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A Jack Of All Trades
The danger of wearing too many hats and the undeniable value of polymaths
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We’re all familiar with the line, “Jack of all trades, but a master of none.” In common parlance, it refers to a person who is a generalist rather than a specialist and seems to imply that the person is an expert in no single area, making them somehow less desirable. But what is often missed, is the end of that quote, which is, “…though oftentimes better than a master of one.”
The true intention of the quote is to recognize the complexity of skill sets and that while expertise in a single field can be extremely valuable, it’s not always what is called for. Sometimes you truly do need a specialist, but more often than not, you need a generalist. There is no hard and fast rule as it depends largely on the task at hand, but everything doesn’t require a top expert.
I’ve seen a lot of commentary lately, specifically on business-centric platforms like LinkedIn, criticizing employers that recruit for candidates who have seemingly endless supplies of experience in an insane variety of disciplines, but who are also entry-level.
