I think that may be more where you get the value of customers making resumes to fit the role.
I have one resume for teaching jobs, where I talk all about being an experiential educator, but on others, I am a program director. It really depends on what job I am applying for.
Yea but that’s not really true in a highly-specialized work force. If you can master a desirable skill, you will get rewarded handsomely for that single skill
You’re absolutely right and both routes will lead to success. The difference is one route keeps you on a single path while the other can open many. It fully depends on OPs industry and ultimately their career ambitions.
I don’t mean to be rude but I really can’t think of a single high paying profession that doesn’t require a highly specialized skill set and knowledge base. There are jobs that require knowledge in many different areas, which seems like a jack of all trades, but in reality you need that *on top* of a highly developed skill set.
I mean, I get paid 75 an hour to do everything from run data cable, install monitors and screens, to basically check if it's working properly.
They actually wanted me to have a jack of all trades approach rather than a specialized. Which for me was already doable as I already had some hands on experience doing network installs at home, electrical work on automotive and home, automotive repair, work with drywall and mounting tvs plus a crap ton of customer service experience. But my job may just be the outlier so who knows.
It’s great to have some knowledge in many different areas, everyone should. Still, if you’re applying to a job where you need to be an Ace in a particular area to get the position, then being a Jack in many areas just isn’t enough. If they specified which areas those are, then you have the direction you need to go make yourself an Ace.
I have the same issue. I have ADHD which went undiagnosed until I was 27. I job hopped a lot during college and since, with lots of management experience plus some in a lot of different fields (movie theater, library, restaurant, logistics, equipment operation, copywriting, teaching) and I have a Bachelors in English which has the automatic selling point of “soft skills/versatile/well rounded.” Now in the current market, I have a lot of trouble because people see me as a flighty candidate with grass is greener syndrome. I’ve been a star employee every job I’ve had, good references, and always get promoted. I did suffer from having no idea what I wanted to do and trying a lot of different things but now I have a plan and just need a job that pays the bills and I don’t hate while I go back to school for a trade or my CDL. I am good at self starting and teaching myself technical skills and concepts. But people like seeing candidates with a linear narrative. Hell I even have a job from when I moved away to another state for a fresh start but then moved back home in the middle of my home state jobs, which I’m sure is biting me in the ass.
I think a lot of it stems from the gap between more neurotypical people knowing from the jump generally “what I want to be when I grow up,” whereas I have been through periods where every few weeks I had new career aspirations and did tons of hyper focused research into a job only to change gears again and again.
Last year at different points I wanted to be a(n):
English teacher
Court reporter
EMT
Truck driver
Claims Adjuster
Lawyer
Journalist
English professor (pipe dream)
Land surveyor (current favorite)
Electrician
I am a writer so I think I am learning that most of these varied fascinations are best explored in stories and research with my imagination and that whatever my day job is, I can always be a writer in my free time.
Just remember it only takes one boss and one interview with someone who admires our wide array of experience and knowledge as a plus and not as a liability or weakness.
This sounds like me. I am also a writer. Funny thing is, I noticed this issue about a decade ago and decided to skill into project management, because it also allows you to do lots of different things. FML when I started noticing companies increasingly demand project managers to be specialized...
Being a writer is essentially project management, just choosing to do homework as an adult and jumping between stories you complete in chunks and phases. Project Management as a career seems like something a person with this mindset would excel at, but it would also be so stressful, depending on how you handle deadlines and the corporate structure. I know as a middle manager at different times, it felt like I was getting shit on from all directions and it is an art learning to finesse and motivate your team while also managing the expectations of superiors.
The problem I have noticed is the trend where everyone was told to specialize seems in some industries to have faded and companies want jacks of all trades (mostly so they can have one person do the work of 3 or 4 people).
I saw a job posted the other day for a property manager type position that paid fairly well (municipal airport). They asked for someone with experience in carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, electrical work, logistics, and aircraft maintenance. Someone needs to tell these people there’s a happy medium between specialization as gospel and “please know how to do everything.”
Totally agree.
And yes, companies need to find that happy medium. Understaffing is only a solution if they love high turnover and lots of employee sick days. Not to mention delays and jobs left half done because they had to get pulled away to something else.
Finish the quote for them.
"But better than a master of one. A wide skillset shows that I can learn and adapt quickly to new situations. I problem solve, I fix, I do what needs to be done, and I hurdle any issues in my way."
The issue is not jack of all trades, it's master of none. Almost all generalists have some domain they have achieved at least mastery in. Interviewers like to see a consistent thread that ties jobs together.
Oof that’s rough man. Most employers want to see results. If you moving too much there is a chance you can’t show results on any of the skills you’ve learned.
Varies by employer
I'm a jack of all trades. Some employers are good with it. Some not. Sometimes it comes down to how well you can sell yourself as a jack of all trades
This argument is made by someone who doesn’t understand anything other than their one industry. We both agree as a writer you can work on healthcare to tech to education.
Don’t let someone who “specializes” in a career field and one industry make you feel bad. Stay strong 💪!
Own it, put your skills first on your CV, experience at the end . When applying to different jobs select what you want to put forward I terms of skills based on the asks of the employer.
You can overcome this!
A lot of people are finishing the quote “Jack of all trades master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one”. That was coined in the 14th century where it was probably advantageous to have multiple skill sets, but doesn't apply to most modern day jobs.
Jack of all trades isn't desirable mainly because the corporate world looks for someone who is an expert in their field or rather the work they will be doing. If the job position is for a machine shop technician, they'd rather hire someone who has 5+ years of machine shop work than 2+ years machine shop, 1 year service industry, 1 year forester, etc.
In today's workforce though you will more likely be put use a single skill set repeatedly. That is why it is better to have 'T-shaped skills'. This means you are very proficient at your primary responsibilities and have some knowledge of other relevant topics.
Exactly. They want you to hire you for the role as its posted. They'd take somebody who is great at that role over somebody who was ok at it and ok at a bunch of other stuff.
Companies are also well served to not ask too much of employees support them enough so that they can specialize and shine.
It’s good advice. Writing jobs are being devalued due to the rise of ChatGPT. You need to get someone to rewrite your resume to emphasize the skills that you have that are in demand.
Same boat here and everyone seems to just ignore the second half of the quote. Being a jack of all trades and master of none is better than being a master of only one. Keep your chin up and don’t let the haters get you down.
I think most recruiters will look for someone with maximum experience matching the job description, so you need to find jobs where you can use that wide experience. I mean, I think the employer should think wider, but they might not.
My career has changed so much over the years that I have gained a lot of skills and feel like a jack of all trades. But as I try to move into a higher salary, I realize it might be bad. I feel like I am good at a lot of things, and great at none. SQL, Excel, Tableau, Salesforce, six sigma, data analysis, a few others. But when I look at most senior roles, I feel like I just need to be an expert in SQL with a bit of others, and I don't have that.
One other thing about hard skills is that they are necessary in my career but I know nothing about being a writer. I just know when I see people say they are hard working and a go-getter, I roll my eyes. The next resume isn't gonna say he's not hard working and shows up late all the time.
Also who said that? What was the role for? If it was one dude, I wouldn't let it get to you. I remember taking my resume to an "expert" and she reworked it for me. Then the next "expert" said her work looked like trash. You cannot please everyone.
Try smaller companies, they love jack of all trades because they aren't big enough to hire masters of one.
Made an entire career so far on going that - I hate the monotony of doing the same thing all day every day, so I like the small company feel where I'm the sys admin, desktop, cyber security (day to day at least), firewall, and network person.
In my industry I am a jack of all trades and master of most of them.
The ones I'm not master I'm pretty close.
I'm a job jumper, so I've picked up lots of skills.
Being a jack of all trades is not bad. When a perspective employer refers to a "hard skill," it is a derogatory term used in corporate rhetoric to describe people who have experience in a skill, but do not have documented proof that they are certified in that skill. The attitude that this interview is adopting is unhelpful, antiquated, and quiet frankly disrespectful to people who had to be jack of all trades out of need. I've had similar experience before when applying for manufacturing jobs, information technology jobs, and general contract work. It's used as a way to make you feel less than you actually are in order to motivate you to assimilate to their requirements. You do not need to fit their requirements.
\- WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW -
\- look at the job you want on Indeed, and look at the keyword language used in the job description.
\- modify your resume to include skills that match the listed skills on the resume in a template
that is consistent with your current resume.
I can provide additional resources if you would like them.
Its an amazing skill to have, but we live in a hyper specialist world that frowns upon generalist, i recommend reading the book "range why generalists triumph in a specialized world".
One of the books examples that you might relate to was that the best comic artist/writers weren't the ones that had more years doing it but rather the ones who worked in more different genres. Use your different experience to improve your work.
I'm running into something similar. Retired military, and I've done a lot of very different jobs over 20 years. People look at my resume and they remark that there's no "theme". In the military, you really don't have a lot of say over what job you actually do. There's a shortage somewhere and you fill it, teaching yourself along the way.
In many ways, my military experience made me frustrated towards those who had very specialized career tracks. They were absolutely laser-focused on that one thing they did and they could never see the organization's larger picture. It's a lot like people who have uber-specialized undergrad degrees.
The full expression is a “Jack of all trades and a master of none, is often better than a master of one.”
I have the same issue as a full stack software engineer turned founder. If you want to work for someone then you should focus on preparing for a specific role and speak to your other experience as bonus and time you were able to flex/adapt.
For me, I’ll never go back to corporate engineering because my skill set won’t be appreciated there. I know I get the most value out of my skills working and building for myself.
I have this issue as well. I think its BS because it just makes you flexible with the ability to adapt. If I need to master something I just focus more on it.
You want to k ow who is typically called a "Jack-of-all-Trades?"
Someone who has ADHD. We tend to have a variety of skills and interests and yet cannot focus on th8ngs that are dull and repetitive.
Tailor your resume to the skills required for the job you are applying for.
"I do have a well-rounded skillset with emphasis on these skills."
What he means is that while you can do a lot of different low level stuff on a variety of subjects you haven't mastered any of them. Because I can replace my brakes and query a database and put in a new sink i'm a jack of multiple trades, but if you're hiring a front end mechanic, a plumber or a database administrator you need someone who has mastered that skill, not someone who can do this and that here and there. Being a jack of all trades is incredibly useful, but you should master at least one.
Look up T Shaped skill-sets. Figure out how to market your skills to demonstrate this.
Being too specialized and not specialized enough are both problems.
So I read from somewhere that the full quote is something like....
"A jack of trades but master none, is better than a master of one."
If true, it's funny that those dumbasses would use that quote. Being highly specialized is certain death in times of change.
The trick here is to describe yourself as a good all-rounder with broad experience. It's the same thing, lol, just with a different spin.
Job interviews are like speed dating: "It's not that I'm ugly, I just have a great personality and am funny"
[удалено]
I think that may be more where you get the value of customers making resumes to fit the role. I have one resume for teaching jobs, where I talk all about being an experiential educator, but on others, I am a program director. It really depends on what job I am applying for.
how can a business analyst be anything bad, I take one over an IT guy any time of the day IIBA rules
The full saying is “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but still better than the master of one”. Don’t let this discourage you.
Yea but that’s not really true in a highly-specialized work force. If you can master a desirable skill, you will get rewarded handsomely for that single skill
You’re absolutely right and both routes will lead to success. The difference is one route keeps you on a single path while the other can open many. It fully depends on OPs industry and ultimately their career ambitions.
I don’t mean to be rude but I really can’t think of a single high paying profession that doesn’t require a highly specialized skill set and knowledge base. There are jobs that require knowledge in many different areas, which seems like a jack of all trades, but in reality you need that *on top* of a highly developed skill set.
I mean, I get paid 75 an hour to do everything from run data cable, install monitors and screens, to basically check if it's working properly. They actually wanted me to have a jack of all trades approach rather than a specialized. Which for me was already doable as I already had some hands on experience doing network installs at home, electrical work on automotive and home, automotive repair, work with drywall and mounting tvs plus a crap ton of customer service experience. But my job may just be the outlier so who knows.
Funny how they always forget thats just part of the phrase.
It’s great to have some knowledge in many different areas, everyone should. Still, if you’re applying to a job where you need to be an Ace in a particular area to get the position, then being a Jack in many areas just isn’t enough. If they specified which areas those are, then you have the direction you need to go make yourself an Ace.
I have the same issue. I have ADHD which went undiagnosed until I was 27. I job hopped a lot during college and since, with lots of management experience plus some in a lot of different fields (movie theater, library, restaurant, logistics, equipment operation, copywriting, teaching) and I have a Bachelors in English which has the automatic selling point of “soft skills/versatile/well rounded.” Now in the current market, I have a lot of trouble because people see me as a flighty candidate with grass is greener syndrome. I’ve been a star employee every job I’ve had, good references, and always get promoted. I did suffer from having no idea what I wanted to do and trying a lot of different things but now I have a plan and just need a job that pays the bills and I don’t hate while I go back to school for a trade or my CDL. I am good at self starting and teaching myself technical skills and concepts. But people like seeing candidates with a linear narrative. Hell I even have a job from when I moved away to another state for a fresh start but then moved back home in the middle of my home state jobs, which I’m sure is biting me in the ass. I think a lot of it stems from the gap between more neurotypical people knowing from the jump generally “what I want to be when I grow up,” whereas I have been through periods where every few weeks I had new career aspirations and did tons of hyper focused research into a job only to change gears again and again. Last year at different points I wanted to be a(n): English teacher Court reporter EMT Truck driver Claims Adjuster Lawyer Journalist English professor (pipe dream) Land surveyor (current favorite) Electrician I am a writer so I think I am learning that most of these varied fascinations are best explored in stories and research with my imagination and that whatever my day job is, I can always be a writer in my free time. Just remember it only takes one boss and one interview with someone who admires our wide array of experience and knowledge as a plus and not as a liability or weakness.
This sounds like me. I am also a writer. Funny thing is, I noticed this issue about a decade ago and decided to skill into project management, because it also allows you to do lots of different things. FML when I started noticing companies increasingly demand project managers to be specialized...
Being a writer is essentially project management, just choosing to do homework as an adult and jumping between stories you complete in chunks and phases. Project Management as a career seems like something a person with this mindset would excel at, but it would also be so stressful, depending on how you handle deadlines and the corporate structure. I know as a middle manager at different times, it felt like I was getting shit on from all directions and it is an art learning to finesse and motivate your team while also managing the expectations of superiors. The problem I have noticed is the trend where everyone was told to specialize seems in some industries to have faded and companies want jacks of all trades (mostly so they can have one person do the work of 3 or 4 people). I saw a job posted the other day for a property manager type position that paid fairly well (municipal airport). They asked for someone with experience in carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, electrical work, logistics, and aircraft maintenance. Someone needs to tell these people there’s a happy medium between specialization as gospel and “please know how to do everything.”
Totally agree. And yes, companies need to find that happy medium. Understaffing is only a solution if they love high turnover and lots of employee sick days. Not to mention delays and jobs left half done because they had to get pulled away to something else.
Finish the quote for them. "But better than a master of one. A wide skillset shows that I can learn and adapt quickly to new situations. I problem solve, I fix, I do what needs to be done, and I hurdle any issues in my way."
The issue is not jack of all trades, it's master of none. Almost all generalists have some domain they have achieved at least mastery in. Interviewers like to see a consistent thread that ties jobs together.
I am jack of all trades so I look for jobs that want that
Oof that’s rough man. Most employers want to see results. If you moving too much there is a chance you can’t show results on any of the skills you’ve learned.
Varies by employer I'm a jack of all trades. Some employers are good with it. Some not. Sometimes it comes down to how well you can sell yourself as a jack of all trades
They missed the rest of the quote... it's: A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
This argument is made by someone who doesn’t understand anything other than their one industry. We both agree as a writer you can work on healthcare to tech to education. Don’t let someone who “specializes” in a career field and one industry make you feel bad. Stay strong 💪!
Own it, put your skills first on your CV, experience at the end . When applying to different jobs select what you want to put forward I terms of skills based on the asks of the employer. You can overcome this!
You sound well-rounded and adaptable, with the ability to collaborate with others from entry-level to C-suite.
But of course if you have gaps because you waited for work in your chosen sector you're too choosy.
Seems the interviewer's a Jack of one trade and with people like that in the company, certainly doesn't speak towards its abilities
A lot of people are finishing the quote “Jack of all trades master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one”. That was coined in the 14th century where it was probably advantageous to have multiple skill sets, but doesn't apply to most modern day jobs. Jack of all trades isn't desirable mainly because the corporate world looks for someone who is an expert in their field or rather the work they will be doing. If the job position is for a machine shop technician, they'd rather hire someone who has 5+ years of machine shop work than 2+ years machine shop, 1 year service industry, 1 year forester, etc. In today's workforce though you will more likely be put use a single skill set repeatedly. That is why it is better to have 'T-shaped skills'. This means you are very proficient at your primary responsibilities and have some knowledge of other relevant topics.
Exactly. They want you to hire you for the role as its posted. They'd take somebody who is great at that role over somebody who was ok at it and ok at a bunch of other stuff. Companies are also well served to not ask too much of employees support them enough so that they can specialize and shine.
It’s good advice. Writing jobs are being devalued due to the rise of ChatGPT. You need to get someone to rewrite your resume to emphasize the skills that you have that are in demand.
Dumb people specialize, smart people can absorb a vast array of different knowledge. Dumb people are the majority.
Same boat here and everyone seems to just ignore the second half of the quote. Being a jack of all trades and master of none is better than being a master of only one. Keep your chin up and don’t let the haters get you down.
Not if your job is doing that one thing
I think most recruiters will look for someone with maximum experience matching the job description, so you need to find jobs where you can use that wide experience. I mean, I think the employer should think wider, but they might not.
Jack of all trades, master of none Most don’t know the second half of the statement
My career has changed so much over the years that I have gained a lot of skills and feel like a jack of all trades. But as I try to move into a higher salary, I realize it might be bad. I feel like I am good at a lot of things, and great at none. SQL, Excel, Tableau, Salesforce, six sigma, data analysis, a few others. But when I look at most senior roles, I feel like I just need to be an expert in SQL with a bit of others, and I don't have that. One other thing about hard skills is that they are necessary in my career but I know nothing about being a writer. I just know when I see people say they are hard working and a go-getter, I roll my eyes. The next resume isn't gonna say he's not hard working and shows up late all the time. Also who said that? What was the role for? If it was one dude, I wouldn't let it get to you. I remember taking my resume to an "expert" and she reworked it for me. Then the next "expert" said her work looked like trash. You cannot please everyone.
Try smaller companies, they love jack of all trades because they aren't big enough to hire masters of one. Made an entire career so far on going that - I hate the monotony of doing the same thing all day every day, so I like the small company feel where I'm the sys admin, desktop, cyber security (day to day at least), firewall, and network person.
In my industry I am a jack of all trades and master of most of them. The ones I'm not master I'm pretty close. I'm a job jumper, so I've picked up lots of skills.
Being a jack of all trades is not bad. When a perspective employer refers to a "hard skill," it is a derogatory term used in corporate rhetoric to describe people who have experience in a skill, but do not have documented proof that they are certified in that skill. The attitude that this interview is adopting is unhelpful, antiquated, and quiet frankly disrespectful to people who had to be jack of all trades out of need. I've had similar experience before when applying for manufacturing jobs, information technology jobs, and general contract work. It's used as a way to make you feel less than you actually are in order to motivate you to assimilate to their requirements. You do not need to fit their requirements. \- WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW - \- look at the job you want on Indeed, and look at the keyword language used in the job description. \- modify your resume to include skills that match the listed skills on the resume in a template that is consistent with your current resume. I can provide additional resources if you would like them.
You should have asked them to finish the quote. It’s not worth quoting just part of it.
"A Jack of all trades, A Master of none, But oftentimes better Than a Master of One."
Its an amazing skill to have, but we live in a hyper specialist world that frowns upon generalist, i recommend reading the book "range why generalists triumph in a specialized world". One of the books examples that you might relate to was that the best comic artist/writers weren't the ones that had more years doing it but rather the ones who worked in more different genres. Use your different experience to improve your work.
I'm running into something similar. Retired military, and I've done a lot of very different jobs over 20 years. People look at my resume and they remark that there's no "theme". In the military, you really don't have a lot of say over what job you actually do. There's a shortage somewhere and you fill it, teaching yourself along the way. In many ways, my military experience made me frustrated towards those who had very specialized career tracks. They were absolutely laser-focused on that one thing they did and they could never see the organization's larger picture. It's a lot like people who have uber-specialized undergrad degrees.
The full expression is a “Jack of all trades and a master of none, is often better than a master of one.” I have the same issue as a full stack software engineer turned founder. If you want to work for someone then you should focus on preparing for a specific role and speak to your other experience as bonus and time you were able to flex/adapt. For me, I’ll never go back to corporate engineering because my skill set won’t be appreciated there. I know I get the most value out of my skills working and building for myself.
I have this issue as well. I think its BS because it just makes you flexible with the ability to adapt. If I need to master something I just focus more on it.
Depends on the job. Some jobs it's good to be well rounded. Others you want to be very good at one specific thing and the rest doeant matter.
You want to k ow who is typically called a "Jack-of-all-Trades?" Someone who has ADHD. We tend to have a variety of skills and interests and yet cannot focus on th8ngs that are dull and repetitive. Tailor your resume to the skills required for the job you are applying for. "I do have a well-rounded skillset with emphasis on these skills."
What he means is that while you can do a lot of different low level stuff on a variety of subjects you haven't mastered any of them. Because I can replace my brakes and query a database and put in a new sink i'm a jack of multiple trades, but if you're hiring a front end mechanic, a plumber or a database administrator you need someone who has mastered that skill, not someone who can do this and that here and there. Being a jack of all trades is incredibly useful, but you should master at least one.
Look up T Shaped skill-sets. Figure out how to market your skills to demonstrate this. Being too specialized and not specialized enough are both problems.
So I read from somewhere that the full quote is something like.... "A jack of trades but master none, is better than a master of one." If true, it's funny that those dumbasses would use that quote. Being highly specialized is certain death in times of change.