Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac

I have a new job! I’m now a Product Manager at Google, working on Search out of the Kirkland office. It was a really tough decision to leave Microsoft after nearly 5 years. I especially loved the past 3 years working on (and writing about) WinFS. Though, once WinFS was cancelled, I needed to look around and figure out what I wanted to work on next.

There were a few interesting projects around Microsoft; and Search and Ads interested me the most. I had some opportunities to work as a Technical Program Manager in those areas with MSN, but I knew that eventually I wanted a broader role. I wanted a job that would be a balance between core technical and business development. This would hopefully give me the insight to see if I really like business and product definition work and would want to do it exclusively.

So, during the last few months, in addition to reading tons of relevant books, I did a quiet, but thorough, job search internal to Microsoft and a very select set of external companies. Ultimately, I took the position with Google giving me a broader role and the opportunity to work on Search and Ads. (Of course, during this time I also got married. A new job AND a wife!)

The office I’m working out of is just a mile or so down the road from my apartment. Turns out, it’s a lot easier to change jobs if you the only change in your personal life is that you just drive a slightly different direction to work. Even my gym membership stays the same. :-)