Increased heart rate

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to write to Google. There's a small office in Pittsburgh, though they are not hiring designers... Anyhoo, I decided I wanted to introduce myself, ask why they didn't have a GoogleeKids site and offer up some of my ideas - basically just put my name out there "in case". So a few days go by and then I hear back. They want me to answer a questionnaire for their UI design dept. I spent a weekend working on it, refining it. I ended up sending back a 4 page doc. Questions like, "Why do you want to design for Google?", "What are some of your favourite sites in terms of design and why?" What would you change about those sites to make them better?" What project have you worked on that you are most proud of and why? and a few others.. some about code experience. A few days later I got a form thank you from Google. Thanks but we don't have a match for you at this time... kinda sucked. I thought it was weird that I didn't hear back from the woman I had been in touch with. But at the same time, I thought it was pretty cool that google had been in touch with me, when I imagine they have 1000s of resumes sent in all the time. And plus - I don't want to work in California. So last week, wednesday I think, I get an email from the Google woman. She wants to set up a phone call (screen they called it) and that she'd like to know my availability. Damn! Cool. We set it up for last friday. 5-5:45pm, I was told to make sure you have a clear phone line, you're in a quiet place, you're in front of a computer with internet access - this is your chance to show us your expertise as we'll be asking you in-depth questions about your experiences, as well as have you do some online activities. Holy stress-out.

I was given the name of the woman who was going to call me - so I naturally Googled her. Turns out she graduated from CMU's Interaction Design program a year ago. Interesting... So she called and asked me questions about some of my questionnaire answers, asked about Pittsburgh... I mentioned Jared, we laughed. I said he was already exhausted, she said "He's got two years of it!" She asked if I was interested in relocation, I said not really. She said she'd look into what was going on in the Pittsburgh office and get back to me. She asked more questions, I tried to answer, though I was still aware of my accelerated heart. I was worried about "the online activities" - a test? Kinda.. she asked me to visit one of the Google brand pages, she pointed out an area where users were having problems, told me why, then asked what I might suggest to make the experience better. Was a good one... Without getting into the details, I think I was okay, but wished I'd sounded more confident about my answer, kinda hemmed and hawed a bit. So it goes. I asked a few questions back. She gave a few names of design places here, I said I'd pass along a hello to the design school head from her. She said she'd be in touch, but added first that she thought I had a great portfolio. Cool.

So my thinking is, there isn't likely a position here in Pittsburgh, but it was a great connection to make and I did it without and "in"... and they called me! Our phone display has Google Inc in it. weird.

UPDATE: As of late this afternoon, they have been in touch. New assignment - pick any google page and redesign it, "...to improve the user experience for this page or service, in as significant a way as possible and practical." Awesome and holy shit at the same time. I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.