Up until fairly recently when hunting for a job the best thing to do was to “sell yourself” as a specialist in your field.  However, the job market today is not how we have come to understand it.  Career paths today are much less linear and far more flexible without skills. Research suggests that highlighting particular skills in a narrow niche is still important, but it may not be enough to land you the job.  The market today is changing rapidly and employers are looking for other skills as well. Being an all-rounder or a generalist may be better than being a specialist.

The new work world

The more traditional, specifically defined, jobs are becoming more and more obsolete.  Workers today are entering into a complex work environment that demands a whole range of skills.  Managers are looking for people who are able to be flexible. For each position available managers expect candidates to be “problem solvers and critical thinkers.”  They are also expected to deal with anything that the new workplace expects of them. These new sought-after employees are termed “generalizing specialists” and their career path looks very promising. These generalizing specialists are forever learning and adding new skills to their repertoire, even learning how to play, and possibly one day design, at a Juicy Stakes online casino.    They are aware of the ongoing changes in the workplace and particularly in their field and are always changing with them. For example, a data scientist is expected to do more than just process numbers.  Now they are expected to be more creative and have good communication skills in order to present their findings to many different audiences.  In the investment industry, for instance, they do look for entry employees to have good technical skills. However, they choose more senior employees to also provide strong leadership skills as well as soft skills. Obviously, specialists in certain areas are still needed but generally, employees are expected to have a whole range of skills today.

The move towards generalizing specialists

Self-awareness is key to a successful working career. It is important to learn and understand that there may have been big changes in your field due to new technology, not to mention the recent pandemic.  Everything has changed and is likely to change further. The work of an IT manager has changed.  No longer does the job demand only skills in a single coding language. Now a whole range of skills are required in order to communicate with other departments, to deal with obstacles with marketing and finance and to come up with new ideas as a project develops. The pandemic added to these changes with hybrid working and the changes in skills required.

Eating humble pie may be a requirement

If you want to stay ahead of the game, some humility may be required. You will need to take a good look at the skills that you possess and figure out what skills you are lacking. Speak to colleagues and managers to learn the direction you should take. Learning new skills or updating skills is likely to be a permanent condition.  You will be in a constant state of expansion, learning about changes that can and may affect your business and deciding which skills are needed.   Succeeding in this endeavor will enable you to access opportunities that arise. For experienced professionals, this may prove difficult, as change can challenge the identity they have fought hard to establish. Having done things one way for 20 years only to find that things now need to be done differently can be very difficult. But for those who have developed a range of skills and consider themselves generalizing specialists have more options. Having many different skills means you have many more options open to you.

Building skills – 80-20 rule

Building skills may call for using the 80-20 rule. You can basically use 80 percent of your energy in reinforcing what you do already, your specialty. However, the remaining 20 percent should be used to learn something new; take a course, read or listen to some podcasts. For example, if you work in marketing it is important that you understand finance and budgeting in order to explain what the return on investment would be.   Understanding leadership and how to bring your project to the finish line is another important aspect for you to learn. Perhaps it will be beneficial to enroll in a course learning how to prepare an Excel spreadsheet or learning financial management. Connecting with the wider world via networking and building relationships will also be helpful.   Also, meeting professionals from different industries and specialties will also be useful in broadening your horizon to new ideas.  It is important to be open to all kinds of knowledge today; moving from a fixed mindset to an open one.  Being prepared to try to understand and build new relationships is key.

Conclusion:

Our world has changed quite drastically, from the economy at large to the way in which the workplace functions.  The world is forever changing and some jobs will become obsolete.  Take for example how switchboard operators were replaced with new technology. Keep your ears and eyes open and be vigilant for changes that may be on the horizon.  Keep learning new skills that you can adapt to the new reality; so that if your specialty becomes no longer relevant you can still keep your career.