My response is always the same. Here are five important questions to ask yourself before mapping out your HR career path. If you find that you get bored doing the same thing twice, then the generalist role might be more suited to you. As a generalist, you are required to wear many different hats. One minute you may find yourself negotiating the employee benefit package for your company and the next you could be conducting a training program for your line managers.
Generalists tend to get their hands into everything.
When you are a generalist, you often start your day doing one thing and wind up doing something totally different. For example, you might start to work on a compensation plan, only to find that you need to stop everything to deal with a line manager's emergency employee relations situation. Some people find the unpredictability a bit unsettling, because it seems as if you never get to fully complete tasks. Others find it exhilarating. Most specialist positions require you to be very detail-oriented.