My friend recently posed this question to me. She is a recent graduate from college and is trying master the maze of job applications that need experience… but is facing the conundrum of how- do- you- get- experience- when- all- the- postions- you- apply- for- want- you- to- be- an- expert- already.   

I am sure that she is not the only one who faces this dilemma. We all need to gain experience, and there will never be a point where we are THE expert on a skill, idea, or job position.

No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience.     -Terence 

But how do we get from the point of inexperienced to expert? I think a common misconception is to believe that an “expert” can be measured by an ultimate accumulation of facts and figures. Not that these are unimportant (to write a book, I must first know how to spell). However I think a true expert is someone who is willing to constantly absorb the new ideas and learning experiences in their “expertise”. 

An expert is not one who knows, but rather one who is able to learn.

You may be an expert in sales, technology, or your profession’s leadership skills. But you didn’t always posses that knowledge you have now and if you only applied what you knew today ten years into the future… you would not still be seen as an expert.

Taking time to train and to learn our skills is crucial to developing ourselves. I will never know everything there is to know about communication. You will never have the perfect amount of leadership expertise. But if we continue to grow and meet the challenges that face us, we will know a little more each day then what we knew before.

As for my friend, she holds a wealth of expertise and experience on her resume today, compared to the little girl that I used to ride bikes with in our driveway. And she will continue to gain experience and become an expert as she continues to train and learn. Experience is the ability to learn and apply that knowledge… not a list of years working or the school you went to on a job application.