A week ago I found out that I didn’t make the cut for a job I’d applied for at Google. It’s a bummer, but such is life. I figured I’d share a little bit about my experience with them.

I don’t want to go into detail about the specifics of the interviews, but I’ll give a very brief overview: I applied, was contacted by a recruiter, went through a phone interview about my history and skillset, solved a problem/challenge for them (which was a blast =)) and got flown out for a day of interviewing at the Mountain View campus.

Mountain View is a lovely town, as are its neighbors in Silicon Valley. I got the chance to hang out with my old roommate (whom I adore), and live it up a little with a friend/coworker from here in State College who is interning at another company out there. The hotel I got put up in was very posh and cool, and Google seemed to spare no expense in making me feel comfortable. I felt quite special just getting flown out.

Google’s campus is absolutely wild. It’s the second time I’ve visited there (the last time was in 2008 on my way to LA, I had lunch with a friend there) Everyone there has such an energy about them. Looking around in the cafeteria, you can definitely tell that these people are experts. The people that interviewed me absolutely blew me away. Each person was so knowledgeable about design and engineering. Each interview was really different too, and I was presented with some really fun challenges and perspective-changing discussions. I really relished my time there.

After being rejected, I’m not too upset. It would have been awesome to get to work there, but I’ve only just graduated college. Maybe after some time has passed and my skills mature a bit, I’ll have the chance to go back and interview again. At least I know now which neighborhoods in the area are good for me.

I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity to go out there. In my furor of a job hunt, it felt great to have Google take an interest in me. If anyone there reads this, thanks for giving me the chance, and flying me out. Maybe I’ll see you in the future =)