Does it matter to answer the question? In a pragmatic sense, perhaps. Careers give context to how people spend their time, what they might be knowledgeable about, what their daily realities look like. There is a certain efficiency in knowing what someone does because it places them within a recognisable framework of society. It may also signal... See more

The job is often incidental, a practical necessity rather than an expression of identity. And yet, the moment that question is asked, the answer becomes the shorthand for who you are, defining you in the eyes of the other person before they’ve even seen you fully.

What if, instead of networking, we started storyworking — co-creating narratives that bring out the essence of who we really are, beyond the jobs we do to survive? Imagine how much richer our interactions would be.