ANSWER me THIS!

"Tell me what you WANT to do? What drives you? If you could do ANYTHING, what would it be?"

Thats what an American I contacted about an opportunity in Sports wrote me in a mail. Short but sweet. Sound easy? (I don't think the answer to what drives you is a chauffeur, a trucker who doesn't know you've jumped in his trailor or anything like that, but I may be wrong) Its a question I've had the chance to dwell over for quite a while but its not easy. Try answering that question in no more than 75 words and at the same time selling yourself so that you can get a job.

While I'm often not concise in my writing (its easy and fun to write more and more and more... snorrrrrrreezzzzzzzzz), I like this short direct approach. The problem is that by leaving so many dots out of the equation it places far too much importance on the imagination of the other person. Reminds me of a common saying in traffic... "It's not how good you drive because all it takes is one idiot on the road". Funny thing is there are quite a lot of idiots on the road. Bad drivers. But even that can be down to perception.

Now, I realise that it would be best to be an optimist in the situation and trust that the other person understands exactly who you are in as few words as possible. What they are looking to do is to identify with you. Or to pigeonhole you. Thats not strange, we all do when we meet someone we don't know. For me I find it a struggle trying to get someone to identify with the fact that I've moved and lived in 10 different places, that I've been educated in international schools, that I like Chelsea and don't like Liverpool possibly related to the fact that I don't like Tomatoes...

So they are looking to identify with any of those things... But in 75 words, there is still a possibility to arrouse the attention of the other person. We live in a world where time is money. Its not only that though... as humans our concentration levels are as limited as can be. To emphasise the right words at the right time is key in the hunt for a job. This may be in writing, over the phone or in person. This is my challenge!

I'm probably not alone though in wanting to say as much as possible hoping that some word will rouse the interest in the reader, the prospective employer. If I said something like buttox I'd surely rouse the interest but probably not in a good way. That is unless of course I had created a new buttox muscle fitness device, marketed it, sold it in large quantities to the European, Asian and lucrative American markets. The Buttmaker 2000... as seen on TV...

Now the answer to the question will differ depending on what stage a person is at in their life and what mood they are in perhaps. I refuse to believe that most people are driven by the pursuit of money-making though. People want to make money so that they can experience certain things but deep down inside I think there is something else that pushes them. Imagine if people instead of writing their title on business cards wrote what drives them "To help others" (perhaps a teacher or a doctor), "To win" (perhaps a banker or a jockey), "To create" (perhaps a DJ or a gardener), "To enjoy"; "To be different"; "To be secure"; "To be stable" ... there are plenty of different drives. These aren't even great examples...

Now all that has been said before by many so I'm not pretending to be super smart or insightful or anything. Its just interesting how even if you've thought about what you want, how difficult it sometimes is to explain.


I'll leave you today with some pictures from London on Saturday in what was probably (don't have the statistics but according to my outer thermometer lodge on my left arm) the warmest day of the year so far... The pictures were taken on a walk to Angel along the canal and there's a picture of Ben and I with beers at the York at Angel.