True Passion: Sometimes a Career Change Is Just What You Need

by Carlos Arcos, Vollmer Public Relations Houston

**Listen to the companion podcast on Vollocity Live!

When people ask me why I left the practice of law, I usually say I knew it was time to make a career switch when I began to seriously dread Monday mornings. That’s when I began to read books such as “What Color is My Parachute?” seeking some direction for what I wanted to do next. I attended career seminars for lawyers looking to make a switch. I desperately wanted to be passionate about my career.

During my research, public relations popped out at me as a potential career option. I just had no real idea what someone in public relations actually did. I started networking with friends to see who they knew in PR. I was amazed at how many of my friends had PR connections since this was a career that I knew very little about, except from watching the old TV show “Bewitched.”(Oh, wait. I think Darren worked at an ad agency, anyway.) One of my friends even helped me schedule a meeting with Tony Shelton at Vollmer.

After I got the skinny on PR, a good friend of a good friend of mine arranged an interview for me at the agency where she was working. I hit it off with the person doing the recruiting, and I landed my first PR job -- as an intern. Let me tell you it was hard starting over again at the bottom.  But it was well worth it! I knew that I needed to leave the practice of law and, if it turned out that I didn’t like public relations, it was at least the catalyst I needed to find my true calling.

The rest is history, as they say. I loved my new career. Because of my newfound passion for my job, I was quickly promoted.  It was great to look forward to going to work on Monday morning. Now I tell anyone who starts complaining to me about their job or career that it is easier than they think to make a change. All it takes is some planning.

The one problem with my choice of PR as my profession is my mom. She still, to this day, doesn’t understand what I do. I finally gave up and just told her to tell people that I am still a lawyer!