In September, the Society of Technical Communication invited me to attend a free, full-day class at Google.

Yes, Google!

Every time I think about this event I can’t help but remember the time I sat with one of my Department Chairs at Farmingdale, Dr. Janik. As a part of my senior internship requirement, I had to write down my career goals, such as where I wanted to work after school. I didn’t think too long about writing that my ideal place to work was at either Microsoft of Google. It was just a simple sentence, too. I wrote something like: “I want to work at Microsoft or Google.” Little did I know that two years later I would be walking through the doors of Google’s NYC headquarters!

The class I attended was called “Introduction to API documentation.”, hosted by a current Google employee (or “Googler”). We had to come in with a few programs pre-installed on our off time. Our host taught us the basics of API documentation and led us through some exercises with Javascript. We also got to try some other exercises on our own, with the option of continuing them for “homework” once the class was over.

During the scheduled lunch break, two Google recruiters came to speak to us, encouraging us to apply. Again, it’s amazing when I write down a goal a long time ago, forget about it, and then see it manifest itself years later!

Now here’s a side story about why I never applied. And if you read my previous blog post you’ll know why.

I originally wanted to apply immediately, but I found myself putting it off day after day. The best reason I can find for that is because I was still working on my freelance writing career, and gaining more success in the past month than I had had for the past six months. I think it’s silly now, but back then I didn’t want to be so close to finally getting my business where I wanted it to be, only to drop it all if I get a call from Google for an interview. I really wanted to focus on one thing at a time and put my all into it.

I also had a bit of a perfectionist’s fit when ever I thought about applying. What if I misspell something on my cover letter? Don’t I have to do a lot of research before I apply? How do I know if I’m doing it the right way? What if I forget a crucial detail after I send it in? My obsessive nervous thoughts coupled with my freelance writing aspirations made it easy for me to push my application to the side and leave it there.

After a month of flip-flopping and procrastinating, I decided that it would be better to apply and get it over with. However, just as I was about to start the process, I received a call from one of the last technical writer jobs I applied to that week. Not long after that I got hired for full-time position as a technical writer. It’s not a Google, but it’s still great company that I grow to like more and more every day.

Perhaps I’ll find myself in there again someday. I actually just walked by the building this weekend while doing some apartment scouting. Maybe this time I should write:

“When I am ready to become a freelance contract technical writer, I want one of my clients to be Google.”