Hidden experience can pay dividends – for everyone
There is an old idiom that says, “Experience is the best teacher.” And if there is one thing that the 50+ job seeker has it’s experience.
The good news is that one of the traits most sought after by employers is… you guessed it – experience. The bad news, as you also might expect, is that there are still (too) many employers who are afraid of pulling the trigger when it comes to hiring an older applicant with experience.
More bad news?
There is more bad news however. Not only are employers reluctant to hire the older candidate, they also fail to realize and appreciate the some of the real value that the older worker brings to the table. The worst news is that too many older applicants either fail to mention, or tend to gloss over some of this same experience. This is the other experience, the “hidden” experience.
No, we’re not talking about doing-the-work experience. That’s simple enough to state on your resume. The hidden experience is the cultural knowledge that older workers have – which can only be gained on the job. No business school or training program can touch this.
Understanding how the culture and the organization works, knowing where the bodies are buried, knowing when to do an end run to expedite matters and knowing when it’s imperative for the boss to be plugged in every step of the way, that’s experience that can’t be taught in the Ivy League or anywhere else.
There is one, and only one way to secure that knowledge. You have to have been there. In the trenches. Down and dirty. No matter how much education, degrees, or academic plaudits someone has – until you’ve been there, done that – you don’t, no, can’t, have the hidden experience of how to make an organization work the way it needs to.
As former president Calvin Coolidge once said, “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.”
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