I was at a business thing last week and I started talking with this really interesting woman. I asked her what she did and she said “I am an account manager”.
What a useless answer!
With no descriptive words or context, I have absolutely no idea what she actually does. Does she spend her day making sure accounts are in the right place at the right time? Does she deal with products? Customers? Beats me.
Turns out she works for a really cool food manufacturer and she is responsible for taking care of all their sports and event venue customers.
I had to ask several questions to get that information. This borders on tragic and not just because I am a headhunter. It does not matter who you are talking to, your introduction should focus on what you DO not what you ARE.
Compare:
I am an Account Manager.
To
I make sure that our new SuperSnacks are in all the arenas and ballparks on the east coast.
Big, big difference.
You only get one crack at your initial introduction. Only people like me and really curious (sometimes creepy) people keep asking questions to really understand your job.
You never know when you will be talking to someone who is the link to your next big thing so give it some thought. Have a strong and confident string of words ready to answer the question: “What do you do?”