“What do you do for work?”
This simple pleasantry sends a wave of anxiety through my mind whenever it pops up in polite conversation. My brain goes blank and I pull a couple random jobs off my resume like names out of a hat. Why am I so afraid of this question?
I wear so many different career hats. I have my bachelor’s degree in graphic design and utilize that skill set in my invitation and stationery design company. I recently began doing quite a bit of freelance writing. I run a blog and Instagram that are both profitable. I offer social media management, strategy building, and content creation. For a while, I was providing fashion and portrait photography. I have been selling clothing and accessories online for over 10 years. I’ve tried to come up with a brief yet all-encompassing job description that is both conversation and Instagram bio friendly. No matter what, I always have to leave out more than half of them. When I am asked that question, I feel like I’m being put on the spot, forced to quickly assess which jobs to mention. I always imagine that the longer my list of businesses, the more people will doubt their quality. But on the other hand, I worry that without stating a full career description, people will think that I just sit around all day.
We live in a world where people expect careers to fit in a neat little box. But why should they, when there are endless possibilities? The truth is that I do what I love, and I hope you do too.
xoxox
Emily
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Evelin Ureña says
Sooo…what is it that you do for a living? … I’m JUST KIDDING! I totally understand how you feel about that question. As social media influencers and bloggers, our lives are being exposed more and more to the public each day. This is something I struggle with sometimes; figuring out what I want to expose about my personal life, and what I want to keep private. The truth is that the more we expose our lives in our blogs or social media, the more people want to know about us. It’s nice to be able to inspire others and share our story, but we still need to be in control of what we share and where we draw the line. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing something personal, that’s ok. Don’t ever feel like you have to. I am glad you shared this information with your readers. I can see we share some things in common, and I appreciate and completely understand what you do. I see you as a creative person, an artist, entrepreneur with super awesome hair. : ) I’m glad you love what you do. That’s really all that matters.
Zee says
OMG I *hate* this question! At my age it’s a little different because they also ask “So are you in school?”. I always feel like a loser in their eyes whenever I say no… Even though I’m learning stuff every single day!
http://www.MyPetitePenGal.com/