this program has been the primary vehicle for bringing on the full-time Jumpsters that are here today. It gives folks a chance to really experience and understand what it’s like to be a part of the Jump Team – and make measurable impacts on our projects and culture.

See yourself at Jump
Are you a designer who reads Standard & Poors? An anthropologist who blogs about the latest tech gadgets? An MBA with a psychology background? Jump may be just what you’re looking for. At Jump, we don’t just look for multi-disciplinary teams, we look for multi-disciplinary people. Our work is a hybrid of three disciplines: Social Research, Product Design and Business Strategy. We look for depth of experience in one of these, demonstrated multi-disciplinary skills in another, and a strong interest in all three.

Application Materials
Can you see yourself thriving at Jump? Please submit the following four application materials to jumpjobs@jumpassociates.com with the subject line “JOB INQUIRY”:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample: A one-page sample that shows clear communication and critical thought. (Short articles, abstracts, and excerpts from papers often make good writing samples.)
• Work Samples: A 10-page or shorter summary of your work highlights. (This might include research, business strategy, or design projects.)

We only accept PDF, Word and Powerpoint files as application materials. Unfortunately we do not accept websites as application materials. Additionally, please limit file sizes to less than 4MB. Only complete applications will be reviewed.

Got Questions? We’ve got Answers.

Why do you hire people as Externs? How do I get hired full time?
At Jump we have a particular culture and employ a set of specific methodologies. A 4-month Externship is a way both for you and for us to see if we’re a good for each others’ needs. After the 4 months, all Externs have the option of being considered for a full-time hire. In fact, we hire every Extern with the hope that they will later stay with us full time.

I bring in some industry experience. Do I still need to go through the Externship?
Yes. We value whatever unique experience you bring and hope to tap into that experience as we go along. But we also want to make sure that everyone gains a solid understanding of how we apply the theories, philosophies, and the methodologies that lay the foundation of our work.

Once I become an Extern, what are my chances of getting hired full time?
That’s really up to you! We have no “percentage quota” if that’s what you’re asking. When we hire you as an Extern, it means we believe you have the potential to succeed at Jump and we actually want you to get hired full time after your Externship. For this to happen, you need to invest in your growth. You need to learn fast, work hard, and be committed to the team and our clients.

What’s the difference between an Externship and an Internship? Can I do an Internship at Jump?
Externs, as opposed to Interns, are folks who have completed their current degree and are not in between terms at school. Unfortunately, at this time we do not offer any Internships for folks who are still studying. Any experience less than 4 months at Jump will not really give you the full spectrum of what it’s like to be here. Additionally, when we work so closely with folks and welcome them to be part of our team, we hope they will stay with us for the long term.

How can I stand out as a promising candidate?
Show us your high bar for quality. Display how your hybrid background gives you a unique perspective, and how you can bring insight to mundane business problems. Show us how you’re willing to keep working at something until you get it right. Follow the application submission directions closely so the value of your work doesn’t get buried in places where we don’t expect to find it.

How does the recruiting process work?
Recruiting at Jump is a 3-step evaluation process. First we look at your resume and your work samples for general qualifications – work experience, educational background, and the quality and relevance of your work samples. If we see a good fit on paper, we’ll bring you in for an informational interview, that’s both informational for you and for us. We want to find out more about what you’re looking for in your next experience and want to make sure you walk away with some understanding of what it would be like to work at Jump. We may ask you to briefly describe a work sample so we can get a sense the skills you have. If the informational interview goes well, we’ll have a final formal interview where we’ll ask you to talk more in-depth about your work. After the final interview, the recruiting team will make the final decision together.

Who manages the recruiting process and makes the hiring decisions?
Recruiting at Jump is run by a small core team who reviews applications and makes critical decisions, and a larger extended team that comes in for interviews and provides feedback. We all work full time on client projects, so we can really speak to what’s needed on projects.

I’m not a US resident. Will Jump sponsor my visa so I can get an Externship?
Currently, we can only consider candidates who are already eligible to work in the US.

I want to find out more about Jump before submitting an application. Can I get an informational interview?
Unfortunately, due to the volume of applicants, we have to prioritize the candidates who have already submitted their materials and are considered to have a relevant background. If you have a specific question please send an email to: jumpjobs@jumpassociates.com with the subject “Externship Question” and we will try to get you a good answer.

There are currently no Externship openings, can you notify me when you post an Externship position?
Yes, for the San Mateo office, when we are between externship hiring periods, we collect a list of folks who are interested in our externship program. When we begin hiring again and post positions to our website, we also send an email to folks on the list notifying them that we have Externship openings. To add your name to this list, please send an email to jumpjobs@jumpassociates.com with the subject “ADD to email list” and we’ll be sure to notify you when we begin recruiting again for Externships. Your email will only be used for Externship recruiting purposes. We currently do not have an externship program at our New York Office.