Sometimes You Can’t Beat Experience

Do you ever wonder about your capabilities at work?  Perhaps you wonder if you’re really any good at what you do, or if you’re even remotely smart.

No? Well lucky you. You can quit reading now.

Despite years of job success and multiple degrees which tell me otherwise, I sometimes doubt my intelligence.

This doubt permeates my thinking when more confident (read: cocky) individuals are present.  Not one to boast, I’m usually left wondering if I really have anything to offer at all.

Many times I think I’ve got a good answer to whatever we are discussing. Part of me wants to chime in, many times in disagreement as I believe others at the table are incorrect in their assessment.  The other part of me wants to keep my mouth shut just in case they are, indeed, correct.

So I sit in silence with Mr. Doubt Monster.

For me, one of the best ways to confirm my intelligence is to spend time with students.  I love working with college marketing classes and mentoring the kids who are pursuing careers in marketing or PR.  Each time I head to campus though, my doubt monster pops into my head, trying to convince me that I don’t have much to offer.

I have learned to kick that doubt monster out of the car.

Once on campus and engaged in the classroom, any doubts are quickly erased as I realize how much I really know.  To me, the points I share are just things that are part of my job and have become second-nature. To the students, they are something new and interesting to learn.

Here’s the deal:  Experience is one heck of a teacher. The lessons happen daily without formal tests so it’s hard to gauge success.  Trust me when I say that time + experience = lessons learned.

We don’t realize how much we’ve actually gained throughout our careers until we start sharing that knowledge with students who are only armed with textbook knowledge.

Recently a student contacted me about a class marketing project, wanting to ask some questions and run a few things by me to see if she was on the right track.  It involved a consumer promotion which is right up my alley.

After reviewing the information, I quickly started asking questions that she and her group had not considered.  In my mind, this was rudimentary.  But to her it was mind-blowing. And I realized just how much I knew, and that this knowledge was valuable.

She’s not dumb and I’m not Einstein.  It’s simply that years of hands-on corporate work give me a lot of experience in this arena.

It’s an awesome feeling to realize how much you know.  And that this knowledge is useful to a company and others.

Lesson here is to truly understand what you’ve learned from working for so many years. Be able to articulate that knowledge when interviewing.  Share that knowledge with those just starting out, as they will appreciate the help. 

School is great – and necessary; it gives us the foundation to build our careers.  But sometimes you can’t beat experience.