Assessing Experience

Going through a job interview, seeking a promotion, or applying for a credential like professional engineer or chartered accountant, inevitably requires the seeker to demonstrate competence.  Some competence is tangible – take a test, demonstrate a skill.  Some is not – experience, and behaviours.  The difficulties of assessing experience are obvious:  what constitutes evidence of competence, and against what criteria.  Evidence of competence tends to be provided via stories and recollections by the interviewee of past behaviour in various situations.  The criteria are inevitably contaminated by the interviewer’s past, their knowledge, and, frankly whether they like – or respect- the interviewee or not.