Billed as Life's Most Dangerous Question, I dislike it when I am working and even more so when I am not - and the latter is often.
"So, what do you do?"
I inwardly grimace and roll my eyes when meeting new people and sulk that this is their idea of small talk. It's not an inquiry to my hobbies, volunteer interests, books I read, mountains/hills I scale, how I have mastered bread making or counties I would like to visit. No, it is an imploration in to how the workforce values me and a subtle inquiry of income, status and rank.
Are we that bored or programmed that we can find no other common ground discussing things we like and are passionate about rather than the jobs we loathe?
I don't care if you're a stay-at-home Mom, science teacher, physician, farmer, bus driver, painter, cake decorator or struggling student. What I am interested in is what you care about, where your dreams and passions lie, if we have similar hobbies. If I wanted to network, I would have gone to a conference, professionals meet and greet or cruised around on Linkedin not attended a social gathering.
I was a member of my current book club for a half year before anyone asked me "what I did" or (and this one I liked) "what I did for the community." The former forced me to admit after being laid off I had taken on a role that was inappropriate for my location and education while the latter allowed me to expand on the great work the local rescue, On Our Way Home Animal Rescue, has done in re-homing and rehabilitating surrendered, abandoned animals in the B.C. Peace while strengthening its presence from Mackenzie to Fort Nelson.
"So, what do you do?"
I inwardly grimace and roll my eyes when meeting new people and sulk that this is their idea of small talk. It's not an inquiry to my hobbies, volunteer interests, books I read, mountains/hills I scale, how I have mastered bread making or counties I would like to visit. No, it is an imploration in to how the workforce values me and a subtle inquiry of income, status and rank.
Are we that bored or programmed that we can find no other common ground discussing things we like and are passionate about rather than the jobs we loathe?
I don't care if you're a stay-at-home Mom, science teacher, physician, farmer, bus driver, painter, cake decorator or struggling student. What I am interested in is what you care about, where your dreams and passions lie, if we have similar hobbies. If I wanted to network, I would have gone to a conference, professionals meet and greet or cruised around on Linkedin not attended a social gathering.
I was a member of my current book club for a half year before anyone asked me "what I did" or (and this one I liked) "what I did for the community." The former forced me to admit after being laid off I had taken on a role that was inappropriate for my location and education while the latter allowed me to expand on the great work the local rescue, On Our Way Home Animal Rescue, has done in re-homing and rehabilitating surrendered, abandoned animals in the B.C. Peace while strengthening its presence from Mackenzie to Fort Nelson.
Love this. I once had a friend who would ask people, "What do you like to do?". The most memorable job interview I had went like this. "Don't tell us about your skills or experiences; we can read about those in your resume and get more info about that from reference checks. What we want to know is: What inspires you ? What is important to you in life ? What do you value ?".
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a refreshing interview.
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