Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited
Return to career-consulting-limited.com
People |
|
|
 |
What is Experience Anyway?
I learned in first grade that one plus one equals two. But, that's not the right equation when counting work experience. We often think we're building experience to help us get ahead. In reality, we're passing time. Ten years working like a cloned Bill Murray in Groundhog Day is not ten years worth of experience. Doing the same thing again and again yields an experience formula more like: ten times one equals one.
I used to equate years of work with years of experience. No more. I learned by making plenty of hiring and promotion mistakes in twenty years of management the two are not equal. Neither are years of work and performance. Doing something for five, ten or twenty years doesn't make you automatically five, ten or twenty years better than when you started. I've been cooking for thirty years but I remain a mediocre cook.
Two or three years involved with a business start-up or a new project might provide more growth and knowledge than ten years in a stable venue. And it might not. Gaining experience is more about you and your approach than anything else.
Recurring work events can be predictable, boring, and unchallenging ways of passing years at work if what you're doing is updating last year's memo, tweaking last year's budget, or fine-tuning last years goals without applying innovation, analysis or critical thinking. Retiring on the job is as prolific as spam and will get you as blocked as those unwanted emails.
I've found the difference between people who are winning at working and people who aren't, is the difference between passing another year at work and gaining another year of work experience. Those who build their experience build their futures. And, you can build experience without changing jobs.
Building experience is about the depth, diversity, challenges and learning you gain by offering the best of who you are at work. It's about seizing and creating opportunities. And it's about continual self-improvement and constant self-feedback.
You know you're gaining experience when you problem solve your own mistakes; learn to use knowledge building blocks to handle more complex issues; make contributions more valuable than the year before; acquire new skills by venturing outside a comfort zone; embrace new ideas or technologies; or recognize you don't know as much as you thought you did as you begin to see a bigger picture.
People who try new things, push the envelope, pitch ideas, offer innovative problem solving, take accountability, and never stop learning and making a difference, are people gaining experience and building their work future.
(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
Sign up to receive Nan's free biweekly eColumn at www.winningatworking.com. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor. Contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at CMS CMS Careers at Prairie View A&M University - HR Prairie View A&M University Report: community college students need more career guidance Inside Higher Ed Will Artificial Intelligence Steal My Job? | On Careers | U.S. News U.S News & World Report Money The energy transition’s effects on jobs MIT Technology Review Careers - Human Resources Kennesaw State University Workers eager to fill 3,000 Las Vegas jobs to build Brightline Fox 5 Las Vegas Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Careers at TWU | The Office of Human Resources | TWU Texas Woman's University Tesla mass layoffs impact Bay Area, with over 2,750 jobs lost San Francisco Chronicle Careers Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Careers Micron Careers at FEMA FEMA Careers | Job Opportunities | MaineHealth MaineHealth Careers at Bucknell Bucknell University Industry sells workers on ag jobs The Western Producer Career Paths FEMA Job Search Results - Careers at UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group My career race is in the home stretch, here's what I know Financial Times Green careers report: Understanding green jobs and their increasing demand The Economic Times Veterans and transitioning military | VA Careers VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Data indicates a strong job market but some employment seekers — even those with a Ph.D. — say they struggle Yahoo Finance What Researchers Discovered When They Sent 80000 Fake Résumés to U.S. Jobs The New York Times Careers Smith College Grécourt Gate Permanent Full Time FEMA Careers at NATO NATO HQ Find Your Next Great Career in Iowa Iowa.gov Apply for a Job The City of Vancouver, WA Despite lagging performance, California expected to avoid recession Los Angeles Times Careers at USI University of Southern Indiana Careers Medline Newsroom Work for Us (U.S National Park Service Career Opportunities FAQ | Nebraska State Patrol Nebraska State Patrol Careers at Air Liquide Air Liquide Another month of robust US job growth points to continued economic strength The Associated Press Careers | US Forest Service USDA Forest Service Lawsuit claims Sheetz denied employment to class of job applicants because of their race WPXI Pittsburgh Careers Technip Energies Overemployed workers don't feel guilty working multiple remote jobs Business Insider Early careers UBS AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let's Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. International Monetary Fund Careers CPKC Work Here UnitedHealth Group CoinGecko Careers: Careers at CoinGecko CoinGecko Careers with Impact IFC Press Releases Early Careers | Mondelēz International, Inc. Mondelez International Jobs and opportunities Minority Rights Group Careers at Campari Group people.camparigroup.com Best job site of 2024 TechRadar Education and Development WellSpan Health Opinion | The A.I. Economy Will Make Jobs More Human The New York Times John Lewis publishes job interview questions to aid preparation Personnel Today Jobs home Mitie Upgraded National Career Service portal to give job market a fillip Business Standard Career Services Wake Tech Newsroom Find a Role Bain & Company Exploring green careers The Star Online Careers at UNHCR UNHCR Jobs Energy.gov Employment Opportunities City of Windsor Careers City of Somerville Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto Careers | City of Norfolk, Virginia - Official Website City of Norfolk (.gov) Jobs at Parks Canada Canada.ca Careers & Employment Pinellas County Departments - Human Resources - Job Openings and Descriptions City of Round Rock ADM Job Openings Unlocking Nature. Enriching Life. | ADM 20 Best STEM Careers | Careers | U.S. News U.S News & World Report Money City Jobs charlottenc.gov Current Job Openings Pinellas County Find your next job at UC University of Cincinnati |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Power Resumes - Writing Your Objectives A powerful resume starts with a good statement of objective. This is the headline of your advertisement promoting yourself. Making Yourself More Relevant To The New Workplace Being a current job seeker can be quite a challenging prospect as there are many changes in the workplace. Life-long employment is no longer the norm and workers must also learn to adapt with the complementary expertise of foreign talents. Find Passion for Your Work Most people spend approximately 25% to over 67% of their waking hours working. Eventually, most everyone will want to work in a career that they enjoy and are paid well enough to live a prosperous life. Writing A Great Resume, Part 1 Need a great resume to land that great job coming up? We are going to learn to create an eye-catching resume, using Microsoft Word.First, you need to collect all the information you will need to complete your Resume (dates of employment, education dates. The Perils Of Employment: Are You About To Be Let Go? From the moment you are born and you take your first breath, you begin to die.It's just a fact of life. Powerful Phone Interviews Phone interviews are de rigueur with many organizations.Companies conduct phone interviews for a number of reasons. Make em READ Your Cover Letter Using This Killer Secret! Got your attention? Great. That was my intention. Tips for Requesting a Raise You probably think you deserve a raise. But does your boss think so?Here's how to go about convincing your boss that you're really worth more than you're being paid. Spiritual Practices Offer Peace and Acceptance Facing career transitions and daily life challenges can leave us feeling lonely, stressed and anxious. How do we manage to deal with the financial and emotional stress of having a home, a car, work (or no work), kids and a spouse in this too-busy world?Spiritual practices can help us navigate through the turmoil of work and life transitions with more acceptance and peace. How To Deal With A Nightmare Boss It can happen to anyone. there's a change in the organization and -- suddenly -- you find yourself working for the boss from Hell. Factual Employment Screening Part 1 We have all heard in recent years that the need for a substantive policy of conducting pre-and post-employment background checks exists in more than just defense contractor and fiduciary-based enterprises. Today, with the overwhelming preponderance of employer liability litigation, and with negligent hiring being the focal point of round-table discussions of some of the plaintiff's firms, the need for thorough background checks has been substantiated. How To Stay Calm in Tryng Times That's not you? Great! Bad habits are hard to break once the addiction gets hold of us. Been there. 4 Tips for Making Successful Job Offers The interviews are completed, the paperwork is all filled out for Human Resources, and you have decided that this is the right candidate for the job. Now comes the formal job offer. Make a Great First Impression Searching for employment is one of the most nerve-racking activities to engage in. As if the direct need for income is not stressful enough, the process of writing a résumé, networking in your industry, and applying for jobs can leave anyone shaking in their tracks. When and How to Say I Just Cant Do It! We naturally hesitate to tell our boss when we can't do something or are feeling overwhelmed in our job. Bosses don't want to hear that, right? Well, it depends. 5 Proven Steps To Easily Master The Art Of The Interview And Get The Bartending Job Of Your Dreams! Your mouth is dry, your palms are sweaty, your heart is beating so fast it feels like it is going to pop out of your chest!Sound familiar?For most people, interviews are uncomfortable. The mere thought of them causes anxiety and nervousness. Workplace 911 I've watched a few episodes of Nanny 911 and with the chaos, out of control children and seemingly irreparable behavior, it strikes me as a precursor to Workplace 911. No, not a new reality TV show, but everyday workplace problems. How To Find Writing Work Are you looking for new writing work? It can be a challenge to build a career in any area, but it is often even harder to do so when you are in a smaller town. Sure, there may be a huge market for talented freelancers in your area, but let's face it, it is not New York where you can find countless job vacancies in your field of freelance writing. Youre Fired Isnt The Finale According to the U.S. What Do Accountants And Doctors Have In Common? Freshly qualified accounting graduates when asked by the interviewer "Are there any questions you want to ask?" usually respond with "What are my duties and responsibilities"Be careful. Some interviewers intentionally do not mention anything about duties and responsibilities to test the reaction of the candidates.
|
|
|
| © Career Consulting Limited.com 2011
|