Does the future belong to generalists?

Dear Lloyd,

The increasing number of unemployed Filipinos is alarming. Prior to the global coronavirus pandemic, finding a job was already difficult. With more than 7 million added to the number of unemployed, the odds of getting a job havebecome slimmer. With the job market also changing given the situation, how can new graduates secure a job?

Marc

Marc,

The coronavirus pandemic has not only taken lives; it has also taken the livelihood of millions of people worldwide. The indication is quite clear: businesses are shutting down. With bills still coming in, businesses continue to pay their people. But without enough clients and customers, how can they not cease operations? Thus, people are left without jobs.

Tough as it is to admit, businessmen belonging to micro, small and medium enterprises are starting to let go of their people and save as many jobs as they can. They let go of their people — not because they do not like them anymore, but because there is no other way to save their business but to cut down on expenses. Obviously, these people, these employees had been their partners in the old days. But it has become necessary now for companies to take a chance by saving the core team and hope to bounce forward fast so they can rehire their people.

Sure, many of these companies may return to business. The reason for that is entrepreneurs may find this situation for them only to pause but certainly not to stop. They made it once, and there is no denying they can make it again and again and again. If there is one thing I am sure of, entrepreneurship is about finding an opportunity to help a particular market. Since they have their eyes on the prize — an opportunity — it is only a matter of time before they find one and get back to business.

But the big question now is when they start rebuilding from their core, who are they going to hire? Is it going to be the experts or the generalists?

For decades, we have been encouraged to be a “master of one.” We have been asked to specialize because specialization would put us ahead of the game. For the longest time, we have put the generalists in a not- so- good light — as if being a “jack- of- all- trades” is a weakness.

I am not going to exempt myself. Even in the professional speaking business, we are told to be “one inch wide and one mile deep.” It means, we must really be an expert on something because we can get a high- ticket — highly paid — speaking engagement. Well, I am not saying it is wrong. In fact, the Philippine Association of Professional Speakers has “expertise” as one of its core competencies. But today’s landscape seems to challenge that position.

I think companies will try to prioritize hiring people who are generalists rather than experts for one simple reason: the more multi- skilled, multitalented, multi- disciplinary their people are, the faster they can move forward.

Why will they hire a person with only one skill if they can get a person with two or three more skills for the same pay grade? Exactly! They would rather take in people who can do the accounting and marketing at the same time. Thus, if you are only an expert on accounting, you could lose the opportunity to get the job. I would rather hire a waiter who knows how to ride a bike, as the job now is to help prepare the order of the customer and, at the same time, deliver it.

While this is not something that I see businesses are doing for the long term, this is something our job seekers may find worth looking into. Take an inventory of your skills. If you have only one, your chance of getting hired is slimmer. This is the time for you to add more skills so you can have a better fighting chance.

We do not tell people to stop being an expert on something. I think it is still important. But what we want to tell them is not to settle with only one skill that may render them useless in the light of the shifts happening in the workplace.

If you are a generalist — meaning you know a couple of things and you can do them on an average or above it — you may skip the line of job seekers applying for work. Maybe, just maybe, this crisis is designed for you. Maybe the future is yours to embrace.

LloydLuna, RSP, CWS, is the first registered speaking professional and certified webinar speaker in the Philippines. He is a motivational speaker on leadership and best-selling author of Stepback: The Lost Art of Filipino Leadership. Heisthechief executive officer of Stepback, a leadership and culture development company that helps leaders and organizations see the bigger picture in life and at work.Visithiswebsitewww.stepback.phoremail himatlloyd@stepback.ph.