Your occupation - the overlooked profile question

When you start a conversation with a stranger, one of the most common questions that you'll ask is, "What do you do for a living?" (Or, if you're a college student, "What's your major?")

Usually, when you ask that question, you'll get a job title. Which is a pretty boring response.

Usually, people get a chance to ask more interesting questions. "Where do you work? What do you do there?"

And most of us do have work stories that are somewhat interesting. For example, my "chemist" friend is working on engineering strains of wheat that need less pesticides. My "social worker" friend works with people who are homeless because they have severe mental illness.

And these are much better conversation-starters than the job titles.

So, do yourself a favor. When you're asked what your occupation is, don't give a job title. Tell them what you do. Get them interested in learning more.