Why I Left Google, Pt. 2

A friend recently sent me this article:

Why do people quit their jobs at dream companies like Facebook or Google?


Reading this article gave me such a sigh of relief, and here's why: 1) I don't want to complain to anyone about Google or go into detail about the things I disliked about such a dream company, and 2) the article's author put the perfect words to things I have been thinking lately, and now I can just paste them here. Now I finally know what to say. So. Here is one of the reasons the author lists for leaving companies like Facebook or Google. It is, for me, the main reason:

If they originally chose BigCo after an honest assessment of who they are and what their career goals are, they resign as soon as it no longer meets those needs. They go onto something bigger and better (for them) and are better off for the experience and connections they made along the way.

You might be wondering why I'm even blogging about this, but I'm doing it because it's a question I get A LOT. And I never quite know what to say. (See Why I Left Google.) People have assumed some ridiculous -- and quite frankly, some offensive -- reasons. I have gotten this: "You just couldn't hack it in California, huh?" And this: "You came [to Salt Lake City] to get married, didn't you?" But neither of those things are true. Here's what is true:

On my last day, I asked a fellow Googler whether he would stay at Google for much longer. He said, "I don't know. Probably. Where do you go after Google?" My mind raced. To another big and fancy company! To a small company! To a startup! To yourself!

There are so many things I want to accomplish in life, and they can't all be accomplished if I'm in the same company forever, even if (and sometimes especially if) that company is Google. Besides, Google puts its pants on just like the rest of us -- one leg at a time. (4:50) :)


Thing I'm thankful for: a night-time breeze