TOC #96: From Carnie To Copywriter
(October 25, 2022) How To Know Whether Your Past Careers Are Relevant Enough For A Moment On Your About Page
Have I ever told you that I used to be a carnie? Welp.
At the ripe age of 15, I realized that all of my friends had jobs, so I might as well get one too, or I'd be bored.
I applied to all of the typical places—CVS, Walgreens, Big Y—but none of them needed a teeny bopper like me.
Just when I was starting to get discouraged, thinking the only good to come out of my job search would be the memorization of my SSN, I got a call from the leaky-ceilinged Walmart in the next town over.
Naturally, I was ecstatic.
I nailed the interview, got the job, took the drug test, signed the papers, and started planning my future as a rich, independent queen, making $8.40 an hour, a full 40 cents above minimum wage.
Like I said: ecstatic.
…until they called me and said “actually, sorry, you're not old enough to be a paint stirrer.”
To which I, of course, responded—via a phone call made during homeroom, because #rage—with a cool “find a different role for me then, because I already took a drug test and my dad will sue.”
(Was teenage me a Karen? Yes. Yes, she was.)
So, they hired me out of fear, and I worked there as a cashier for almost 3 years. My friends called me The Walmart Princess. I was the youngest employee to ever be hired at a Massachusetts Walmart.
Next, I was a bank teller. This one's a weird story, too.
(Actually, they all are. Literally every single job I've ever been hired for was a result of me simply having the audacity.)
There was a small branch of my local credit union inside my high school, and my finance-teacher-slash-BFF convinced me to spend a free period “working” there, which turned into a legit teller job at the legit bank that I was only semi-qualified for.
That, too, lasted 3 years.
(I worked at both Walmart and the bank during high school, leaving me with some serious cash and the development of a serious shopping addiction, that I have unfortunately yet to recover from. No 17-year-old should own 2 pairs of Tory Burch riding boots.)
Next up was law firm intern. Got the job via nepotism, but, unlike the other interns, it was secondhand nepotism—neighbor, instead of family member—so I was significantly less cool.
I made $10/hour, and it involved lots of rats, roaches, and staple removal.
No joke, I sat in the BASEMENT of a 12-story building in the city, for 8 hours a day, combing, I through trusts and wills from the 1920s, determining which ones should be shredded.
(I cried on my way to work every single day.)
Once I made it upstairs, though, it was low key kinda fun, and, considering my goal in life at the time was to become a lawyer, it was also good for my resume. I decided to Google “best law firms in Hartford” so I could do the same job at school.
I cold-pitch-emailed 3 firms—my first of many cold email success stories—got hired 2 weeks later, and worked at that firm on and off for 4 years during college.
Then, I interned at the Connecticut Superior Court, with the Child Support Enforcement sector.
The only thing I remember about this job is that a) I had no business being there, ensuring we had the correct contact information for these parents who were running from their child support payments, and b) I got in trouble for not closing my “8”s all the way when I'd write down their phone numbers.
After that, I interned with two lobbyists, and even became one myself for about two months. That was the most feral job on this Earth.
Never in my life did I think I'd be running—literally running—in the dungeon hallway that connects the Connecticut State Capitol and the legislative building at 3 o'clock in the morning trying to find out who decided what in the fight against Uber vs. taxis. I can't even explain what this means.
(I have so many bizarre stories from this time in life. It feels like a fever dream. Someone should make a TV show about the legislative session, and all the interns that have to endure it. Or, if that exists already, someone should tell me about it, so I can watch it and relive it.)
Then, I had an existential crisis after Session ended, and became a carnie.
I wish I were kidding.
My friend's family owns a solar panel company, and they have two giant tents at The Big E—a big ass fair, that's a big ass deal in Western Mass—and they needed someone to stand near the entrance of the parks and pass out maps.
(Do not ask me why the solar panel company marketed themselves at a fair. It was a thing. A lot of random businesses were there.)
(Also on the list of things not to ask me, because I have no answer: why a solar panel company passed out maps, why they thought I was qualified to wear a shirt that said “ask me about solar” when I had nothing to say about solar, & why flamin' hot cheetos became my daily lunch break ritual.)
Somewhere during the stint as a lobbyist intern—while also working at the law firm—I decided I actually did nawt want to be a lawyer, because they're miserable, which was a choice that derailed my life for a hot sec.
So, I became a substitute teacher, because I didn't know what else to do. The kids called me Miss K and made an Instagram fan page for me that still exists.
(Sometimes I run into them and they hug me. And sometimes they comment on my TikToks and I feel awkward.)
After that, I became a luxury concierge at Cape Cod's Most Beautiful Address, aka Chatham Bars Inn. This was the best job ever, for a million different reasons.
(And, weirdly enough, it's the job I consider most relevant to my career as a copywriter, because of all that I learned about being anticipatory, and prioritizing putting the guests' needs first.)
When I got pregnant with Woo, my hospitality career came to an end, and I went back to my law firm life, working as an executive assistant for 3 attorneys in the trust and estates department. It was miserable.
Then, I quit that job to go to Bali on vaca with the Canadian side of the family. Second best choice ever.
Somewhere between Bali and now, I decided to become a copywriter. Best choice ever.
& now we're here, and my job is to write you this newsletter every Tuesday. Basically.
…but did you need to know any of that? And, better question, does any of that deserve to be on my About page?
How To Know Whether Your Past Careers Are Relevant Enough For A Moment On Your About Page
You know what they say— your About page shouldn't read like your LinkedIn profile.
(It's me, by the way. I'm They.)
Howeverrrr… everything has a little nuance, doesn't it?
Normally, my speech on About pages vs. LinkedIn profiles begins with me explaining that your About page is like a first date: no one wants to know what your college major was as soon as they sit down and take a sip of their Allagash, because… duh. It's a first date, not an interview at a Fortune 500.
And while I love that speech—and still think it's relevant—our ideal clients and customers' interactions with us don't always perfectly resemble first dates, as much as we'd like them to. Sometimes they're more like job interviews.
What first dates have in common with interviews, though, is that the person on the other side of the table (or screen) is trying to decide whether or not we're capable of giving them what they want and need.
So, when it comes to writing your About page and determining whether or not it's relevant to include details about your past careers… consider this:
>> Would knowing about your experience in that specific role make someone more likely to invest in you now? If yes, then share it.
>> Did you learn any relevant skills while working in that position that make you uniquely qualified to do your current job? If yes, then share it.
>> Is your experience in that career relevant to the journey of how you got to where you are now? And is that journey something your target audience cares about? If yes, then share it.
You'll also want to be mindful of where your own selfishness comes into play here, because when we're writing about ourselves, we often get caught up in what we want to say, and favor it over what our readers need to hear.
For example…
Are my 3 bachelor's degrees relevant, or do I just feel cool that I have them and want to brag about them?
(It's clear I just want to brag about them. I also had 2 minors, and still graduated in 4 years, magna cum laude, while working and being in a sorority. But none of that has anything to do with the fact that I'm a good website copywriter now.)
At the end of the day, there's no right or wrong answer for what you should include on your About page, because it's YOUR About page.
As long as you make sure to prioritize the narrative your reader actually cares about, you'll be golden.
Hi, I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. Thanks for reading this edition of the Tuesday Table of Contents! If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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