It’s an interesting time in today’s job market. Have you ever seen job descriptions that essentially read as if the company was looking to hire someone straight out of Marvel’s superhero collection? These companies are on the lookout for the Unicorn candidate. But as the process unfolds, the person who ultimately gets hired is usually someone with deep domain expertise in one of the areas of that job specification.

What just happened?

It ain’t exactly clear, but there’s something happening here….

Enter The Letter Game

When it comes to classifying a person’s abilities you often hear terms such as Generalist, Specialist, T-Shaped, I-Shaped, and the infamous Jack of All Trades.

When describing your professional skillset to someone else, are you more likely to talk about yourself as a Specialist (I) or Generalist (T)?

In other words, are you an I or a T?

The T-Shaped terminology has roots of origin at McKinsey & Company, it was used to describe the kinds of consultants they would look to hire. Think about a T-Shaped professional as someone who’s shaped like the letter itself: They have the ability to reach across an organization with experience in multiple disciplines and think very broadly while linking together information unbeknownst to most people. CEO Tim Brown is also someone who has made the T-Shaped persona popular, his company IDEO is known for hiring T-Shaped people.

On the other hand, an I-Shaped professional is someone who has a much narrower focus. These people generally have deep domain expertise and specialize in one area; also known as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Their depth of knowledge is an important component needed to solve complex problems.

Then there is the Unicorn (U), the mythical person who knows it all and excels at everything.

So, it’s the Generalists (T) versus the Specialists (I) versus the Unicorns (U).

Game on!

The Wheel of (Mis)Fortune

Let’s face it, we live in a society that values expertise. In all facets of life, we see examples of the rise of the expert. From medical fields to sports. For example, in baseball where we see players who specialize in pitching only in the 8th inning (aka the setup man). In many of these cases the situation warrants the need for the expert (perhaps not baseball, but that’s a debate for another day).

As Emilie Wapnick eloquently points out in her excellent Ted Talk titled “Why some of us don’t have one true calling”, she explains that it all starts when we are young, when we are asked the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Not being able to answer this question caused her anxiety because she wasn’t sure how she would turn her many interests into a career.

Yes, our career, as defined by the companies we worked for and the jobs, titles we’ve held. It all defines us in the eyes of others, especially as it relates to being hired. Job candidates are constantly being framed into a bucket because that is how the process works. I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked, “What are you?” A tech guy, a product guy, an operations person, etc? Then I get, “What are you good at?” As if the answer should only be one thing. I’m a learner, a doer, someone who doesn’t enjoy the status quo and likes to solve problems.

Yet at the same time, recruiters, hiring managers and their organizations say they want job candidates who can think outside the box, people who can innovate and drive change; hence the Unicorn job description. Then, when reality sets in, you more often than not, see these companies end up hiring the Specialist (I).

Organizations Are Compelled To Hire The Specialist

The urge to fill the open position with professionals who have “been there and done that” with an exact match is too compelling. Organizations ultimately hire The Specialist (I) because of their demonstrated technical abilities in a specific domain makes it a “safe hire” over a Generalist (T) candidate.

Specialists are hired in virtually all organizations for all functional areas, they are needed in part because organizations are under intense pressure to move mountains—and move them quickly. This has resulted in an environment in which new hires are expected to hit the ground running on day one. Meaning, hire the person whose skills and experiences most closely align with the technical requirements of the open position.

Choosing Your Path

There is an ongoing debate as to what people should be focusing on as it relates to their career development. It truly is a complex situation riddled with paradox’s and predictions. There is an aging workforce and a skills gap that has to be addressed with education and training. There is pressure for companies to move fast and with people changing jobs so often these companies are challenged with providing training to bridge this gap.

So how does this relate to you?

There are many advocates who argue the benefits of being T-Shaped and predict the future may belong to those who are T’s. When it comes to fields like management consulting, research and executive leadership, T-Shaped professionals are being sought out.

Tim Ferriss, life hacker and author of the book The 4-Hour Workweek believes that being a Jack of All Trades (T-Shaped) has many distinct advantages.

And in startups, the Jack of All Trades also lends well to the needs of a young organization.

What is not really debated though is the importance of both types. Given this, fellow LinkedIn member, Lev Kaye states “Since we need both types, each of us needs to be both types.” I agree!

A new day is breakin’, so shape yourself to what suits you best and explore those opportunities that value your strengths. Design both your career and life around your passions. Understand the inconsistencies in the marketplace, don’t fight it, but rather pursue your goals and don’t look back!

PS – Trivia: There were two references to songs mentioned in this article, post your guesses (artist and song title) in the comments section.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Iacona has  20+ years’ cross-industry experience within large multinational companies, works with start-ups and earned dual Masters degrees – an MBA from Columbia Business School and an MS in Information Systems from Pace University.  Having built, led and managed small and large teams, Michael continual evolves his management style. He leads by example and fosters open communication and enjoys coaching team members, capitalizing on their unique talents.