Prototype of a Person

Google do or Google don’t

In my entry dated the 4th of August I mentioned that I had just completed an online assessment for Google, I received a phone call from them on the 14th of August to tell me that I had passed and that they wanted to interview me… over the phone. I had the interview two days later.

The interviewer asked me plenty of basic questions, and a good few of those awkward ones like “Give me an example of a time in your workplace where you worked in a team.” They asked me about my thesis and college course, which I was delighted to talk about. We spoke for almost 30minutes, which I can only assume is a good thing.

But I was nervous as hell. I’ve never had a phone interview before and it was difficult to get into the right frame of mind, usually when you’re going for a job interview there are numerous steps you take before meeting the interviewer. Your journey there, finding the building, waiting for the interviewer - plenty of time that your mind is forced to concentrate on the task at hand. My mind wasn’t focused enough.

I’m not feeling very positive about how it went, especially since they told me they would get back to me in 2 to 3 days, tomorrow it will have been a week ago. When they do get back in contact with me it will be to tell me if I can progress to the next stage - a second phone interview and then, finally, a face-to-face interview. Google are s-l-o-w in their recruitment process. It’s worth the wait because the job sounds really interesting, the money is also considerably more than the basic I’m on at the moment, and, of course, it’s GOOGLE.

Opportunities on the Horizon

I just completed an online assessment for Google, the purpose of which was to assess my analytical skills, my Internet and product knowledge as well as my use of language. I applied for the AdSense Coordinator (English) position about a month ago. If my test results are sufficient I am assuming that they will contact me to organise an interview. Fingers crossed! The tests took an hour, and to be honest, it was rather difficult despite 75% of it being multiple choice.

Even if I don’t get an interview, I’m thankful for the opportunity to do the assessment – it’s not like any other test I’ve done before, and I don’t think I was very well prepared for the final section. It was free-form, assessing my ability to express myself in written form. I was asked a question on a topic and asked to write a response (a mini essay). I had 15 minutes to complete this section, and it was the only part where I felt really under pressure.

At least it’s better than an automated response.

So Google is closer on the horizon, but coincidentally so is a post-graduate course. IADT have two new Postgraduate Research Opportunities open for application, both projects involve teenagers and their Internet usage. The two project titles are:

Young People Online: The Alchemy of the Virtual and the Real in the Performance of Identity on Interactive Sites

Cyber Bullying: A New Dimension to an Old Problem

Both are extremely interesting topics, so I’m thinking very hard right now about whether to apply, or to keep to my original plan: to work for awhile, and then go back to college and do a taught masters.