Interview with twenty-three year old recent Ivy League graduate with insanely stellar resume.
Applicant: So what's the next step if I pass this round of interviews?
P: You would be crazy to take this job.
Applicant: What?!
P: I am looking at you and you're so full of promise! You can do anything you want. Think of the most wonderful job you can possibly imagine and even if it seems totally far fetched, find out who's in charge and cold call them. You have nothing to lose by being ballsy. Be bold! Don't settle for this.
Applicant: But I want the job.
P: I am not letting you take this job.
Applicant: Why not?! It sounds exciting.
P: Trust me, it's not. You can do so much better than this! You should be applying for a Fulbright to make yurts in Mongolia!
Applicant: But I speak Chinese...(laughing)
P: OK! Yurts in Beijing! Or whatever!
Applicant: Ummm...so...
P: So...here's my card. Call me later! We can talk about better, cooler jobs for you.
Applicant: (Baffled) Wait...so...are you not hiring me? I don't want a Fullbright - I want a job. Just to be clear.
P: You're twenty-three. Jobs are overrated. Speak soon! Byeeeeee!
* * * * *
And that, friends, was probably the shittiest interview I've ever conducted. Still, I wish someone had said the same to me when I was twenty-three. And when she becomes the absolute rock star I know she will become, I hope she credits me while accepting her Noble Peace Prize.
Image via Sabino.
