Jack of two trades

I find it very interesting that the natural tendency for unemployed individuals or challenged companies in this market is to try to spread a wide net.  They present themselves as the catch-all, the “we can do anything, what do you want?”, the jack of all trades.

Well, as they say, “jack of all trades, master of none.”  What I’ve observed is that this market actually demands the opposite: specialization.  When businesses have needs, you’re best being a jack of two trades: specializing in a few things within one industry, or one thing across several industries.  The more focused you are, the better the chance of you being found, being seen as the expert, and differentiating yourself from all of the other jacks.

This goes the same for individuals as well as creative companies.  For those unemployed individuals out there – don’t spend your days applying with a “general” resume to online jobs.  Instead, create a perfectly targeted resume for every job and use your connections to find any way in. You’ll get your resume to the top of the pile – that is, if you even need a resume.