Barack Obama once said, “Worry about what you want to do”: Why Gen Z should prioritise skills over job titles

“Worry about what you want to do, not who you want to be. ” That’s the career advice former US President Barack Obama gave his speechwriter, Aneesh Raman. In a March 2024 interview with CNBC Make It, Raman revealed how this simple guidance shaped his unconventional career path. The insight later caught the attention of Fortune, highlighting why it’s especially relevant for Gen Z professionals navigating today’s fast-changing job market.

At a time when job titles often double as identity markers on LinkedIn, the advice cuts through the noise. For fresh graduates and young professionals beginning their careers, it offers a grounded alternative to the pressure of rapid designation-building.

Campus placement season is frequently defined by numbers — packages secured, firms cracked, designations earned. Social media timelines fill up with promotion announcements and new-job posts. In such an environment, early-career success can begin to look like a race.

Raman, however, pointed to a different benchmark. In his interview, he explained that Obama consistently pushed young aides to think about substance over status.

Instead of centring ambition around titles, he encouraged them to focus on the nature of the work itself — the issues they cared about and the skills they wanted to sharpen.

For freshers, the distinction is critical. A title may offer immediate validation, but it does not automatically translate into long-term capability.

Raman’s own journey reflects that philosophy. Before serving as a speechwriter in the White House, he worked as a journalist reporting from conflict zones. He later moved into leadership roles in the technology sector and is now a senior executive at LinkedIn.

On paper, the transitions appear unconventional. In practice, they are connected by a consistent skill set — storytelling, strategic communication, policy analysis, and organisational leadership.

In his conversation with CNBC Make It, Raman described careers as unfolding in phases. Early professional years, he suggested, are best spent building durable, transferable skills. Mid-career often involves applying those skills to a specific domain. Leadership and broader impact tend to follow later.

The approach reframes early years as an investment period rather than a performance showcase.

Today’s employment landscape is structurally different from that of a decade ago. Artificial intelligence is reshaping entry-level roles. Startups scale rapidly and pivot just as quickly. Corporate hierarchies are flattening.

In such a scenario, title-driven ambition can become fragile. Designations change. Departments restructure. Entire job functions evolve.

Skills, however, compound.

Communication ability, analytical thinking, digital competence, and cross-functional collaboration remain relevant even as industries transform. For fresh graduates, the question shifts from “What designation will I hold?” to “What capabilities will I build?”

The initial stages of a career tend to be filled with high pressure to make visible progress. However, career capital is created by depth, which involves dealing with complex tasks, learning from failures, and getting exposure to decision-making processes.

Obama’s advice, as recalled by Raman, offers a strategic lens for navigating this phase. Instead of defining success by speed of promotion, young professionals may benefit from measuring it by the quality of skills acquired.

For those entering the workforce this year, whether in corporate offices, startups, or public service, the takeaway is straightforward. Do not over-identify with your first title. Evaluate roles by the learning they enable. Choose growth over optics.

In a labour market shaped by disruption and reinvention, focusing on what you do, rather than who you appear to be, may prove to be the more resilient strategy.

And for freshers standing at the starting line of their careers, that perspective could make all the difference.