When Asked " What do you do for a living?"..What do you say?

I know this is a strange question.... but for me, I have often had a tough time answering the question.

Here is the deal. I make my living off the internet now. Its not just one particular thing that I do...but its a couple of projects here and there.

You know how you are at a party or around a lot
of people and the question comes up.

So..."What do you do for a living?"

To others its a basic answer

I work for an accounting firm..
or Im a teacher....Im a doctor and etc.

Now, I just hate saying..."Im an internet marketer"

..because you always get the crazy stares ...and then you get hammered by 1001 questions.

Sometimes ...I just tell them I do computer work
(which is not really the case..but at least it
keeps them from asking a ton of questions)

Last week, an embarrasing(sp) incident happened.
I was being interviewed over the radio yesterday..
in a large market.

and I had already well prepared myself for any possible question regarding..the topic I had.

Guess what the first question was..that stumped me?

So...what exactly do you do for a living?

For about 5 seconds ...I froze as I kinda stumbled
saying something about computer marketing.

The interviewer pressed...me more.

Please explain..what type of computer marketing.

ughhh well I basically do "such and such and such and such".

I survived....and the rest of the interview went well...but Im just curious..

What is it that you say, when asked
"What do you do for a living




Here is one thing that I do..and YOU can To

Terrance --

I agree with everything Gordon said. An important thing to keep in mind when you craft your answer is how it positions you in the mind of the inquirer. The Lant book Gordon mentioned is a very good one as are the seven types of people he mentions.

Example - in the past I've made my living performing sleight-of-hand and mental mysteries. That is the phrase I finally choose to describe it. Earlier people would ask or someone would tell them that I was a "magician". The word is fine but most of the people immediately would say "too bad the kids aren't here" or something about a birthday party. Now I have nothing against children, have a whole houseful of them myself, but they weren't my intended audience. Changing to the "sleight-of-hand and mental mysteries" cleared this right up. It was descriptive but vague enough not to pigeon hole me.

Lately I've taken to using the "computer work" tag when I don't want to get in a long discussion. In your case you might try "Mail Order business" as an easy hook to hang yourself on and it is generally accurate. You do mail order using the Internet for your advertising.j

And don't always assume it's easier for some people. Try telling people you sell cars and see how long they hang around!

Hope that helps!

-- Dan Butler
ps -- Anyone looking for an interesting small potatoes idea should check Terrances course out. I checked into it for something my family could do together.

> I know this is a strange question.... but
> for me, I have often had a tough time
> answering the question.

> Here is the deal. I make my living off the
> internet now. Its not just one particular
> thing that I do...but its a couple of
> projects here and there.

> You know how you are at a party or around a
> lot
> of people and the question comes up.

> So..."What do you do for a
> living?"

> To others its a basic answer

> I work for an accounting firm..
> or Im a teacher....Im a doctor and etc.

> Now, I just hate saying..."Im an
> internet marketer"

> ..because you always get the crazy stares
> ...and then you get hammered by 1001
> questions.

> Sometimes ...I just tell them I do computer
> work
> (which is not really the case..but at least
> it
> keeps them from asking a ton of questions)

> Last week, an embarrasing(sp) incident
> happened.
> I was being interviewed over the radio
> yesterday..
> in a large market.

> and I had already well prepared myself for
> any possible question regarding..the topic I
> had.

> Guess what the first question was..that
> stumped me?

> So...what exactly do you do for a living?

> For about 5 seconds ...I froze as I kinda
> stumbled
> saying something about computer marketing.

> The interviewer pressed...me more.

> Please explain..what type of computer
> marketing.

> ughhh well I basically do "such and
> such and such and such".

> I survived....and the rest of the interview
> went well...but Im just curious..

> What is it that you say, when asked
> "What do you do for a living




http://www.TheNakedPC.com

"So... what do you do for a living (or 'crust' as it's sometimes said in Australia)"?

Brain fires up to give possible responses...

As little as possible.
I make deals.
I sell stuff.
Alligator Wrestler.
I'm in the "insert industry here" industry.
I'm in the business of "insert jargon filled sentence which leaves them baffled here".
Create fancifull word for menial task.
I'm a Life Scientist.

For me, this question is hard to answer. Simply because, what I DO is what's been asked and not what type of business I'm in.

To answer the question correctly would never provide any real answers.

A car salesman doesn't sell cars. They walk around talking to people. That's what they DO.

Stephen King doesn't write spooky stories... he types.

The owner of a MacDonald's franchise doesn't sell burgers, fries, softdrink or actually make any to be sold - others do all that. What they DO is... well, that's anyone's guess.

The telephone directory assistance people help you make contact with others. And even that is not entirely accurate. They help you in your time of need. That's what they DO. How you, as the asker of the question which gets you this answer, take that is up to you.

Consider the sole business owner who owns a lawn mowing business. How could he answer the question of what do you do?

Mow lawns?

Nah, he doesn't mow lawns. The mower does that, he just pushes it.

He could say...

I'm in the lawn maintenance business.
I'm a horticultural engineer.
I make deals - after all, a deal was made for him to mow someone's lawn at a set price.
I sell stuff - after all, he sold his lawn mowing service.
I solve problems - after all, those who hire his service have a problem of needing their lawn mowed maybe because they don't have a mower or the time or desire to do it themselves.
I remove people's headaches - see above.
I create strategic alliances for the mutual benefit of all involved - customer is happy cause his lawn problem is gone, mowing man is happy cause he gets money.

How would Bill Gates answer this question?

Sell software? Nah, others do that.
Write software? Nah, others do that.
Make wise investments? Possible. He wisely invested his time and money in the creation of Microsoft.

What do you DO is a vague question and one that's open to interpretation or matters of opinion.

It's like if you've ever sold a car privately and people call up and want to know if there's much rust.

That's a questions whose answer requires an opinion. And their opinion and my opinion might be different.

Does it have rust?

Yes or no.

Much?

That DEPENDS on what you call much.

To some people, one spot of rust is too much, to others, a car that's half rust can be bogged up and resold or represents a great project for them to work on cause that's their hobby.

Personally, I react like a politician to the "What do you do" question. Sometimes I couldn't be bothered answering so give them a baffling jargon filled blurb. Other times I change the question and answer the new question (if you're asking "insert changed question here" then "insert answer here").

So Mr Politician, why did you raise the taxes even though you said you wouldn't.

"The question isn't about raising taxes. We have to be mindful of the state of the economy so as to make as many people as properous as we can, while at the same time providing the much needed services we do to the aged and infirm who've spent their lifetime contributing to society and who were struggling under the present system. What's we've done is made it easier for those in need to get by while at the same time encouraging the economy to growth."

So what do I DO?

I type. I talk. I sell. I solve. I think. I write with pens and paper. And so on and so forth ad-infinitum.

Does that answer your question? :o)

Michael Ross.

You might consider dumping your job title or description in favor of the giving the main BENEFIT you can provide to anybody who you choose to help.

One guy I know, when asked what he does, says: “I help people acquire money and pass it on to their children intact."

That ALWAYS causes the person he’s talking to -- to pause -- and THINK about what he’s just said.

Then they often ask him: “How do you do that?”

But. Everybody else in the company he works for gives out their job title. They say: "I'm an independent financial advisor."

That ALWAYS causes the person they’re talking to -- to leap sharply backwards and start looking for the exit -- because they ‘know’ they’re about to get pitched an insurance policy.

As someone who sells advertising space in magazines and on radio, I say (depending on the person I’m speaking to):

“I help businesses to find more customers”

“ I spread messages for people who are desperate to reach out to others”

“I allow people to speak to 100,000 other people at the same time”

Which invites the other person to say: “How do you do that?”

(Or to wander off to find another drink and someone INTERESTING to talk to …)

Roy ‘Have I got a deal for you!’ Preece

That's a great question!

I'm kind of new to this.... I formerly worked in academia, and then I decided to make a career change. I wanted to work for myself....

I've found that many people find the concept difficult to come to grips with.... Since they often have never experienced anything but paying jobs, making money in other ways might seem baffling.

I usually like to answer by saying, "I'm an entrepreneur." That's my self-image nowadays.

Then I may add to it "I have an internet business"....

So far, I haven't really been able to answer the question in a quick way. I'll have to work on that. :)

- Dien