An Onion Walks Into An Interview... How Layered Experience Adds Flavor To Your Team

There’s a funny thing that happens in interviews when someone has a broad or layered background. At some point, the question comes up:

"You've done a lot of different things - what do you actually want to do?"

It’s a fair question. And it’s usually asked by those who have built deep expertise in a particular area or industry. That focus has its own tremendous value. But for many professionals, especially those who’ve had to adapt, lead across functions, or operate in smaller or fast-changing environments, their career path naturally becomes more layered.

The challenge? In interviews, that depth of experience can sometimes be mistaken for indecision, when in reality, it’s a reflection of capability, curiosity, and range.

The Concept of “Layered Experience”

In today’s job market, layered experience, meaning exposure to multiple functional areas or perspectives within an industry, is often misunderstood.

Sometimes it gets labeled as indecision rather than depth. But in reality, professionals who’ve operated across multiple sides of the same ecosystem, whether it’s buy-side and sell-side recruitment, or project and program management, bring something incredibly valuable: a panoramic understanding of how all the moving parts connect.

It’s the professional equivalent of being both the chef and the food critic, you know how it’s made and what makes it great.

The “Buy Side” vs. “Sell Side” Analogy

Take the recruitment industry, for example:

Sell Side: Client-facing, business development, agency-style recruitment, all about relationship-building, negotiation, and service delivery.

Buy Side: Internal talent acquisition, workforce planning, and vendor management, focused on governance, efficiency, and alignment with business goals.

Someone who’s worked on both sides doesn’t lack focus, they have a 360° perspective. They understand the pressures, motivators, and challenges of both the client and the supplier.

That cross-functional empathy creates better partnerships, stronger negotiations, and smarter, more strategic problem-solving. It’s like knowing how to bake the cake and how to slice it in a way everyone gets a piece.

Why Employers Sometimes Misread It

Here’s where it gets tricky.

When asked, “Which do you prefer?” and the candidate answers honestly, “I enjoy both for different reasons”. It can sound like indecision. In truth, it reflects adaptability and confidence in navigating complexity.

The disconnect happens because many hiring processes are designed to look for someone who fits neatly into a single lane, not someone fluent in several.

But the modern workplace isn’t a single-lane highway anymore. It’s more like a roundabout — full of moving parts, interconnected systems, and the need for people who know how to merge without crashing.

The best professionals today aren’t just specialists; they’re cross-trained operators who understand strategy, process, execution, and relationships and can move fluidly between them.

Beyond Recruitment: The Multi-Hat Reality

This isn’t unique to recruitment.

Program Managers, Operations Directors, and Project Managers often wear multiple hats especially in mid-sized or fast-growing organizations.

They’re part strategist, part implementer, part service-delivery expert — covering everything from discovery → design → implementation → optimization.

Sometimes, when these professionals interview for more siloed roles, it can cause confusion. But the reality is this:

End-to-end understanding isn’t a lack of focus, it’s proof of ownership.

It shows you can connect dots, anticipate challenges, and execute with full context. It’s the difference between knowing how to decorate a cake and knowing how to bake it from scratch when the oven breaks.

When asked “Which area do you prefer?” or “What’s your focus?”, try this:

“I’ve had the opportunity to work across both sides, which gives me a holistic understanding of the entire lifecycle. While I can absolutely specialize where needed, my strength lies in bridging perspectives, whether that’s client and supplier, strategy and execution, or design and delivery. That range helps me drive better outcomes for the teams I support.”

This reframes layered experience as strategic range, not indecision; and shows that your variety isn’t random; it’s intentional.

Final Thought

Having a layered background isn’t confusion, it’s comprehension.

Some careers are cake: steady, structured, and built layer by layer. Others are onions: complex, nuanced, and full of unexpected depth. And some are bread: foundational, reliable, and essential to every great recipe.

All are valuable, they just add flavor in different ways.

So whether you’re the cake, the onion, or the bread, remember: It’s not about what you are... it’s about the value you add to the table.