You had to say Thank You? What a nightmare!

Have you ever watched the final scene of "My Cousin Vinny" starring Joe Peci and Marisa Tomei? Peci (playing Vinny, an inexperienced attorney) conveys his disappointment that other people had to help him win his murder trial. In response, Tomei's character sarcastically says to Vinny:

"You know, this could be a sign of things to come. You win all your cases, but with somebody else's help, right? You win case after case, and then afterwards you have to go up to somebody and you have to say...thank you. OH MY GOD, WHAT A NIGHTMARE!"

The Lesson? It's OK to ask for help!

Whether you're 22 or 52, when you start a new job you're not going to know everything on Day 1... or even on Week 1. However, when you're 22, it's true that you're going to have more questions. Not only are you new to the office and your position, but you're new to the industry and to the office environment protocol as well.

As mature as you may be or try to appear, the employer is aware of your age and thus the lack of experience that comes with it. Therefore, rather than pretending to know it all, ask when you have a question.

During my interning experience, I tested the waters, trying earnestly to complete certain tasks without asking for assistance, even though I had virtually NO CLUE what I was doing. It was my hope that my internship boss would be BEYOND impressed by my realm of knowledge and capabilities. The result? My performance was slower than average and my end product was below par.

Ask yourself this, if you were the boss, would you rather discover that one of your employees asked for help and as a result, efficiently completed the given task OR refused to ask for help and as a result, either delivered mediocrity or failed to complete the task?

In a perfect world you would know all the answers, but it's far from perfect. So take a lesson from the producers of "My Cousin Vinny"... simply ask, and say "thank you."

Next: Don't wait to be told, take the initiative >>