Advice re starting a new job/ how to act

[sunandmoonlight33]

If you are, say, 3 weeks into a new job so still learning- do you ask quite openly about things you don’t know or do you try to find out quietly.
My sister is in this situation and is worrying a bit as she has been quite open eg asking managers things she doesn’t know, and has realised that some colleagues are finding out more discreetly.
Does it look negative to managers if you are quite open about not knowing something and just asking?
She’s now worrying that those who haven’t been asking will look like whizzes as it were and she’ll look silly or inexperienced?
Shes an open and honest person so it’s in her nature to just ask.
Thoughts please? Thanks!

Does any element of the JD refer to using initiative?

Depends on the job I guess and how readily available the relevant information is without having to ask someone.

For example a previous job role of mine, customer emails in with a question about a product that I don’t know the answer to. We had a system that had every product the company had ever made since the beginning of time it seemed on it, all the techs and specs etc but it was also really temperamental, glitchy, search function sometimes worked, not very well maintained. I could absolutely find the answer if I took 30 mins to trawl through it and find what I needed…..or I could ask someone who was around when the product in question was rolled out and get the customer sorted quicker.

When I worked in a pub, I could google most issues that arose with the cellar systems and figure it out that way.

if it’s general workplace stuff like “What floor is X’s office on?” I’d absolutely ask rather than wander around searching for it.

Always good to ask if you don't know. It shows a manager that you're open to learning and won't try and wing it. That creates trust because you won't just freeze or leave things undone as you were too scared/nervous/unwilling to ask for help.

I’d always rather someone just asked than floundered around trying to figure it out. Then I can give the right answer, make sure the person understands why we do it the way we do and not be spending time fixing things because someone didn’t ask.

Yes, she a thorough person so doesn’t like just leaving things hanging. This is partly why she is prone to asking. So that things aren’t just left.
She is worrying now though about how she looks compared to others.

Im in a professional role. Perfectly happy being the idiot in the room and asking questions.

That said, I’m not daft- I would check the internet first etc. I set up meetings with team members to find out about them and the business. I wouldn’t be asking my manager all the time.

No one can answer this question, OP.

It really depends on the context.

Is she asking intelligent questions which help her get things right the first time rather than stumbling in the darkness? If so, it's good to ask questions.

Or is she wasting people's time asking bloody obvious questions which she could find the answer to herself in two seconds flat by Googling it or reading some instructions? Or general questions about the field she's in which she would know the answer to if she'd done some basic reading around the subject and preparation? If so, it's not so good.

She should check whatever resources she has available first - staff manual etc - then ask if the answer isn't there or she's still not sure.

Try not to keep asking the same questions over and over.

In one job I had, we were all at the same level, and all had the same resources on our desks, but a couple of people would always ask me instead of looking it up themselves, or making the effort to remember the information. Very annoying.

Had someone who liked to be seen as more inquisitive, more eager, more of a leanert etc, except, it was all basic knowledge stuff and a waste of time.

If she's done her due diligence, she shouldn't be asking so many questions.

Depends on the role as some you learn as you go, no right or wrong way of doing things, whereas if it's medical or financial, guess work won't do.

If she's so out of depth maybe asking for training or shadowing somone could be helpful.

This again depends on the role.

My general expectation when I manage people (I work in a technical field) is that I want them to learn first how to answer questions they have, as it becomes the best way to continue to learn . That would mean looking at procedures, processes and guidance. I’d help them find where that is, then if they’re not sure, use that first, if still no answer, then come to me. Over time, I’d then expect them to come to me with answers and run them past me if not sure, then reach the point where they can confidently answer themselves. This takes time! It only becomes an issue where staff come to me when they haven’t tried to find an answer, come to me asking themselves same thing as before, or treat the experience as an interrogation (why, why, why, why!). I’d suggest best thing is to say something like “I’m worried to feels I’m coming to you a lot, is there anything I can do to help me learn such as guidebooks or procedures I can read?”

After 3 weeks I would expect someone to know the basics and know where to look first for answers.

But - we have a so bloody difficult booking system, it takes people months to get the grip. As it can be very costly and difficult to repair errors, we stress new joiners how important it is to ask but also to make detailed notes during training.

it depends how the others are finding out "more discreetly" and what you mean by "leaving things hanging."

If they're, for example, referring to guidance, looking at other people's cases and copying them, or asking other colleagues/working it out between them, then yeah, as long as they ended up with the correct result obviously that's much better and shows more initiative than constantly nagging a manager.

If they're just not doing part of the work because they don't know how to and don't want to ask, or guessing and getting it wrong it's better to ask. Same if it's a very quick question that the manager can answer immediately whereas it might take them half an hour to find out otherwise - but even then I'd say there should be a limit, not multiple 'just a quick question...' every day.

But it sounds like it's more a) so yeah, I'd tell her to try other avenues first and only ask a manager as a last resort.

3 weeks into her first job? Or 3 weeks into a job she’s supposed to have a basic grasp of? Asking questions she should know the answer to (with her experience) or asking questions where the information is not readily available or industry or company specific.

If she’s using her common sense, figuring out what she can - asking questions with half thought out solutions, then I don’t see the problem - if workflow allows, maybe hold a few questions to ask at once so she doesn’t appear to be constantly asking.

Would be an Amber flag if it was something discipline related that she should already know, or if easily findable with a few clicks, I’d think she lacked initiative.

She is doing the right thing as long as she is not asking the same thing over and over again, then I would worry.
Ask everything when you first start as in 3 months time you will look daft. Nothing is out of bounds for a new starter, unless it's a professional profession and she should know the facts.

All places have different processes and procedures. Keep asking.
I much prefer new starters to be inquisitive and not assume anything.