20 May 2024 Expertise vs Experience The Difference between Experience and ExpertiseWhether you’re a recruiter, a manager or even just part of a team, it’s worth remembering that there is a difference between experience and expertise. While we might think that someone having professional experience of a role (or a particular element of it) makes them an expert, this isn’t usually the case.ExperienceFamiliarity with ways of working. The learning has mostly been done, and so the impact can be delivered faster in a different environment.Practical, hands-on working knowledge. This can include best practice, short-cuts, and workarounds for glitches to name just a few. A working knowledge means that someone is more likely to hit the ground running as they’ve done this before and can bring that knowledge to bear.Knowledge of outcomes - good and bad. We learn from everything we do, so if something has gone wrong in the past, there’s been the chance to learn from mistakes. This gives us a firmer footing to move forward, avoiding known pitfalls.Essentially, ‘bringing your experience to bear’ means you’re bringing knowledge of your past experience to the table in a new environment. You have more tools available to you to do your current job.ExpertiseExpertise builds on experience, of course, but goes far deeper. An expert is a person who is extremely knowledgeable about - or skilful - in a particular area. Expertise tends to be more focused and in-depth than experience. Visible elements of expertise might include advanced skills, in-depth knowledge (a deeper well to draw from than experience alone), and proof of achievement such as industry awards or courses completed. Expertise also tends to make the expert more valuable to their company and to the wider industry, increasing earning potential.Experience Does not Guarantee ExpertiseIt’s important to remember that experience in itself is no guarantee of expertise. For example, your own experience of using a software programme e.g. Word or Excel is likely to be sufficient for you to do what you need with it, but not to know everything that’s possible within the programme. In his book Outliers: The Study of Success, Malcom Gladwell refers to the ’10,000 hour rule’, asserting that the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is a matter of deliberately practising something outside of your comfort zone for at least 10,000 hours.It’s the active, disciplined approach to this practice that will hopefully deliver the desired outcome and improve your skill level. Determination, sustained motivation and effort, he suggests, are needed in addition to aptitude and innate skill.How to Become an ExpertSo how can you make yourself an expert? We already know that significant time and effort are needed, but you’ll also need to:Identify what you want to become expert in - the more specific the better. Break down the tasks you’ll need to complete to achieve your goal.Prioritise the most important tasks first.Give yourself SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Focus – engaging in deliberate practice.Challenge yourself – test yourself on what you’ve learned, and find a mentor. Having an external perspective will help.Chart and celebrate your progress. You’re in this for the long haul, so identifying smaller improvements will have a big impact on your motivation levels.If you’re ready to take the next step up to expert, we wish you all the best on your journey.Love learning? Check out AssistKD’s wide choice of business analysis training courses and classes. Share this page