You think
you are ready to work in the Public Relations field because you are a third
year student? Now is the best time to see if you are truly ready or not!
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| A picture at Maluti Communications |
However,
as expected, I am torn between showing I know perfectly what I am doing
and asking whether I am doing the task the way it is expected from me or not.
Should I be myself and ask questions when I am not sure or should I pretend to
know? It is true that if I do not know and I do not ask about it, I may most
probably not do the task correctly. On the other side, it may be something simple and I may look silly if I ask questions. Keeping in mind that the
internship is a chance to
obtain a job at the end, it is hard
to decide whether to be oneself or to pretend to be perfect.
Yesterday,
I was asked if I knew how to use photoshop. I did not know what to answer. I
have some basic knowledge acquired during the design practice class in first year
but I am not an expert in the field. I said I knew but not with a very confident
tone and I guess my supervisor noticed that. Luckily, I managed to do whatever I
was asked to without difficulties. I even received a mail from the supervisor
saying that the work was ‘perfect’. I was just lucky this time!
I am maybe not the only one being hesitant to ask questions. So my advice to you would be to clear your doubts. You may look silly once but at least you will not be ignorant all your life. The sooner you clear your doubts, the better it is for your career.
I am maybe not the only one being hesitant to ask questions. So my advice to you would be to clear your doubts. You may look silly once but at least you will not be ignorant all your life. The sooner you clear your doubts, the better it is for your career.
4 comments:
Hello Gunadevi,
I completely understand your feeling when you say you are scared to look silly. However, I do think that companies are not expecting us to know everything. They probably want to test our knowledge before giving us any important work.
My 'strategy' is to ask all questions I need, my supervisor might think that I am silly, but at least the job is well done instead of saying yes to everything and submit something wrong only then I will look silly.
So to answer your question, I believe as student or new graduates, we should not be scared or ashamed of who we are, I think it is normal to ask questions to professionals. We are here to continue to learn after all.
There is a quote from Og Mandino saying:
"Take the attitude of a student, never be to big to ask questions, never too much to learn something new"
I definitely agree with this.
I hope by now you are more confident and dare to ask questions.
Enjoy the rest of your internship.
Isabelle
Hi Isabelle
Thank you very much for your comment.
You are right! We have to keep in mind that we are still students who are learning and we are not yet professionals.
Yes I am more confident. I was just a little stressed for the first few days but now that I feel like I belong there, I am more at ease to ask questions whenever I have doubts. I am there to learn and I want to learn.
Thank you, same to you.
Gunadevi
Hello Gunadevi,
I am happy to hear that you are having a great time at your placement and I hope you continue to do so.
When it comes to being yourself or pretending to be better, I have to say that you should always be yourself. It is always better to under-promise and over-deliver than the contrary. Since you are there to learn, you should only worry about keeping the right attitude towards the tasks given to you and to give each one your best shot.
Remember that asking questions also shows your interest and willingness to get the task done right. This may impress your potential employers more than just pretending to know how to do it.
I recently read something on Arunachalam Muruganantham who did not complete his studies but who now gives lectures to university students and he says “If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop.” I am in no way asking you to act like an illiterate person at your placement, but instead, to always remember that there is so much to learn and the best way to start, is by asking questions.
Check out this page on how to ask questions effectively to make your experience even more enriching: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_88.htm
Glad to hear that you are now more at ease and hope you keep having a wonderful time.
Best of luck,
Vaneeda
Why not be a better yourself? :P
Have a look at my Mauritian blog
leverlepep.blogspot.com
We could exchange ideas!
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