Joe Chiu, VP of EF Education First, on Understanding Yourself to Finding the Right Job

“It’s important to know yourself, to know what you are good at and what drives you.”

Joe Chiu is passionate about empowering youth through education and is currently serving as Vice President of EF Education First — a world leader in international education. Yet, his career journey into education is not straightforward.

Joe carries an enviable resume. He graduated from Yale University with a distinction in B.A. in History and worked for 3 years as Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company. He also holds a MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

1. Always Believe Nothing Is Impossible, Stay Positive & Keep Fighting

Joe grew up in a humble family in a public estate in Sha Tin. While his parents could not afford to send him to private tutoring class, as a kid he was a diligent student and worked hard to get into one of Hong Kong’s top local secondary school.

At 15, his family immigrated to the United States. Joe followed his family to the States and attended a public high school in his local community. He shared it was not easy being an Asian minority in a white and black dominated environment, however seeing his parents’ sacrifices, he studied hard in hopes to enter a good university. When it was time to apply for university, his teachers advised him against of applying to Ivy League because no students in the school’s history has ever been accepted before.

Joe decides to believe in himself and gave it a shot and was accepted into Yale University.

“Sometimes in life when faced with big obstacles, even when everyone else says no, we should still give it a shot.”

2. Career Dilemma: Doctor, Investment Banker or Consulting?

Joe’s childhood ambition is to become a doctor having grew up suffering from kidney diseases. Thus it has always been in his plans to apply for medical program and residency after his undergraduate… until college, when he realised he was not passionate enough to pursue a career in medicine.

It was a changing point in my life. I’d graduated from Yale and was back in Hong Kong without a job. The 3 most common professions in Hong Kong were Law, Banking and Consulting. Law was out for me & so it was a dilemma between Banking and Consulting. Banking would have paid more money, but knowing myself — I am not driven by purely monetary value and so I chose consulting.

Banking would have paid more money, but knowing myself — I am not driven by purely monetary value and so I chose consulting.

3. Career Choice — Culture, People Matters.

Returning to Hong Kong after his MBA, Joe realised that the demanding, constant travel and high-pressure environment at McKinsey was not a fit for him.

I was looking for a job that can allow me to create social impact and EF Education gave me that opportunity to do so in a realistic way. The company has an entrepreneurial environment and a good and supportive culture which allows me to perform well in my role.

When making career choices, don’t just look at the industry. At the end, if the company culture and people you work with are not supportive, your potential, value and satisfaction will be hindered.

As our meeting draws to an end, we asked Joe what is one social issue he hopes to brings more awareness to — he firmly answered, Helping the Less Privilege to Gain Access to Education and Opportunity!

Thank you Joe for donating your time to Time Auction, which has contributed 71 volunteer hours to HKYFG, Suicide Prevention Services, CUHI I-Care Programme, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation HK and more!

If you like this, check out Time Auction, a platform that connects you with inspiring people while encouraging volunteerism.

By Janet Mack, Time Auction Ambassador and Suet Yi Wong, Co-Founder of Time Auction

Volunteer testimonials:

Ann Leung, Graduate Quantity Surveyor

I enjoyed Josiah’s sharing for it is personal and thoughts-provoking. There is no formula to success, what makes a difference is the his determination and choice-making ability. It was nice for him to share with us his thoughts at different age and circumstances — and how they make him the way he is now. They were realistic. Those circumstances and the sense of uncertainty are common among many youngsters, and we surely could take reference to his considerations.

Yeeman Ko, Lingnan University

Determination and Diligence are key elements to success, Joe used his story to educate us.

Janet Mack, Chinese University Hong Kong

It was an inspiring lunch with Josiah to understand the prospect of the education industry in Hong Kong and his unique career path from consulting to MBA to Harvard to landing at EF Education First. I had taken many notes but in particular love these following quotes I still remember “If you want a different result, make a different choice. Know your worth, know your value, know your quality. Enjoyment + Experience + Performance = the most important thing.”