Job Titles Are Boring Heres How to Describe Your Work

Job Titles Are Boring Heres How to Describe Your WorkJob Titles Are Boring Heres How to Describe Your WorkNetworking and being able to accurately describe your workis important. Hopefully, by this point you realize that you need to be meeting new people and expanding your network all the time. It doesnt matter if youre doing a job search or happily enmeshed in your best job ever, your network requires your attention- all the time.Your network is a living organism and by its very nature, there will be people who will spin out of your orbit for a whole variety of reasons. That means you need to be continuously meeting new people.It doesnt matter if those new people you meet are at a neighborhood party or a professional association meeting, your self-introduction and how you describe your work needs to be effective and memorable. While the thing we all gravitate to is our job title, it doesnt mean its the best way describe your job.Here are three reasons not to use your job titlewhen me eting new people1. Its incomprehensible.Most job titles mean almost nothing to people outside your place of work. Some job titles are so cryptic, they leave you wondering where the decoder ring is. Dont make others have to play 20 questions just to figure out your work.2. Its not good conversation.After hearing a job title, its often hard to take the conversation anywhere. Its like hitting a road barrier, its abrupt, and does nothing to help you both move the conversation forward. Even expanding on your line of work can leave room for questions.3. Whats in it for me (WIIFM)?Were constantly in search of useful resources that can either help us or help others we know. Memory for something has to have an emotion tied to it. A job title doesnt do that, which means it wont be memorable. Essentially, its boring and predictable. While itll take a bit of thought to substitute how to describe your work, once youve done it a few times, itll also become second nature to you.Instead, this is ho w todescribe your work when networking1. Frame your results.While you do produce numerous results, pick out one or two results that youve obtained from your work. When you frame your introduction in results, people will understand and relate it to themselves. The thought is, if you can get those results for your employer or customer, you can do it for others. It starts to appeal to the WIIFM part in all of us. Its also mora descriptive than a job title.2. Use powerful verbs or actions.As part of how you phrase your introduction using your results, think about how you achieve those results. Do you teach? Sell? Manage? Coach?If youre kind of clueless on some good verbs, simply Google powerful verbs. Youll get great lists to pick what works for you.3. Rinse, repeat, and practice. Because you have several results and verbs you can come up with, you can devise multiple introductions that work well. If one combination doesnt really feel comfortable, then use a different combination. Once you have a few that work for you, practice them so youll remember them for various situations. Youll find that youll end up with a couple that will become your go-to introductions.Keep in mind youre building a new habit. It may feel awkward at first, just like riding a bike. It takes practice, but learning how to describe your work will pay off with everyone you meet from now on.Looking for more ideas on networking? Check outmore networking tips hereReaders, how do you describe your work when meeting new people? Share your tips with us below