Is the importance of job experience dead?

Years ago when I wanted to work in the Emergency Department I had to have 5 years general nursing experience in a hospital and on a medical/surgical unit. Then I needed to go through a 12 week full-time training program because the skills required to be competent as an ER nurse were specialized and only acquired through experience and formalized education.

This was needed not because I was a slow learner, but rather because of a belief that some jobs can only be performed through acquired experience and formal training in that field. Without this training, how would I be able to read an EKG? How would I be able to assess and treat patients with COPD or those having acute myocardial infarcts, or gastric bleeding, or debride infections, or titrate stroke medications?

Experience versus Just Being Smart

Recently I had a discussion with a colleague which made me wonder if experience in a field just doesn’t matter anymore. This person owns a PR firm and she was recruiting for a director of marketing position. She said she was reviewing loads of resumes. However, in the same conversation, she also said she voted for Trump because, according to her, “I like him even and believe that no experience is needed to run the country. ” She supports Ben Carson even though he does not have any experience related to the job because “he’s obviously smart and can figure it out.” So I asked her why she needed to review any resumes if experience doesn’t matter, and suggested instead she hires someone who has a good head on their shoulder.

When does experience matter?

So when does experience matters and when it does not matter? The long-held notion of moving from “novice-to-expert” as a critical evolution in a career seems to be in question. Over the last few years I’ve seen people without any experience become CEOs of companies, or become life coaches, start new businesses, become mayors... And recently with all the political appointments being given to people without related experience I have to ponder whether very senior-level positions can be competently performed without any past knowledge or experience at all. And if no experience is needed then is job experience over rated, or even dead?

Is the importance of experience dead?

Being in healthcare, where experience, training, certification, licensure and on-the-job experience is an absolute must, it’s hard to understand how experience does not matter to job performance. I wouldn’t want someone who had no experience putting in IVs because he “had a good head on his shoulder.” Nor would I allow a well-intentioned business man to pilot my next Southwest flight.

That said, many people change careers over one’s life time and are very successful without ever having experience in that field. I moved from being an ER nurse to a consultant. A colleague of mine went from being a chef to starting a marketing company, and yet, I bet no one wants a chef who becomes a pilot to be their pilot unless they have years of experience….however everyone might want to eat the meal of a chef who just started cooking.

While we seem to want our nurses and doctors and pilots to have experience we don’t seem to feel that way when it comes to running the country or placing people into senior governmental jobs. So what the difference between those careers where we think experience is an “absolute must” versus those careers or positions where we think experience is not needed or required?

Experience versus Expertise

And if experience is no long needed for jobs we used to think required it, then what does that say about the value of internships, experience, mentors or the need for resumes? If we no longer care about or require past working knowledge of the field to get a job in that field, then is this the death of experience? If the “new expert” can be defined by having “a good head on their shoulder” then what defines expertise?

All I know is that the next time I get on a flight, I want my pilot to have years of tested experience flying in clear skies and through rough weather.

About the author: Recognized by LinkedIn as a "Top Voice" in Health Care in 2015 & 2016, author Julie Kliger is passionate about improving health care. She is a consultant, author and speaker. She specializes in healthcare quality, organizational change and improvement.