Would you rather have experience or self-belief?
Hello fellow Protagonists,
Who has felt like every job vacancy is looking for candidates that are already working in that exact role? We read the sentence for us to have 3 years of experience before applying.
This can be quite a disheartening thing for adventurers looking to either start off our career, or who are thinking about taking our career in a new direction.
A job may look like an amazing opportunity but we do not apply because we feel we do not have the experience they are looking for.
There is a huge reason to still apply because all this is, is a test of our belief.
A test of the trust, faith and confidence that we have in ourselves.
Do you have the belief in yourself that you can enter a role that you do not have direct experience in and can still achieve great things?
Do you have the belief in yourself to stand out next to other applicants and interviewees who do have that experience? To express what you could bring to that role and how much of an asset you would be to that company, to then build on that experience to be even greater!
Belief is more important than experience.
If you have the belief then apply for the role.
Let me show you by looking at belief and experience on a spectrum,
Belief --(2)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(1)--Experience
Imagine someone with a serious amount of experience but no belief in themselves (person 1). They would have the knowledge to make great change but will not action this as they may feel their ideas and views are not worth expressing.
They could get the job done that they have always been able to do. They are reliable until the situation demands for change and we all know that change is inevitable.
Person 1 is knowledgeable, though It is the implementation of knowledge that is power, not just knowledge itself.
Then there is us (person 2), with no experience but a tonne of belief. Belief is what will influence us to challenge positive change, to opt in for additional tasks that stretch our boundaries, to try out new things and we are prepared to offer blood, sweat and tears (paper cuts, broken air conditioning units and forgetting our lunch) to meet that standard.
Experience is gained by all of us in time. Even the most experienced person in any given field started off with no experience. We all have to start somewhere.
Belief is something that is far harder to build and very difficult to teach.
A good employer will recognise this.
We know that when belief meets experience, that is where excellence occurs. If belief is already present then the experience will come in time.
Applying for a job is only one example of the importance of belief when experience is low, how about:
Starting up a business or side hustle for the first time
Having your first child
Attending your first networking event
Selling your product to your first customer
Taking that first step in the gym
Moving into your first house
Don't let our lack of experience put us off, believe in our ability to tread the unknown path. That is where experience is found after all.
How to build up a little self-belief
Think about a skill or ability that you have, maybe you are a great designer, cook or musician. Remember the first time you ever attempted these skills and compare that to how you are now.
You were able to improve on these skills so you are also able to improve on new skills moving forward.
A huge aspect is to also check our ways of thinking that can hinder self-belief.
With the job application we may be thinking the following:
"People far more experienced will be applying for this job" - Maybe so but have they got the belief that you have? Experience without belief is great potential but not to be confused with action.
"What if I do get an interview but cannot answer any of the questions?" - Then you now do have more experience than you did before applying. You know what might be asked in interviews of this nature and can prepare for next time. People can still be offered jobs because of the way they answer questions, not just the knowledge they posses at the time.
"I will look stupid" - You will feel more stupid if you let this opportunity pass in front of you. I have seen some pretty poor applications in my life and I cannot remember a single one of their names. I do remember the names of those I offered jobs to though. This is just how our brains work, why would anyone need to remember that information. In the nicest possible sense, if it went badly you would be forgotten, so don't worry.
It is managing our self-criticism that is important.
A final point is how people often give the advice "Well you would just be in the same position as before". I would argue that this is false, you would come back in a better position with more experience of applying or even interviewing for that type of role, ready for next time.
Working on self-belief is arguably more important than working on building experience. It is an ability that is worth its weight in gold to employers looking for positive change.
Apply for that job or start that adventure you have no experience in. Let belief drive your action.
Just pretend it reads the following,
Candidate must have 3 years of self-belief.
GLHF
Warrick
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