Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to craft a good response to that
Speaker 1: all too common question what do you do? In an
Speaker 1: earlier episode of Before Breakfast, I suggested people not ask
Speaker 1: this question as part of small talk. If your conversation
Speaker 1: partner doesn't have a traditional job or isn't happy with
Speaker 1: her job, it can be tricky to answer. It creates awkwardness,
Speaker 1: which is not the point of small talk. That said,
Speaker 1: although there are plenty of more engaging relationship building questions
Speaker 1: people could ask, what do you do remains prevalent, so
Speaker 1: you need to be ready to answer it well in
Speaker 1: a way that communicates who you are and what you're accomplishing,
Speaker 1: and maybe even how your conversation partner can support you
Speaker 1: in your work. The most obvious way to respond to
Speaker 1: what do you do, of course, is just with your
Speaker 1: job function and perhaps also your employer. For some people
Speaker 1: that works just fine. I'm a pediatrician or I'm a
Speaker 1: pilot for fed X. Most people can figure those out.
Speaker 1: Some people have jobs or employers that aren't familiar to others,
Speaker 1: or might not capture what makes the work important to
Speaker 1: that particular person. You might be a consultant, for instance,
Speaker 1: or part of the gig economy, or you might be
Speaker 1: looking for a job, so you might not have an
Speaker 1: obvious answer. So in crafting response, I think it's helpful
Speaker 1: to consider why people are asking this question, and usually
Speaker 1: the question what do you do? Is intended to learn
Speaker 1: more or to spark a conversation. If you don't have
Speaker 1: a straightforward answer, you can try one of three approaches.
Speaker 1: The first is to respond with a term that sums
Speaker 1: up what you do. Let's say you're an extructional coach
Speaker 1: for teachers and you write curriculum. Well, you're an educator,
Speaker 1: So you can say that you play the oboe in
Speaker 1: the symphony, teach music lessons, and are a paid singer
Speaker 1: in a church choir. Well, you're a musician. Simple but
Speaker 1: clear descriptions like these provide basic information about your work,
Speaker 1: and they create an opening for your conversation partner to
Speaker 1: ask more about it or to bring up a topic
Speaker 1: of shared interest that your response suggested. Responding with a
Speaker 1: simple summary of your work can also be helpful if
Speaker 1: you have the kind of job that can trigger awkward
Speaker 1: conversations that you'd rather avoid. Like let's say you're a
Speaker 1: dermatologist who keeps getting asked to check out weird moles
Speaker 1: at cocktail parties. Just say you work in healthcare and
Speaker 1: move on to a new topic. Another option when you're
Speaker 1: asked what do you do is to respond with your purpose?
Speaker 1: What are you trying to accomplish in your life through
Speaker 1: your work, whether that's paid or unpaid work, and perhaps
Speaker 1: in other aspects of your life as well. Maybe you
Speaker 1: volunteer extensively as a big brother or big sister and
Speaker 1: serve on several youth focused nonprofit boards. You could describe
Speaker 1: what you do is making sure that all kids have
Speaker 1: what they need to thrive. You'll sometimes hear this sort
Speaker 1: of response described as a personal mission statement. How will
Speaker 1: the world be better because of what you're doing now?
Speaker 1: You need to make sure the answer sounds authentic, but
Speaker 1: done well, this approach can invite all sorts of follow
Speaker 1: on questions that lead the conversation to much deeper places.
Speaker 1: My third suggestion is to use the question as an
Speaker 1: opportunity to invite your conversation partner to support you in
Speaker 1: your work. If you're between jobs, say so and let
Speaker 1: your conversation partner know what you're looking for. This also
Speaker 1: works if you're a freelancer interested in getting more work,
Speaker 1: or if your company wants to find new clients. Maybe
Speaker 1: your company is recruiting for an open position and you'd
Speaker 1: appreciate referrals of great talent. You might be planning your
Speaker 1: first corporate retreat and want ideas for venues. Or maybe
Speaker 1: you've got a big project in your personal life, like
Speaker 1: your oldest kids applying to college, and you're interested in advice.
Speaker 1: People like being helpful, which means that everybody wins. When
Speaker 1: you answer this way, your conversation partner might introduce you
Speaker 1: to someone else at the event, or suggest an idea
Speaker 1: you hadn't thought of, or at least you've given the
Speaker 1: person an opening to elaborate on a number of related topics.
Speaker 1: The one caveat here is that your tone needs to
Speaker 1: be invitational, not burdensome. You are inviting your partner to
Speaker 1: offer ideas if they'd like to, if not, or otherwise
Speaker 1: it's time to move on to a new topic. So
Speaker 1: how do you respond when you're asked? What do you do?
Speaker 1: Send me a note and let me know You can
Speaker 1: reach me at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.