Questioning your way through the learning curve
One of my biggest fears about working in public relations was not knowing how to do everything I’d be asked to do. I heard there was a large learning curve between graduation and entering the professional world, and I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to adjust.
I’ve truly appreciated Eisbrenner PR’s encouragement to ask questions and learn. In fact, I was provided basic questions to ask for every project, which helped eliminate my nervousness and fear of the curve.
I thought I’d share the questions with you, so when you’re interning or taking your first steps as a professional, you can overcome your fear, too. Here are three questions you can ask for each project.
What is the purpose of the project?
Understanding the purpose of the project will help you better meet your client’s expectations, allowing you to critically think about the strategy and approach of the assignment. The purpose helps you define the audience, medium, style and formatting. A 300-word newsletter article for employees will be much different from a 300-word press release for a major news publication, and knowing that from the beginning will keep you from spending time making changes you could’ve avoided.
How long should this project take?
I’ve talked about tracking time before, so I won’t cover it again, but being aware of budget and time will keep you on track. Knowing how long a project should take helps organize your schedule by blocking out enough time to complete longer projects, or completing shorter projects first to make sure you meet your deadlines.
When is this project due?
At Eisbrenner PR, you work on a variety of teams - each may have you working on several projects. Due dates help you know the teams expectations, and provide a way to prioritize your work.
Sometimes asking questions can cause anxiety, but they’re imperative to making sure your work is done right. You won’t overcome the learning curve without asking questions. So, go ahead, ask me anything, I love to share what I’m learning.
posted by Jrdbryan at 2:07 PM
1 Comments:
Great post! As an intern for an agency in Lansing, I've learned that asking questions is the best way to learn. Many people, including myself, worry that they'll be a bother by asking questions. But more often than not, your superiors will be encouraged when you ask questions; it shows that you're interested in what your doing and that you're motivated to learn. Also, interns are in a great position to ask questions because you're not expected to know everything, and most of the time you're working with professionals with a lot of experience and insight that they are eager to pass on. Take advantage of the opportunity and ask away.
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