What Do You Do and How’d You Get Your Start?

Upon meeting someone new, virtually my first question is always: “What kind of work do you do?” Typically followed by “How did you get your start?”

I don’t think I’m unusual in my curiosity, although my family loves to make fun of me for it. The truth is: The work you do is inextricably tied to who you are, and how you started doing it offers life lessons everyone can benefit from.

In my career advisement practice, I constantly coach young adults on how  and why to ask these questions. It amazes me that many of them have no idea what their friends do for a living and yet, as young singles, they spend the majority of time with those friends!

Career stories inspire newly-minted college graduates to look for clues about what they themselves might want to do. Being curious about others’ day to day jobs can transform you from bored office drone to investigative reporter on the lookout for your ideal career. That’s where the transformation happens: a kernel of an idea, some research, networking, more research, meeting….and voila! You’ve just found yourself in a work world you had no idea existed. It’s that simple.

So what fields have you learned about today?