It’s no secret I have endured my fair share of job interviews. I am thrilled to currently be working at a place* I love and hope to stay for a long time. One of my friends, I call her my Aunt Ashley, is currently experiencing the 2017 job hunt and a variety of job interviews. Ashley is a little older than my parents and everything I want to be when I “grow up”. We’ve been pen-pals since I was 17 (even when I studied abroad in England).

Ashley told my dad that recently in a dream she was at a job interview and she was asked, “What five people do you want to meet? They must be alive.” And as my dad poised this question to me, I fell silent and evermore impressed by Ashley’s answers.

“Obama (and if the Mrs. wanted to join that would be okay too). Oprah Winfrey. The Pope. A female NBC host (I don’t remember the name of). And a democratic political activist (I also had never heard of).” She told them.

I was confused and impressed by the number of political people Ashley named. That would certainly intimidate me. And The Pope?! I’m sure Francis is great, but that seems like a very high pressure situation. What would one say to The Pope?

Because the question already seemed too huge to me, I decided to remove the “They must be alive.” qualifier and this is what I came up with:

1. My Great Grandma Ruby. I remember her, but from the mindset of a 7-8 year old. We made an apple pie together one fall day while I was visiting my Nana and Papa (she’s Papa’s mom) and I almost amputated my left thumb with a giant knife -I still have the scar. She would eat a half of a grapefruit daily and swore by it. She was best friends with my G.G. (my Great Grandma on my dad’s side). She wore pretty clip on earrings and lipstick. I wonder how she’d feel about me now.
2. Eleanor Roosevelt. I’m not a history buff by any means, but in my personal opinion Eleanor was just ahead of her time. Most of my information about her is a result of reading Noelle Hancock’s book My Year with Eleanor, but even with limited knowledge I find her very impressive and inspirational and a great person to quote. She played field hockey. She had a favorite loose leaf tea strainer. And I think she’d be an all around chill person to drink a cuppa tea with.
3. Miranda Lambert. We’d drink wine or whiskey instead of tea, but it would be a great time. I feel like we would go line dancing or to karaoke and I would suck, but we would still sing all the words to Shania Twain’s Man I Feel Like A Woman together. Miranda just seems down to earth and impressive at the same time. I want to be friends with her.
4. Rebel Wilson. I want some of her bubbly confidence and hilarious nature to rub off on me. I feel like I could make inappropriate comments to her the way I do to my sister. I would never have to guess how she was feeling. I’d visit her in Australia cuz this is my fictitious meeting and I’ll do what I want.
5. God. Does God count? Yeah, He probably would have a similar intimidation factor as The Pope. And I’m not sure how choosing God for my fifth “person” would play out in a job interview, but I feel like after meeting 4 strong incredible women, and drinking a bit too much alcohol with some of them, I would probably need God. I’ve got a few questions for Him and I wouldn’t mind some tips. If God wasn’t an acceptable response, I guess I would pick Ellen Degeneres.

 

Who do you want to meet, dead or alive?

*friendly reminder my views are not a reflection of my employer