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?

6 Takeaways:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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/