“What do you do?”
It’s a question that we get all too often.
In this article
- When Employees Bring Their Supporters to Work, Performance Increases
- Bringing Your Parents and Supporters to Work Can Be a Way to Show Gratitude
- Join the Movement and Follow the Action
- Voices Employees Answer: What Do Your Parents Think You Do?
- Voices Employees Answer: What Great Advice Have Your Parents Given You?
But even a perfect ‘elevator pitch’ may still miss its mark.
There are some who may never truly understand what you do – until they see it firsthand – and for many of us, that includes our parents.
According to Linkedin, one third of parents don’t understand what their children do at work. So, four years ago, they started an international ‘Bring in Your Parents Day,’ during the first week of November.
When Employees Bring Their Supporters to Work, Performance Increases
For the past four years, Voices has participated in Linkedin’s initiative and has extended an invite to employees to “Bring in Your Parents.”
“Our parents have supported us for so long and have given us so much advice, it’s nice for them to understand what we do,” says Phoebe Aitken, Human Resources Specialist, Voices. “But we’ve also taken the approach to allow employees to bring in all of their supporters – whether they’re parents, spouses, friends or others.”
“Understanding what someone does for work allows their network to provide them with better support and advice,” she adds. “Employees who feel supported perform better and that’s important to us as a company.”
Bringing Your Parents and Supporters to Work Can Be a Way to Show Gratitude
No one achieves success alone and this special day can provide an open door to show gratitude towards those who have helped you reach for new heights, as well as foster a sense of pride.
“People seem really proud to show parents what they do and where they work – and parents seem really excited to be in the office space and see the people we work with,” says Phoebe. “My Mom couldn’t stop raving about our office space and how bright it is.”
Join the Movement and Follow the Action
If you’d like to participate, it’s as simple as the click of a button on Linkedin.
Alternatively, you can also participate by sharing what your parents think you do, or the best piece of career advice they’ve ever given you, on social media using #BIYP.
Voices Employees Answer: What Do Your Parents Think You Do?
“I don’t think my parents really understand what I do. They just nod politely and smile when I talk about my job. I think my Mom thinks finance and accounting is boring ;)” – Laura Mastrandrea, Finance Manager
“If I had to put it into words, my parents would probably think that I train sales people all day.” – Mat Lunnen, Sales Manager
“I’m the PR Manager at Voices, but my parents aren’t really sure what that means, no matter how many holiday dinner conversations we have about it. Because my job entails a lot of different responsibilities, they can’t pinpoint exactly what their daughter does everyday. I think that they have some notion of me being a journalist, crossed with a presidential press secretary, crossed with a party planner, crossed with a socialite. It’s pretty confusing, and not even close to what I do! I’m thrilled to be able to bring my mom into our office this year for Bring in Your People Day so that I can clear up the misconceptions a bit!” – Trisha Beausaert, PR Manager
“My parents have no idea what I do. They don’t understand voice over as a concept or how we source it, even though I’ve tried to explain it.” – Ben Kropp, Account Manager
“My parents think that I (verbatim) “sell voices” for a living. They know that I’m not a voice-talent myself, but that I’connect businesses that need voice-overs with actors from around the world’ (which is how my Mom explains it to her friends).” – Trevon Buccione, Account Manager
“This is the first job that my mom actually understands what I do. And I think that’s because when I talk about my work here, I’m so enthusiastic and thorough with explaining what I do that she’s able to get it. She tells me now that when people ask her about my career, she’s finally able to tell them about Voices and what I do here, whereas with any past job, she now admits that she could never really articulate what I did exactly!” – Niki Ellis, Marketing Coordinator
“My dad thinks that I am a casting agent and in that sense, I do connect clients to voice actors, but that’s just one aspect of the job. My dad just can’t wrap his head around everything else I do!” – Jamie Diamond, Enterprise Account Manager
Voices Employees Answer: What Great Advice Have Your Parents Given You?
“I have gotten some really good advice over the years from my parents. My Dad constantly reminds me and my brothers that the most important thing is happiness, and that there’s no such thing as too much education.” – Laura Mastrandrea, Finance Manager
“Showing up ready to work is 90% of the battle, the rest falls into place.” – Mat Lunnen, Sales Manager
“ ‘The harder you work, the luckier you are,’ is something my father always said and it’s been great advice that I’ve followed throughout my career. Another excellent piece of advice came from my mother and her real estate career. She said that her clients weren’t doing business with Sutton, they were doing business with Carla. This emphasized the relationship she has with her clients. That relationship building is something I strive for with my clients. My clients work with Ben to complete their projects, not Voices.” – Ben Kropp, Account Manager
“The best advice I’ve ever received from my parents is: ‘Treat others how you would want to be treated — AND — create goals for yourself and hold yourself accountable to achieving those goals.’ “ – Trevon Buccione, Account Manager
“The advice my Mom’s given me, which I put into action everyday, is to ‘bring my sunshine into the workplace to add to the bright loving culture that already exists here.’ Super cheesy… but I totally love it!” – Niki Ellis, Marketing Coordinator
“When I graduated University my dad told me that, no matter what, I should do something that makes me happy. He said life is way too short to spend it with people you don’t like doing things you don’t enjoy.” – Jamie Diamond, Enterprise Account Manager
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