31–40 of 106 posts
As difficult as it is, nicely done on recognizing the situation, holding yourself accountable and chalking it up as a lesson learned. No doubt about it, this experience will help you somewhere down the line...
I'm really impressed with your articulate re-cap of the story.
That said, this one may have simply fallen through the cracks owing to the early failures to follow up more aggressively. Only the Google people can know for sure.
I would say the problem is that you divulged technical details before getting a written "intent to acquire" from google. While keeping the line of communication is important, it's also important to ensure it's worth your time.
He clearly mentions how he discusses how he routed around browser editing/DOM manipulation to Google, and then a similar approach was taken by Google later in their product.
I would say the problem is that you divulged technical details before getting a written "intent to acquire" from google. While keeping the line of communication is important, it's also important to ensure it's worth your time.
not sure why there's downvotes, maybe I worded the above too strongly. He clearly mentions how he discusses how he routed around browser editing/DOM manipulation to Google, and then a similar approach was taken by Google later in their product.
A great read about politeness (though it had some negotiating impacts) causing a missed opportunity. I too err on the side of politeness when it comes to business interactions and I've learned that more often than not, when I'm dealing with someone remotely whether it be a colleague or a point of contact, that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I think it was a mistake to let it ride for so long. A few weeks, maybe two…
One thing I have learnt since joining Google: everyone inside Google is always infernally busy. I'm British, so my concepts of bothering people, being a nuisance, and being impolite are already vastly out of skew with the American work culture -- I've had to relearn a lot of that behaviour since coming to the USA and Google. IMO it's not really specifically a Google thing. I think the lesson to be learned from this p…
Suffice it to say (and for mostly unrelated reasons), he didn't get accepted. Maybe it's more of an American idiom, but usually when we say "suffice it to say", we mean it was for related reasons :)
Quick example: I interviewed with a company back in August and was told I'd hear from them in a week. I didn't so I began emailing the CEO (who I'd interviewed with) at least once a week for almost three months (never got a yes/no, so I kept "checking in"). Because I kept myself on the radar and kept pursuing it, when something finally opened up, I got the job and was told that they admired my persistence. Don't be afraid of annoying people -- if the answer isn't final yet, keep trying.
I would say the problem is that you divulged technical details before getting a written "intent to acquire" from google. While keeping the line of communication is important, it's also important to ensure it's worth your time.
not sure why there's downvotes, maybe I worded the above too strongly. He clearly mentions how he discusses how he routed around browser editing/DOM manipulation to Google, and then a similar approach was taken by Google later in their product.