This $2,000-a-month ‘chief small talk officer’ job could be Gen Z’s worst nightmare

Talking to coworkers you don’t know very well, or may have little in common with outside of work, can be uncomfortable. But no generation seems more averse to making office chit-chat than Gen Z. Now, one company is offering a new role for a brave Gen Zer to challenge all that.The job, called a chief small talk officer, was recently posted by the self-improvement app RiseGuide. The company is looking for up to three candidates, ideally based in New York or Los Angeles, but anyone in the U.S. can apply. The role offers $2,000 for 30 days of talking to strangers—and even includes a going-out budget.According to the post, the CSTO “will visit a different spot in their city: cafés, bookstores, sports clubs, cocktail bars, parks, community spaces—you name it. There, they start a conversation with a stranger (or several).” Anyone of any generation can apply.Talking is the hard part. The rest of the role’s responsibilities include documenting the employee’s experience for the company in the form of “notes, observations, short videos, and stories.” Those findings will be used to put together a ranking of the best places to meet strangers in cities across the country, tips for those who wan…

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