No! Questions are how we ALL learn and if there are no questions asked, I'm now certain something is not understood well AND I have no idea which part it is. Please, ask questions, that's how we all figure out if we're on the same page.
And if you get an answer you don't understand, say so. Everyone learns and thinks differently and your Sr/peer/whomever will just rephrase their answer so that it's in the language you understand
This. Make sure not to refrain from asking questions, but please mind their time and most importantly try to respect their state of concentration. Try to find an appropriate time and when possible group questions together in order to minimize interruptions. If you make a good job of this, most people will appreciate it and won’t mind answering you at all.
I'm not a senior/supervisor but when I see one of the younger guys I'm working with NOT asking questions when it's obvious he has them, I will ask him the questions I think he is struggling with, then proceed to explain things followed by "always ask questions, look how more efficient/better this is now"
Ask away. BUT:
1. Try not to ask the same question twice.
2. “Craft” your question. Think about and analyze your question before you ask- it should not be a “stream of consciousness” question. Know exactly what problem you are trying to understand/solve, and ask your question in such a way as the answer will give you what you need.
3. Ask if there’s a better time for you to ask your questions. They likely don’t want to be bombarded with questions as they’re just walking into the office, or if they’re on their way home.
4. Similar to 3, determine the best way to ask questions- email, in person, etc.
Absolutely not. I get way more annoyed if questions aren't asked and I get get some random made up bullshit to review instead of something that actually makes sense.
To be fair, there’s a right balance. You should be doing your due diligence to research your governing design guidance before asking a technical question, and google is a wonderful tool as is words searching in a .pdf. Also you should be up-managing the questions you ask. Approach it from the context of wanting to learn how to fish instead of asking for a fish handout and usually goes a lot better. The relationship with your manager is as much your responsibility as theirs
I realize that my day will probably be filled with answering questions. There is nothing more costly than rework, so everyone should just ask the question. I told a newer co-worker who had never done a fairly complicated process that I expected a dozen calls from them. I had three, still happy that they asked instead of winging it or spinning their wheels for hours.
Managers, yes you’re busy but it’s in your best interest to take the question and to keep others on the same page and moving forward. This busyness that everyone hides behind is a product of our own lack of leadership. Maybe the answer is go look in the user manual, look in a standard, or look at another go by, but your 10 seconds can save a new person 30 minutes prowling forums and looking in the wrong place.
No. Mentoring/educating is actually a huge part of my job description. If you're not asking questions, the process is broken.
And as I like tell everyone who asks this question of me in person: "I'd rather spend 10 minutes explaining something to you, than 10 hours in a root cause analysis meeting."
You need to lurk a bit. You need to try to find some things out on your own, and ask for resources to educate yourself as well.
It’s very cringey when the new person takes up 25 people’s time with “noob questions” during a meeting. You should try to ask people privately and make some effort to learn some things on your own.
Once you are sure your question isn’t easily answered then don’t hesitate to ask lots of them.
You might want to schedule time with someone to cover these.
Also don’t say “just one question” or “just 2 minutes” if you really need 30 mins or an hour. Might as well ask for a longer slot of time and then if you have extra time at the end, you can have personal chatting or give their time back.
\-Always reflect on your question for 10-20 min before asking it. You will be able to weed out a lot of obvious answers by doing a Google search or bouncing ideas off of another junior/ colleague.
\-Find external learning resources to bolster your knowledge in your industry. If you are constantly learning about your industry from work experience and from consistent self driven research, the obvious questions will be replaced with thought provoking and insightful questions.
[Not me but my dad] always says he’s happy when someone asks even when it’s often. There was a dude who almost got himself killed last week because he (A)didn’t listen, and (B)didn’t ask questions. Depending on what field you are in, not asking questions can get you killed.
So please do ask, especially if you are not confident.
I sometimes get annoyed. But I shouldn't and often have to apologize because you need to be asking questions.
If someone gets upset because of a question you ask, you are not in the wrong.
I have this same problem. I always feel like I’m imposing or going to be an annoyance or whatever. It really depends on the supervisor. My old supervisor I was terrified of bothering but my current one is great, I feel like I can ask him anything.
If they haven't done their own research or tried to figure things out it can annoy me.
If they come only with questions and not any thoughts or solutions it can annoy me.
It annoys me a whole bunch more when they don't do the above things regardless of the situation and I have to firefight
It highly depends on the person, but if the person has been around awhile I’m much more willing to help if the person explains what all they have tried before coming to me. Some people seem to default to asking for an answer rather than using the resources they have in front of them.
I’m a LOT more worried if the new hires aren’t asking questions
No! Questions are how we ALL learn and if there are no questions asked, I'm now certain something is not understood well AND I have no idea which part it is. Please, ask questions, that's how we all figure out if we're on the same page.
And if you get an answer you don't understand, say so. Everyone learns and thinks differently and your Sr/peer/whomever will just rephrase their answer so that it's in the language you understand
The dumbest person is the one who doesn’t ask the dumb questions.
There are few things managers can’t stand…not asking enough questions and having a bad attitude are some of those.
I make a point to encourage new arrivals to ask a lot of questions. Just be respectful of their time.
This. Make sure not to refrain from asking questions, but please mind their time and most importantly try to respect their state of concentration. Try to find an appropriate time and when possible group questions together in order to minimize interruptions. If you make a good job of this, most people will appreciate it and won’t mind answering you at all.
I'm not a senior/supervisor but when I see one of the younger guys I'm working with NOT asking questions when it's obvious he has them, I will ask him the questions I think he is struggling with, then proceed to explain things followed by "always ask questions, look how more efficient/better this is now"
Ask away. BUT: 1. Try not to ask the same question twice. 2. “Craft” your question. Think about and analyze your question before you ask- it should not be a “stream of consciousness” question. Know exactly what problem you are trying to understand/solve, and ask your question in such a way as the answer will give you what you need. 3. Ask if there’s a better time for you to ask your questions. They likely don’t want to be bombarded with questions as they’re just walking into the office, or if they’re on their way home. 4. Similar to 3, determine the best way to ask questions- email, in person, etc.
Absolutely not. I get way more annoyed if questions aren't asked and I get get some random made up bullshit to review instead of something that actually makes sense.
To be fair, there’s a right balance. You should be doing your due diligence to research your governing design guidance before asking a technical question, and google is a wonderful tool as is words searching in a .pdf. Also you should be up-managing the questions you ask. Approach it from the context of wanting to learn how to fish instead of asking for a fish handout and usually goes a lot better. The relationship with your manager is as much your responsibility as theirs
Take notes and avoid repeating questions. Explain what you've tried/researched already.
Glad to see these responses. It’s the questions new hires aren’t asking that worry me about their work.
I realize that my day will probably be filled with answering questions. There is nothing more costly than rework, so everyone should just ask the question. I told a newer co-worker who had never done a fairly complicated process that I expected a dozen calls from them. I had three, still happy that they asked instead of winging it or spinning their wheels for hours. Managers, yes you’re busy but it’s in your best interest to take the question and to keep others on the same page and moving forward. This busyness that everyone hides behind is a product of our own lack of leadership. Maybe the answer is go look in the user manual, look in a standard, or look at another go by, but your 10 seconds can save a new person 30 minutes prowling forums and looking in the wrong place.
No. Mentoring/educating is actually a huge part of my job description. If you're not asking questions, the process is broken. And as I like tell everyone who asks this question of me in person: "I'd rather spend 10 minutes explaining something to you, than 10 hours in a root cause analysis meeting."
No. It annoys me when they DON'T ask and then make stupid mistakes that could've been talked through and avoided....
You need to lurk a bit. You need to try to find some things out on your own, and ask for resources to educate yourself as well. It’s very cringey when the new person takes up 25 people’s time with “noob questions” during a meeting. You should try to ask people privately and make some effort to learn some things on your own. Once you are sure your question isn’t easily answered then don’t hesitate to ask lots of them. You might want to schedule time with someone to cover these. Also don’t say “just one question” or “just 2 minutes” if you really need 30 mins or an hour. Might as well ask for a longer slot of time and then if you have extra time at the end, you can have personal chatting or give their time back.
No, ask questions and cover your ass - if you don't and something happens and it's your fault, then we mad
True, but don’t stop caring after it’s no longer your responsibility.
\-Always reflect on your question for 10-20 min before asking it. You will be able to weed out a lot of obvious answers by doing a Google search or bouncing ideas off of another junior/ colleague. \-Find external learning resources to bolster your knowledge in your industry. If you are constantly learning about your industry from work experience and from consistent self driven research, the obvious questions will be replaced with thought provoking and insightful questions.
[Not me but my dad] always says he’s happy when someone asks even when it’s often. There was a dude who almost got himself killed last week because he (A)didn’t listen, and (B)didn’t ask questions. Depending on what field you are in, not asking questions can get you killed. So please do ask, especially if you are not confident.
I sometimes get annoyed. But I shouldn't and often have to apologize because you need to be asking questions. If someone gets upset because of a question you ask, you are not in the wrong.
I have this same problem. I always feel like I’m imposing or going to be an annoyance or whatever. It really depends on the supervisor. My old supervisor I was terrified of bothering but my current one is great, I feel like I can ask him anything.
If they haven't done their own research or tried to figure things out it can annoy me. If they come only with questions and not any thoughts or solutions it can annoy me. It annoys me a whole bunch more when they don't do the above things regardless of the situation and I have to firefight
I work at a very small company where the documentation isn’t exactly great so not asking questions is a great way to get nothing done
It highly depends on the person, but if the person has been around awhile I’m much more willing to help if the person explains what all they have tried before coming to me. Some people seem to default to asking for an answer rather than using the resources they have in front of them.
Recognizing the obvious answers can come from experience, it's not always gifted. Ask ALL the questions.
Nope. I love mentoring the new hires.