Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina likes to talk about how she rose from being a secretary to CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).
And while it’s technically true, it’s also a bit contrived. Fiorina didn’t exactly rise through the ranks. She worked as a temp secretary during her undergrad summers and then at a property brokerage for a while after quitting law school. She never again worked in the property sector, instead moving to Italy and then returning a year later to pursue her MBA.
It would be a bit like saying that I rose from restaurant busboy to senior editor at Fortune. Accurate without being really reflective of my career arc.
But it is a fun exercise, so we’re letting you build a bio like Carly Fiorina. Just be sure to take a screenshot. Might come in handy if you someday decide to run for president…
