Seventh Salon: What it is that we do.

[jenett]

Welcome to our seventh salon discussion thread. Wander in, invite a friend to come along, and chat! (Not sure what's going on? Here, have a brief FAQ.) You can find previous ones in my salon tag. Please take a quick look at the reminders at the bottom of this post, too. (Quick note: I'd originally said we'd do these through at least July. I am formally declaring that we'll keep going through at least August.)

Topic of the day:
A couple of conversations this week have gotten me thinking about jobs. One was a conversation with a friend yesterday (hi!) about job hunting, another was a meeting of a committee I'm on for staff awards, where we were asked to introduce ourselves (it's the first time we've met) with something we do that we're really good at (work or not.)

The committee is staff from all over the campus, only one of whom I already knew. And one of the things we were talking about is how recognising people for doing things well can take a lot of forms - but it's also complicated, because talking about what we do well is really hard, and sometimes (often!) other people don't really know what goes into our jobs. (And yes, I talked a little about both Imposter Syndrome and about synecdochic's weekly Pride Thread)

And yet, it's really important to talk about what we're good at, for a dozen reasons and more. (Morale, helping us do more of the really awesome stuff, helping other people do more really awesome stuff, appreciating the work other people do that keeps things running smoothly - we were talking about the school health service, and how you never hear when things are fine there, but it's important that they *are* fine.)

So, my question: What do you do, and why do you like it, and how did you get into doing that thing? I'm curious both about job-that-pays-you stuff but also about ongoing projects that aren't your job.

For bonus amusement, last January, there was a meme about describing things (your job) using the ten-thousand most common words in English. (Inspired by a xkcd cartoon). You can use a web-based tool to write one. If you did that meme and want to share in comments, that'd be awesome. (Or if you want to play with it and share something new!) Mine's in the first comment.

Currently reading: Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy - like the title says, this is gaslamp fantasy, not steampunk. Thus far I am generally agreeing with Brit Mandelo's review over on Tor.com, but even the stories that aren't quite my thing are making me think, which is pretty much what I ask for in an anthology.

Quick reminders

- jjhunter did a great guide to following conversations here on Dreamwidth. Also a roundup of regular Dreamwidth events.
- If you want to post anonymously, please pick a name (any name you like) that we can call you - it makes it more conversational and helps if we have more than one anon post.
- Base rule remains "Leave the conversation better than you found it, or at least not worse". If you're nervous about that, I'd rather you say something and we maybe sort out confusion later than have you not say something. (I've heard from a few people who worry they're going to say something that's going to be taken weirdly. If it helps, I am usually around and if there's a thing you'd like to get out in the conversation, but you're not sure how, feel free to PM or email or IM me, and I'll nudge the conversation that direction.)
- The FAQ still has useful stuff, and I added some thoughts about getting conversations going this week.
- Comments tend to trickle in over the course of a day or two, with a few nearly a week later: you might enjoy checking back later if you're not tracking the conversation.

Comments

[jenett]

My understanding from reading http://askamanager.org (which is my standing recommendation for anyone job hunting, working for anyone else, employing anyone else, managing volunteer projects, being managed in volunteer projects, or who just likes a mix of intriguing work questions, some totally "People *do* that?" stories, and an excellent commentariat... ahem. She's awesome.)

Anyway.

My understanding is that it's a matter of reading the job ads very thoughtfully, and showing how what you can do transfers to what they need someone to do (and what you'd bring to it that someone else might not.) This is Not Simple. (And it's harder to do in some fields than others.)

But I'd assume financial aid would give you tons of space to talk about good communication, improving process, managing complicated and high stakes data, dealing with confidential issues, etc. that might transfer to a bunch of other jobs (some kinds of law firm work, some kinds of health care information systems work, all sorts of other businesses, etc.)

I'm also getting to be more and more fond of having volunteer projects that I can point to as other kinds of skills (the wiki work I'm doing for Alternity is going on my resume in the next revision, for example, just as my volunteer time at LiveJournal has, and my event planning stuff. Because they're not things I necessarily do in my day job, but they demonstrate other useful things about my skills.)

[elisem]

I remember when you decided you did not have a specific subset of event planning skills, and set out to acquire that subset. It was pretty cool to watch. (And even cooler to be the beneficiary of your excellent work!)

Is there a line on your resume about "Can stand up to poker-playing famous authors and call their bluff if needed"? It's a specialized skill, but hey. ;-)

[jenett]

It was fun! (Also, you gave me a friendly brain in a jar, which helped.)

For everyone else, the skillset in a jar was hotel chair, and Elise sat me down with someone who wasn't up for doing the details, but who was glad to consult on what to pay attention to. She put us on a couch, watched 10 minutes of us comparing "Who do you know in Boston" in exceedingly rapid fire Bostonian manner, and we then had an immensely productive discussion about what we wanted to do differently next year.

Since then, I've run hotel for six events (ok, so four of them were at the same hotel: we like them, they like us, it is awesome), and I find it exceedingly pleasant work, except when I have to explain corkage three times in twenty-four hours. (Do feel free to ask: we're not near that problem yet.)

Though it does remind me to go post about that for the sixth of the conventions.

And there is not such a line on a resume, but if I ever get a chance, I intend to trot it out as an interview story.

[finch]

I do read AAM religiously - and you were the one who recommended it to me in the first place, IIRC. :)

Data management is not an angle I had considered, but that does make a lot of sense! I like that one, I'll have to keep it in mind.

I also need to pay more attention to what I'm doing outside of work that can be useful for future work. Lots of good ideas. Thanks!

[jenett]

Walking back from the appointment, I was thinking about the fact that when you're applying to jobs, they actually don't generally *want* everything you've ever done. Instead, what they want is you to have a couple of examples for doing the stuff they want, a way to demonstrate you can handle the interpersonal parts (whether that's working on a team, providing customer service, whatever), and a few good stories of handling complex situations or difficult ones.

And - you can do a whole lot with a couple of work projects, and then a couple of supplemental volunteer or individual projects, as long as you can explain them in the right context.

(Also, it occasionally leads to calmness in the middle of a storm: the October I was unemployed, we were running Pagan Pride, and for the first time in 13 years, we had to call 911 twice (once for someone tripping and falling, once for something way more complicated.) There was a part of me that went "Well, at least this will make a good job interview story." and I did actually use it twice, I think.)

[eeyorerin]

The best thing I have ever seen (and I can't remember where) is "a resume/job application letter/interview is an argument (in the rhetorical sense) for why you should get the job. Ergo, you should use the pieces of evidence from your education, work history, and life experience that best support that argument." If you stop seeing it as informative writing ("let me show you everything I have done") and start seeing it as argumentative ("let me show you the most compelling evidence for why I am qualified") it makes a lot more sense. To me, anyways.

[jenett]

Yes! (this is pretty much the approach Ask A Manager takes, though she doesn't put it in quite those words) But I saw a massive improvement in interview rates when I started doing that more clearly.

Also, I think it's harder for "I AM DESPERATE" to come across in that mode, which can sometimes be useful.