Who is Valuable: Generalist or Specialist

Every time, I read a job description – two points stand out for me. On one hand, we are looking for a specialist, expert, and experienced in one area. On the other hand, we want them to wear many hats, and be flexible in accepting other job responsibilities.

If you are anything like me, the question might have occurred to you: Whether you should become a generalist or a specialist. How can you become valuable by staying in your lane and yet excel in every aspect?

I found the answer in a list of questions asked during one of my job interviews. The owner-manager did not ask me apparently anything about recruiting, rather I got these ones:

-???????Do you have experience in cold calling and getting leads? “Selling and Marketing”

-???????Do you have knowledge about immigration rules and regulations? “Diversity and inclusion”

-???????Have you studied North American employment law? “Best recruiting practices”

-???????Have you done office administration? “Being organized”

-???????Do you do the external reading? “Constant learning”

-???????Did you like to write essays while in school? “Written communication”

-???????What do you know about the current market trends in terms of merger and acquisition? “Economical awareness”

-???????Have you done computer programming? “IT background”

-???????Do you like to work in a messy environment, or do you like to keep it tidy? “Way to prioritize”

-???????How do you cope with the cold weather? “Established in the country”

-???????Why did you decide to come for the interview on one hour’s notice? “Time management and decision making”

Do you see the pattern? They covered all the general areas related to recruiting which actually makes you a specialist in my humble opinion.

What did I learn from it?

“Align your skills”

In order to be a specialist, you need a list of interrelated general attributes. If you do that, you will realize that being a jack of all is actually the way to be a master of one.

Have you prepared a list of your generic skill set to be a specialist in your desired field, yet?