When I’m given a big and tedious project, I often feel that asking questions is wrong and it makes you come across as stupid or not paying enough attention. Especially, when you are employed on a short term internship and you hope to, just in a couple of weeks, earn a full-time spot.

What I’ve learnt from LeanOnMyself, is to really sit down and do a rigor plan for all the different tasks that I’m given. Before this project, I would by default jump right ahead with the task and start working without really thinking through what the purpose was for this specific task, just to trying to finish as a fast as possible.  

So, what I do now is that I get the instructions, bring it back to my desk to thoroughly go through it all. Then I try to ask myself all the possible questions or complications that I think might come up along this project. Often I find that it’s not clear what the sought outcome is, so that’s also something I try to picture myself so that I truly understand what value I’m asked to add. Finally, if I still find some parts unclear or that I think I might have found any complications, I would go back to my boss to touch base again. Doing this has let me to truly make my work easier, and I come across as a much more analytical person. By just asking myself a couple of questions I manage to avoid working for hours in the wrong direction and I’m able to add more value in my work.       

Of course, this might not relate to all tasks or all positions, but for me, as an intern at a consultancy firm, this really makes sense and I’ve gotten much better feedback from my superiors.  So, asking the right questions is key!