The secret hack to more experience

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"How can I get experience if nobody will give me a chance?"

Humans have a superpower. We have the ability to imagine the experience of others. The neurons in our brain that light up from performing an activity or experiencing a feeling, also light up from observing people people experiencing them, or even imagining another human experience.

This means that we can put ourselves inside the mind of others by just by reading about their experience, and learning what has already been learned.

It is no surprise then, when people regularly cite ancient philosophers as their inspiration or teacher - people they will never meet, and never physically experience the world in which they lived.

Those with experience are those that survived and lived to tell the tale. When it comes to finding opportunities, sometimes this means persisting until someone does give you that chance. Other times it means evolving, learning more about yourself, or taking a different path.

Of course this will not ensure that someone gives you a chance with a first job, and the world is no doubt cruel and unfair. Until then, we can hack into the experience of others - even those we never meet - and build mental models that will help us to be effective when the time comes for someone to give us that chance.

We cannot personally experience everything first hand, particularly in a changing world. There will always be surprises - things that very few people have experienced firsthand. Sometimes, 'experience' can make us less effective; overconfident that what has worked before will work again, and blinding us to new information. Effective recruitment teams are recognising this and increasingly prioritising creative thinking and resilience - the ability to survive amid rapid change.

Use your superpower. Read widely. Hack into other people's experiences.