Why do coworkers assume I know what they are talking about?
Managers and staff often ask random questions about their own work, assuming you already know which client they mean. When they expect you to instantly recall every vendor or payment status from memory, it creates confusion and awkward pauses. This lack of context leaves you second-guessing your answers and wishing you had just asked for clarification.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Telling them you have to check the system first.
- 2Saying “Let me check and get back to you. When do you need this by?”
- 3Ask clarifying follow-up questions before attempting to answer
- 4Assume the interviewer misspoke and clarify the terminology
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I was asked to make a JE for 1000 AR invoices received but not paid yet. So I said debit AR credit revenue, and she gave me a funny look and paused for a really long time. Was my answer wrong??”source ↗
“My manager will randomly ask me something about whatever he’s working on and assume I know exactly what he’s talking about.”source ↗
“how am I supposed to remember every vendor and payment status off the top of my head?”source ↗
“My staff ask me questions and assume I know what client they are talking about.”source ↗
“I think this is what she meant, but she said AR so it confused me”source ↗
“I guess I should have asked for clarification lol.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Why are there so many surprise questions on professional exams?
- 5Users not replying to follow-up questions on IT tickets
- 4Why do team members keep asking questions instead of checking docs?
- 5Is it legal for interviewers to ask about family planning or kids?
- 4How to figure out what an unknown bug in your house is
- 2Employee brought a lawyer to a meeting without notice