Job Talk
Job Talk is the My Job project blog.
Hit the road with us as we meet workers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Get a behind- the-scenes look at what people really do all day and what it’s like to build a book. Sign up for our updates.
This Life Coach Made Each Day Count
Tyke Crowley achieved several lifetimes worth of dreams in his tragically short life. Yet, from scholar to policymaker, his greatest dream was to help others…
My First Job
As the holiday rush brings more people- many of them young- into the workforce, Suzanne reflects on the job experiences which shaped her young career.
Mideast Diplomat Greg: Seeking the Peace in Everyone
The story of a MY JOB narrator on the latest conflict in the Mideast, and why he refuses to give up hope for peace.
Her Job is to Bring Us Closer to Death
From Seattle, Katrina Spade hopes to modernize the way we think about death to make it a less frightening and altogether more growthful endeavor.
African Warrior: To Get His Job, He Had to Kill a Lion
To become a Warrior of the Maasai Tribe, Wantay had the most difficult interview imaginable.
What’s a Job to Millennials?
For a long time, what people did defined their lives, with occupation serving as identity. Will the Millennial Generation change that?
A Roof Overhead is a Fighting Chance in Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, HABITAR finances affordable housing for the working poor because they believe the key to escaping poverty is having a place from which to do so.
Saving Appalachian Peaks from Coal-Hungry Headhunters in West Virginia
In West Virginia, Coal River Mountain Watch leads the fight against destructive coal mining practices. It’s Junior Walk’s job to ensure that everyone knows why.
Event: Telling Stories to Connect People to Your Cause; San Francisco, CA
At the Northern California Grantmakers and Exponent Philanthropy workshop, Author Suzanne Skees taught an interactive workshop on how to identify core stories for nonprofits and funders, and how to build elements of engaging stories to connect your audience with your cause. She used several Skees Foundation “Seeds of Hope” stories and the MY JOB book to dissect what she terms “connective tissue” yoking narrator to reader in empathy that creates community and inspires empathic action.
West African Midwife Takes Care of Her Patients—with Her Mobile Phone
In Ghana, Nurse Midwife Monica is at the cutting edge of her field by using mobile phone technology to network with mothers in need of quality natal care.
Kevin the Architect: “No Two Days Are the Same”
In Cincinnati, an architect supports a nonprofit benefitting pediatric cancer patients.
How Can Jobs End Poverty?
In India, Suzanne meets Arindam, who worked with Upaya Social Ventures to found the Tamul Plate factory and provide well-paying jobs to impoverished…
Learning to Lead from the Inside-Out: Program Trains Via Head, Heart, and Hands
In Guatemala, Suzanne explores the importance of leadership development and interviews leading journalist and human rights activist, Alva Batres.
Beating the Odds: Overcoming Gangs and Jail in Chicago
Suzanne learns firsthand about privilege and hope visiting with leaders at the PBMR Center determined to bring peace to the city’s youth.
Imodium in Cambodia
Suzanne powers through traveler’s tummy and still manages to snag an amazing interview with Srey Pouv, a tenacious microlender in Cambodia.
Finding My Ancestral Home and Horse Heaven in Kentucky
Meandering around the Midwest I find myself back in the land of my father’s farm-boy roots and in the middle of what I call “horse heaven.”
Does Our Job = Our Self? With George, It’s Complicated
Grammy-award winning Hawaiian musician George Kahumoku on his job: “I’m a farmer,” he says. “My music is just what I do to support my farming habit.”
Event: Panel on Storytelling for Social Change; San Francisco, CA
A high-impact group of global philanthropists from The Philanthropy Workshop gathered for a series on using the arts to promote social justice; the weekend included music and dancing as well as talks by bestselling novelist Dave Eggers on his publishing company Voice of Witness as well as MY JOB author Suzanne Skees
Behind the scenes with Muhammad, Bangladeshi Rickshaw Puller
Muhammad is still starving. “I pull the rickshaw for my next meal,” he told me. “If I don’t ride, we don’t eat that day.”
The Birth of My Job
The idea of a book about jobs came to me one afternoon over a Thai noodle lunch in San Jose, California.
Event: Harvard Divinity School “Divinity Dialogues: Stories of Care;” San Francisco, CA
“Active listening that leads to action: There is no greater act of care than listening to someone’s story,” Skees told the audience of about fifty people gathered in the Embarcadero Center. “I believe the greatest form of intimacy is sharing our stories. It’s when we tell each other the stories of who we are that we reveal the layers below our surface and truly become close.“
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