How to Convert Experience Into Knowledge for Your Contracting Business

A group of construction workers, authorized with a contractor license, on a construction site.

In this industry, hands-on experience is the gold standard. Before you can even apply to take your contractor licensing exam, you have to pick up at least a year or two of practice with a qualified supervisor. If you find a good mentor, you can get a ton of useful information while you are working up to applying for your own license. The trick is to convert your hands-on experience into knowledge you can use for the future. Here’s a few tips to make the transition work more seamlessly.

Observe Actively
In a lot of cases, you’ll spend time watching someone work on a particular task before you can take the opportunity to do it yourself. At this time, it can be easy to fall into a quiet pattern of just looking. The trouble is that you’ll have a much harder time remembering what you just saw.

Instead, use this chance to get insight that will help you do the job more effectively. Be an active observer:

This doesn’t just make it easier for you to remember what you learn. It makes you more likely to be successful when you try this task on your own.

Build Skills Gradually
When you first start pursuing a career in construction, you will find that there’s a steep learning curve. You might pick up a lot of information at the beginning, especially in the first few weeks of a job or course. It can feel like information overload. The problem, of course, is that you lose a lot of what you learned without practice. Instead of trying to cram in all the knowledge at first, try a balance of practice to go along with your research and studies. If you build your skills gradually, you’ll remember more of what you learned and make your later attempts more successful.

Revisit Your Notes
The first couple of times you attempt a job, you might take notes on what you’re supposed to do. What you do with those notes after the fact may help you even more. Whether you’re keeping a pad and pen or using your smartphone, your notes can help you track your progress. Especially in the early days, revisit your notes daily related to the tasks you’re working on. If there are multiple correct ways to achieve a goal, write down your observations after trying each one. This will help you to compare approaches and settle on the one that works best for you.

Correct Mistakes
Learning experts say that people tend to get more from mistakes than they do from successes. This is because if you always get it right, you’re less likely to challenge yourself and find a better path. When you make an error or a faulty assumption, it’s tempting to make excuses or ignore it. Instead, lean into the problem so you can get more out of it. Make a note of what you tried and why it didn’t work. Once you discover an approach that is more accurate or efficient, note that as well. By the end, you’ll have a set of best practices that you can use for reference when you start your own business.

Becoming an expert in an active profession requires the accumulation of tons of knowledge. Since the field of construction has you building much of that knowledge through experience, you need ways to turn observations and discovery into good business practices. To learn more about our programs to help you prepare for the contractor licensing exam in a hands-on environment, visit CSLS today!