Breadth or Expertise Which is Better For Your Career

Breadth or Expertise Which is Better For Your CareerBreadth or Expertise Which is Better For Your CareerI recently had a conversation with an engineering manager at Simply Hired about the pros and cons of two types of career trajectories. I was bemoaning the downsides of successive lateral career moves- where an employee moves from one role into a similar role, and performssimilar tasks. Being a type A personality, I naturally assumed that people should take on different and greater duties as they move through their work life.Challenging my view, the manager asked me, Arelateral moves really so bad? Is there really anything wrong with a person identifying what they do welland continuing to work in that capacity over a large span of their career?We ended the conversation without me giving a concrete answer and I mulled over the question for part of the morning. I wanted to consider career strategies from different angles. To do so,I presented the question to my co-workers and received a number of thoughtful, interesting and informative responses.Before sharing the feedback, I should acknowledge that there are a few ways to consider growth and movement in careers.Growth can be measured by breadth increasing knowledge across geschftliches miteinander segments resulting in shallow but expansive acumen. This can otherwise be described as knowing a little bit about a lot of things. Alternatively, growth can be measured by growing expertise in a narrow area of responsibility. This can otherwise be described as knowing a lot about a few things. Finally, growth can be measured by advances in professional rank, such as moving from an individual contributor role to a leadership position. This third type of career growth can be the outcome of increases in breadth or expertise.The ResultsThough some respondents felt strongly that either moving around functionally or staying within a defined area of specialty had greater merit, a majority of the respondents concluded that th ere isnt a clear-cut strategy for success. Instead, there are factors that you should consider in navigating your career.Here are some of the most common responses1. Greater breadth of experience makes you a mora versatile and well-rounded employee.Having experience and insight from a number of different business functions can give you a mora holistic perspective. It can alsostrengthen your ability to problem solve andinnovate across an organization. One respondent noted that business activities are often multi-functional, meaning that they impact multiple groups within a single company. Having a wider outlook on various team needs, priorities and challenges,therefore,enhances ones sense of empathy. It can alsolead to more informed thinking and decision-making.Another respondent indicated that taking on the challenge of a completely different role or function can be an opportunity to add to your rangeof skillsAll of us come to work with strengths and weaknesses, and usually we gravi tate towards roles where our strengths can shine. However, if you have the opportunity to try new roles and experience different responsibilities, you also have the ability to shore up your weaknesses. Professional development shouldnt be about doing what is easy. It should be about making yourself betterIt is worth noting that having a comprehensive viewpoint can make you a great candidate for a role with significant cross-functional oversight, such as CEO, COO or General Manager.Tip One low-risk way to get experience cross-functionallyis to participate in a company rotation program, which allowsyou to work in different job functions for short periods of time.2. Your strategy should be based on your long-term professional goals.Some respondents used the simple logic that the roles you take on should create a roadmap leading to your final career destination.In other words start with where you want to end up and work your way backwards. One respondents feedback wasYour career arc rea lly depends on your career goals. Do you want to be a VP of Engineering? Its probably better to get broader experience to be able to manage the engineering trajectory better. Want to move into Product later? Its probably better to focus on a variety of things, but only those that directly affect user experience and interface (UX and UI) design. Want to be the foremost expert on Big Data? Focus on Big Data. Dont do anything else.Tip Identify people in roles that you aspire to and get their feedback on what decisions helped or hurt them over the course of their careers. Use this as a loose blueprint as you progress through your career path.3. Where you are in your career informs how much job, role or function hopping is acceptable.Some respondents noted that career exploration is ideal early in an individualscareer. Once an area of expertise is identified, specialization becomes idealIn the beginning of ones career, its best to diversify your experience and skill set in order to bette r prepare for the various situations youll encounter during the course of your career. This will also allow you to really hone in on the type of work that you enjoy and may inherently excel at. As your career matures, it may make more sense to narrow that skill set.Conversely,a few respondents pointed out that it is becoming increasingly common for experienced workers to change roles or functions given the rapid advances or declines in a number of industries. As such, flexibility and openness to new roles throughout yourcareer is ideal. Finally, there is the viewpoint that you are never too old,or far along in your career,to make a radical change if thats what you want. In the glass-half-full words of George Eliot, It is never too late to be what you might have been.4. Know yourself and do what makes you happy.At the end of the day, its your career, your life and ultimately your opportunity to make your mark on the world. Honestly assess your priorities, goals and preferences and th en develop a plan that enables you to attain everything that is important to you.To me, it really depends on what you value. If you value variety and learning a wide array of things, then jumping around will be beneficial to you. On the other hand, Im under the assumption that staying in the same career path with lead to more stability (and money). If you understand whats important to you, then you can take the approach that fits you best.5.Make sure you understand and can articulate how each choice fits into the story of your professional life.One respondent pointed out that your professional experiences make up the story of your career and that anyone reading this story, such as a recruiter or a hiring manager, will want to see a narrative that demonstrates growth and development. If you decide to make radical moves over the course of your career, know in advance what you are hoping to accomplish from the new experiences,and subsequently, what you learned orgained from taking on d ivergent paths. Without a strong rationale to back up your choices, you risk looking like a dilettante.Finally, I wanted to share a quotation from aSimply Hired employee about the business need for either type of employeeIts hard to say that one is better than the other, though they are definitely different. But I think both kinds of people are needed. We need people who are well rounded, who know a little bit about a lot of things. We also (and equally) need people who know a great deal about a few things and can be the knowledge-authorities on specific subjects and disciplines. Both are necessary, both are to be strived for.To complete thisthought, I would add a quotation from Abraham Lincoln that states, Whatever you are, be a good one. No matter which of the two tactics you ultimately choose, be sure to work hard and always strive to be better, however you have chosen to define it, everyday.