Name: Chris Sherk
Year: Junior
Major: Economics
Minor: Business Institutions
CFS Class: Business Field Studies
Employer: Woodland Coast Partners

During my time in the CFS program, I had the opportunity to listen to and learn from many great guest speakers. While common themes and lessons emerged in the lectures, each speaker always shared specific, memorable pieces of advice that were unique to their career path. For example, one of my favorite speakers, Mark Fastabend, said the most important thing he learned early in his career was to become comfortable saying the following phrase: “I don’t know and I need help.”

Personally, I have never been comfortable asking for assistance or admitting that I don’t know how to do something, but I have always known it was a valuable skill that I needed to improve. After listening to Mark’s lecture, I began asking more clarifying questions during my time as a CFS intern for Woodland Coast Partners, a search fund based in Brooklyn. As I started asking more questions and for individual guidance more often, my relationship with my bosses strengthened noticeably. In addition to developing a stronger relationship and network, I also became much more efficient and comfortable with my assigned tasks.

While it is important to attempt to answer your questions independently at first, it is essential to become comfortable asking your colleagues or bosses for help. By learning when and how to ask questions, I quickly became one of the most efficient interns and my bosses began trusting me with increasingly impactful and interesting tasks. As a result, I was able to extract much more value from my internship experience than I would have if I remained too nervous and egotistical to simply ask for help.