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Let’s pretend you’re a hiring manager. Does the following statement impress you? “Practical contact with and observation of facts or events.” No? Me either… that’s the first definition of experience from a Google search.
This word is held to a very high standard. It’s a requirement in more job postings than a bachelor’s degree. But, what is experience and why is it the bane of young professionals looking for a chance?
I have never understood why experience is held in such high regards, often a deciding factor when it comes to who is even interviewed. The Marine Corps has fourteen leadership traits: Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Endurance. These words are almost never listed in the job’s Minimum Requirements. Why is that? If I was in a position to hire, I would select an individual with these traits because, I would want leaders, not managers. Leaders don’t need a title to lead. Leaders promote things like, innovation, communication, and teamwork. I would want all my employees to be leaders.
Experience is not a trait. Your ability to gain experience sometimes comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Experience is gained through time. I could be the worst (still good, just not a top performer) at my job and, as long as I hold that position, I’m still getting the experience that is often listed under job requirements and deemed the deciding factor in many situations.
In my efforts to be the best I can be, and to take the next steps in my career, I was asked to take Gallup’s Strength Finder 2.0 assessment. First, let me assure you experience isn’t one of the possible strengths. My top five strengths (in order) are, Competitive, Strategic, Futuristic, Maximizer, and Deliberate. To me, these represent the types of qualities (strengths) I would look for in a future employee.
I don’t think hiring managers realize that losing out on a new position because of experience is probably the most depressing reason to a prospective employee. In my opinion, that is saying “We don’t believe in you.”
Employers don’t want to take chances anymore. The corporate world has created a false emphasis on experience and is giving the impression “the company doesn’t have time to train”, “training isn’t in the budget”, and/or “it is really important the individual selected can hit the ground running.”
They want someone else to deal with training. Everyone is looking for the “plug-n-play” employee. Unfortunately, I think this is because many leadership positions are filled by managers – not leaders. Harvard Business Review has a great, short article on the “Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders.”
Don’t get me wrong, I understand experience has its place. In no way am I saying any and all positions should be willing to accept the inexperienced. However, I believe there should be more emphasis placed on candidates past successes and ambition. I don’t believe experience should ever be the deciding factor in the hiring process, unless all other avenues have been discussed. With experience comes comfort, and with comfort, innovation and creativity often take a back seat. With technology constantly advancing, employees with leadership traits are the keys to staying competitive.
When experience is held in such high regards over so many beneficial traits… what kind of workforce are we creating?
This word is held to a very high standard. It’s a requirement in more job postings than a bachelor’s degree. But, what is experience and why is it the bane of young professionals looking for a chance?
I have never understood why experience is held in such high regards, often a deciding factor when it comes to who is even interviewed. The Marine Corps has fourteen leadership traits: Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Endurance. These words are almost never listed in the job’s Minimum Requirements. Why is that? If I was in a position to hire, I would select an individual with these traits because, I would want leaders, not managers. Leaders don’t need a title to lead. Leaders promote things like, innovation, communication, and teamwork. I would want all my employees to be leaders.
Experience is not a trait. Your ability to gain experience sometimes comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Experience is gained through time. I could be the worst (still good, just not a top performer) at my job and, as long as I hold that position, I’m still getting the experience that is often listed under job requirements and deemed the deciding factor in many situations.
In my efforts to be the best I can be, and to take the next steps in my career, I was asked to take Gallup’s Strength Finder 2.0 assessment. First, let me assure you experience isn’t one of the possible strengths. My top five strengths (in order) are, Competitive, Strategic, Futuristic, Maximizer, and Deliberate. To me, these represent the types of qualities (strengths) I would look for in a future employee.
I don’t think hiring managers realize that losing out on a new position because of experience is probably the most depressing reason to a prospective employee. In my opinion, that is saying “We don’t believe in you.”
Employers don’t want to take chances anymore. The corporate world has created a false emphasis on experience and is giving the impression “the company doesn’t have time to train”, “training isn’t in the budget”, and/or “it is really important the individual selected can hit the ground running.”
They want someone else to deal with training. Everyone is looking for the “plug-n-play” employee. Unfortunately, I think this is because many leadership positions are filled by managers – not leaders. Harvard Business Review has a great, short article on the “Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders.”
Don’t get me wrong, I understand experience has its place. In no way am I saying any and all positions should be willing to accept the inexperienced. However, I believe there should be more emphasis placed on candidates past successes and ambition. I don’t believe experience should ever be the deciding factor in the hiring process, unless all other avenues have been discussed. With experience comes comfort, and with comfort, innovation and creativity often take a back seat. With technology constantly advancing, employees with leadership traits are the keys to staying competitive.
When experience is held in such high regards over so many beneficial traits… what kind of workforce are we creating?
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Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 33
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't."
--Pete Seeger
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
---Douglas Adams
"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't."
--Pete Seeger
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
---Douglas Adams
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
Great quotes!
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad." - Miles Kington
But, one of my favorites is, "A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying." - B.F. Skinner
I will never let rejection get in my way of achieving something great.
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad." - Miles Kington
But, one of my favorites is, "A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying." - B.F. Skinner
I will never let rejection get in my way of achieving something great.
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You can be qualified all day, but being qualified is equivalent to raw talent or potential, which also means risk and untested. Experience is the end product and the results you can show.
A young professional who is qualified should be able to get an entry level position. However, if they expect more it may be a long road as their skills are raw at best. Plus what makes this hard is everyone sells themselves as hard-working, motivated and intelligent to the point that these subjective comments mean nothing and you need tangible results.
A young professional who is qualified should be able to get an entry level position. However, if they expect more it may be a long road as their skills are raw at best. Plus what makes this hard is everyone sells themselves as hard-working, motivated and intelligent to the point that these subjective comments mean nothing and you need tangible results.
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TSgt James Herslebs
There are times and situations where you may actually intimidate the people interviewing you. Civilians who have never been in the military don't always understand our mindset. we are taught to be proactive and accomplish the task and are solution oriented. The average civilian hiring manager can feel threatened. Seek out an entry level position and be yourself in the interview but keep yourself in check when answering questions.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
TSgt James Herslebs - True enough and I do find myself as a Retired Military member finding Veteran's a much better hiring choice. Military members already understand doing thing because they need to be done and the concept of teamwork. It's not so much I couldn't find good candidates elsewhere but it was very rare finding a former member of the Armed Forces that couldn't be depended on. Years ago though I did have My resume selected 1st of 850 that were submitted but then the hiring manager had been a Captain in the USMC. Having said that though My resume always did seem to get Me an interview so I guess I've been doing something right with that item.
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SMSgt Bob W.
TSgt James Herslebs - James, civilians don't need to know your mindset; you need to know theirs. The person interviewing you is not trying to fit into your paradigm, they are seeing if you fit into theirs. Veterans are different from Retirees. Many Veterans have completed their military duties and are ready to find a career which will fulfill their basic needs. Many Retirees still think they are in the military. They aren't!! They have experienced a "divorce" from the military and are not in charge anymore. Some can't adapt. I looked at it as a career change. I'm drawing a pension; how, I can be semi-select in what job I choose.
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TED Talks | Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume - Regina Hartley
Given the choice between a job candidate with a perfect resume and one who has fought through difficulty, human resources executive Regina Hartley always giv...
It seems to me like all those qualities you listed should be what you are telling the hiring manager. They understand the weaknesses in the hiring system too. https://youtu.be/gQVEvkYuvWk
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
Thank you for that video SSgt. I wish more hiring managers shared her mindset. I definitely consider myself a scraper. I have never brought up my struggles during interviews. I didn't want to come off a complainer or attempting to make them feel sorry for me... I'm wondering if I should reconsider my introduction pitch.
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Experience to me means having a body of work that demonstrates your ability to apply learned skills in a productive and meaningful way. It is very difficult to convey in a resume without being overly verbose. However, it is absolutely crucial that you convey that in a job interview.
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
That is a great answer. The ability to provide references, and examples of your ability to excel are great ways to convey experience without having direct experience in a specific role.
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I worked at trucking company years ago. EXPERIENCE to the HR department was a road test. In other words "can you do the job"? Education is great; however, again, CAN YOU DO THE JOB? If you are applying for an ENTRY LEVEL position, that means you are interested in LEARNING THE JOB. Also, that may mean you have an educational background in that field, but you have limited or no experience. The real issue is what does "EXPERIENCE" mean to the person interviewing the potential employee? If we were desperate for drivers, we would hire "the best of the worst". That means we normally would not hire any of the applicants; however, we have to put a body behind the wheel, thus "the best of the worst".
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I think experience is overrated. All experience is not good or excellent experience. So people claim experience in supervision when what they really did was shift supervise pimple faced kids at McDonald's. How does that compare with a 20 year old Sergeant leading a his squad on a flanking move on an enemy held position. Both have had "leading" experience.
I think a lot of employers are too lazy to fully investigate what is put down on a resume. Until they realize they hired an non-producer then they sit there with egg on their face, trying to figure out a way to get ride of them without opening themselves up for a law suit or civil rights violation.
I think a lot of employers are too lazy to fully investigate what is put down on a resume. Until they realize they hired an non-producer then they sit there with egg on their face, trying to figure out a way to get ride of them without opening themselves up for a law suit or civil rights violation.
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
That is very similar to how I feel. It is difficult to express confidence in your abilities without sounding ignorant or cocky when you lack experience. But you have to if you are "under qualified" for a position.
I certainly don't have experience leading a squad against enemy fire, but, I have experience keeping helicopters in "Mission Ready" status overseas with limited resources in order to maintain 100% mission success.
I certainly don't have experience leading a squad against enemy fire, but, I have experience keeping helicopters in "Mission Ready" status overseas with limited resources in order to maintain 100% mission success.
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If I am a hiring manager, and I see that someone has experience, that person should be able to clearly describe that experience. Some positions require experience, and you will not be considered without it. Sometimes there may be wiggle room, if you have a resume that is exceptional. Being nicely dressed, polished, confident, and knowledgeable about the company and position is critical during the interview.
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Sgt (Join to see)
Cpl Mario DiPasquale - If I am interviewing someone for a programmer position, the programmer should be able to explain what programs he has written in specific languages and answer all of my questions. Have you asked for feedback from these companies to see if your lack of direct experience was the cause of losing these positions? Just because they ask for experience, does not mean that they would not hire someone that blew them away during the interview.
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
I certainly agree with that statement. Programming languages can be very complicated.
Yes, I always follow up with employers and everytime I have been told it was due to a lack of direct experience.
My passion lays within leadership and efficiency. So, I usually apply for *title* manager positions. Well *title* always causes the issue. Because my lack of direct experience always results in a rejection.
Yes, I always follow up with employers and everytime I have been told it was due to a lack of direct experience.
My passion lays within leadership and efficiency. So, I usually apply for *title* manager positions. Well *title* always causes the issue. Because my lack of direct experience always results in a rejection.
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Experience to me means time on the job that produced meaningful engagement of resources so that the employer gained and the employee produced some quantifiable product for expended hours. This means that both the contractor, the employer, either made a profit or had its work completed while the employee engaged in productive work.
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SSgt Robert Marx
This would go across the profit & non profit world, including companies, government, and other organizations. Simply showing up to the work place and being a time stamper does not count if the organization also did not benefit. It is hard to quantify what an individual produces for an organization, especially if is a repetitive task like a janitor, but usually the employee can cite tasks completed, value dollars added, and the number of hours involved.
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Cpl Mario DiPasquale
Great answer. It is certainly in everyone's best interest to prevent the need for "babysitting." Like you said "produces meaningful engagement." Do you believe experience should carry more weight than someone's character, drive, or dedication?
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SSgt Robert Marx
I believe integrity is paramount but that measuring it in people is tricky at best. I guess certain job fields can focus on education or experience more. I think most organizations realize that ambition & drive in candidates is crucial and so they accept less paper qualified people on occasion. I believe it is a mistake for human resource managers to hire only the most qualified candidates according to a rigid formulae.
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