What happens when someone asks what you do?

What do you say?

How do you feel?

Do you give short answers and try to change the subject?

Describing what you do in a positive, engaging way can be difficult. And especially so if you’re not so enthused about your job. Or you think you’re underselling or overselling yourself in it. Or you never made a positive decision that it was what you wanted to do but just found yourself in it. Or your job title seems misleading or meaningless to outsiders and possibly to insiders and maybe to you. Or other people’s jobs and titles sound more interesting because you don’t see the dull bits of theirs and you only see the dull bits of yours.

Any of this sound familiar?

Then imagine being in a position where being asked what you do - whatever it is - is a welcome opportunity to share.

What’s more, imagine getting to the point where you don’t care whether anyone shares your positivity about your work, because the only person who needs to be excited about your job is you.

Yes, it’s deflating when what you do is dismissed as uninteresting. I once met with the response ‘I guess someone’s got to do that’ when I told someone what I (then) did 😒 But I loved that job! It was endlessly stimulating to me, well suited to my skills and experience, and highly important to my employer. And I was good at it. So although I was pretty irritated in the moment, this encounter didn’t alter my view of it, and that’s all that mattered. So what if it didn’t sound as ‘interesting’ as the New York-based publishing job of this rude person who I then had to sit next to for two hours? The problem was not the job, or me, but them.

Because it’s not about a ‘good’ job, whatever that is. It’s about a job that’s good for you.

And it’s not about an impressive job or industry. It’s about what you have to do day-to-day and how you feel about it. Would you rather have a job that sounds interesting or one that is interesting to you? One that sounds good or one that makes you feel good? After all, one thing that's true of every job is that if you’re in it you’ve got to do it.

Career redesign can be as much about making a change in your outlook and engagement in relation to your current work as about doing something new. In either case, knowing what you’re doing and why you’re doing it sets you up for positive conversations - with yourself, in the first instance.

Whether you stay where you are or make a move, understanding what your job asks of you and what you give it in order to deliver a strong performance and service, is a great source of strength and satisfaction.

Do you want to feel like this?

All you have to do is get in touch and tell me what you do and how you feel about it.

(Photo: My Networking Apparel on Unsplash)