After 91 job application and a dozen or so interviews under my belt, I assumed there was nothing about this messy process that could shock me anymore. That is, until I spoke to Duke Conover, the editor of the Paducah Sun.
I knew it wasn’t going to be like every other interview once he started asking me questions. “Looking back on the past 10 years of your life, what would you change?” was one question. Another was, “What’s something most people don’t know about you?” I’ve made it my mission to never be unprepared, especially when it comes to job interviews. But Duke’s questions threw me for a loop. They were unexpected but also kind of great. As the interview came to a close, I worried that Duke’s unusual questions had thrown me harder than I thought. What if I sounded like a buffoon, or worse, unprepared?
“I gotta be honest,” Duke started to say. (Oh no, I thought. That’s never good. He hates me. He thinks I’m a schmuck!) “If I don’t hire you, I have a feeling I’m going to regret it five years from now.”
Now that I was definitely unprepared for. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried and yelled and had an overwhelming urge to hit someone during the past six months. Duke’s compliment made all those unanswered e-mails and rejections a little less awful. It made me want to keep writing even though sometimes I feel like running away from home to become a gypsy. (I do love jewelry). I’ve blogged about going into fashion or going back to school, and those are still options. But I’m a writer. And I’m not ready to give up on that yet.
Maybe in another five years I’ll consider a new path. After all, if Duke doesn’t hire me, I’ll have to give him something to regret.
