A few months ago, I attended a career development workshop; it was a panel session featuring professionals from diverse fields, each sharing advice from their working experience so far.
One particular panelist made the following claim: the best way to achieve career success is to pick an industry, learn it inside out, and then advance on the merits of your specific expertise. It was a very practical suggestion, and one that is reflective of the way most people envision their careers panning out.
However, as the audience avidly absorbed this statement, I wish I could have had the chance to add a caveat to his words. Compared to those who sat at the panel table, I clearly had much fewer years in the workplace under my belt, but given the chance, I would have defended the merits of generalism as a viable path to career advancement, as well as personal growth.
As we grow older, venturing into something completely new can sometimes be terrifying – we’ve invested so much in the path we’re currently on, making it difficult to branch out. Indeed, we seem to associate expertise with maturity and wisdom. Through grade school, children learn a very broad range of subjects, but as they graduate high school and college, we expect them to declare a major and narrow down the focus of their studies. When these young adults enter the workforce, we expect them to hone in on a position, and gain industry knowledge. By the time they retire, they’ll probably be authorities on the subject. There’s a satisfaction, a feeling of reward, that comes with digging deep.
At the same time, seeking out a diverse set of working experiences can also be immensely valuable. At the age of 24, I’ve worked at a pre-school, two telecommunications corporations, an architecture design firm, a few university administrative offices, various coffeeshops, and a handful of tech startups, doing everything from writing newsletters, marketing, waiting tables, and managing operations. I’m confident that being exposed to all of these different environments allowed me to build a versatile and resilient set of skills that carry through every position I’ve held and have yet to hold. Career counselors typically refer to them as “transferable” skills, but you might also think of it as the basic ability to adapt, to learn, and to innovate. I’ve had people tell me that I’m wasting my time by being indecisive, but what I was actually doing was expanding my horizons, so that I could draw on a more extensive network of inspiration and opportunity.
Call it tunnel vision, specialization, or any other name – it seems that most of us are always looking for ways to deepen our knowledge, become better at the things we already know how to do. Our tendency to pursue this approach to career development has proven greatly beneficial to the development of certain industries, especially research. Unfortunately, we seem to have buried the benefits of generalism along the way; there’s much to said for diversifying your professional pursuits to gain an appreciation of the bigger picture. Where are you giving yourself the opportunity to grow up by growing out?
This post is written by Pei Choong, one of our Visionaries in Training (VIT), brand aficionado and a self-described introvert.
