--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even though I didn't know I was applying…" description: "\"Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I have somehow become the spokesperson for independent book stores.\" — Ann Patchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg" --- # Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I… ![“Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I have somehow become the spokesperson for independent book stores.” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg) > “Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I have somehow become the spokesperson for independent book stores.” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected advocacy for indie bookstores shows how personal experience can lead to unexpected leadership roles. **In simple terms:** She became a spokesperson for indie bookstores. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected advocacy. Themes community independent business literature advocacy career paths Mood inspirational pragmatic Type motivational strategic When to use this quote - store events - author talks - local marketing - policy advocacy Key Concepts personal branding community support industry influence Questions to Reflect On - How can you leverage unexpected platforms? - What responsibilities arise from unintended roles? A Different Perspective May lack formal authority. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-store/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Spokesperson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokesperson/) ## Related quotes > [Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. Imagine that it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/imagine-that-everything-you-are-typing-is-being-read-by-the-person/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [On the internet: Ugh I hate people so much! Applying for a job: I love working with people and I'm very sociable. :](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/on-the-internet-ugh-i-hate-people-so-much-applying-for-a-job-i-love/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Applying for a job after finishing a Ph.D is about turning yourself inside out. You've been involved in the most introverted process you've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-morton/applying-for-a-job-after-finishing-a-ph-d-is-about-turning-yourself/) [Timothy Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-morton/) > [“He didn’t miss a beat. “Is this an interview?” “Yes.” “What job am I applying for?” “The job of my dance and life partner—figuratively,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid-love-hacked/he-didn-t-miss-a-beat-is-this-an-interview-yes-what-job-am-i-applying/) Penny Reid Love Hacked > [But instead I am applying for a job as an elf. Even worse than applying is the very real possibility that I will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/but-instead-i-am-applying-for-a-job-as-an-elf-even-worse-than/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“ THE JOB SEARCH To be successful in the working world, you must steel yourself against rejection, whether you are a salesman, a grant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/the-job-search-to-be-successful-in-the-working-world-you-must-steel/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) > [You shouldn’t act as a spokesperson for someone who’s trying to impose his will on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/you-shouldn-t-act-as-a-spokesperson-for-someone-who-s-trying-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I just want to be a spokesperson for the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-t-genasis/i-just-want-to-be-a-spokesperson-for-the-people/) [O. T. Genasis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-t-genasis/) > [Governor Palin leans far closer to 'spokesperson' than representative of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/governor-palin-leans-far-closer-to-spokesperson-than-representative/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [I set out to be a comedian, and then the spokesperson thing is kind of just something that came along with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-blue/i-set-out-to-be-a-comedian-and-then-the-spokesperson-thing-is-kind-of/) [Josh Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-blue/) > [I am not a spokesperson for any political person or party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/i-am-not-a-spokesperson-for-any-political-person-or-party/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [I am not a spokesperson for the trans community, I am not. The media kind of projects me as being the spokesperson, but from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlyn-jenner/i-am-not-a-spokesperson-for-the-trans-community-i-am-not-the-media/) [Caitlyn Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlyn-jenner/) > [That's the person I plan on being for a very long time: someone who stands up, someone who is an advocate for people, \[even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zendaya/that-s-the-person-i-plan-on-being-for-a-very-long-time-someone-who/) [Zendaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zendaya/) > [“John Nobody, a Nobody Inc. spokesperson, declined to comment. Or prove his existence or the existence of the company he may or may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/john-nobody-a-nobody-inc-spokesperson-declined-to-comment-or-prove/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I never wear fur, and I am a spokesperson for PETA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franka-potente/i-never-wear-fur-and-i-am-a-spokesperson-for-peta/) [Franka Potente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franka-potente/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I have somehow become the spokesperson for independent book stores.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Patchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying-for-the-job-i-have-somehow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying-for-the-job-i-have-somehow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6d/ann-patchett-670_book_even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying_1125668.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even though I didn't know I was applying for the job, I have somehow become the spokesperson for independent…” — Ann Patchett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ann Patchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even though I didn't know I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying-for-the-job-i-have-somehow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/even-though-i-didn-t-know-i-was-applying-for-the-job-i-have-somehow/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```