Stop puffing up your profession. What do you do, really?

by K B , updated on November 8, 2020

I was listening to James Valentine this week on abc radio and almost choked I laughed so much.  He had a segment about the one or two key phrases that can sum up any job. He asked his audience: after years of honing your expertise, and earning multiple degrees, what do you actually spend most of your time doing or saying? It’s a funny question. One of my clients, a super smart Trademark Attorney, once told me she just wrote slightly threatening letters to people all day. Me, I help people find jobs. Here’s what James’ listeners said:

Antique Dealer

Furniture removalist (usually interstate)

Concreter

“We dig holes and fill them back up again.”

Plant Propagator

“We root them and shoot them.”

Customer Service – telecommunications

“We’re working on it.”

IT Support

“Have you turned it off and on again?”

Emergency Nurse

“Take your clothes off.”

Pathology Collector

“I stab people all day.”

Flight Attendant

“Would you like to buy something from the menu?”

Hotel Manager

“What flavor would you like?”

“Sorry we can’t serve you anymore.”

“You’re not the first person to call me that.”

HR Manager

Staff member: “Can I do x with employee y?”

HR Manager: “It depends.”

Lawyer

When unsure of the law in a particular scenario: “I need to take further instructions from my client.”

Psychologist

“Well, how do you feel about that?”

Me

“Can you give me a specific example of when you’ve done that?”

“No, I mean a person, time, place or thing.”

K B

Karalyn is the Founder of InterviewIQ and chief champion for all her clients. Get personal coaching to make 2023 your most successful year yet. Check out our job search booster services here>>Give me smarter ways to find a job .

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Chef Shane November 25, 2010 at 6:25 pm

Enchant the mob when we fill up their gob?
or
cut things up and do unnatural things while running around a lot trying make it look natural and effortless

Karalyn November 25, 2010 at 8:59 pm

Chef Shane you’ve done it again.
I really like the fact that you’ve made that rhyme.
Karalyn

Gayle Howard, Career Communications Consultant/Master Resume Writer November 25, 2010 at 11:13 pm

I’m desperately disappointed that mine won’t rhyme, but I turn jobseekers into value propositions

GayleHoward November 26, 2010 at 6:13 am

@InterviewIQ the guy before me was really clever and rhymed to boot. however, I turn jobseekers into value propositions

GayleHoward November 26, 2010 at 6:24 am

@InterviewIQ it’s better than the plant propagator guy. That’s just plain rude. LOL

InterviewIQ November 26, 2010 at 6:06 am

@gaylehoward Stop puffing up your profession! http://interviewiq.com.au/stop-puffing-u… Gayle – would love your take on this one!

InterviewIQ November 26, 2010 at 6:21 am

@GayleHoward Sounds good to me but! How’s that for professional language? 😉

Karalyn Brown (@InterviewIQ) (@InterviewIQ) April 23, 2013 at 12:04 pm

Stop puffing up your profession. What do you do, really? http://t.co/AGnFJqCObN

Priority Personnel (@PriorityCareers) April 24, 2013 at 9:31 am

A little #recruiting #humor. Stop puffing up your profession. What do you do, really? http://t.co/N2RbO76A3r via @InterviewIQ

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