Prototype of a Person

Oodles of Ipods

The interview with Google on Monday went really well, both team leaders who I met with were really nice, educated and nerdy. Despite feeling extremely over-dressed, it seems that everyday is “Casual Friday” at Google, I was comfortable and confident throughout the entire hour of interviews and simply being able to walk through the offices themselves was an interesting experience. I don’t want to overanalyse for now, but I’ll tell you one thing - the Google offices themselves are really funky and cool. I think I would fit in perfectly there. In a weird coincidence though (or maybe just the work of a certain search engine) there’s a comment on my previous post from someone who is competing for the same position as myself. Weird.

While I’ve been off contemplating moving jobs I’ve also been in the process of doing Apple Sales Training (I’ve gotten Silver Status, half way to Gold! Hurrah!), even I don’t use the knowledge to sell the products it’s a great way of finding out about Apple technology. Although, I still haven’t found the answer to why Jen’s new iPod Nano keeps freezing randomly and needs to be reset. I’ve been assured by one of my colleagues that all Nanos go through a “phase” where they need to be reset occasionally, Jen seems to think it’s going through puberty and it’s acting out against her.

Speaking of Ipods… the best time of the year to buy one would be right now. What with Apple launching the new iPod Nano and 80gb iPod, all the iPod range has gone down in price (so the old stock gets shifted quick) - you can actually pick up a 30gb/60gb Video iPod for €290/€340 here in 3G on Henry Street. Which I think, is a bargain. Although, I’ve heard a rumour that you can get the 30gb for only €270 in Spectra Photo on Grafton Street. Even nicer!

Seeing as there has been a price drop in the iPod range, it’s only natural that the Creative Zen Vision M will have to drop in price to compete and there is even rumour online that Creative will be upgrading the capacity of the Vision M to 80gb, they’ve also launched their new widescreen mp3/video player the Vision W. Since my Micro Photo got stolen I’ve been using a 1gb Creative player, which is fine by me, at least in the short term. If those Vision M players go down, I think I’ll invest in one of those rathar than an iPod.

The Google Saga Continues

I’ve wrote about it, ranted about it and I’ve talked about wanting to work for Google all throughout college. I wrote my thesis on online advertising because I’ve a passion for usability and hoped very much that this passion would land me a job with an exciting company such as Google.

Today, I finally have an opportunity to sell myself to them as I have my face-to-face interview at their Dublin office in Grand Canal Quay. I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be, I’m more excited than anything else. All those phone interviews have really prepared me, and in retrospect I’ve very thankful for them. So, I’m sitting in work contemplating it all, I’m off at 1pm as the interview is at 2pm. I’m wearing my pinstripe suit and I’m going to take out all of my piercings. I’ll be meeting with two of the AdSense team leaders - senior employees of Google. I’m hoping this will be the last of the interviews, as I think my brain will explode if I have to have another one.

It’s not like I’m putting my eggs all in one basket though - as a fail-safe I had a phone interview with Three on Thursday, and I have a face-to-face interview with them on Friday. It would be a really similar position to the one I already have, but with extra benefits and higher wages. It would be a nice new start, the kind of job I’d take just to get me out of here (I’m bored to tears with this place) and I’d keep saving my money for my masters next year.

I keep telling myself that even if I don’t secure the position with Google, at least it’s boosted my self-esteem and given me something to talk/rant/blog about for the last few months.

Trying To Move Forward

In my previous post, I mentioned that Google had yet to contact me and that I was considering being more aggressive in my attempt to secure a position. Perhaps I was being over-dramatic about my tactics, as all I did was e-mail them a revised copy of my CV. Within minutes of e-mailing them, however, I received a phone call to set up a second phone interview. I had this interview with a member of the Dublin based Adsense team on the 31st of August and I also had a third interview with another member of the team last Wednesday, the 6th of September.

These two interviews were rather different from the first one, as I was speaking directly to Adsense employees, and both seemed considerably more interested in my previous work experience, personality and education. It was actually really interesting to speak to them, both were very well educated and quite nerdy (in that good way, that I just love) - at certain points throughout each interview I found myself feeling like I was just chatting to them, rather than being interviewed, I really enjoyed speaking to people “on the inside”. With each interview I am becoming more confident, and I am becoming more prepared for the face-to-face interview(s) I am hoping to secure. As usual, as soon as I’ve more information about all this, it will be posted here.

As the Google recruitment process is so thorough (long), I have stopped actively searching for work elsewhere, but it has been pointed out to me (by many a friend) that I should probably not put all my eggs in one basket. This is difficult, as I am so certain that this job will fit me so perfectly. I’ve even been speaking excitedly about moving out, and finally getting my own place, more than likely in Dublin City Centre. Right now, the little day-dreams I have in my mind are of moving into Dublin, working in Google and spending each weekend happily lazing around with my partner. The urge to move out is increasing everyday, as the commute (on public transport unfortunately) into Dublin, to work, is getting longer and harder due to extensive road works. Speaking of work, actually, I got a nice little bonus of a weekend away in Ireland (to the value of €300) from Eircom for being a top-seller of Broadband throughout the summer months. It’s always nice to get a pat on the back.