THE ALGORITHM

5.

"Your resume is impressive, Mrs. Bailey." The blonde woman spoke as she nodded her head. Penny held a subtle expression on her face. However, she managed to squint her right eye due to being mislabeled. What an insult. Instead of blowing up, she sat in front of her old laptop. She'd had it since her first year of college. With her head tilted, Penny waited for her to continue.

"I see that you attended New York State University."

Her voice was neutral, but Penny had some doubt. She assumed the recruiter would give her the same generic conversation and send her on her way.

We are still in the process of interviewing others, so we'll let you know something by next week. Then, the recruiters would follow up with a rejection letter explaining how they decided to go with another candidate with more experience.

Lies, lies, lies. Blah, blah, blah.

I hope this doesn't happen to me, but there is a strong chance it will. Penny said to herself as she fidgeted with her fingers.

If they rejected her, Penny would find it hurtful and pretentious, as the Vital Health Institute had contacted her several times to request an interview.

"Yes," Penny responded with a slight nod. "Four years."

"With honors and summa cum laude." The recruiter continued with her valley girl accent. Penny assumed she wasn't from New York. She couldn't be with her dragged-out and exaggerated pronunciation. "You're going to love Vital Healthcare Institute. We have a lot of alumni from NYU."

Feeling curious, Penny glanced at the woman before asking, "Oh, really, and where are you from?"

"Yes...um..." The recruiter smiled and nodded. She ran her fingers through her yellow hair before yapping away. "I live here in California, but I—like, know at least two people from New York—They work in the Information Systems department."

This lady went from knowing many NYU alums to knowing at least two. Penny shook her head as she tried to understand where the conversation was going.

"Oh...alright." Penny trailed off. She eyed the woman's name on her screen. Rebecca Sorrentino.

"Based on your resume and the projects you've worked on, I think you'd be a great addition to the company." Rebecca yapped while clasping her hands. Her voice bubbled with enthusiasm.

Penny was shocked to hear her mutter those words. She judged her too soon and immediately rejected the idea that she might become a data scientist. Penny didn't think it would happen to her because she spent most of her life being rejected. Her heart skipped a few beats as she sat there, trying to focus on Rebecca's words.

"We've discussed almost everything, and you're perfect, Mrs. Bailey." Rebecca continued while looking off to grab a printed sheet from her printer's tray.

"Miss. Bailey," Penny spoke up, correcting the woman. It bothered her because she wasn't married, and she didn't understand why Rebecca kept adding to her last name.

"Excuse me?" Rebecca's brows hiked in puzzlement.

"I'm not married...it's just Miss, not Mrs," Penny explained.

"I'm so sorry about that." Rebecca apologized. "I should've asked you before assuming. How about I call you Penelope?"

Penny didn't speak immediately. Instead, she sat back and listened to the woman. She wanted to curse her out, but decided against it.

"Penny is fine." Penny rasped. She didn't want to be called by her first name.

"Okay." Rebecca nodded. "Well, Penny, we have a two-week onboarding process. It'll be filled with a lot of paperwork, and we'll try to familiarize you with our systems and tools. If it's okay with you, we plan to pair you up with someone from the data science team to help you get up to speed. Does this sound like something you'll be interested in?"