Swiss Army Man
Yesterday, I was meeting with the owner of a small, family-run business very close to my home. (One of the biggest attractions of the gig, frankly, is the 20-minute commute through the woods.) Reading through my resume and talking with me about my experience and accomplishments, he looked up and said, “So, you’re kind of like a Swiss Army Knife.” He was quick to add that he in no way meant for the comment to be taken as disparaging or dehumanizing. Rather, he saw my project management, systems design and implementation, programming, database management and development, and business analysis experience as complimentary and especially valuable to a smallish and growing enterprise. (It also could be said that it makes me harder to fit into a tightly defined role; in fact, I do not believe that this role in particular is a good fit from my view or theirs.)
I turned down a gig in Boston a month ago because of the daily commute into town, the trips to New York, and the demands of a new start-up. However, the job itself was a pretty good fit: build and manage the infrastructure while also driving the web site to support community and new technology platforms. So, this analogy of Swiss Army Knife as marketing concept to me has legs. Perhaps the best way to get a job (and one that suits my skills and one that I truly would enjoy) is to leverage the breadth of my skills rather than remarkable depth in any one given area. This could conceivably be a good consulting idea as well, if that were something I wanted to pursue and from which I could generate enough business and income.
I suppose that the term ‘generalist’ also could apply to me here. But in situations of growth and/or diminishing resources, a generalist can be a hugely positive thing. I recall a comment by someone I used to work for implying in negative tones that a colleague of mine was a generalist. Truth is, the guy has remarkably deep skills in database management, programming, architecture, and web development. Referring to him as a generalist in such a detractive manner was to me more narrow-minded than insulting. A generalist with some deep skill sets can solve a lot of problems quickly.
I certainly would love to hear thoughts about this angle from anyone reading this post.
July 30th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
I can’t imagine hiring someone in this connected world who portrays him/herself as a specialist capable of one thing. That had better be one great thing, because the greater the range of talents someone can bring to an organization, the more valuable that person is. But, hey, what do I know?
July 31st, 2006 at 9:40 am
Specificity and pidgeon holing are the norm in the legal field. The solo practioner/jack of all (legal) trades is a tough thing to find and an extremely difficult way to make a living. I believe it sells many people short, both in what they can offer as services, but also in so restricting their skill set to one specific field. What was once a highly mobile career with great breadth, is now causing massive burn-outs and early career changes.
My company takes on a wide variety of cases in many areas. Each case brings its own learning curve and developes a new skill set for me and a familiarity with a new industry or subject area. It keeps things fresh and interesting.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:07 am
One thing for certain, the person who interviewed you for the ‘gig’ in the family run company is bound to be impressed when he reads that the most attractive aspect of his open position is the commute.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:22 am
No worries. While it was written with some humour, I also mention that the position was not a good fit for either of us. We both have since moved on.