- Barack Obama's ex-speechwriter has had a non-linear career, shaped by advice from the former president.
- "Worry about what you want to do, not who you want to be," Obama told one-time staffer Aneesh Raman, per CNBC.
- Raman advised young workers to think about the impact they want to have rather than a job title.
A former speechwriter for Barack Obama shared some advice from the former president that shaped his career choices.
Aneesh Raman, who worked as a speechwriter for Obama from 2011 to 2013, told CNBC Make It that the two-term Democratic president often said: "Worry about what you want to do, not who you want to be."
Raman, who is now a vice president and workforce expert at LinkedIn, explained that Obama started out in community service organizing in Chicago and didn't always have ambitions to become president, but "he wanted to build communities in a different way" and "it led him on his path that led to this moment where he became president."
Raman's career has been somewhat similar and what he calls a "squiggly line" career which doesn't have a linear path but is driven more by his skills and passions. He's worked as a CNN war correspondent in the Middle East, as well as the head of economic impact at Facebook.
"My job titles as a career don't make sense," he told CNBC, saying that he has always specialized in storytelling and coalition building around economic opportunity, leading him to the various roles he's had.
Raman encourages young professionals to think about the impact they want to have rather than the title they want to earn and that they should think about their careers in phases.
From age 20 to 25, you should learn what your key skills are and what you're passionate about. From age 30 to 45, you should apply these skill sets to an area of expertise or a particular field.
After age 45, you can start thinking about what kind of impact you want in your organization and the world.
This is the best way to define a long-lasting career because it's areas you can control versus a job title that "might not even exist in 20 years," Raman said.
In an interview with LinkedIn in 2023, Obama reiterated the words of wisdom he had shared years ago with Raman.
When thinking about your career you should "worry more about what you want to do rather than what you want to be," Obama said.
"I think so often, people have in their mind, 'I want to be a congressman by 30. I wanna make X amount of money by this age.'"
But an "extraordinary career" comes from following your interests and passions, he said.