Prototype of a Person

Thank you for your interest in Google…

I handed in my two weeks notice on Monday, not because I got the job in Google, but because I accepted an offer to work for 3 Ireland in their new Henry Street store. Monday was a hectic day, I had to decide whether to take the job with Three or hold out for Google. In the end, I was right to accept the position in Three.

Google were supposed to get back to me on Monday and even after leaving a voicemail message, they didn’t actually get back to me until Tuesday evening. I received a really impersonal rejection e-mail from them, a real copy and paste job, telling me that based on my “qualifications” and “experience” that they didn’t think me a “strong match”. My instant thought after reading this was “did they not have my cv?”. I’ve politely asked them to provide me with additional feedback on why they think me not suited to the position, and am still waiting to receive it.

The Google recruitment process was very thorough, after an assessment test, 3 phone interviews and 2 face-to-face interviews all I received from them was an e-mail to tell me that I didn’t get the job, and that was 3 weeks after the face-to-face interviews. From start to finish, the whole process of them figuring out I wasn’t suitable for the position took over 2 months. It stressed me out, it pissed me off, it excited me, and more than anything else it got my hopes up far too much. I really thought this was the perfect job for me, but I think I was too eager and too… maybe desperate to work them. I probably should have shut my mouth about how great I think their company is and how I would have liked to be able to participate in their research projects, some time in the future. Perhaps they thought me too enthusiastic? In the end, I don’t think I’ll be applying to work for them again; it’s not worth the stress and the extreme effort… I still can’t believe they had to interview me 5 times to figure out they didn’t want to hire me, it was so terribly unnecessary.

Anyway, I’m not going to beat myself up about it, considering that I have a brand new opportunity, to make lots of commission working for the Three network. I don’t know how long I’ll stay working for them, but I need to start making more money, what with Christmas just around the corner. In the New Year I’ll have to start visiting recruitment agencies in hopes to get a “real” job – despite my CV being available on every Irish recruitment website possible I seem to only be getting offers for sales positions. Shall I be doomed to work in retail, forever, regardless of my college education? If I can’t get a job with my degree, is there even any point in even doing a masters next year, is there any point in doing it ever?

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.

Quiet, you.

I’m getting sick and tired of people asking me…

“So, what are you going to do now?”

For the last few weeks I’ve stuttered while answering, or ignored/abused/ran-away-from the person asking. So I have come up with a default answer to this very annoying and stressful question…

“I’m taking a year off from my studies.”

This seems to please everyone and stops their further queries about where I am currently working or where I WILL be working. It literally shuts them up and gives me sufficient time to make a speedy exit… and from now on my speedy exit will take me to the cinema, seeing as Jen has given me a year pass to Cineworld in Dublin, what a fantastic birthday present. I DO love movies.

Life is Shaping up Nicely

Yesterday, I turned 22. And I felt as though I’d come to a dramatic junction in my life, where things could either go downhill very quickly, or slowly continue upwards.

Within the last year, a major change occured in my life. I met the woman of my dreams, which encouraged me to finally wake-up and realise that I really wanted to progress academically, in order to fullfill my desire to be successful professionally, to move out, settle down and eventually start a family of my own.

Love is a powerful thing.

Over the last year, I worked harder than I have ever before. When I look back upon my Leaving Certificate, I realise how foolish I was. In the end I was very lucky to gain a place in a college course that has given me the opportunity to combine my two favourite subjects: humanity and technology. In 1st year I was enthusiastic and did very well in my exams, but circumstances led me to neglect my stuides, and take my place in college for granted. During 2nd and 3rd year I did not push myself hard enough, which in the end has made my final year a difficult one. I had to work harder this year, to make sure my overall degree mark was sufficient enough to allow me to one day continue my studies and eventually get my Ph.D.

Today, I recieved my college exam results. I was so shocked by them that I had to call my course co-ordinator to confirm the words sitting in Firefox. I got a GPA of 3.19 for my final year, and added with my 3rd year marks, I have been awarded a Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2.1). I am now the proud owner of a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology Applied To Information Technology.

A 2.1 was important for me to achieve, as it gives me the ability to persue a masters degree course in almost any area of Psychology that I desire. Currently, I have my eye on a sweet little number that is actually more Computer Science based: A Master of Science in Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing at Trinity.

Now all I have to do is save or borrow €4000. I’m planning on using this year to save, so far it’s not exactly going to plan, but once I get myself a new job I should be well on my way to getting myself into a nice masters course, and then someday perhaps I will lecture… or maybe, get a lovely job at somewhere like Google.

So, in conclusion… the “dramatic junction” I’m standing at right now is steep, but I’m very much looking forward to the climb ahead of me. Knowing I’ll have a woman like Jen by my side, and such wonderful friends and family, gives me confidence that I can succeed in this weird and wonderful life.

What now?

It’s a thursday morning and I’ve been up since 9am. So far, I’ve distracted myself by going online and watching a few episodes of Lost. I’m bored. I need to get out of my job and start something real. I’m still only working part-time, and it’s probably the most boring job on the planet - simply because I don’t seem to have any customers, ever! I wish it was busy at the weekends, in the shop, but it’s just not and there is nothing I can do about it. So I’m looking for something a bit different, something full-time and interesting, but I honestly don’t know what that is.

I’m feeling very annoyed at myself. I turn 22 on Sunday, and I get my final year results on Monday. So on Monday I’ll be a 22 year old college graduate that’s stuck in a dead-end job. Here is to hoping my results are good enough to get me into a post-grad course, I did afterall get a B in my thesis. And if I get into a postgraduate course, at least it will postpone the inevitable “getting a REAL job”… because right now, I’m under-qualified to do what I really want to do, and under-qualified to be hired to get the experience I need. Otherwise, if my results are crap, I’m going to have to relent and take some kind of crappy low paid intership.

It’s all very annoying.

The Memory Recall Of Pop-Up Advertisements Amongst Experienced Internet Users

Yes, I know that IS a long subject line… it’s the title of my research which has been printed and hard-bound, and handed into the college, and I’ve presented it at the PSI Student Congress. It’s all finally over and done with. So, if anyone is interested in what I’ve been doing for the last 6 months…. read on.

The Memory Recall Of Pop-Up Advertisements Amongst Experienced Internet Users:

The aim of my study was to examine the relationship between Internet experience and memory retention of pop-up advertisements. Participants completed an online survey about their Internet experience, during which a pop-up advertisement appeared. Participants then completed a paper-pencil test examining their recall of the pop-up. This study found no relationship between experience and memory retention, online. However, low memory recall rates of the pop-up advertisement were found. This study also found that the more experienced a user becomes online the more likely they are to use pop-up blocking software. Implications of this research suggest Internet users learn to actively attempt to remove pop-ups from their surfing experience, that pop-ups are ineffective forms of advertising online, and that online advertisers should focus on alternative forms of advertising.

For the completed dissertation you can download a PDF version here or view the online version here.

There’s a couple of things I wish I could have done this year: use the eye-tracker on my participants, test the stress levels of participants using the net with pop-up blocking software and then without. But alas, doing either of those things would have required twice as much work by myself, and I just didn’t have the time or equipment. Maybe for post-grad.

My remote control kettle

I was doing some reading today on current trends in Ubiquitous Computing a.k.a. Ubicomp - which integrates computation into the environment, rather than having computers which are actual objects.

“The promoters of ubicomp hope that embedding computation into the environment would enable people to move around and interact with computers more naturally. One of the goals of ubiquitous computing is to enable devices to sense changes in their environment and to automatically adapt and act based on these changes based on user needs and preferences. Some simple examples of this type of behavior include GPS-equipped automobiles that give interactive driving directions.” Source: www.wikipedia.org

Well, after reading a few more journal articles on ubicomp, many of which were stating the benefits of using PDA type technologies in learning environments etc., I started thinking about my own environment. The first thing that came to mind was how much I would love a Remote Control Kettle. To be honest though, I really wouldn’t want a kettle that would “decide” when to boil, a life of its own really (scarey!)… but that’s not really the point of ubicomp… it’s not to give technology a life of it’s own, it is to make technology more accessible to us, work harder for us, and interact continuously with it’s technological counterparts.

So, my Remote Control Kettle idea… when I really thought about it I realised what I wanted was a Kettle that would boil if you sent a text message to a sim-card inside the kettle. I doubt this would be a very difficult product to manufacture, and with the lowering costs in mobile phone technologies, it wouldn’t be that expensive either.

I know what you’re thinking… but yes, I googled “remote control kettle” but, none exist. But dear god I wish it did.