But what have you done lately? Pondering learning and experience in today's volatile job market.

If I picked up a valuable skill early in my career, is it still valuable and valued today? Am I still perceived as a holder of that skill, or is it only of value if I recently gained it?

“We value the experience, but have diminished the value of those who experienced it.”

Right around my first birthday (I won’t say how many decades ago that was), I started walking. I wasn’t super stable at first, but I kept at it and eventually I got pretty good at it. So good that I could even run when I wanted to or needed to. I am still walking and sometimes even running today.

By the time I was about halfway to my second birthday, I started talking. Within a few months, I was stringing together sentences. I am still talking today, and I can put together much more complex sentences, but I also still use some of those early words almost every day, words like “Mom”, “Dad”, “more”, and most of all, “no”.

At about 7 years old, I learned to ride a bike. It was a little frustrating at first, but ultimately I discovered my ability to take direction from those with more experience than I had, and I was able to find my “balance” and ride my bike with all the other kids in the neighborhood. Over time, I graduated to more advanced bikes, and I am still riding my bike today.

These are all things that I learned, as many of us have, a loooong time ago. I still call upon those capabilities quite effectively today, having even taught my own 2 children all of those skills effectively and successfully as well.

What I learned in each of those instances, and what I taught to my children, is that if you stick with something until you are satisfied with your mastery of it, and even if you ultimately don’t use it every day, it is still a skill that can be called upon and used whenever needed. These experiences ingrained a fundamental truth: persistent effort leads to mastery, and even dormant skills remain valuable. This is the core benefit of experience.

What we also know about experience is that it is an investment, not just an investment of our focus and attention, but an investment of time. Experience really only comes with a lot of time invested in gaining it. When we look at old-growth forests and the majesty of trees that have been around for thousands of years, we marvel at their fortitude and endurance, and while they are surrounded by saplings, we know that those little sprouts growing in the shadows of their ancestors aspire to the same heights as their beautiful ancestors. 

This contrasts with a prevalent trend in today's talent market: a seeming preference for inexperience. The focus often lies on hiring individuals with a strong desire to learn, an eagerness to tackle unfamiliar tasks, and a belief that their ability to reinvent the wheel is better than any other wheel has ever been. While this approach may have some merits, it also risks creating a workforce with a rapidly diminishing shelf life.

We now possess tools that offer instant access to knowledge – videos, presentations, and AI assistants. This allows us to tap into the knowledge of others without necessarily valuing the individuals who possess that experience. We value the experience, but have diminished the value of those who experienced it.

“...think about the key learning opportunities that the more experienced worker can bring to the table.”

Several years ago, at a somewhat traditional company with a seasoned workforce and less "glamorous" technology, a business leader explicitly sought experienced individuals who wouldn't be overly enthusiastic about the work. As the head of global staffing, I encountered this mindset firsthand when one of my employees was about to initiate the usual summer intern program: a few college students handling busywork. My immediate reaction, echoing one of my earliest learned words, was "no."

I envisioned a different model: a cohesive cohort of interns engaged in essential work, learning directly from our experienced teams. They would undertake significant projects, collaborate with existing staff throughout their internship, and present their findings at the end. This, I affirmed, would be a "yes."

My employee engaged the hiring managers, and while some missed the prospect of readily available help with routine tasks, many were drawn to the collaborative potential of this new paradigm. Ultimately, we welcomed eight interns, a 60% increase from previous years, despite being a relatively small company.

With this revitalized vision, our experienced team members actively participated in defining the interns' roles and projects. This contrasted with the past, where individual managers solely dictated intern assignments. This team-wide collaboration injected fresh energy into everyone involved. The interns' constant questions prompted our seasoned professionals to articulate and validate their knowledge through teaching and guidance – a process many found invigorating. Lunch breaks transformed from solitary desk meals to lively cafeteria gatherings where teams and interns discussed their work. Even teams without interns joined these conversations, drawn by the palpable buzz. The interns, brimming with ideas for automating routine tasks, found experienced colleagues readily available to refine and shape these innovations. This dynamic continued throughout the summer, significantly boosting company morale and energy.

Initially planned for a small conference room, the interns' final presentations had to be relocated to the cafeteria to accommodate the unexpectedly large audience. Even our Senior Vice President of Engineering, visiting from another office, spontaneously joined, rescheduling important meetings to attend. He was genuinely impressed by the presentations, the evident collaboration, and the revitalized atmosphere. He remarked on the unexpected lesson in humility, acknowledging the significant contributions the interns made in educating the broader workforce. He underscored the invaluable asset of our core team's experience and the critical need for its transmission.

I firmly believe that organizations thrive by cultivating a strong presence of experienced individuals who can mentor and even learn from a less experienced, emerging workforce. While concerns about "overqualified" hires potentially becoming bored or dissatisfied are valid, the opportunity to leverage their broader knowledge and facilitate crucial learning within the organization is often overlooked. This is an opportunity to invest beyond the mere parameters of the function of the role and think about the key learning opportunities that the more experienced worker can bring to the table.

So here is my pitch to those of you hiring out in the industry right now. Hire the overqualified. Hire the people that you can learn from. Hire the people who learned to walk and talk many years ago, and have the confidence in them that they still have it. Push away the false narratives that they don’t remember what to do, or that they are too ‘experienced’  to learn something new. Push aside your concern that they may be bored in the role. The truth is that they will more than likely be invigorated by the opportunity to use their knowledge and experience to train and develop others in both formal and informal ways. And you’ll even be surprised by how much they still want to learn and develop themselves further.