if you work in the corporate world...

[shaynaatl]

I have a question for those of you that work in the corporate world, and don’t have a specific title like “attorney”. If someone in a social setting asks “so what do you do”, how do you answer? Do you first mention your function, your actual job title, or your company?

For example, would you say “I work in marketing at Amazon”, “I’m a Senior Manager in Marketing at Amazon”, or “I work at Amazon. I do so and so there…”?
Do you answer the same way if someone asks what your DH does?

I usually go with the first one, but curious if that’s the norm.

[ohgillian]

I don't give my title; I just describe my work in a few words and give the company name.

[hamster]

I would either say I work in marketing or work in marketing at X. He's is more complicated because nobody knows what he does based on title, so I say something like "he works in the field for Y" or even just the company name.

[konapoppy]

I explain the goal/function of my role and the industry I am in.

[puppylove64]

I say I’m an accountant. My current job is secretive so I don’t tell my employer and if they ask I say a small firm near downtown. Previously I said accountant at xx. If I just said xx they would think I was a nurse since it was a large local hospital.

[momin2013]

I say "I'm in the School of X" at "X University".

For DH I say his title and company.

I think the difference it partly because my title is not really glamorous, but his is pretty impressive, so I don't lead with the job title in my case, but I do in his.

[twilightmv]

I usually say the industry, which is Insurance, and that is an immediate conversation stopper.

[noodleoo]

This is a good question. I was an engineer previously, so I used to say "I'm a chemical engineer" and people's eyes would glaze over. But now I'm a part time coordinator in an engineering dept at a company no one has ever heard of (or they mistake it for a completely unrelated company with a similar name). So it is very confusing. I still haven't come up with a good answer that doesn't confuse people.

For H, his company is pretty well known so I say he's a software analyst at XXX. His job is easier to explain and people seem more interested in it than mine. Engineering seems to scare people.

[raangoli]

Jan 23, 2018 9:54:18 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

I explain the goal/function of my role and the industry I am in.

This. Mostly because I work in a very niche area and most people have no clue what it means.

[cricketwife]

Jan 23, 2018 10:04:06 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Jan 23, 2018 9:54:18 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

I explain the goal/function of my role and the industry I am in.

This. Mostly because I work in a very niche area and most people have no clue what it means.

Same here

[scm1011]

My title doesn't really mean anything to most people (Equity Research Analyst), so I generally just say I work in finance.

[preppy]

I can't just say I am an event planner or people think I plan weddings, so I usually say I am a corporate event planner. My title is experiential marketing but most people don't know that experiential means events.

[clseale]

"I do brand marketing for..." DH is a bit trickier, because he's a systems architect. And some people are, "Oh, cool. Buildings." And then I'm like, "Well, no. IT. Storage." 

[estrellita]

Usually I just say I work at (company) but sometimes add "operations" if I'm being vague, or I'll add my department name to be more specific. I usually have to add a short "I work in (department), so I do (job description)". My actual title has nothing to do with my job and I have no idea where they come up with the names, lol.

[dcn]

I say “I work at xyz in the finance department”. No one understands what my title is unless they are also in my field.

For H I say he’s a physical therapist in the army.

[ktw]

I usually say, "I work for XYZ company. I'm a software engineer." And then I only elaborate if they ask me to.

[bluelikejazz]

"I'm an XXX with a [company description] company" - no one has heard of my company, so I usually give a brief description of what they do.

"I'm a project lead with a vacuum manufacturing company" (*not my real title or type of company)

[steamboat185]

I work for a health insurance company. I don’t tell them the name because I don’t want to invite complaints.

[hocus2]

Titles mean different things at different companies. Unless I was talking to someone who understood what my title means I'd probably just say I work at company XYZ doing PDQ.

[imojoebunny]

I don't work anymore, but I would just say I worked in Finance for X Giant company. For DH, I just say he works at Y giant company, and leave it at that, unless they ask more questions.

[lolalolalola]

“I work in risk management for an oil company “

[linz]

I say I do the Accounting for XYZ company. If they want to ask further they can otherwise I don't mention anything else. 

[akafred]

I am a (title) at (company). My group is (dept) which means we are responsible for (short answer).

[froggy76]

I say, "I'm an actuary", even though that's just my background and the work I do these days isn't very actuarial. Most people don't want to know more.

I hate it when people say something like, "I work for a financial services company." Like, are you in marketing or are you an admin or do you work in HR or are you the CFO? Just saying where you work isn't particularly helpful!

[minionkevin]

This applies to DH more than me bc he works for a company that, while a decent size, is dwarfed by a company in the area with a similar name in the same industry. So he would say he’s a compliance director, and if pressed further he would say the company name and what makes them remarkable (largest privately-owned firm in x industry in the nation).
For my new job I’m practicing saying I’m an assistant project manager in xyz industry.

[melsbels]

Jan 23, 2018 9:57:46 GMT -5 twilightmv said:

I usually say the industry, which is Insurance, and that is an immediate conversation stopper.

Yep. No one is interested in my job as an insurance broker lol

[isabel]

I generally give my title (which is descriptive of the kind of work I do) and the industry. This typically leads to puzzled looks and a short explanation of my role.

[joy]

If asked about myself - “I work at Amazon.” or “I’m in IT at Amazon.” Reason? My company is well known. It’s the shortest answer that will get the point across.

If asked about my husband - “He’s a lawyer.” Reason? His firm is not a well known name but his profession is. Again, shortest answer to get the point across.

There are usually follow up questions so I clarify my position. I’m not trying to downplay my skills or upplay his.

Note -I’m not in IT at Amazon. ;-)

[countthestars]

"I work for XYZ company - you probably know it for *what we're known for*, but that's not what I do". Then a two sentence explanation of what my business unit does as a whole. Technically I'm in sales now, but I don't say that unless sales comes up specifically in the conversation.

[ellipsis]

It depends on who I am talking to and how tech-savvy I think they are. I work for a large well-known company so that helps. Sometimes I'll use a dumbed-down version of my actual title. E.g. "I work with numbers" vs "I am a big data analyst".