Unless you are Superman, those words will probably work against you rather than for you … particularly when searching for that next finance executive position. From my perspective, here are the top three reasons why …
Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None … When you’re good at a lot of things, rarely are you an expert at SOMEthing. That “something” is usually what companies are hiring. Katie Konrath said this in her post, “Stop Saying You Can Do Anything!” …
… acting like a jack-of-all-trades ends up causing others to think (that if you’ve spent the time learning how to do everything) you haven’t had the time to become really good at what they actually need you to do.
Commodity Status … Knowing a lot about a little rather than being a Subject Matter Expert, by its very nature, relegates candidates to commodity status. Wikipedia’s definition of commodity is this … paraphrased … “there is demand, but no differentiation … and price [salary] is determined as a function of its market as a whole.”
Being a Master of SOMEthing is usually more valued than being a Master of ALL things … both in perception and salary.
Weak Positioning … When you are all things to all people, you are no longer true to yourself. You aren’t playing from your passions, values, or in many cases, your strengths you are making and re-making yourself into what someone needs or wants. The result is compromising a strong and compelling position. Raymond Hull said it this way … “He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” When you understand your area of expertise and the target market who needs it, your positioning is much stronger.
The reality is … the tighter your niche or area of expertise, the bigger your presence. Think about it.