Is it difficult to find work these days if you’ve spent your consulting career as a generalist? What is the real value of broad experience in today’s market and is it actually an advantage rather than a limitation? There are 6 things you need to know…
We Discuss:
- Is being a “jack of all trades, master of none” truly a disadvantage when transitioning from consulting to industry?
- At what point in a consulting career do you decide “I suck at this” and need to get out?
- Does the world really not value generalists, or are we just telling the wrong story?
- Should consultants with broad experience focus on developing a specialty, or continue leveraging their generalist background?
- If you’re facing an “up or out” situation and need to find a job quickly, should you focus on building new skills or leveraging your existing network?
Key Highlights:
- The discussion centers on a consultant with 15 years of experience facing an “up or out” situation, struggling to transition from being a generalist to finding an industry role (00:01:30)
- The cast emphasize that submitting hundreds of resumes blindly is not an effective approach – one example mentioned was someone who submitted their resume 700 times, highlighting the inefficiency of this strategy (00:08:15)
- The cast stresses the importance of leveraging existing professional networks and reaching out to trusted colleagues, even if you haven’t spoken in a while, rather than sending cold applications (00:14:33)
- The value of being a generalist is discussed, particularly in emerging fields like AI and sustainability, where connecting dots and seeing the big picture is increasingly important (00:15:23)
- The cast challenges the consultant’s self-assessment about lacking business development skills, suggesting that the inability to generate new business might be more related to structural issues within consulting firms than personal capability (00:22:22)
- They discuss how the corporate world’s apparent bias against generalists is rooted in industrial-era organizational structures and educational systems that favor specialization (00:25:36)
- A key piece of advice offered is the importance of crafting a concise, compelling narrative about your career that can be told in “two sentences” rather than trying to list every skill and experience (00:31:15)
- The conversation concludes with observations about the current challenging market for large consulting firms (00:34:10)
- The cast emphasizes the importance of being proactive in career management and building networks before they’re needed, rather than waiting for a crisis (00:35:14)
6 Takeaways:
- Many consultants struggle with career transitions not because they lack skills, but because they’re approaching the job search incorrectly by mass-applying to positions instead of leveraging their existing professional networks.
- Being a “utility player” or generalist in consulting can be a significant strength, particularly in emerging fields like AI and sustainability where connecting different domains of knowledge is crucial.
- When faced with career transitions, consultants should focus on crafting a compelling two-sentence narrative about their value proposition rather than trying to list every skill and experience they’ve accumulated.
- Challenge the common self-assessment of “poor business development skills” among consultants. Such perceived failures often stem from structural issues within consulting firms rather than individual capabilities.
- The corporate world’s bias against generalists is largely a remnant of industrial-era thinking, even though modern business challenges increasingly require broad, integrative thinking.
- Career management should be proactive rather than reactive, suggesting that building and maintaining professional networks should happen continuously throughout one’s career, not just during transitions.
To read the Reddit thread that we are reacting to in this episode, check out this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/comments/1cbecjo/jack_of_all_trades_master_of_none/
Check out the Audio-Only version of this episode!
