“So, what do you do for a living?”
It’s an innocent enough question. One that’s bound to come up from time to time, at cocktail parties, on a first date, or when you’re stuck in line at Acme behind an overly-chatty retiree who, after questioning your decision to buy store-brand cereal, (“It’s just not worth the savings, honey. Tastes like cardboard.”) is still eager to hear your life story.
If I was a teacher, a chef or a pilot, this question probably wouldn’t concern me. I’d be able to answer in a succinct sentence or two, and everyone would understand, and probably go on to tell me about their sister, uncle or best friend who also works in that field.
But when you work in public relations the answer isn’t always so easy. “I work in public relations” is rarely explanation enough. Here’s how most conversations that begin with this dreaded question go:
“So, what do you do for a living?”
“I work in public relations.”
“Ohhh.” (Nods with fake understanding, followed by long pause). “So….then, what is it you actually do?”
“Well, we do a lot of things. We work with journalists and the media to help our clients get favorable coverage in the press…”
“Oh, so it’s like advertising.”
“Well, no…not exactly. We also do strategic marketing for our clients.”
“Oh, marketing. Okay! My cousin is in marketing.”
“Right, but we do other things, too. We help to promote events and create buzz around new products and services.”
“Event planning. Got it.”
“Well, no it’s different than that. We also run social media campaigns for clients on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs.”
“So you just play around on Facebook all day? (Sarcastically) Wow, sounds really hard…”
The conversation normally continues on like this until one of us (usually me) gives up.
There are plenty of things I love about working in this industry, but explaining it to outsiders is just not one. Heck, my own grandmother is still convinced that my career is an episode of Mad Men. And you know what? That’s okay with me.