TOMS Shoes » internship

a taste of TOMS

swalpert — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:36:04 +0000

Projects are moving full speed ahead at HQ this week and I now see that there is no such thing as a “slow day” at TOMS. After an exciting weekend of adventures and exploring L.A. (intern Grace and I got a little lost in Korea-town and ended up in what might be the sketchiest, most amazing Korean BBQ restaurant in existence), there is no time for slacking before starting another busy week!

Yesterday, the Green Team (a group of eco-minded TOMS staff who work to make the office a “greener” place) hosted a potluck lunch, which was an awesome way to decompress amidst the craziness. Having attempted potluck lunches before, I halfway expected most people to forget about it and pick up a bag of chips at the store on the way to work. That was soooo not the case. Let me just say, not only are TOMS employees passionate, funny, and intelligent (not to mention totally hip and trendy), but these people can COOK! Several of the interns participated as well and impressed the office with our mad culinary skills.

I brought homemade spaghetti sauce, Grace made roasted beets, Julia brought a fruit platter, Alex baked some mac n’ cheese, David made arugula/feta pasta salad, and Amanda baked some delicious blondie brownies for dessert. Other interesting dishes included chicken stuffed with swiss and brocolli, veggie fried rice, baked brie, spicy zucchini, vegan oreo cupcakes, and oh yeah- the most amazing banana pudding I’ve ever tasted. And I’m from the South, so that’s saying something…. sorry Grandma!

Alex checking on her Mac n’ Cheese!

I am coming to realize that here at TOMS, people are constantly going above and beyond… even in the kitchen.

Amanda showing off her plate of homemade goodness!

Gotta remember to stir the spaghetti sauce!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

getting our hands dirty

swalpert — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:53:34 +0000

As the 5^th week of our internship rolls around (FIFTH WEEK?! No way…), the office is buzzing and the work is flowing steadily. We were promised on Day 1 that we would be doing work that mattered at TOMS, not just typical intern grunt work i.e. coffee runs and long hours at the copy machine. And as the internship has continued to unfold, this promise has definitely proved to be true. With several huge TOMS initiatives in the forefront, we have officially made the leap from “new interns” to marketers, graphic designers, event planners, online marketers, retail representatives, and more. What a rush!

Today is a huge day at HQ. We are having 32 sales reps from Canada come into the office, so interns and employees alike are scrambling to get everything in perfect order before our guests arrive! Not to mention the boss-man Blake is back in the office after several weeks on a speaking tour, so everyone is on their toes! Alt Sales intern Dianna has been busy making gift baskets and center pieces while Retail and Giving interns Grace and Amanda are hustling retail displays out the door before the mail man arrives. Creative intern Carly and Travis the office manager are sprucing up some of the walls as well. All of the interns have been working together to plan what we will do for TOMS 4^th Birthday coming up on May 5^th. We have so many exciting ideas in the works and we also have some cool stuff planned for our TOMS family across the world! We present to our marketing directors on Tuesday, so stay tuned… and wish us luck!

Beware to all rushing around HQ today ! Wet paint… and busy interns!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

who are we?

swalpert — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:55:31 +0000

I’ve gotten several questions since I started these intern updates regarding just what it takes to be a TOMS HQ intern. Each time I usually respond that you must be hard working, passionate, driven, smart, and eager to learn. But then as I thought about my fellow interns, it occurred to me that you must also be unique, silly, fun, and just plain awesome. I have not properly introduced my fellow interns to you guys and I think EVERYONE should see just how amazing these people are. So I present… the TOMS Spring 2010 Intern Class!

From left to right: Amanda, Heather, Julia, Jessie, Dianna, Sarah, Mike, Grace, Alex, Carly, David and our intern coordinator Caroline in front

Sarah – Social Media

Hometown: Augusta, GA

Fun Fact: I don’t have a belly button

Favorite Food: My Grandma’s CHEESE GRITS!!

Best Part About Working at TOMS: Being around incredible people who work hard and make a difference every day

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment”: Bowling a 44 on my first “Fun Friday” at TOMS… I had the lowest score out of the whole company. Awesome.

Grace – Retail Marketing

Hometown: Old Lyme, CT

Fun Fact: I am from Old Lyme, Connecticut — Home of Lyme disease! I think I’m immune…

Favorite Food: Beans and Rice

Best Part About Working at TOMS: The awesome music that is always playing in the office

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: Having to ask how to use the phone at my desk

Dianna – Alternative Sales

Hometown: Thousand Oaks, CA

Fun Fact: I was the drummer of a punk band when I was in Jr. High called “Persecuted.” Then my freshman year, I was the cymbal captain in the marching band.

Favorite Food: Panda Express: orange chicken, chow mein.

Best Part About Working at TOMS: I love being at HQ constantly surrounded by creative people who passionately believe in the One for One Movement.

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: I feel like we are new little puppies who want everyone to like us, so sometimes we like to “show up” to places where other employees might be without actually getting an invite. I can’t believe I just admitted this…

Mike – Web Design

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Fun Fact: I hit 40 mph on my bmx bike

Favorite Food: Kogi BBQ and Texas BBQ

Best Part About Working at TOMS: The people rock

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: Getting in trouble and then paged on the loud speaker for storing my bike in Blake’s closet

Julia – International Online Marketing

Hometown: Rostock, Germany

Fun Fact: I’ve developed an American accent when I speak German, so whenever I go home to Germany, people ask me where I’m from. Seriously?!

Favorite Food: I put cheese and ranch dressing on almost everything that is edible

Best part about working at TOMS: Being able to learn about marketing strategies from my manager

Most Embarassing “Intern Moment” So Far: Nothing yet… but I’m sure it’s coming.

Jessie – Human Resources

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Fun Fact: I am completely addicted to the TV show “Dirty Jobs”… when there’s a marathon on it’s my own personal heaven

Favorite Food: Crispy french fries

Best Part About Working at TOMS: Belonging to the family

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: My pants split when I bent over to pick something up

Alex – Online Analyst

Hometown: Arlington, TX

Fun Fact: I went to chemistry camp after my junior year of high school. SO cool…

Favorite Food: Cheese, all types, and bacon-wrapped figs

Best Part About Working at TOMS: The energetic atmosphere at HQ

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: To be determined…

David – Friends of TOMS

Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA

Fun Fact: I am pretty much an expert Cribbage player.

Favorite Food: My Grandma’s Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Best Part About Working at TOMS: The company culture is amazing and the work I’m doing is very fulfilling.

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: I guess it was when I read “personal message” out loud as “personal massage” in our meeting the other day. Oops!

Carly – Creative

Hometown: Fountain Hills, AZ

Fun Fact: In 7th grade basketball the only shot I made was for the opposing team. But to this day, my Dad will tell you how awesome/quick I was on the court with 100% Dad Pride.

Favorite Food: Fro-yo. Duh!

Best Part About Working at TOMS: If I say learning… does that make me a nerd?

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: My first day!! Blake decided to take the desk next to mine to see the ins and outs of creative first hand. Pretty much had a nervous stutter all day.

Amanda – Giving

Hometown: Malibu, CA

Fun Fact: I am fluent in ANCIENT Greek

Favorite Food: French Fries

Best Part About Working at TOMS: Spending my time finding more ways to get shoes on feet that need them.

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: Not realizing TOMS’ phone # shows up on caller ID…I’ll leave it at that.

Heather – Creative

Hometown: Kansas City, KS

Fun Fact: I was voted most likely to be a millionaire in middle school. I wish…!

Favorite Food: Korean Food all the way!

Best part about working at TOMS: All the different projects I get to be a part of and, of course, the cool people!!

Most Embarrassing “Intern Moment” So Far: There’s this speed bump right outside Toms HQ and I trip over it EVERY single time… usually in front of people.

So… who are we?? We are TOMS interns.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

family time

swalpert — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:11:30 +0000

This week at TOMS has been like no other “work week” I’ve ever experienced. As I sit here thinking how best to describe it to you guys, only one word comes to mind: family. Among the highlights of our second full week at TOMS are a hilarious intern potluck supper at our apartment and a thought provoking book discussion led by Blake at HQ. Having dinners and reading books together are two things I never expected from my first real-world job. At least not two weeks in. But, life at TOMS is proving to be beyond any sort of expectation I had, so I guess this week was par for the course.

Since we haven’t gotten to see each other much outside of work, Grace, Julia, and I (the only interns actually living together) decided to have all of the interns over to our house for a potluck on Thursday after work. When Thursday afternoon finally arrived, everyone was eager for 5:00 to come so we could start the party. The problem was… no one had actually gotten food to bring yet. Including us… No big deal, we would just make a collective trip to the grocery store to pick up some goodies. One hour, three trips back inside and a couple bags of orange chicken and enchiladas (awesome combination, I know…) later, we had FINALLY made up our mind. Disclaimer: I do not ever recommend going to the grocery store with 8 hungry, indecisive interns. We all stayed civil, but I’m not gonna lie, I was eating the bag of chips in the check-out line way before I paid for them. Once we finally got the potluck started, we had an absolute blast. We took turns blasting our favorite music, told our pre-TOMS stories, stuffed our faces, and learned a few new things about each other. Every time we get together I feel even luckier to have the opportunity to work among such an incredible, diverse group of people, and this time was certainly no exception. After the potluck, a few of us ventured to a local spot down the street and danced the night away.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

the starting line

swalpert — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:09:23 +0000

Eleven strangers from around the country were chosen to work in one warehouse for five months. Welcome to the life of a TOMS Spring 2010 intern. My name is Sarah and I am one of the newest members to the TOMS family! I drove across the country all the way from Augusta, GA to begin this incredible adventure in L.A. Why would I travel 3,000 miles to California for an internship? Easy. TOMS is more than a job, more than a company, or more than a pair of shoes. TOMS is a movement- a movement that everyone can be a part of and one that actually has the capability to change the world.

On my journey from Georgia I made a stop at the Grand Canyon. Wearing my TOMS in the snow, no doubt!

After only a few days on the job, I can tell that working at TOMS is going to be intense. But then again, so is anything that’s actually worthwhile. We walked into the large warehouse that houses TOMS HQ in Santa Monica last Thursday for the first time, nervous, excited, and not sure what to expect. We had come from far and wide; Connecticut, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, California, Kansas, and oh yeah… Germany. I think it is safe to say the TOMS mission is inspiring people all over the globe! Our first day on the job was spent getting “oriented.” Our awesome intern coordinator, Caroline, showed us the ropes and introduced us to several of the employees. We chilled in a conference room for most of the day as each manager came back to introduce themselves and explain their position at TOMS. It was surreal. I think it is safe to say that all of us were on cloud nine… were we REALLY here? Was that ACTUALLY Blake Mycoskie that just walked by?

Some of the interns gathering for the first time at TOMS HQ!

Hard at work already in the Online department “office.” One wall is made completely out of old TOMS shoe boxes!

We got to sleep in a little on Friday and were told to report to the office at 10:30 to be introduced to the ENTIRE staff. I’m not gonna lie… I was pretty nervous. I knew we were going to have to stand in front of everyone and introduce ourselves and would have about ten seconds to convince everyone that we were funny and cool. However, as soon as Caroline led us into the room with all the other TOMS employees, any previous jitters immediately disappeared. Everyone was hanging around in a circle and gave us a round of applause when we walked in. And standing in front wearing bright green sweatpants and clapping loudest of all was the man himself, Blake– the brains behind the whole operation. He was so cool and welcomed us all to the family. Because TOMS is just that, a family, and we were now a part of it.

Our new boss!

And then, of course, we still had to stand in front of the 60+ staff and introduce ourselves, but everyone was super nice and at least pretended to laugh at our jokes. After our meeting, we got right to work, and I’ve got to say it was quite a rush. Working in an environment like the one at TOMS makes you actually WANT to work, because you know you’re doing it for a reason bigger than yourself, bigger than a paycheck.

Our intern coordinator, Caroline, introduces new intern Grace to the TOMS staff

Well, that is all for now, my friends. I hope you all will enjoy keeping up with the adventures we are about to embark on at TOMS. Stay tuned…

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

TOMS internship: insider advice

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:28:18 +0000

“As soon as I learned about TOMS, I fell in love with the mission, the organization, the shoes. And here I am now, interning at HQ! Our time here is winding down, but its been a great way to gain some real world work experience in a variety of different departments here at HQ in Santa Monica.

TOMS had thousands of applicants for the Fall ‘09 internship, so they were no doubt looking for the best of the best.

In comparison to other jobs and internships I’ve had, my experience at TOMS has been the best by far. It’s amazing the responsibility and impact I have and I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. I feel lucky to be surrounded by such a great group of passionate and driven individuals. I am one lucky girl and excited to pass on my responsibilities to another intern who will hopefully grow both personally and professionally as much as I have.

Since I have Caroline, the Intern Coordinator, about 15 ft away from my desk, I pulled a few tips from her for all you future applicants:

Have experience in the department you are interested in and applying for, and be sure to mention it up front!
Show us how you are currently involved in the One for One movement. (One of our fall interns organized a barefoot run in her hometown in Florida!)
Involvement in various organizations at your university / college. We want to know you can work well with others and handle a solid work load.
Most importantly – get creative! Show your personality, we want you to be you.

After you apply online, the next steps usually include a phone interview with Caroline then with the managers of your desired department. They’ll let you know if you have been accepted or declined, so you have to be patient!”

Fall ‘09 interns at TOMS + Trovata Fashion’s Night Out Event

Have you applied for an HQ internship? What would your dream job here be?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

please don’t go!

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:16:41 +0000

“Back-to-school” ads are plastered everywhere, our vacation days are running low, and we’re all about as tan as we can be… but there’s another reason why we know summer is coming to an end: OUR INTERNS ARE LEAVING! The TOMS intern program allows fresh faces to come in to HQ for 10-12 weeks and make a significant impact on the company. Coffee runs, copies, and filing? Not so much. Building out TOMS displays at retailers, managing campus reps one-on-one, and copy writing? Absolutely. Our interns are a huge asset to the company, and its never… ever… easy to say goodbye. Summer ‘09 interns have been no exception. They’ve accomplished a ton, experienced more than we told them to expect, and put in 150% up until their very last day.

To all of our stellar interns: Good luck in the future, you will always have a home here at TOMS and we look forward to hearing about all the amazing things you will soon accomplish outside of our big warehouse door.

See ya!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

vagabond return spring 2009

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:03:02 +0000

A couple weeks ago, we welcomed home the Spring 2009 Vagabonds from their 12-week tour across the United States. They had spent the past few months visiting high school and college campuses hosting Style Your Sole events and sharing the One for One mission. Now, see them reunite at HQ and hear them reflect on their journey.

Catch up on the entire season on the TOMS YouTube Channel.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

hq is ready for you

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:25:40 +0000

It’s that time again everyone! Summer has arrived and brought a stellar new class of interns.

We have a small but eager group- nearly 4,000 applicants competed for only 10 spots, so we know these guys will be ready to crank.

Week one in school is typically filled with syllibi and skipping class for one last beach day, but TOMS interns get right to work making a serious impact on this company. They’ll build and manage entire programs, they will collaborate on major projects, and their opinions and suggestions will be heard… and requested.

To the Summer ‘09 Intern class who might be reading this, travel safe to LA and we can’t wait to start working with all of you!!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

you’ve had the adventure of a lifetime, now we say goodbye

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:30:56 +0000

If you have been reading the Vagabond blog posts this week, you might have noticed they are all saying their goodbyes. Each of us here at HQ could easily write about how much they have inspired us and how proud we are, but on our behalf, here is Mike Hammer- Director of Campus Programs and Vagabond Tour.

Dear Vagabonds,

It has been a sincere pleasure working with you guys this semester!!! THANK YOU so much for all of your hard work and commitment!

Thousands of lives have been changed as a result of your efforts in the past 19 weeks spreading the TOMS One for One Movement.

It is not an easy job to travel the country meeting new people and finding new places to stay all the time, but every one of you rose to the challenge and inspired our staff, our fans, and new TOMS enthusiasts.

Few are given the opportunity to make spreading the idea of Compassion in Action their every day. You took this mission on and as a group affected our culture for the better.

We will miss you all dearly. You reports from the road have humbled us, inspired us, and cracked us up. We will continue to watch your hilarious YouTube videos this summer.

You have left a great mark on TOMS and the world and the next Vagabond crew has some big shoes to fill.

On behalf of the company, and with all the repect due to some true Vagabonds, THANK YOU and good luck with your next adventures!

Truly,

Mike
Director, Campus Programs

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.