I'd been forewarned that the learning curve at Google is steep. Those people weren't kidding.
After completing nearly two weeks at my new job (I had the pleasure of having Monday off for ANZAC day), some things have gotten clearer:
-I now understand how to find most my way to most of the conference rooms on my floor.
-I should avoid the micro kitchens as much as possible because new, not-good-for-me snacks get placed there regularly. For instance, today there were FULL SIZE Cadbury Caramello bars. Like bars, with the surface area of a brick! That isn't a SNACK! Also, these things labeled "Bliss Ball Chocolate Orange" showed up. They look like over-sized chocolate golf balls, rolled in coconut. Iwillnotgetfatworkingatgoogle. I'm just going to repeat that as a mantra.
-I know how to take a screenshot using a Mac now. I needed to google to figure it out though.
-I set up a network printer and shared drives.
I have to take these small wins and appreciate them because, really, there is SO MUCH TO LEARN. People have told me that I won't feel comfortable until six months in... and then at a year, I'll think back to the six month mark and realize how little I actually knew. I have a product knowledge test in 4 weeks or so that I feel woefully behind in preparing for. Perhaps I'll study this weekend...
That said, it's incredible to me how nice and helpful my coworkers are. Everyone has a friendly opinion about where I should live, where I should bank, or how I should travel. The office feels very collaborative, which is nice. I've generally been leaving work at 6:30 or so. People tell me to go home. Today, one person stopped and said "You always leave late. You should stop that." I replied, "I don't know, I guess I'm just so used to staying at work until 7 or 7:30... old habits die hard." Her eyes got big with amazement and she said, "Ya, no, you have to stop that. We don't do that here." How refreshing...
I had my first client meeting today, which was pretty interesting. It was essentially a brainstorming session with a bunch of tourism board heads. Gave me a good sense of how different the online market is here compared to the US. Very eye-opening. I didn't say much during the meeting as I didn't feel prepared to have a meaningful discussion about their challenges. However, at lunch, I talked with one of the heads about Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare marketing, particularly how it's worked in the states. He seemed to appreciate my thoughts. Small win for me!
Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures. I've already been berated on Facebook for them, so my apologies if these aren't new to you. I'll work on snagging some more soon! :)
The view from my desk:
Life's rough, I know.
My favorite conference room. It's called "Down Under" and the title is even upside down on the door. When I got my tour, I was told that the furniture has never fallen:
That's it for now. Time to look for more apartments. For the record, I HATE apartment hunting. But I suppose that's a story for another blog entry...
Bye!
After completing nearly two weeks at my new job (I had the pleasure of having Monday off for ANZAC day), some things have gotten clearer:
-I now understand how to find most my way to most of the conference rooms on my floor.
-I should avoid the micro kitchens as much as possible because new, not-good-for-me snacks get placed there regularly. For instance, today there were FULL SIZE Cadbury Caramello bars. Like bars, with the surface area of a brick! That isn't a SNACK! Also, these things labeled "Bliss Ball Chocolate Orange" showed up. They look like over-sized chocolate golf balls, rolled in coconut. Iwillnotgetfatworkingatgoogle. I'm just going to repeat that as a mantra.
-I know how to take a screenshot using a Mac now. I needed to google to figure it out though.
-I set up a network printer and shared drives.
I have to take these small wins and appreciate them because, really, there is SO MUCH TO LEARN. People have told me that I won't feel comfortable until six months in... and then at a year, I'll think back to the six month mark and realize how little I actually knew. I have a product knowledge test in 4 weeks or so that I feel woefully behind in preparing for. Perhaps I'll study this weekend...
That said, it's incredible to me how nice and helpful my coworkers are. Everyone has a friendly opinion about where I should live, where I should bank, or how I should travel. The office feels very collaborative, which is nice. I've generally been leaving work at 6:30 or so. People tell me to go home. Today, one person stopped and said "You always leave late. You should stop that." I replied, "I don't know, I guess I'm just so used to staying at work until 7 or 7:30... old habits die hard." Her eyes got big with amazement and she said, "Ya, no, you have to stop that. We don't do that here." How refreshing...
I had my first client meeting today, which was pretty interesting. It was essentially a brainstorming session with a bunch of tourism board heads. Gave me a good sense of how different the online market is here compared to the US. Very eye-opening. I didn't say much during the meeting as I didn't feel prepared to have a meaningful discussion about their challenges. However, at lunch, I talked with one of the heads about Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare marketing, particularly how it's worked in the states. He seemed to appreciate my thoughts. Small win for me!
Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures. I've already been berated on Facebook for them, so my apologies if these aren't new to you. I'll work on snagging some more soon! :)
The view from my desk:
Life's rough, I know.
My favorite conference room. It's called "Down Under" and the title is even upside down on the door. When I got my tour, I was told that the furniture has never fallen:
That's it for now. Time to look for more apartments. For the record, I HATE apartment hunting. But I suppose that's a story for another blog entry...
Bye!
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