Building a solid career foundation in today’s marketplace means more than mastering a limited number of tasks in a given field.
Career diversification in your field will bring larger rewards, according to the American Association of Finance and Accounting.
“When employers look for talent, they typically settle for people with the proficiency to perform certain tasks. But what they really want — especially in today’s hyper-competitive market — is an adaptable breed of cat, whose broad-based set of skills crosses over into a variety of disciplines,” writes Bill Radin for the AFA.
Paxton suggests looking for “areas of weakness” in your own career portfolio and developing those weaknesses into strengths, thus increasing your market value.
”The more you can offer a multiple spectrum of knowledge — rather than a single color of skill — the less likely you’ll be to paint yourself into a corner.” Paxton said.
Building on these areas of weakness can be accomplished in several manners:
- Look for new opportunities for growth with your existing skill sets
- Seek out opportunities to broaden your marketable skills
- Attending conferences, seminars and industry events will help you broaden your network, opening new doors to diversify your knowledge base
- Obtaining industry-recognized certifications beyond your own field of expertise, broadens your marketable skill sets to potential new employers
