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Generalist vs Specialist, Vyson, Resume Roast
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Hey Reader! π I'm hosting a webinar + AMA tonight: https://lu.ma/vysonβ Continuing my observations from the career clarity calls I'm doing: Meet B. B started as a frontend intern and moved to a fullstack role in the same company along the way. The core problem was that he never built depth in one space. I realised that because I never built strong expertise in any one thing, I'm stuck right now and cannot quickly transition to a different company. A lot of my friends stuck with one thing and they get opportunities far more easily than me. People who did backend stuck with backend. People who did Android or iOS stuck with it. His first company was actually a mobile app company, so he never got to go in depth on frontend (most were menial tasks). He also mentioned to his founder that business is something he was interested in and the founder (kudos to them) actually gave him an opportunity to lead a new business unit for months. After some time, he came back to tech to lead an AI product but again had to leave that. He knows something in everything. Companies want depth in atleast one thing when they hire you. Other experiences are a bonus but you cannot be a generalist. If you indeed have a lot of interests, strive to become comb-shaped, i.e. have depth in multiple domains like a multi- domain specialist. We discussed a plan of action to navigate out of this. One of the goals we set was making interviews less scary. There were some concerns around AI as well but in general it was fundamentally the uncertainty of being in the tech space and here's the mental model to keep in mind: Why tech pays well? The data point being that folks in other fields would need 3x the time to match his salary.
On another note, I updated my resume guide to have some before and after examples:
It has helped 100s of folks rewrite their resume to highlight their work's impact. You can also upload your resume there to get actionable feedback that shows you exactly how to impress employers and land more interviews. See you soon! Tonight, maybe? π, |
Hey there, it's me, Swapnil!
I'm a educator, entrepreneur, and maker who loves to talk about technology, education, and business & entrepreneurship. Subscribe and join over 1000+ newsletter readers every week!
Hey Reader! π I had my 2nd Triple Crown Day today! https://swapnilagarwal.com/posts/triple-crown-day Continuing my observations from the career clarity calls I'm doing: Meet M. M has worked in backend roles for 6+ years now. Now she wants to move into the AI domain. We reviewed her portfolio website and updated her resume to have more impact numbers. From a recruiter perspective, the question in this case becomes this: How can you showcase youβre AI-native so that in a room of 10 candidates,...
Hey Reader! π Grab a copy and get ready for the ride! As a first step, share a picture of your book in the WhatsApp group by the weekend. Skip/skim chapter 1, and start from chapter 2 instead! Count me in! In other news, we have completed 30 weekly meetings to reflect, learn new things, and help each other improve. Our core values are: Volume negates luck. Do the boring work. What gets measured gets improved. Compounding is underrated. Growth happens outside comfort zone. DM to join / see if...
Hey Reader! π It was quite a stressful week. A bunch of last-minute travel involved. Back to scheduled programming from today! If you've applied for a career clarity call recently, I'll reach out to you this week! This happened. 2+ years of experience. Got rejected in 4th round. Cultural. Companies look for intent. A slight signal of you being not excited about the opportunity might indicate you won't be there in the long term. This is important especially when a company is taking a bet on...