What do you do?

We've all been there.

Someone asks, “So, what do you do?” and suddenly you’re scrambling to find the right words.

This question comes up all the time. Job interviews, community meetings, networking events, conferences, and more.

Answer it poorly and you may find yourself trapped in awkward silence - or worse, talking about some inane detail that you wish you'd never mentioned.

🤞Please don't ask me...

It’s a seemingly simple question, but it can be loaded with anxiety for so many of us.

But why?

For one, there’s the identity anxiety. How do you sum yourself up in a few sentences? It just feels impossible.

Then there’s the complexity problem. If your work is varied, how do you share enough so they understand you, without overwhelming them with details? (This has always been my big challenge.)

And finally, there’s the fear of boring others. I once told somebody that I worked as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Justice and he flat out responded with: "That's so boring." (What an arse, right?)

What if your goal was to start a conversation?

These are real challenges, but I’ve recently found a way to navigate them that feels natural and conversational. Finally!

Chris Freeman from Design a Decade taught me how to answer this question in a conversational way, without the stress.

There's three parts. Let's break it down.

First - your HISTORY:

"Well, it's interesting..."

This opening phrase primes people to listen to a story. (And people love stories).

It signals that you're going to share more than the usual one or two word answer.

And that then allows you to explain whatever history feels most relevant.

Next - the CHALLENGES:

"Unfortunately, what I noticed was..."

Next we segue into the challenges you experienced.

Chris taught me that the word "unfortunately" is important here. You're not placing blame—you're pointing out that these things happen.

Alternatively, you could say "I don't know if you've experienced this, but unfortunately what I found was..."

Basically, you want people to see themselves in the problems you share.

Finally - your SOLUTIONS:

"So now I..."

The last piece of the puzzle is paint yourself or your organisation as the solution.

The key here is to keep it light. Chris's advice was to "Halve the words and halve the pace".

If they're interested, they'll ask for more detail.

This matters (a lot)

Being able to answer "So what do you do?" is a critical life skill.

As a leader, it's a chance to open up a conversation about your organisation’s mission. Who knows where that connection might lead?

As a job seeker, you're guaranteed to be asked some variation of this question at the start of your interview. And according to a 2015 research study, around a third of interview decisions are made at this early stage in an interview.

Talking about yourself doesn’t need to be icky. With a framework like this, you might even find yourself looking forward to that next family BBQ.

As always, thanks for reading!

And remember, you matter, and so does your work,

Paul

P.S. I've added some more times for my two free online workshops:

Come and join us!