I recently started a new internship, or you could also consider it as my first real adult job. I went through a week and a half of training with the two interns who came before me, and now I'm on my own trying to take over all of their duties by myself.
I would say I'm drowning, but that sounds morbid. So I'll just say I'm struggling to stay afloat. I am still learning. I don't know all of the lingo, where everything goes, where to go for this thing or what to do for that thing. I've got at least 20 things on my plate at once, which means literally trying to multitask all of them so they get done by their deadlines and are quality work in the end.
Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed. And I don't know what I'm doing. But I think that's okay, and I shouldn't be overwhelmed by the fact that I am overwhelmed.
I'm still new here. I probably shouldn't have all the answers to things yet, and I'm sure my boss would be surprised if I knew exactly what I was doing three weeks in.
It doesn't mean I'm not trying, because you bet I am. I ask a thousand questions every day to everyone who works around the office because I would rather not know and ask than not know and screw up something big.
When I was in middle school or even high school, I would be afraid to ask the teacher or other students for help because I didn't want others to think I didn't know what I was doing... even if that was the exact case. I also don't want to seem like a bother for someone to then go and explain something to me an extra time.
But I've learned that it's important to just ask for help. It helps to avoid a lot more stress in the near and far future, and will hopefully show supervisors that I'm just here trying to get work done as efficiently as possible. If that means I have to own up to being completely unsure of how to do something, so be it.
It helps to work in an environment that is welcoming and inviting to those kinds of efforts. Thankfully, I work in a building full of supportive people who don't seem put off by my naiveness. Never have I been too intimidated to ask, "What does that mean?"
So just ask, it'll save you a lot of headache in the future. Don't be afraid to pull the "newbie" card.
