Comments on: Don't be a generalist — Typecast yourself

By: Brian Jensen

Brian Jensen — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:22:02 +0000

I can see the advantage of typecasting yourself, but how and when do you admit that the professional persona you've promoted is too narrow, shoddy or even defunct?

By: Scott Bikes

Scott Bikes — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:59:32 +0000

I think your best bet for standing out is to demonstrate a neighboring set of skills that may be rare for someone in your category. Then, once you land the job, you can leverage those skills into a position with more range.

By: Clip In Hair Extensions

Clip In Hair Extensions — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:04:51 +0000

I agree, being a generalist would immediately make you lose all what you have. And I really have seen this happen many times at my work place. Too bad for them. Advising them also has not affect on their stand. That's the saddest part. Cheers

By: Safety Boots

Safety Boots — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:01:59 +0000

If you're the Sly Stallone of enterprise softwareYou have to fit into a category that intermediaries like headhunters understand,If you start off as a generalist and try to avoid typecasting, you may not get to play in the first place.

By: Stock Clearance

Stock Clearance — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:20:19 +0000

I guess in a down economy, is it better to be specialist or a generalist? most people would likely vote generalist: If you don't know where your next gig will come from, better not to be typecast!

By: Gas Fires

Gas Fires — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:37:10 +0000

I have multiple passions, so this entry really hit home for me. All my life I’ve felt somehow inadequate because I dabble in so many things – writing, music, cooking, improv, etc, and I’d always heard that phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” in the back of my head. I’m slowing coming to understand that I’m just wired this way and that it’s having all these things that make me really buzz that prevents me from ever being bored.

By: Vintage Car Restoration

Vintage Car Restoration — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:17:23 +0000

I think its good to specialise and become very experienced with one role or area and then to move onto another after a number of years carrying it out. This may be in disagreement with the other people commenting here, but I do believe that there are too many 'generalists' in a whole host of industries that move from role to role and areas to area.

Call me old fshioned, but I believe that people should intrinsically learn a skill and then work hard at it for a considerable amount of time. The common thing at the moment in the job market is that there are too many generalists and this is not what companies want.

By: konferens

konferens — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:35:57 +0000

I have been a generalist in my field for over 20 years. By having such a wide understanding of marketing, fundraising, business, budgeting/finance and nonprofit management, I’ve been able to have a wide variety of top positions where I can have an impact on the organization. The trick is to find people you can call on if there is a specific issue you need help to resolve, and on knowing when to call these individuals.

By: Konferenser

Konferenser — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:32:22 +0000

f you want to be a generalist, you can spend much of your training time learning the HTML page development tools used for making small and medium-sized sites. Start your list with FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver, or Adobe GoLive, and you'll be in good shape creating HTML pages. Because a site is composed of not only HTML pages but also scripts, database elements, and queries, this is only the beginning of your drive toward being a good Web generalist. But it is a necessary first step.

By: Vintage Fountain Pens

Vintage Fountain Pens — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:51:35 +0000

Specialization does become a bore if you do not spice it up, job rotation and enrichment too can be a form of motivation. I guess forecasting on a positive direction would do the trick there.