Collocation

What do you do?

Fixed interrogative phrase A2 Fixed interrogative phrase

This common question is used to ask about someone's occupation, job, or profession.

Definition

'What do you do?' is a common English collocation. This common question is used to ask about someone's occupation, job, or profession.

What do you do?

“When I meet new people, I often ask, 'What do you do?' to learn about their profession.”

At the party, she asked him, 'What do you do?' to start a conversation about his career.
If you want to know someone's occupation, you can simply ask, 'What do you do?'
My friend asked me, 'What do you do?' when we hadn't seen each other for years, curious about my current job.

Show more examples

During the networking event, everyone was keen to find out, 'What do you do?' from the new contacts.
She prepared her answer carefully, knowing someone would eventually ask, 'What do you do?' at the conference.
It's always interesting to hear the varied responses when I ask people, 'What do you do?' and learn about their work.
It's often seen as an icebreaker to inquire, 'What do you do?' when meeting someone new professionally.
The etiquette guide suggested that 'What do you do?' is an acceptable way to inquire about someone's profession in most social settings.