A few weekends ago my husband and I went to see comedienne Paula Poundstone in Boulder, CO.  If you're not familiar with her, you're probably under 40. Paula is a comedienne we have like for several decades. She's one of those naturally funny people who makes us laugh.  

Part of her 'act' that she's very good at is interacting with the audience. She'll pick someone out of the audience (based on their reaction to something she said) and ultimately asks them what they do for a living. As a Career Coach, I'm always interested in this question and of course, the answer.  She did this to 3 men in our audience and I was fascinated by their answers and her interaction with them.  Let's see if I can give you a taste of what we witnessed.

The 1st guy, when asked what he did for a living, answered "I work in an office". Paula, being naturally confused and probably amused by this answer, made several jokes in response to his answer and then she tried to get some more details from him: 'What do you do in the office?'  He NEVER really answered that question, but eventually he did say where he worked.

The 2nd guy Paula asked "What do you do for a living?", said 'many things'. After much pulling and prodding: "What did you do yesterday?"  "What did you do the day before that?" - he finally answered that he was making a film about a film that was being made . Paula had fun with that one. Then he said he was a real estate appraiser. Paula asked more questions about that. 

The 3rd guy Paula asked said 'I do nothing'. Paula was again confused and amused with this answer. After more digging, it turns out he was retired. She nudged some more and got out of him what he did before he retired (facilities maintenance) and what he was doing now that he retired, because it's really hard to do 'nothing'.

Now I can't list or remember all of Paula's comments, jokes and questions to these guys, but let me tell you, sitting there listening to her questions and the lack of useful information in their answers was painful to me! Now I'll give you - the guys might have been nervous to be called on like that in an audience, but still, these were all professional men who COULD NOT FOR THE LIFE OF THEM answer "What do you do for a living?". With each one, you could feel Paula's frustration with the lack of information they were providing. 

From my Career Coach perspective, I couldn't help but think 'they are really blowing an opportunity here'. I was glad that none of them said they were unemployed or looking for work. If they had, I would hope they would have done a better job. 

But let's for one minute assume that the real estate appraiser is in business for himself and that he's always in need of good referrals. He had a great opportunity to share that information and present himself as a true professional with 1300 people who were hanging on every word he (and Paula) said. If there was someone in the audience who needed his services, he could have made a valuable connection. 

My point in telling this story is that there are networking and marketing opportunities EVERYWHERE! When you get the opportunity, no matter how remote or unlikely, you should take it. And, in order to take advantage of it, you need to be prepared in advance.  So are YOU ready, at a moment's notice, to answer "What do you do for a living?".   

Brenda Cody

If you're a job seeker, I recommend you start watching the show Shark Tank.  It's a show where 5 well-known and very successful entrepreneurs (the Sharks) listen to pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs on their business idea.  After the Sharks hear the pitch, they decide if they want to partner with the entrepreneur by buying into their business for a stake in the business.  

For instance, the aspiring entrepreneur may ask for $200,000 for a 20% stake in the business.  If a deal is made with a shark, in addition to the infusion of cash into their business, the business owner gets coached by the Shark they have partnered with.

Pay attention to the pitches by the business owners.  Notice how they describe their business, their story about how the business came to be, notice their excitement or nervousness - do they sell YOU on their idea?   

Notice what the Sharks ask about - the numbers, the sales, how many have been sold, what's the profit margin, how much does it cost to make, how are they getting customers, how much money have they already put into the business, what is the current structure of their business, what is their business sense.  The aspiring entrepreneurs have to be on their game - they have to know their stuff - just like you do in your job search conversations.

 After you've watched a few of these pitches, you get to know very quickly when the product or service is a good idea and whether or not they will be successful.  It's exactly the same thing that's happening to you when you are interviewing: the interviewer makes a relatively quick judgement about whether you know what you're talking about or not.  They also make a swift decision about whether they like you or not. Several times the Sharks have said they want to partner with an entrepreneur because they like them. 

So, be on your toes when you are networking or interviewing - those first few moments will determine if you will be successful or whether you'll be thrown to the sharks.

Brenda

It's no secret I'm kind of a reality TV devotee (alright, junkie).  One of the shows I watch regularly is American Idol and recently judge Keith Urban said something to a contestant that I thought was rather profound:

"Talent shows us what you can do, but artistry shows us who you are".  As usual, I thought about how this statement relates to a job seeker.

Initially, hiring decision makers are looking at a candidate's talent - they look at your resume because you had the right ratio and combination of keywords on your resume.  As Keith described it above - they are looking at your 'talent': what you've done, and they hope it can translate into 'what you can do for us'.  

Your 'talent' is all a decision maker has to go on in the beginning.  It's what gets you in the door to the interview.  

After they know you have the talent and you've 'done the job' and can probably 'do the job' for them, what the decision maker is REALLY interested in is your 'artistry', i.e. who you are.  The aptly described and ever-present 'fit'.  Will you fit in with the organization, group, team, department?  Did we make a connection?  Who are you?!  

The decision makers are also asking themselves: Do we like this person?  Can we see ourselves working with this person every day?  Are you (the candidate) excited and motivated about the possibility of doing this job? 

Just like on American Idol, there are tens of thousands of talented people out there.  But only a few of those have 'artistry' and make the connection with us.  Of course you have to have the 'talent', but focus more on your 'artistry' and you'll increase the chances of making that connection with the person who deserves to have you working with them. 


Brenda