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> In combination with the breadth you listed this doesn't make you seem like a genius, it makes you seem like a generalist who lacks focus and probably has a to

> In combination with the breadth you listed this doesn't make you seem like a genius, it makes you seem like a generalist who lacks focus and probably has a touch of ADHD. Slightly off topic, but is being a generalist considered a bad thing?

djrogers 10y ago
No, but you do need to focus your resume to the job you're trying to get. If you're a Product Designer then your resume should focus on that, and if you want a junior developer position, your resume should reflect that. And it should go without saying, but if you're applying for both jobs, for heaven's sake - have 2 different versions of your resume...
manarth 10y ago
is being a generalist considered a bad thing? I would argue that having a general knowledge of the related fields is a very positive thing. That said, if the knowledge is at a fairly basic level, it'd be hard to find much more than a junior role. Senior roles generally require more advanced knowledge/understanding, and that's a lot easier to achieve by focusing on one specific skill/niche. Most senior people I've worked with are the archetype T-shape: a good general knowledge of a number of related fields, and a deep speciality in one area. Wikipedia has an interesting (although uncited) comparison of Versatilist (T-shape) vs Generalist [1]: Think of a person having some level of knowledge/experience in 15 knowledge areas. That person may have a very high competency (score 5) in 3 areas, a medium level of competency (score 3) in 5 areas, an introductory level of competency (score 1) in 4 areas, and no competency (score 0) in 3 areas. This creates an area under the curve of 34. This is different from a generalist who may score a 1 or 3 in every area. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versatilist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versatilist
PeterisP 10y ago
Being generalist is a good thing in the sense that is good to have many skills at a reasonable level. Unless you're truly exceptional, it simply doesn't happen without lots of experience. At 20 years of experience, you can have e.g. 5 "secondary" skills (in addition to whatever key specialization you might have) where you have a reasonable knowledge and "exposure" from having applied them multiple times. At 3 years of work experience, most people have just started to understand 1-2 things. It may be that you have gotten a great, wide experience at a young age, because you started to do hard things really early - if a junior person claims that they "know" many diverse skills, maybe they truly are a generalist, but it is so much more likely that this simply shows a so big gap in knowledge/understanding that they don't even understand how little they know about all these 'secondary' skills. This is true at least personally - there are certain skills where 15 years ago I believed that I had them, however now I know that I don't and never did so, simply because now I have seen people who actually do have that skill and can evaluate my knowledge in appropriate context.
jacquesm 10y ago
It's great when you're 50, tends to message 'thin' rather than 'deep' when you're 23.
hkmurakami 10y ago
Generalists don't get hired to traditional "jobs" within orgs. Being a generalist is great if you're starting projects or companies yourself, or have personal connections to people who start such things and are looking for 1-3 generalist types when they first start hiring. But companies hire specialists, plain and simple.
- collyw 10y ago
  Bollocks. Full Stack Developer is just a formal title for generalist.

djrogers 10y ago

No, but you do need to focus your resume to the job you're trying to get. If you're a Product Designer then your resume should focus on that, and if you want a junior developer position, your resume should reflect that. And it should go without saying, but if you're applying for both jobs, for heaven's sake - have 2 different versions of your resume...

manarth 10y ago

is being a generalist considered a bad thing? I would argue that having a general knowledge of the related fields is a very positive thing. That said, if the knowledge is at a fairly basic level, it'd be hard to find much more than a junior role. Senior roles generally require more advanced knowledge/understanding, and that's a lot easier to achieve by focusing on one specific skill/niche. Most senior people I've worked with are the archetype T-shape: a good general knowledge of a number of related fields, and a deep speciality in one area. Wikipedia has an interesting (although uncited) comparison of Versatilist (T-shape) vs Generalist [1]: Think of a person having some level of knowledge/experience in 15 knowledge areas. That person may have a very high competency (score 5) in 3 areas, a medium level of competency (score 3) in 5 areas, an introductory level of competency (score 1) in 4 areas, and no competency (score 0) in 3 areas. This creates an area under the curve of 34. This is different from a generalist who may score a 1 or 3 in every area. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versatilist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versatilist

PeterisP 10y ago

Being generalist is a good thing in the sense that is good to have many skills at a reasonable level. Unless you're truly exceptional, it simply doesn't happen without lots of experience. At 20 years of experience, you can have e.g. 5 "secondary" skills (in addition to whatever key specialization you might have) where you have a reasonable knowledge and "exposure" from having applied them multiple times. At 3 years of work experience, most people have just started to understand 1-2 things. It may be that you have gotten a great, wide experience at a young age, because you started to do hard things really early - if a junior person claims that they "know" many diverse skills, maybe they truly are a generalist, but it is so much more likely that this simply shows a so big gap in knowledge/understanding that they don't even understand how little they know about all these 'secondary' skills. This is true at least personally - there are certain skills where 15 years ago I believed that I had them, however now I know that I don't and never did so, simply because now I have seen people who actually do have that skill and can evaluate my knowledge in appropriate context.

jacquesm 10y ago

It's great when you're 50, tends to message 'thin' rather than 'deep' when you're 23.

hkmurakami 10y ago

Generalists don't get hired to traditional "jobs" within orgs. Being a generalist is great if you're starting projects or companies yourself, or have personal connections to people who start such things and are looking for 1-3 generalist types when they first start hiring. But companies hire specialists, plain and simple.

collyw 10y ago
Bollocks. Full Stack Developer is just a formal title for generalist.