My colleague and I were talking the other day about how she is not the master of one particular skill. Essentially, she felt that she was a Gill-of-all-trades rather than a master or expert. This got me thinking a lot about how today’s job market, especially as it pertains to new graduates, is actually better suited to those who don’t stand-out for any skill than those who master one particular subject area.
Doubtlessly the world will always need people with very specific skills. After all, I’d rather be operated on by a highly skilled cardiologist as opposed to a general practitioner. But a lot of future jobs (and by default, businesses) are headed towards a dynamic environment that requires constant flexibility and broad-based knowledge and experience from employees.
So, fellow “masters-of-nothing,” here’s how you will help communities realize their potential:
You’re creative.
People who haven’t spent their whole careers on one narrow field of study/employment are problem solving by nature and able to pull on a wide range of people, resources and knowledge in order to creatively attack new problems that may arise
You’re not afraid of change.
New project management system? New boss? New mandate? No problem. People with diverse backgrounds are able to quickly and effectively adapt to radically different work situations and know how to best integrate their skills to serve constantly changing purposes.
You’re entrepreneurial.
Chances are, if it doesn’t exist, you’ve noticed. In fact, you’re probably already planning out what that future might be. You’re bold and keenly observant and you know that sometimes the best job is the one you create for yourself, not the one that will land in your lap.
You’re communicative.
When you’ve worked in multiple environments, you’ve had hundreds of conversations with everyone from electricians, to teachers, to lawyers, to janitors. You’ve dealt with introverts and extroverts, good role models and bad. You know that people have different working styles and you’ve worked with them all. That’s experience you can’t fake or buy. Period.
Lastly, never underestimate the power of a résumé that shows how adaptable you are. I’ve been a landscaper, ESL instructor, help desk service pointperson, and cheese expert. Believe it or not, all of those jobs have taught me skills that I can bring to almost any new job. Think less about the job title and whether it “looks good” and instead focus on the skills that you learned through that job, whatever it may have been.