By Sunday Tollefson, MBA, PMP® 

Q: Should I generalize or specialize inside of my career? 

A: This is a common question we face during our career. Start by creating some criteria by which you can decide that. Two examples are Purpose and Return on Investment. 

A survey of mid-career corporate women has reveal that we move to new roles for a set of general reasons: we want to round out our resume, or we are bored in our current role, or we are wanting to join a team with inspiring leaders. What is the purpose of your pivot?

Compare the moves in terms of their return on the investment of your income, pay grade promotions, your time taken for skills development. Consider your industry, your skill set, and what your mentors are advising. 

In fact, shifting to a lesser demanding role in order to retool your skill set is completely acceptable. If you need to move around rather than up, that's okay. And if you want to reduce your chances of being laid off, have a...