7 Better ways to answer “What do you do?”

The social and business events are for making better links. To make good links you have to be a good conversationalist but to start and hold a conversation with a stranger is not an easy task. Especially when almost every conversation at these events starts with someone asking you “what do you do?”. The plain and simple answer will never get you to start a good conversation as the real motive behind this interview question is not so simple.

The person asking you what do you do?’ is ready to judge and analyze you with your answer. The more straightforward your answer will be, the earlier he will get bored. That person wants to know what you do, how much you earn, what are your skills, can you benefit him in any certain way or can you give him good company. There are a lot of interview questions behind this simple interview question and the person is ready to analyze you with your answer. The truth is hard to swallow but that person is just here to judge you and your three-four words answer will not give a good impression of yourself.

For you, we have studied and found 7 best ways to answer this most common and trickiest interview question.

Introduce your job/work as a service

Your work defines you, so don’t give a single word introducing your job. Even if you work in a company as a standard employee, you shouldn’t be less introductory about your job. You are not working just for a paycheck. You are helping your company and you are an essential part of its management.

Introduce your job as to how your work help in solving the problem of your company or how your services help society. This type of introduction of your job makes an astonishing impact on the listener as you are not replying in an old, regular cliché style.

Tell a story

Human beings listen more and understand better everything in a narrative style. Be narrative for the reply of ‘what do you do’. Tell a story about your work, any exciting or thrilling story. Even if you think your job is boring still there must be something to tell in narration or you have to make a story related to your work. This is scientifically proven that humans get more connected while listening to stories so you can play well by this.

Grab the opportunity, self-promotion

When someone asking you what do you do, sometimes it opens a window for a good opportunity. The person asking from you is also thinking that if you have any skills that can be beneficial to him in some way or not. Especially in business and official gatherings, people are looking for someone who may be of their use. So, you can sell your skills by telling what your specialty and how good you are in your field. You have to do this carefully as you don’t want others to think you are speaking too much about yourself, so promote yourself in less and powerful words.

Enthusiasm attracts

Even a simple reply with a certain look in your eyes and an easy smile changes everything. It matters what you are speaking but it matters more how you are speaking. If you are speaking casually with no enthusiasm and not being passionate about your work then it will blow your conversation. Your energy affects people around you, positive energy attracts people and it comes from a positive attitude. Be interested in telling about yourself, make others feel how lucky you are to do what you are doing with your life.

Be a teacher for a moment

When you just tell your job title that makes an infinite number of possibilities for the listener to assume about what you do. There are many chances they don’t even know exactly what you do in your job and they will assume something rubbish due to a lack of knowledge. So just after introducing your job title goes for explaining in brief that what hole your work fills. But get a hold on yourself because no one wants to hear a full lecture.

Look from their perspective

Maybe the person standing there doesn’t want to hear all the details about your job. It isn’t about you for that person but at the same time, it’s about you. You can talk from their perspective; something from which he/she can connect too. For example, if that person is running an offline business and you are a digital marketer then you can get him like “suppose if you want to spread your business online then I’m the guy who can spread the market of a business to the people living far away from handling various social platforms”.

Skip details

Details are for a long conversation, for a meeting. Here you have to make a good first impression and you don’t want someone to think you are a self-obsessed person. You have to tell them what you do but not the details of what and how you do. You have to be precise and make the talk interesting not a one-sided conversation. So just play the trick not the full spectrum talks about your job.