Stop Asking for Unicorns. Hire Humans.
Have you scrolled through job postings lately? You probably have if we’re on LinkedIn.
Here’s what I keep noticing: companies are asking for grocery-list résumés. They want one person who can do strategy, video editing, copywriting, motion design, analytics, and probably fix the Wi-Fi while they’re at it.
The problem? Mastery doesn’t multiply like that.
Research popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers suggested it takes roughly 10,000 hours to achieve expertise in one field. Later studies refined that number, showing it depends on deliberate practice and feedback, not just time.
But even if it’s half that, it’s still years of focused effort. So, if it takes 5,000–10,000 hours to master one skill… what happens when job postings ask for expertise in five or ten different ones? You’re suddenly looking at possibly 50,000+ hours of practice, decades of work, just to “meet requirements.”
Sure, some unicorns exist who are excellent across multiple domains. But they’re rare, and they should be paid accordingly, not $60–100K for doing the work of three professionals.
Here’s the truth: Niching down isn’t about being less capable; it’s about being memorable and mastering what actually makes impact. When no one wants to read a full résumés the niched version of an application shouldn't be overlooked for not checking all the boxes at first glance or AI scan.
Hiring teams should prioritize depth over breadth if they want true quality. Better quality means getting things right the first time instead of doing it over and over again, which saves time and money.
Job seekers shouldn’t feel behind for not being a “Swiss Army knife.” Real expertise comes from sustained focus, not juggling every tool at once.
If companies want one person to do five people’s jobs, they should say so and pay a salary reflective of the skill and time it took to be that good at so many things.
PS: To create this graphic I used, Google Search, Gemini, Photoshop, Illustrator all while thinking about copyright infringement, how cheesy the design is, and if I had created it from scratch it would have been a lot better but taken a ton more time instead of doing other work.
And if you are having problems with Wifi I probably can help with that too or offer solutions to consider.
Like and Share if you are baffled by the grocery list of skills asked for in jobs today. I say LinkedIn should ban job posts that are like AI phishing instead of real jobs that need people who know how to figure things out.
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