You need to very closely evaluate your skills to determine if you are a jack of all trades implying skillful enough in several fields or a specialist implying highly skilled in a particular and restricted field. Whatever be your findings, nearly half of employed people who are recruited as specialists view themselves as jack of all trades; in other words, they see themselves as generalists.
If the above situation persists, there is bound to be this very dangerous likelihood of will this great perilous possibility of having an army of generalists. And unfortunately, the outcome will be creation of several impediments in individual career management and in the long run harm organizational and even national capabilities to function effectively in a multinational and multi-cultural atmosphere. Considering the foregoing, when people seek newer responsibilities, who do you think will stand to gain - generalists or a specialists?
Generalists, as the name signifies, possess very wide-ranging and all-inclusive skills and expertise in an equally broad spectrum of branches of learning but within the gamut of their line of work. On the other hand, specialists would have transformed their reputation to becoming must-meet-for advice individuals. For obvious reasons, specialists would have invested both their wealth and time to acquire that status. For example, a TV anchor may possess the requisite skills, experience and communication skills to host shows, a defense analyst would be very adroit at participation in any discussion on military matters as also any issue that may crop up during the course of deliberations.
Resume writers invariably counsel job hunters to refrain from portraying an impression of being generalists. This is primarily because every employer appreciates any person who specializes in some field or the other and problems encountered in bringing generalists to such a level. However, a number of professionals opine that such a trend is set to be altered as companies increasingly resort to employees well-versed in dual disciplines. The net outcome is that more and more people are being assigned generalist tasks as well and which has resulted in placing increased reliance on outsourcing for specialist work. Companies also save money in following this route.
People who are standing at the threshold of their careers as generalists perhaps seek to validate various alternatives available to them before they become specialists. They would be able to discern precisely what their ideal charter ought to be, given their experience and skills. Specializing in a particular field would be a later option. To illustrate the point, graduates joining a company would initially be required to work in rotation in various departments of different verticals prior to being selected for employment in a specific field of work.
The opposite spectrum of any career would inevitably have people with skills and outlook, typical of generalists. And at that level, they would be beneficial too. Research has proved that as one climbs the career ladder, the requirement of general and managerial expertise is enhanced. If you were to follow and apply them during the early stages of your career with adroitness, the prospects of you being elevated to a different level will be heightened tremendously.
So the big question is, “How do you then play your cards well?” It is essential that you understand that in the long run, things will be in your favor if your wide skill-sets have the potential of some built-in special knowledge. While this would be workable for the large majority, some people who are inclined to delve into the details of a matter may have to stripe and grapple with their jobs and careers. Specialists however, can still enhance their perspectives and acquire ascendancy if they participate in projects, become members of steering outfits, engage in social service activities with the intended objective of gaining practical acquaintances. The necessity to comprehend the requirement to alter your outlook to make it more open and attempt to even alter it needs no emphasis. It will remain the bottom line for sure and an experience of delight for certain.
They say that intellectually bright individuals with a penchant to learn new things become generalists and intellectually work-shy and intellectuals slack ones go on to become specialists. There is always a temptation to become an expert or a specialist - a supposition and conjecture in society that once and believability is contingent on in-depth (but shallow) knowledge and potential. However, for those who function and operate in areas where there exist likelihood of imaginativeness and creativity being put to use, being a generalist is definitely more important. And the responsibilities involved thus are intense than anywhere else, their powerful role in business and innovation notwithstanding. There is a need to be prudent and careful here because though you may be able to come out with great ideas, the need to seek some approval from experts or specialists cannot be dispensed with.
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