OK – I’ve Got the Job, Now How do I Keep it?

Author: Megan Wibberley, Peer Advisor 

I have always been full of questions, it doesn’t matter what you have asked me to do, I will have at least a couple questions about it.  In elementary school my teachers always used to make comments about it on my report cards, “Megan needs to try working on assignments before asking questions,” “Megan needs to work more independently,” or “Megan needs to ask less questions.”  One thing I am trying to watch is that I don’t carry this behaviour into my job.  Employers want to see that you can work independently and don’t run to them with every question you have.  They have hired you to do a job, asking a lot of questions start to make them feel like they are doing your job. 

I am trying really hard in my summer jobs to watch how I approach questions I have regarding assignments.  Mostly I try to have a solution when I talk to my employers. Instead of saying, “I don’t understand,” I would say “I am not totally sure what you wanted here, but I was thinking something along this line.”  Employers want to know that you thought through some possibilities before you come to them.  Once you get a job, it is very important to continue to prove yourself, right from the interview to the everyday work, which will of course involve problem solving. 

Another key factor is to gauge your employer.  They are all different and some may prefer that you to come to them before you spend time working on something because it may be a quick question that they can answer and then you can move on.  Personally the majority of people that I have worked for like to see that I have put thought into something before I ask questions.  They want to know that I have done the leg work and not just being lazy.  Most of the time when I asked questions prematurely, I was asked, “what do you think?”, and usually I didn’t have a very good answer because I hadn’t thought it through.  This resulted in my feeling pretty stupid, and I also felt like my boss was frustrated with me, which isn’t a great feeling.  Sometimes even approaching a colleague about some questions may help as they will likely have completed a similar project and have some suggestions. 

In any case, it is important to treat you career like a long interview, at least when you are starting out in a new job.  Even more so when you are a student working for a company that you would like to work for in the future.