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Suggestion: Don't call yourself "A jack of all trades." When you call yourself that, some people/interviewers will add "master of none" mentally. Call yourself

Suggestion: Don't call yourself "A jack of all trades." When you call yourself that, some people/interviewers will add "master of none" mentally. Call yourself a "Swiss army knife" or something.

a_square_peg 6y ago
As a systems engineer who usually works in the intersection of HW and SW (usually working with systems requirements or managing interfaces), I tend to add 'master-of-none' myself as I'm proficient in neither. :)
tvanbeek 6y ago
"A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
- grayclhn 6y ago
  Yeah, but nobody knows the entire quote. :)
CodinM 6y ago
"Apart from X,Y,Z which I am realistically proficient in, I have knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep"
colordrops 6y ago
"generalist" has worked for me.
Iv 6y ago
In my case, I call myself a specialist in one of the relevant fields I have worked in the last 3 years. Then I mention all the other things I have done when I have a chance. Don't call yourself a jack of all trades, make them call you that.
kevmo 6y ago
If you really are a jack of all trades, it doesn't matter. At that point, you're smart and capable and generally a great hire. If a company isn't hiring well enough to recognize that, you don't wanna work there anyway.
blhack 6y ago
"Full stack" ;-). Lately the idea of a "specialist" (at least in webdev) has come to mean (in my head): "I really know how to use this particular framework, but do not understand any of the surrounding technology. If I reach a problem, I will bloat the code with more libraries until it starts to work."
- saagarjha 6y ago
  Full stack means a specific kind of developer, though. I would never call myself "full stack", even though the "stack" I work on goes from the kernel all the way to UI code.
  - Slartie 6y ago
    That's my "stack" too, which is why I once called myself "real full stack developer" once in a conversation. It was intended partially as a pun on the "full stack" term, but I said it only half-joking.
jlokier 6y ago
I'm partial to "multi-skilled" these days. When people ask what are my particular areas, I'll say I mainly do... I'm expert in... I have strong experience with... over the years I've worked in several technical areas... And list 4 or 5 different specialisms where I would realistically do ok if interviewed in those areas on the spot without warning. I don't know if that would work for someone who really is a generalist without specialist knowledge at the current stage in their career. In my case, I really have gone much deeper than most people into a number of different sounding domains. Not different skills or tech stacks, but really very different tech areas. I'm often regarded as interesting because of that, rather than "master of none".
0df8dkdf 6y ago
or just say full stack. I hate buzz word, but sometimes it helps the manager to understand.
kenhwang 6y ago
I say "multiple specialties". Seems to be received extremely well.
brianxp 6y ago
though oftentimes better than master of one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_none https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_...
blablabla123 6y ago
Although I've interviewed for 2 companies in the past that actually appreciated this and basically called me like this themselves. :D They worked on actually complicated stuff and also expected some kind of work sample. Turned out both were jobs where you can burn out quickly so I didn't stay long at either. But true, normally interviewers already get confused when you mention a skill that is not directly required by the job ad.
pplanel 6y ago
From my resume: "Experienced m-shaped professional..."

Suggestion: Don't call yourself "A jack of all trades." When you call yourself that, some people/interviewers will add "master of none" mentally. Call yourself a "Swiss army knife" or something.

a_square_peg 6y ago

As a systems engineer who usually works in the intersection of HW and SW (usually working with systems requirements or managing interfaces), I tend to add 'master-of-none' myself as I'm proficient in neither. :)

tvanbeek 6y ago

"A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."

grayclhn 6y ago
Yeah, but nobody knows the entire quote. :)

CodinM 6y ago

"Apart from X,Y,Z which I am realistically proficient in, I have knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep"

colordrops 6y ago

"generalist" has worked for me.

Iv 6y ago

In my case, I call myself a specialist in one of the relevant fields I have worked in the last 3 years. Then I mention all the other things I have done when I have a chance. Don't call yourself a jack of all trades, make them call you that.

kevmo 6y ago

If you really are a jack of all trades, it doesn't matter. At that point, you're smart and capable and generally a great hire. If a company isn't hiring well enough to recognize that, you don't wanna work there anyway.

blhack 6y ago

"Full stack" ;-). Lately the idea of a "specialist" (at least in webdev) has come to mean (in my head): "I really know how to use this particular framework, but do not understand any of the surrounding technology. If I reach a problem, I will bloat the code with more libraries until it starts to work."

saagarjha 6y ago
Full stack means a specific kind of developer, though. I would never call myself "full stack", even though the "stack" I work on goes from the kernel all the way to UI code.
- Slartie 6y ago
  That's my "stack" too, which is why I once called myself "real full stack developer" once in a conversation. It was intended partially as a pun on the "full stack" term, but I said it only half-joking.

jlokier 6y ago

I'm partial to "multi-skilled" these days. When people ask what are my particular areas, I'll say I mainly do... I'm expert in... I have strong experience with... over the years I've worked in several technical areas... And list 4 or 5 different specialisms where I would realistically do ok if interviewed in those areas on the spot without warning. I don't know if that would work for someone who really is a generalist without specialist knowledge at the current stage in their career. In my case, I really have gone much deeper than most people into a number of different sounding domains. Not different skills or tech stacks, but really very different tech areas. I'm often regarded as interesting because of that, rather than "master of none".

0df8dkdf 6y ago

or just say full stack. I hate buzz word, but sometimes it helps the manager to understand.

kenhwang 6y ago

I say "multiple specialties". Seems to be received extremely well.

brianxp 6y ago

though oftentimes better than master of one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_none https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_...

blablabla123 6y ago

Although I've interviewed for 2 companies in the past that actually appreciated this and basically called me like this themselves. :D They worked on actually complicated stuff and also expected some kind of work sample. Turned out both were jobs where you can burn out quickly so I didn't stay long at either. But true, normally interviewers already get confused when you mention a skill that is not directly required by the job ad.

pplanel 6y ago

From my resume: "Experienced m-shaped professional..."