Christina - How Not Speaking Up Wasted Valuable Work Time 🕰️

This event occurred during my first month at Future of Engagement but I never got to share it with others. I am hoping that by sharing this experience, I can help others to not make the same mistake. 🙂

Back in 2023, I joined FoE as an intern through my school internship. I was excited and eager to get involved but a bit intimidated because this was my first time interning at a company AND because I didn’t have a lot of expertise in politics (I majored in Psychology). After being onboarded and integrated into the company, I was given my first task. It was explained to me well and I felt as if I was ready to tackle it. When I began my task, I wasn’t quite understanding a part of it but I told myself that I’ll sleep on it, and tackle it the next day. The next day came and I said the same thing. I literally kept putting this off days after days, and before I knew it, 2-3 weeks had passed and I still hadn’t completed the task.

I basically made no progress and this was bad. My time as an intern was limited and I spent 3 weeks not getting any valuable learnings/experiences out of it because I was not understanding/enjoying the task.

What I should have done was immediately reach out to my supervisor when I didn’t understand, so I can get clarification and be able to complete the task. I was too scared that they would think I’m unable to do a task myself, and honestly, I was just simply shy. It is totally normal to feel this way but at Future of Engagement, they really care about your wellbeing. They want to make sure that you are doing well mentally and understanding things etc.

If you ever encounter a similar situation where you don’t understand something or you’re not enjoying your task, let us know! We want you to be learning and having a valuable experience while here. We can clarify things quickly for you and even give you something else if you don’t like the task.

I definitely learned from my mistake and I can say that I have gained more confidence throughout my time here!