the right answer.

I'm sending out resumes, writing cover letters, doing internet job searches, when it occurs to me that I am right back where I was four years ago when I was trying to get scholarships. I was one of those students who applied for anything I could get my little hands on. And it seems like I'm doing the same, though I have passed up applying to some job openings in India.

I sent out a resume to a company in South Carolina a couple of days ago. They promptly sent back a self-review form, asking me to rate myself on various skills that I may or may not have picked up at school.

I think I like this company, and I think I am qualified for the job. They code in C++, which is the very language I learned first. They want strong math skills. I'm getting my second degree in applied math. And they want good people skills. Buddy, I wait tables. You might say I majored in people skills, with a concentration in old and rich people.

Plus, the company seems to have a sense of humor, which I can't resist. The self-review form has a lot of little computer science jokes that I won't repeat here, because you won't get them. But trust me, if you knew anything about object-oriented programming, you'd be rolling in the aisles. There are some jokes on here that I don't even get, at least I think they're jokes.

So I'm looking at this review form, and I'm mildly concerned about all the things that I've never even heard of, much less used. Each item has a scale from 0 to 10 where you circle your experience, plus a little box on the side where you explain why you chose that number. I'm trying not to sweat it, because I know this is an entry-level position I'm applying for, and they don't expect me to know everything. I would just feel a lot better if it seemed like I knew almost everything.

Then I get to the very last question on the form, question 54, to be specific. "What 3 books do you think no programmer should be without?" I love this question. I hate trying to answer it, but I loved that they asked.

Let's face it, I don't read computer science books for pleasure. I read them for class (and only when there's going to be a quiz), and I look things up for reference. So I don't know very many computer programming books. And what do you do when you have a computer science question?

You ask Andy.

Andy is a friend of mine who went to graduate school at ASU the past couple of years. He is a fountain of computer science knowledge. Have homework or debugging problems? Ask Andy. Don't understand why the ASU machine does this? Email Andy. Need a UNIX command? Andy knows it. Want to find the best place to buy a nice plaid shirt? Andy even knows that.

I instant messaged Andy last night and told him about the book question. He laughed at me in standard instant messaging acronym form. Then he started asking questions about the company, like what languages and operatings systems they used. And finally he started recommending books. The Art of Computer Programming, a three volume set by Donald Knuth. A system design book by the so-called Gang of Four. Andy then starts talking about some UNIX stuff and even starts explaining some commands. I told Andy that I think he loves computer science much more than I do.

I know that Andy knows the "right" answer to the book question, the answer that these people working at this company would say, the answer that these people probably usually get from applicants. So naturally, I don't want to put that answer. I don't want to put down books that I've never even seen, much less read. This question is not going to make or break whether I get a job. This question isn't even really about how much I know about computer science literature. This question is about whether I've got a little personality in me. And from all that scholarship experience four years ago, I found that a little personality will do almost as much for you as knowing the right answer. In fact, if you have enough personality, you can convince them you told them the answer they were looking for all along.

I know I'm thinking way too hard about this question, and I should be worrying more about the fact that I don't have any idea what Berkeley sockets are. But I take my literature questions seriously and the idea of putting down three reference books bores me. So maybe two reference books and then a wild card. Maybe throw in some Vonnegut or or some Orwell or some Dr. Seuss or anything that will at least make them notice. So they won't just throw the application away. They'll at least say, "Hey, she looks pretty cool. Too bad she doesn't know squat about computer programming."

And then they'll throw it away.