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Explaining your job to others
Dealing with work questions when you're not sure of your answer.
I’d pride myself as a pretty open man, not afraid to talk to anyone about anything. But, there’s one question I dread above all else: “What do you do?”
I dread it because it’s seriously difficult to answer. Sometimes I make a joke about it (“Well what don’t I do, ha cha cha cha”!). Sometimes I make a television-inspired analogy (“You know the teacher from Glee? Well I’m a bit like that guy, except...”) and sometimes I just tell them straight and hope they don’t die of old age by the time I’ve finished.
One of my favourite poets, Robert Frost, once mused that a liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel, and maybe it’s because of the broad mind of interests I hold close to me that my occupation is such a hard thing to pin down. I’ve been a writer, editor and proof-reader. I’ve worked with youth groups from rural Donegal, urban Dublin and the Old City of Jerusalem. I’ve been a debate moderator and a political activist. I’ve been a presenter, a producer, a facilitator, a mentor, a volunteer and an administrator. I do a lot of stuff, in other words. Try putting that on a business card.
So while I’m often busy, it’s rarely the case where I can say clearly what it is I’m busy doing. In any given fortnight, I’m something different. Although in recent times, those busy spells have become less and less frequent. The youth work and consultancy I was doing, mostly in the public sector, has all but dissipated. The opportunities for various media or active citizenship work that used to come in as an embarrassment of riches now come in embarrassingly little.
My plan for working a few years at getting my M.A. (Masses of Adventure) before going headlong into the exciting world of gainful employment has been delayed and waylaid a little. Only for SpunOut, it’s eminently possible I’d have adorned a string vest, picked out a sofa cushion and given my body over to Doritos ages ago.
The sad fact is now, though, that thousands more people have to deal with that dreaded question, “And what do you do?” nowadays. A lot of them are far, far worse off than me, and don’t see any way of getting out of this. Some of them aren’t very used to not being busy and, especially with men, self-esteem can be index linked to the work they do. It’s not helped by the fact that for students, the second question they’re asked by people of another generation after “What are you studying?” is “And what will that qualify you to do”. We’re not great with pursuit for pursuit’s sake in this country. It always have to be going somewhere.
It’s not really my place to suggest things you can do if you’re in the position of asking “The Question”, my advising you to build replica Tracy Islands for wholesale distribution or challenging local children to go bike racing would both ring hollow and be unhelpful. But, as someone who has a wide experience in faking it ‘til making it, I will say this: Make time for something you really enjoy. Even if it’s for nobody’s benefit but your own, keeping yourself sharp and even partially motivated is so important when you’re, eh, one of us. Nobody’s suggesting you have to write a novel and solve world hunger before lunch, but when those opportunities do come up around the bend, and they always do eventually, that bit of pre-season training you’ve doing will start feeling very useful.
But in the meantime, when somebody asks what you’re up to and you’re not sure what the to tell them, look them straight in the eye, and with your head held high say, with pride...well, whatever the hell you like.
