Do You Really Need A Career Change?

The thought of a career change does not appeal to everyone; a career change means the possibility of changing one’s lifestyle, environment, and building another career from square one. It can be stressful just thinking of the idea of a possible career change and the things that go with it. However, if you can’t find the happiness and the fulfillment with your current job anymore and just feel that you are doing it for a non-existent purpose and principle, it is time for a career change. 

When you find yourself in this predicament, don't worry.  Almost every professional has undergone this experience once in their life, especially the young professionals, before establishing themselves to their more permanent and lasting jobs.   

There will come a time when we ask ourselves if we are really happy and contented with our choice of career and if we are really going to stay with that job until we get old. There will be a time when you will feel empty in some aspect of your career and you would feel that you need to work that missing piece out for yourself. Reevaluating of your life will be needed when that moment comes along and a career change might be needed.

There are certain measures that you will need to do before deciding to pursue a career change because this can change your life forever and can also change the life of your family. You will need to reevaluate your current profession and the major problems you are having with it. You would also need to find possible new career options and to equip yourself with the right skills and education that you will need for the new career that you want.

Reflect On Your Current Career. It is very important that you reflect on your current career first before considering a career change and the importance of doing it. Do not jump into another career immediately if your only reason is a short term clash between your co-workers or a little misunderstanding with your boss, or if it is only an impulsive and reckless thought that happened to enter your mind. If this is your only reason, go on with your job and wait for the matter at your office to settle down before seriously thinking about changing careers. On the other hand, if you have been feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled with your current job for a very long time now and have been thinking of a career change, go for it, if you think it will help you grow professionally and personally.  

Know The Reasons Why You Need A Career Change. It is important to know whether there indeed are reasons for needing a career change and to know what those reasons are. It is also important to you ascertain the factors that led to your dissatisfaction with your current career.  This way, you can avoid career options that have the same factors that you have known to affect your job satisfaction.  After determining that working the grave night shift or working long hours is a big factor why you are not satisfied with your present job, for example, you would need to cross out the career options that have these factors from your list.

Know Your Career Options.  Aside from determining the elements that contribute to your dissatisfaction with your present job, you would also need to identify those that you find enjoyable.  Knowing so can help you narrow down your choices and to have a shortlist of career options that will be good for you.

Several career options are out there where you can find something that will match your education, your personal skills, and the passion that you have for a certain work.  You would also need to ascertain whether there is room for you to improve yourself both personally and professionally and whether it is the kind of change that you need in your life right now.

Prepare And Arm Yourself With New Skills Through Education And Trainings. For you to be able to be successful in your new career, you may need to have another set of education and trainings required for it. After eliminating other possible career options, focus on the education and trainings that are necessary for the new career path that you are planning to embark on. See whether the education and trainings that you currently have matches with the requirements of the new career you are considering. You also have to ask yourself if you are willing to give the needed time, effort, and money to have the knowledge and skills for a new career. It will be easier that you choose a new career that closely matches your education and personal skills rather than starting from scratch all over again.

Before pursuing any career change moves, be sure that it is what you really need and want in your life. Cover the basics of your planned career move before you pursue your passions. Our very own talents and skills are meant to be expressed and be used to enrich our life and that of others. It is very important that the career change will make you feel fulfilled, contented, and happy with your work for you to be able to be more productive, useful, and be more creative.  

Chris Hughes: From Facebook to The New Republic

As one of the original co-founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes was catapulted into the elite group of young millionaires who made it big with the help of the Internet.  However, Chris went beyond the distinction of being a Facebook co-founder and spokesperson and went on to carve his very own niche in history and society.  

After successfully orchestrating Barack Obama’s online presidential campaign in 2008 and founding Jumo in 2010,  Chris Hughes is now more identified with his political causes and as the new Editor-in-Chief and publisher of The New Republic magazine, which he bought in 2012.  Interestingly, Chris used his wealth from the new media to invest in the traditional media.

Family and Educational Background

Born in November 26, 1983, Chris is the only child of Ray and Brenda Hughes, a sales manager and a math teacher respectively.  Chris was raised in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina as an evangelical Lutheran.  When he was 15 years old, he got accepted to the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts on scholarship.  After excelling academically at Andover, Chris clinched a scholarship to Harvard, where he spent perhaps the most life-changing years of his life.  

Harvard and Facebook

At Harvard, Chris majored in History and Literature.  During his sophomore year, he became roommates with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, and Dustin Moskovitz.  They later became the four original co-founders of the worldwide phenomenon called Facebook.  Though Chris was not that proficient in computer programming and coding, he became interested in what his roommates were developing and offered suggestions.  Since he is outgoing and articulate, he became their group’s salesman and spokesperson during the early days of Facebook.

Like Eduardo Saverin, Chris refused to drop out from Harvard and move to Palo Alto when Facebook started to gain ground.  He finished his Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature degree from Harvard in 2006 as magna cum laude before working fulltime in Facebook’s product team.  A few months after, he left Facebook.  As Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes earned around 1% of the company’s stocks, which is estimated to worth at $850 million, making him one of the youngest millionaires in the world when he was barely 23 years old.

MyBarackObama.com, Jumo, and Beyond

Before the 2008 US Presidential Election, then-senator Obama’s personal aide, Reggie Love, asked Chris for help in putting up Obama’s Facebook page.  After leaving Facebook, Chris worked as the director of the presidential campaign’s online organizing for Obama.  He developed and ran the social media operations of Obama’s campaign.  He came up with MyBarackObama.com, the online social networking site for Obama’s presidential campaign, which was Chris’ personal project that he incorporated into Obama’s official site. 

 MyBarackObama was a kind of Facebook network for Obama’s donors, canvassers, and grassroots organizers.  Aside from engaging the young supporters for Obama, this site also helped raise around $30 million for Obama’s campaign.  In April 2009, the Fast Company magazine featured Chris and his work in the Obama campaign with its "The Kid Who Made Obama President: How Facebook Cofounder Chris Hughes Unleashed Barack's Base - and Changed Politics and Marketing Forever" headline.  Chris Hughes was 24 years old when he helped his boss into the White House.

In March 2009, the General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm based in Cambridge, Massachusets, named Chris as its Entrepreneur in Residence.  He also worked as Managing Director of MondayCall Solutions, as VP for Marketing of Medivo, and as Board Member of Fancy.

In 2010, he put his social media and political expertise to work by founding Jumo and working as its Executive Director.  Jumo was a non-profit social networking organization that aimed to maximize the social media to help organizations and individuals who want to change the world for the better.  In April 2011, Kerry Dolan of Forbes negotiated with Chris about Jumo and talked about helping small and medium nonprofit organizations to establish interactive online presence.  In August 2011, Jumo merged with GOOD.

Political Causes and The New Republic

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS appointed Chris Hughes to its High Level Commission, which is composed of 17 members who are renowned politicians, human rights activists, scientists, and business leaders.  In 2011, he went to St. Moritz, Switzerland to attend the Bilderberg Conference, the annual, invitation-only, and very exclusive conference attended by around 120 powerful people from around the world.

Being openly gay, he has also supported the various causes of the LGBT community. He attended the first state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama with his boyfriend Sean Eldridge, who was Freedom To Marry’s Political Director that time.  He married Sean on June 30, 2012.

In March 2012, Chris bought the majority stocks of The New Republic, a highly regarded, albeit struggling, arts and politics magazine with liberal inclination based in Washington DC.  As the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the magazine, he promised to keep The New Republic up with the latest information technologies while upholding serious journalism.  With Chris, the guy who set off to make a better mark in the world, at the helm, The New Republic has more to celebrate in its forthcoming centennial year.