Job Seeking for Specialists and Generalists

Are you a generalist or a specialist?

Seems like most people put themselves in one box or the other. Some people are specialists in many areas, some people are "jacks of all trades and masters of none", and some do one thing and only one thing, very, very well.

When it comes to searching for a job, does it benefit you most to be a specialist or a generalist?

Recently Steve Rubel posted a piece on MicroPersuasion about the power of scarcity and how it works in the marketplace, careers, social networks and the like.

The idea is straightforward: be the expert in something people want that is scarce, and develop a track record for doing it really well. It makes a lot of sense.

Specifically thinking about you as a job seeker, I think the main issue is not so much whether you can make yourself stand out as a specialist, but rather that you market yourself effectively for the job you want. The job you want might require specialized experience, general experience, or a little of both.

This means you do the research to understand what the hiring managers of your job target want, and your resume makes it easy for them to see what they want and more.

Achieving this marketing success is much more important than spending time worrying whether generally speaking you're a dabbler or have tunnel vision.

Maybe you're not worried about this, but plenty of people are. Many people have spent their entire careers becoming specialists in something they no longer care about or is no longer so relevant. They begin to question whether being a specialist has been a smart strategy for them.

Other people have had careers that have capitalized on their ability to do many varied tasks in many varied situations. They worry whether their lack of specialization makes them vulnerable to being squeezed out, and whether their career path appears scattered or flaky.

After researching what your target job requires, you may decide that you need to specialize in a different area or broaden your skill base to become a top candidate. Your ability to be flexible and deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills as the situation requires is really what matters in the debate of "specialist vs. generalist".

The work world needs both specialists and generalists. Obviously you will have an easier time of it in your career if you choose work that is in tune with who you are.

But to find that work in the first place, remember that the more specific and targeted you are in presenting yourself on your resume and in the job interviews, the greater your chances for success.

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com