Real-life example: is being a one-trick pony a route to career success for professionals?

Ever feel like your career is going round and round the same carousel, with the same music playing over and over?

​Here's another real-life example I read about on LinkedIn that I’d value your perspectives on please: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6295735484547239936/

This one’s written by a director of an Australian executive and specialist search company (Tier One People). He shares his own experience of an accountant who was struggling to get back into Finance roles after spending two years gaining commercial skills in a Business Development role. I’ve copied (some of) the text below for ease, and paraphrased comments he received:
“I really do wonder sometimes what recruiters (internal/agency and hiring managers included) are thinking when it comes to hiring. I met a great Commercial Manager yesterday who is struggling to find a role. After spending 8 years as an accountant, they made the bold move of becoming a Business Development Manager. The idea being it would bring them closer to the business and expand their commercial awareness. Now 2 years on from that move, they really miss the financial and strategic elements but are struggling to find a role back in finance. Their resume is being dismissed outright because they have spent two years out of finance. Why are some recruiters/hiring managers so scared to consider someone who doesn't fit the mould? Ironically this person has exactly what a business needs from a commercial finance manager.”

His post resonated with people who commented on aspects like:

• The challenges for professionals
  • Myopia from hiring businesses around experience requirements, for reasons including that the market is spoilt for choice i.e. there are many candidates who tick all the boxes
  • Candidates who can share more recent relevant experience are seen as “less risk” in the benchmarking process
  • Hiring managers being afraid to take a chance on someone who doesn’t fit the brief for fear of being blamed if a candidate turns out to be a dud
  • Being told that companies don’t like to hire a ‘Jack of All Trades’
  • Being advised as a professional to ‘stick to what you know and don't diversify between sectors because it makes it difficult to place you’
  • ‘Your last role defines you’
• The benefits of versatility
  • Sales experience is a positive for Finance professionals who want to show understanding of their industry and customers
  • Adaptability demonstrates courage
  • Bringing in people with different perspectives and experience (including international) enhances business agility and adaptability
  • Increasing relevance of soft skills vs technical skills
  • Many finance professionals started their careers in audit firms and were exposed to a diverse range of industries and businesses in those early years
• The consequences
  • Risk aversion, driven from the hiring company, can severely impede a candidate's opportunities to explore new avenues and ultimately find their passion. Unless you are extremely resilient and relentless in your approach, you will stay stuck.
  • Because your last role defines you, use short-term contracts to bridge between industries or roles
  • Appropriate tools to truly identify a candidate's potential and capability during the recruitment process are missing: particularly when contemplating a career change

This real-life example and the comments struck a chord with me too, especially as I believe in variety and adaptability myself (both personally for my own career, and when hiring people). For professionals in a business context, gaining commercial experience, including engaging with customers, is invaluable. It broadens your experience, and gives you a much greater appreciation for what your business actually does (rather than the structures it has set up to manage internally). And, as the original post highlights, the combination of commercial, financial/technical and strategic awareness is powerful. 

I’m glad too that Tier One People later reported that they were successful in securing a dream job for the candidate, with their dream company. Their director praised “forward thinking and progressive [companies] who recognise talent when they see it”.

Please let us know your thoughts on what causes these challenges, including how the professional, the hiring manager, the HR team, and the recruiter might be contributing.
​And, please share any tips you have for how we as a collective can improve things, in order to make work more meaningful for professionals, in a way that adds more value for companies too.