Your best experience might not be on your resume: 3 steps to overcoming worrying if you can make a professional shift in your 30s

Too often, I think we worry too much about having the right experience -- actual resume experience -- when we think about making a career change, especially early in our professional lives.

When I decided to go to college, I didn't make a good plan on where I should go based around my future occupation.

If I had, I would have went to Syracuse.

Seriously - if you ever want to be a sports broadcaster, go to Syracuse. "Everybody Up, Let's Go Orange."

But I didn't because I chose my school solely because two people I knew who were older than me said my eventual choice "was cool."

I'm not really painting a very good college brochure, am I?

Finally, when I at least transferred to the University of Oregon, it had an actual journalism program, and I chose to focus on the 'Electronic Media' path.

As an aspiring radio play-by-play voice, the emphasis wasn't necessarily as useful as I would have hoped. It was geared more for TV than radio.

What I didn't realize at the time, though, was by just being exposed to the world of TV equipped me with skills I wouldn't need for years later.

Too often, I think we worry too much about having the right experience -- actual resume experience -- when we think about making a career change, especially early in our professional lives ... in our 30s.

Here are 3 steps you can take to overcome your worry if you want to make a career shift in your 30s:

Step 1: Don't disqualify yourself from opportunities

It is more valuable to push someone else to tell you no than to say no to yourself.

A decision to not go after something that sounds interesting to you only because you don't believe you have enough experience is the only certain no that exists.

Instead, when expressing interest, focus on what you've seen and learned - whether it is on your resume or not. Insight and creativity can often provide more value to the company or client than a checklist of credentials.

Step 2: Recognized the value of your exposure, not just your experience

I have not worked a day in my life in bona fide television. Never a local news reporter nor producer.

But because I was around people who were doing it well, I was able to absorb things that they did and build a data base of knowledge.

For instance, TV news shows are built into blocks -- A block, B block, etc. I didn't need to ever use that in a professional setting until nearly 20 years after I left college when I applied that structure to a show about esports on the internet.

I would not have gotten that opportunity if I would have led with my resume, but I did succeed with it because I leveraged my exposure.

Step 3: Put yourself in rooms where the work is happening

The world of education isn't the only place to gain exposure to professional endeavors -- although everything from YouTube to the U (Miami) are wonderful ways to go about it.

Think about knocking on the door of your local art store or using a skill you have to benefit a local relator if you are interested in getting into real estate yourself.

Even just buying someone a coffee can unlock a few weeks of seeing how they got to where they are.

Offer to do something for them before asking for their help, and you'll likely get a yes if you try enough times!