Hot take: the intern who asks the most questions gets promoted first

I was grabbing coffee at the break room in our office in Columbus when I heard a manager say the name of the person she wanted to keep full time. It was the intern who asked about 15 questions a day, not the one who never bugged anyone. That stuck with me because I always thought keeping your head down and just doing the work was the safe move. Turns out asking where things go and why we do them a certain way gets you noticed way more than quietly figuring it out alone. Has anyone else seen questions get someone ahead faster than just grinding?

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avery_lopez17d ago

I saw this play out with a guy on my team last year. He asked our lead why we did reports a certain way and if we could cut a step, and that one question got him pulled into planning meetings. I did the opposite and just stayed quiet and cranked through my list. It worked fine but nobody really knew my name outside my little corner. When review time came he had a whole set of things he had touched and I had the same old stuff. Asking stuff makes you look like you care about the whole picture, not just your small piece. Took me way too long to get that.

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