Farewell For Now

This will be my last week at Google until September 7th, when I will commence my internship through the end of January and hopefully be hired full time then! After a meeting with HR, it made the most sense to take a hiatus while I finish my dissertation and recharge for the next steps.

Reflecting upon my time here, I have to say I've learned more than I thought I would. While I did have some event skills under my belt when I began, joining a team of extremely experienced event planners was a great way to immerse myself in the process and production aspect of the job. Moreover, working for Google has been a humbling and eye-opening experience in two ways.

Firstly, it has re-fueled and re-charged my love of the CCIs. After working in PR for so long and experiencing the life that so many creatives lead - the sense of precarity, low pay for long hours, bulemic work patterns - I was extremely disenfranchised with the Cultural and Creative Industries. Now I see that there are companies and sectors that get it right, and Google is one of them.

Secondly, it has been inspiring to work for a place so creatively and independently driven. When an intern has an idea in a meeting, everyone pays attention. When a lead on a project is having trouble, a member of the team steps in and takes over. The working culture and horizontal organizational structure is truly the defining character of Google, and I've grown to love and appreciate the idealism that it fosters.