Should You Explain, or Is It Easier to Lie?
I tense up when I know that I’ll have to meet someone new. Whether it’s because of my spouse, or because I’m going to a new care provider, hairdresser, nail tech, etc. I dread the question that I know is going to come up, “what do you do?”
I hate that question so much that I’ve probably already blogged about it before. This cartoon made me think about how I’m often faced with the “should I try to explain, roll my eyes and groan, or just say I work in an office” dilemma.
I’m sure a lot of work at home professionals can relate, not just bloggers.
I got married in October and at my wedding I decided to mess with the next person who asked me that because I know people have a hard time thinking outside of the box.
True to form, a friend of my husbands asked me “so what do you do? and I said, “I do a lot of things.” Then she said, “but what do you DO?” I responded, “I read, watch a little TV, take care of my dogs” she gave me the most confused glance and said, “no, no, no WHAT do you DO?” I almost burst out laughing because she just couldn’t comprehend someone not defining themselves with an occupation.
For some, it may not be that big of a deal, but when you are working with new media, people just don’t understand; or they think they do when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
What about you all? How do you respond when someone asks “what do you do?”
I was asked by a former colleague just this afternoon about what I do and just like you said, it paved the way for a much harder conversation that made me think twice about revealing the true nature of my occupation. You bet! It is easier to say I’m a bank robber than saying I am a homebased worker
March 11th, 2008 at 8:20 amAm so glad other people in other professions have this problem too. I am a market trader which immediately (in certain circles) leads people to assume I’m a city trader. Usually I get one of two responses, “that’s great, I did that, or I know someone who did that etc.” Or a sniffy snooty comment which belittles what I do. Unfortunately more often it’s the latter. I wonder what bank robbers say they do!!
March 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pmJust say you’re an independant worker.
If they ask you more details, say you’re a writer, specialized in internet.
You’re not lying, that’s exactly what you do.
The truth is, many people who write in newspaper are doing it from home at least part-time, and it has been like that since long!
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 am