Learning doesn’t happen only in a class, workshop, or lesson. It’s available to you (often for free) along the way as you fulfill your roles and responsibilities. And you don’t need a title or authority to seek out and benefit from it.
My first job out of college was working as an assistant SAT director for The Princeton Review. Lots of administrative tasks, counting out materials for courses, scheduling teachers, and generally taking on any jobs that the actual director didn’t want to handle himself—it was not a glamorous gig. But there was plenty of free learning to be done in that role, especially because I was willing to seek it out.
The shelves of our office were lined with books that Princeton Review published, including test-prep and admissions guides for not just college, but also graduate school, medical school, and law school. I’d take one home every week and read it in my spare time. Six months later, I’d read them all.
Every day, I’d call a few of the customers and speak with either the student or the parent. No script—I would just ask how things were going in the course and listen to any feedback they might have to share. It was fun and helped break up the monotony of the day. Six months later, I’d probably spoken to over 200 customers.
I did the same thing with our staff of part-time teachers. I’d call 1-2 of them a day and just check in, talk about how their courses were going, get feedback about what we could be doing better, and generally just catch up like I was calling an old friend. After six months, I didn’t just know every teacher’s name—I’d actually spoken at length with all of them.
Our charismatic owner, Paul (who’s now my business partner at Collegewise), did speeches at high schools a couple times a week. I’d tag along and watch in the audience. Six months later, I’d seen the best in the business speak dozens of times. And I’d spent more one-on-one time with the boss than anyone else.
While I worked hard, I didn’t come in earlier or stay later than everyone else. I wasn’t even particularly good at the job (I learned the hard way that I needed to be a lot more organized if I ever wanted to be successful). Anybody else could have done what I was doing.
But six months after I’d started, only one person in the office knew about every exam we taught. When we’d talk about ways to make our courses better, only one person could share real feedback from customers. In a scheduling pinch, only one person could pick up the phone and be guaranteed to find a teacher willing to help out. Only one person in the office could step in for the owner on the rare occasion that he couldn’t fulfill one of his speaking engagements.
And when the company created a new marketing department and needed someone to direct it, my bosses decided I was ready. I got promoted less than a year after I’d started the original job.
In retrospect, those things I did might look like a well-constructed plan to rise through the company ranks. I really wish I’d been that smart. I was actually just a green, enthusiastic 22-year-old who tried things that seemed like good ideas, none of which required permission, and I never cared whether or not I was getting credit. Turns out, that’s a pretty good strategy.
No matter what you’re doing, participating in a club, scooping ice cream, going to basketball camp, or being a college counselor, there is always plenty of free learning available to you if you’re willing to seek it out.
Don’t do it as a way to get ahead, to get recognized, or to get into college. The benefits are not obvious or forthcoming while you’re doing it. If you expect immediate rewards or recognition, you’ll quit before you learn anything.
If you talk to new people every day, if you make a hundred phone calls, if you read all the books or watch all the lectures or otherwise take advantage of the learning that’s available to you, you’ll learn things that others around you are missing. And eventually, you’ll start to stand out, deservedly so.
You don’t necessarily have to outwork everyone else if you’re willing to outlearn them.