I was recently interviewed, via email, about my job by a 9 year-old in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the son of my best friend.
It was an interesting exercise which made me stop and think about what I do and why I really love doing it! The first 3 questions were standard; the next 3 were his own custom questions and were my favorite because I’m not sure if I have ever been asked what is dumb and boring or awesome and fun about my job!
Q1: What is your job?
My job is President of Allen Tate Relocation.
Q2: What do you do for your job?
I am involved in all aspects of helping someone relocate (or move) from one location to another. For example, when Freightliner moved several employees from Portland, OR to Charlotte, NC, we assisted the employees in finding places to live. Sometimes we also help them move all of their belongings.
Q3: What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force, but I soon found out that 20/20 vision, which I didn’t have, was a requirement to get into the Air Force academy. I loved flying and traveling so I knew I wanted a career that involved one or the other (or both!). Even though I had to change my plans, the career path I choose has included a lot of travel, which I really enjoy.
Q4: Is your job fun and why?
My job is a lot of fun – I work with people from all over and I help them get moved to a new location! It can be very stressful for a family to move and it’s a nice feeling to be able to make it easier for them.
Q5: How much do you like your job on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being boring and dumb and 10 being awesome and fun)?
I would say my job is a 10 on the awesome and fun scale! (OK, maybe a 9.5, as a 10 would be having the job of taste tester for Nestle!) A few weeks ago I attended an annual conference which was held in Seattle, WA. We had the opportunity to go to the top of the Seattle Space Needle. I also visited the world famous Pike’s Fish Market which is known for throwing fish! I know it sounds crazy, but that is how they made their jobs fun and now they have a reputation for throwing fish!
As I am responding to these questions, I am sitting in the Chicago airport waiting to fly home to Charlotte. I had a meeting in Chicago, another great city, and stayed an extra day to visit a college roommate who attended college with your mother and I!
Q6: What is the most fun part of your job and the most dumb and boring part of your job?
There are many things that are fun – I work with a lot of great people and we do a lot of fun things. For instance, we plan celebrations for birthdays and holidays. This month is the Thanksgiving luncheon and next month is our Client Holiday Wreath Party.
We also do a lot of work, but we manage to have fun at the same time. We talk to people from all over the world and try to make their move to a new home easy.
I also work for a great company, which makes a big difference in the success and enjoyment of your job. I have the support of our COO and CEO who see the value of what we do in relocation and are always glad to help in any way they can.
There are not a lot of dumb aspects to my job. We have spent time the past few years focusing on “high gain” activities. That means we want to do those things that are critical for us to succeed and stop doing those things that don’t help achieve that goal. By focusing on the high gain activities, we do a lot less dumb and boring tasks!
As I said, this was a wonderful activity that really made me think about my job. So now I ask you, if you had to answer these same questions how would your answers make you feel about your job?
