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Things We’re Thankful For at Trovit

by Chelsea Jimenez November 24, 2011. Leave a comment

Trovitturkey

Working at Trovit isn’t like working at any old company and we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Here’s the top 10 reasons we’re happy Troviters:

  1. We get to work in Barcelona, a city that boasts an average of 2500 hours of sunshine a year.
  2. The multicultural experience: The Trovit team is made up of 64 employees from 16 nationalities.
  3. Sweet traditions: Birthday’s and Trovit “Anniversaries” never slip through the cracks and are celebrated with treats like pastries and sandwiches, or our more ambitious Troviters bring in homemade items like brownies, cookies, carrot cake…the list goes on!
  4. The games room: a break in the day to play ping pong or Playstation is greatly appreciated.
  5. Monthly “After Office” events: a few notable after work activities include an overnighter at a theme park, laser tag and drinks at local pubs.
  6. Trovit Olympics: a day where our competitive nature gets to come out and teams compete in Trivia, darts, Wii tennis, and a hovercraft obstacle course.
  7. A Trovit Christmas: on the night of Trovit Olympics we all head to a restaurant to eat, drink, and be merry! Last year we went out afterwards in style in stretch Hummer limos.
  8. The annual Ski Trip: in February we head to the mountains of Catalonia for three days to ski and have our half-yearly Global meeting. We know how to mix work and play to say the least.
  9. Flexible hours: the Spanish lifestyle means a lot of late nights out on the town, so the fact that we don’t have to stress over a 9-5 schedule is a definite lifesaver.
  10. The extra perks: a fully stocked snack kitchen with a Nespresso coffee machine (we go through over 1200 capsules each month!), cookies, drinks, fruit, etc., gym membership discounts, food tickets to grab lunch outside of the office, health insurance, language classes…

Sound like a team you would also be thankful for? See our job openings

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How to Win Trovit s.w.a.g.

by Chelsea Jimenez November 18, 2011. Leave a comment

Trovittrivia

If you've visited the Trovit Facebook page lately, you might have seen that we've started up a weekly trivia game called "Trovit Trivia."
Every Friday there's a new question, and a new chance to win a Trovit s.w.a.g. pack. To win all you have to do is be the first one to correctly answer the question. Easy peasy!

Here's a look at a couple of our past questions. Would you have gotten them right?

Week 1 we asked what iconic Barcelona landmark we can see from our offices.
Week 2 we asked how many listings Trovit's index holds. (Don't worry we gave a hint!)

What will the question be this week? "Like" us on Facebook and stay tuned to the page every Friday to play.

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How Green Are the Top Electronics Companies?

by Chelsea Jimenez November 11, 2011. 1 Comment

Greenpeaceapple

Apple comes in at #4 on the list

Greenpeace recently published their list ranking the “greenness” of 15 electronic companies. Mobile phone, TV, and PC manufacturing companies were ranked (out of 10 points) by the following three criteria: 1) effectiveness in reducing emissions with energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy policy advocacy 2) efficiency and life-span of their products, which must be hazardous substance free 3) ability to reduce environmental impacts, from materials and energy used to make products, and programs available to recycle old devices. Below are the 15 companies that are working on moving closer to green practices. If you’re interested in working for one of these large, stable companies to grow in your career, and even more importantly, to help make these companies greener, click on each name to see their available job listings in Trovit.

  1. HP — 5.9/10
  2. Dell — 5.1
  3. Nokia — 4.9
  4. Apple — 4.6
  5. Philips — 4.5
  6. Sony Ericsson — 4.2
  7. Samsung — 4.1
  8. Lenovo — 3.8
  9. Panasonic — 3.6
  10. Sony — 3.6
  11. Sharp — 3
  12. Acer — 2.9
  13. LG Electronics & Toshiba (tie) — 2.8
  14. RIM — 1.6

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Generations of the Ford Mustang: 1964-today

by Chelsea Jimenez November 3, 2011. 1 Comment

Since the first generation model of the Ford Mustang came off the assembly line in 1964, this American “pony car” has gained quite a following. See how the Mustang has changed over the years to become what it is today in it’s fifth generation.

The First Generation Mustang: 1964-1973

M1964

Find First Generation Mustangs in your area

Second Generation: 1974-78

M1974

Find Second Generation Mustangs in Your Area

Third Generation: 1979-1993

1979_ford_mustang-01

Find Third Generation Mustangs in your area

Fourth Generation: 1994-2004

1994fordmustanggt

Find Fourth Generation Mustangs in your area

Fifth Generation: 2005-present

2005mustang

Find Fifth Generation Mustangs in your area

Image Sources:

http://mustangnizate.files.wordpress.com
http://www.collectormotors.com
http://students.cis.uab.edu
http://www.autoevolution.com

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Halloween Around the World

by Chelsea Jimenez October 26, 2011. Leave a comment

Originally I wanted to do a blog post about Halloween around the world. Since Trovit is a very international team I figured it was a good way to get first-hand knowledge, but after speaking to colleagues from France, Spain, Russia, Germany, Sweden, etc., I got the impression that Halloween is just an American concept that over the years has started to become popular in their countries. For example, our Trovit Sweden Country Manager recalls that when she was around the trick-or-treating age (15-20 years ago) there were no signs of Halloween in Sweden. The tradition was  to go to the cemetery to light a candle and leave flowers for loved ones. But today Sweden, said to be the one of the most “Americanized” countries in the world, has caught on to the Halloween hysteria.

So how did Halloween come about? Does it really just have its roots in the US? After a bit more research, the answer is undoubtedly no. Halloween as we know it today has taken from many different traditions around the world. Keep reading to find out the influences behind jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, and costumes.

  • The word Halloween was first used in the 16th century and is a variant of the longer “All-Hallows-Eve.”
  • Pumpkin Carving was not specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. This craft mirrors the Scottish custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory
  • Trick-or-Treating resembles the late medieval practice in Ireland and Britain of “souling,” when the poor would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day (November 2). Trick-or-Treating as we know it today didn’t become popular until the 1930s in the US.
  • Costumes: Dressing up, or “guising,” was prevalent in Scotland by the late 19th century. In the US, costumes became popular for Halloween in the early 20th century. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in US stores in the 1930s.
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Wherever Halloween originated from, it’s a clear favorite for not only those around the trick-or-treating age, but many companies across the US, like Facebook and Google, have parties and allow workers to dress up on this day. If you work at one of these companies and you still don’t know what to wear here’s a few work appropriate ideas from Google’s list of most searched Halloween costumes 2011:

source

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Trovit Employee Feature V: Camille Lopez Carreño

by Chelsea Jimenez October 17, 2011. Leave a comment

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Don't let the last name fool you, Camille, Trovit's Country Manager for France, is a Parisian obsessed with coffee, cheese (the smellier the better), and champagne.

Position
: Country Manager Trovit France

Previous Position: Content Manager Spain

Age: 27, but she makes it clear that her birthday was just 2 short weeks ago

Hometown: Paris, France. But she has also lived in lived in Mexico, Bordeaux, and Granada.

Studies: Camille studied English and Spanish in the University of Paris (La Sorbonne), and then Trade in Bordeaux Business School (BEM).

Previous Job: She worked for an online shop that sold personalized gifts.

How Do You Get to Work?: First she grabs a "Bicing" (Barcelona bike-share program) bike from her apartment in the Borne neighborhood to the metro, which takes her a couple blocks away from the office. A 40 minute trip that she doesn't mind because it gives her plenty of time to read.

Book You're Reading Now?: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Favorite Book: "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón or "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving

Music You Listen to While Working: Cam starts the day off listening to the news on a French radio station. After that she's open to basically any type of music, and it's not an unusual occurrence to see her dancing along to it at her computer (in her chair). A few notable artists: Massive Attack, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley.

Where You'll Find Her at Lunchtime: 9 out of 10 times you can find her at Starbucks grabbing a salad.

Your Favorite Trovit Memory to Date: The annual Christmas dinner (2010). And topping even the night festivities was the day after in the office, with everyone walking around like zombies and ordering dozens of pizzas.

Favorite Place in Barcelona: Her balcony on Borne's main street, which is great for people watching.

Hobby: She wouldn't exactly call it a "hobby" per se…but she has started doing classes at a gym near her apartment. Her favorite class would have to be step, but she does body combat and body pump as well.

The Most Exciting Place You Have Traveled To: Shanghai. It was a very last minute trip and she was a bit nervous to go in the beginning but in the end it was great. And if not Shanghai, it was her trip to Cuba for her brother's wedding.

Where Will Your Next Trip Be: She isn't sure yet, but a few possibilities could be Jordan, Chile, or Argentina.

Read more about other Troviters: Dani, Aisling, Sophia, and Javi

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Trovit Turns 5

by Chelsea Jimenez October 11, 2011. Leave a comment

Logo5

Today Trovit turns 5 years old, so why not take a walk down memory lane with us? Thanks to the Trovit UK and Trovit Spain teams we have this great infographic detailing the journey from the first clicks to the current challenge of becoming the leading classifieds search engine worldwide.

Infografico_en

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Halloween Marks the Beginning of the Seasonal Job

by Chelsea Jimenez October 4, 2011. Leave a comment

Halloween-store

With Halloween approaching fast, temporary costume and decoration shops are popping up nationwide. With the opening of these stores so begins the seasonal job search. Macy's, Best Buy, and Toys 'R' Us just announced that between the three of them they will be hiring 133,000 seasonal workers in their stores across the U.S.

If you're looking for a job that isn't just temporary, seasonal jobs are a great place to start! Finding a way to stand out and make your mark as a temporary employee will increase the possibilities that you will be hired on as a full-time staff member once the holiday chaos is over.

Halloween inspired jobs
Seasonal job openings

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Trovit’s Most Prominent Car Makes and Models

by Chelsea Jimenez September 26, 2011. Leave a comment

Large_car-lot

Trovit US Cars has millions of listings for used vehicles across the US, and some makes and models are more prominent than others. If you’re looking for a car maybe consider searching a few of the following, because you’re bound to find one in your area and in your price range!

1. Ford F-150

176,874 listings
average price: $24,149

2. Toyota Camry

160,954 listings
average price: $18,233

3. Nissan Altima

130,985 listings
average price: $18,371

4. Honda Accord

199,036 listings
average price: $18,340

5. Chevrolet Impala

108,031 listings
average price: $16,141

6. Chevrolet Silverado

97,141 listings
average price: $25,145

7. Toyota Corolla

92,884 listings
average price: $15,346

8. Ford Mustang

90,346 listings
average price: $21,322

9. Ford Escape

86,518 listings
average price: $19,772

10. Chevrolet Malibu

86,480 listings
average price: $17,640

Top brands: Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota

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Trovit Employee Feature IV: Dani Solà

by Chelsea Jimenez September 21, 2011. Leave a comment

Meet Dani! He’s been with Trovit for 5 months, is a vegetarian, loves sports, and “shares” his life with his two hamsters, Gnocchi and Tortellini. A dedicated backend engineer who doesn’t mind staying a bit late at the office… for a quick ping-pong match that is.

Danisola

Position: Backend Engineer. Dani is in charge of processing the listings so that they look good in Trovit.

Age: 25

Previous Job: Dani worked in Paris at a start-up for a year and a half. Before that he worked as a receptionist at a campgrounds in Norway.

The first thing he does when he gets to work: Make sure that there were no errors in the system overnight, and when all is “a-okay”, he goes to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal to start his day.

Why would he would recommend a friend to work at Trovit: For the great environment and the possibility to learn.

Hobby outside of work: Dani loves to run and does half marathons. He just signed up for the half marathon in Paris in 2012.

Music he listens to while while working: Whatever is on his favorite radio station “Radio Paradise.”

If he wasn’t a backend engineer: he would be an architect

Favorite activity at Trovit: The “After Office” events, where Trovit invites the whole team to a pub nearby to have drinks. Dani uses this time to get to talk to office colleagues who he usually doesn’t have a chance to catch up with on a day to day basis.

Favorite memory with Trovit: This summer’s trip to a theme park in the province of Tarragona, Port Aventura. Since he had only been working at Trovit for a couple of months it gave him a chance to break the ice and get to know everyone a little bit better.

Favorite movie: Into the Wild

Music recommendations: Bruce Springsteen, Mumford and Sons, The Decemberists

Favorite place in the world: Though he still has a lot to explore, for the moment he picks Norway and it’s beautiful scenery.

Places you would love to visit: Canada and Eastern Europe

What shows up when he Googles his name: The rally racing pilot who has the same name, and with a bit of luck, on the 5th page his website (www.dani-sola.com)

4 things you should know about Dani:

  • He played basketball for 12 years
  • He’s a member of the Humane Society in his hometown of Mataró, Spain
  • He likes to travel: he just got back from Berlin this last weekend and has trips already planned to Madrid, Brussels, and Caen, France
  • Next year he’d love to do the historic Route 66 on a motorcycle

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