It was a casual conversation that I’d had with my friend Olivia a few years back that got me thinking. “Whose job would you really like to do for a day to see what it’s actually like?” she asked me, before saying, flatteringly, that she thought she’d find mine – I was working as an editor on a national broadsheet at the time – interesting. I said I’d quite like to do hers, not least because I’d never really understood what it actually was. Something to do with finance?
Fast-forward a few years, and it turns out that letting someone into the secrets of your working life is all the rage. Driven by Gen Z (of course), the latest trend is to get your mates round and host a night looking at slides – think hen-do Mr & Mrs Smith games taken to the next level. Hosting an “Explaining what I do for work” PowerPoint night has become the height of entertainment.
One TikTok sees a group of women in their twenties delighting in debunking their “big-girl jobs” – from sales, to data science and radiology – to their friends, including slides on their day-to-day schedules, to explaining the specifics of their jobs, even going into job hierarchy within their company. Those who’ve tried it say it’s a must for boosting bonds in a friendship group, and say “hiring managers should do this for company recruiters”.
Yes, it’s a weird trend, but when I first came across the idea on Instagram, it appealed. Honestly, I don’t even know in detail what my husband does for work every day. See also: my fund manager friends – how do they make so much money and are also able to watch their kids’ sports matches and be around at breakfast? What does a WFH civil servant actually do all day? And so, I decided to host my own.
An early attempt at making it a couples’ dinner failed – it turns out that a remarkable number of our friends do similar things to their spouses. And besides, my husband said he couldn’t really tell everyone what he does all day or he’d have to kill them (he’s in the military).
So, girls it was. During our time in Yorkshire, I’ve met a handful of brilliant, clever, funny women. What better excuse than to introduce some of them to each other?
All of them accepted straight away. Olivia, as the inadvertent inspiration for the whole thing, had to be on the list. Hannah and Katherine, a psychologist and blood cancer researcher respectively, with similar aged-children and similar-work-life challenges, would surely find both interest and common ground.
The fact that Olivia and Hannah were also about to return to work from maternity leave gave us yet another reason to chat. Sarah had recently left Google to set up on her own as an executive career coach; Lea used to work in banking and now runs a small group of care homes. Plus me, of course.
I sent my instructions: make it fun and funny if you can, as well as informative; images are better than loads of text; don’t make it too long; bring props if you want.
On the night, everyone turned up looking boujii but with their laptops under their arms. Not quite the normal dinner night. Only one cancellation, from Lea. I chose to believe that she was ill, rather than running scared of PowerPoint. We all tucked into bowls of risotto and salad, before getting down to it (after a brief hiatus trying to work the projector – which failed).
It was completely fascinating. Katherine explained via a mind map her many different professional hats: lecturer; research fellow; cancer biologist; experimental haemotologist; assistant professor. She ran us through what each element of her job entailed, a sample timetable of her week, and why she loves what she does. I was particularly impressed that she makes two workout sessions a week a non-negotiable feature, and that all her colleagues know that.
Sarah explained what executive-level coaching looks like when juggled with facilitating her autistic son’s education, presenting in a manner that made me want to sign her up to coach me too. Quite how anyone can be that cool, calm and collected while keeping all those balls in the air is something that I want to learn.
Next, Hannah gave us a day in the life of her work as head of clinical health psychology at a local NHS trust, running us through how she helps patients with cancer and the staff who treat them. She told us what turned her on about her job (seeing her work change lives) and what frustrated her (red tape and messy hospital staff kitchens).
Finally, I got to learn exactly what Olivia does for a living – although for the life of me I still can’t quite understand it. Pensions are fascinating, and more women should go into financial management consultancy, was the gist of it – although clearly I’d be a failure given my inability to grasp the finer details.
Other than being seriously impressed at their PowerPoint skills, I found myself feeling both amazed and humbled. Normally, my social interactions and conversations with these women revolve around our children, the nitty gritty of school logistics or, if we’re going deeper, the trials and tribulations of marriage.
Suddenly, I saw each of them in a whole new light. The focus and juggling of roles Katherine brings to her work; Olivia’s brain that I’ve always known is brilliant but saw a little glimpse of in action. When Sarah talked about her work I could see why she’s so good at it; I realised that Hannah’s not only a compassionate friend but brings that side of herself to her work.
Would anyone want my job? After my presentation I’m not entirely sure. Being a freelance journalist is a desperate, ego-driven rollercoaster of highs and lows.
Yes, I appreciate being in control of my own schedule (in theory), but I’m not sure that having your story on the cover of a broadsheet magazine quite matches the high of turning a cancer patient’s life around. Or that a brief appearance on the Today programme has the same impact as kicking cancer’s ass in a lab. Plus, you can never do anything – like host a PowerPoint dinner party – just for fun.
But as an evening of thoroughly enjoyable entertainment, I’d highly recommend hosting a PowerPoint dinner party – not least because you’ll see your friends in a new light, and be newly impressed with how clever they are.
It’s a great way to introduce people who don’t know each other, leaves much food for thought, and if like me PowerPoint is not your expressive medium, it may inspire you to learn how to do it properly. Who knows, it might even bring on a change of career. Watch out Sarah, you could be signing up a new client very soon.
Comments
Leave a Comment