Why Being a Generalist is Limiting Your Career

One of the toughest challenges I face with the people I coach is convincing them to focus their positioning in the market, even just a little. When I talk about positioning, I’m referring to a phrase or sentence you might use to describe what you do, who you do it for, and what the benefit of that work might be.

An example of my positioning could be: I’m an executive and career coach who helps mission-driven MBAs find meaning at work, tell their story, and advance their careers.

An example from a client who has a positioning that’s in need of focus could be (and has been): I’m an experienced marketer and general manager. 

In the client example, we don’t know who that experienced person does that marketing and general managing for, what challenges they help them overcome, or what the benefit of that work might be.

In my experience, even the hint of a suggestion that a positioning like that needs some focus can be met with strong resistance. Backs stiffen up and once-open facial expressions close in and harden.

But I’m a generalist. I’m adaptable. I can learn anything. I don’t want to limit my options.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand where the resistance is coming from. The people I work with — and likely you — naturally want to have access to the greatest range of opportunities possible. That could be because you’re not entirely sure about what you want to do next, or maybe you’re just uncomfortable facing a career path that seems to be narrowing with time. Whatever the source of the discomfort might be, I think most of us want to appeal to the broadest audience possible. 

The problem with this approach is this: Executive recruiters, boards, and hiring managers typically aren't looking for a generalist who is adaptable and can learn anything. They’re looking for an ideal candidate — one uniquely qualified individual who understands their business and can help them solve the specific problems they’re facing now and in the foreseeable future. 

They want the needle in the haystack. Not the haystack.

So the generalist is going to lose out every time to someone whose more sharply focused positioning enables them to present as the ideal solution to the specific problem or set of problems a potential employer might face.

When you try to serve everyone, you serve no one

I’m definitely not the first to convey the message that when you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one. That wisdom has probably been around for a long time.

Still, I’m surprised that this knowledge doesn’t seem to stick. Perhaps people have forgotten it. Or maybe they know it but are in denial. 

I suspect it’s the latter. 

Employers think their problems and challenges are unique

When I was a senior recruiter at Isaacson, Miller, a top 20 executive search firm, we went to visit our clients at the start of almost every search. They were usually hiring for what we liked to call a cabinet-level position — essentially a role on their senior leadership team. 

Whether we were speaking with the Chair of the Board, the organization’s top leader, or a key stakeholder, it was virtually guaranteed that we would hear some version of the following statement: 

We’re at a unique point in our history facing a specific set of challenges. We need someone who has faced similar challenges in an organization like ours and has already overcome them. 

In other words, the firm’s clients thought they needed a specialist. Not a generalist, but a specialist who is experienced at solving their particular type of problem. 

They want someone who can solve their problems and help them meet their challenges

More specifically, our clients wanted a leader who had experience facing a particular challenge or set of challenges similar to their own, in a particular context similar to their context, and had proven success overcoming that challenge or challenges in that context, preferably several times.

That was a mouthful. But that was what they wanted.

You may have already noticed something about the particular client interaction. The client wasn’t necessarily looking for specific skills. They were looking for stories of challenges overcome. 

And that was what we tried to find for them. People who could tell those stories. 

A note for more junior professionals

The point I just made regarding challenges overcome versus skills reminds me that there is an exception to this rule. If you are earlier in your career, then potential employers will likely be screening for a checklist of skills and experience. In the world of consumer products marketing, which is where I spent ten years after business school and ran an MBA recruiting program, the skills in demand could be things like the ability to write a good product concept, experience developing and managing a budget, or managing cross-functional teams.

When you are positioned as the solution to a problem, the people with that problem will seek you out

As a consumer products marketer fresh out of business school, I learned the power of a sharply defined positioning that: 1) differentiates a brand and product from its competitors and 2) speaks directly to the consumer whose problem the brand’s product promises to solve. 

For example, if you have sensitive skin you don’t want just any old soap or cleanser. You want a dermatologist-recommended cleanser that is effective at cleaning sensitive skin and won’t leave it dry or irritated. You’ll actively seek out and buy a cleanser that is specifically formulated to live up to that promise. And you’ll likely pay more for it. And you’ll think the expense is worth it when your skin is clean, moisturized, and calm.

What you won’t buy is a cleanser that is formulated for everyone and all skin types. Your skin is different than everyone's. Your skin is sensitive. And you need a solution specifically positioned for your sensitive skin.

When you are the obvious solution to a specific problem in a specific context, hiring managers and recruiters who have that problem in that context will seek you out.

Similarly, when you as a professional are the obvious solution to a specific problem in a specific context, hiring managers and recruiters who have that problem in that context will seek you out. As a former executive recruiter, I can vouch for that one. My job was to look for the ideal candidate who was the solution to the specific challenges my firm’s client was facing. 

I definitely wasn’t looking for a generalist.

And they will pay a premium for it

People pay more for specific solutions to specific problems — and it doesn’t just apply to cleansers. We pay premium prices for highly skilled professionals who are the solution to a specific problem all the time. When was the last time you got a bill from your attorney, tax accountant, or a medical specialist? You expected it to be high.

The same is true for MBAs and other professionals. Let’s get back to that “experienced marketer and general manager” we were talking about a little while ago. There are thousands and thousands of MBAs and other professionals who could meet that description. That’s a lot of competition, and it’s not a particularly compelling positioning for anyone who is looking to hire the solution to their particular problem, whatever that problem might be.

Now, let’s consider what might happen if that experienced marketer adopted a reasonably focused positioning like: I’m an experienced marketer and general manager who helps high-growth companies fill their product pipeline and build market presence to drive sustainable growth. 

I think there are plenty of companies out there looking to hire who might say that’s exactly what they need. And if they think they need it badly enough, and if you’re obviously a good match (please don’t make them think too hard about it), then they’ll likely be willing to pay you a premium. 

And you won't have limited your opportunities all that much, or at all

Let’s not forget the key objection the experienced marketer in our example originally had. They didn’t want to limit their opportunities.

Does their new positioning seem too limited to you? It’s doesn’t to me. 

Sure, it seems to exclude more mature companies and brands with its focus on high-growth and all, but does it really? I’m willing to bet there are more than a few mature companies and brands that might be interested in having senior leaders who can help them act a little more like high-growth companies. And if they don’t, would our experienced marketer who probably enjoys developing new products in high-growth environments want to work there anyway? Probably not. 

Desirable opportunity not lost. 

The trick here is to come up with a positioning that’s authentic and stays true to your interests, experience and ambitions, and is just specific enough that the companies you might want to work for would say: That’s exactly what we need.

Conclusion

If you’re ever tempted to answer the question “So what do you do?” with an answer that includes the word generalist in it or is the equivalent of saying “Oh, I do a lot of things,” then you have a problem that you need to fix.

People hire people to solve their problems, and you need to be the solution to a problem that an employer you’d like to work for has. Ideally, it’s a problem you like solving. That problem could be quite specific or it could be quite broad, like in our example, but you’re still an expert at solving that problem in a particular context or setting. 

So what problems do you like to solve? And who could benefit from hiring you as the solution to their problems? Consider incorporating this problem-solution positioning and messaging into your LinkedIn headline and About section. It will help the people who need you find you.

And if you need someone to help you focus your positioning — someone who has already helped hundreds of people like you do it by applying his experience and perspective as a consumer products marketer, executive recruiter and coach, then let’s talk.

See how that works?