“It’s okay to feel confused,” “It’s going to feel big,” and “You’ll be okay.”
In the pre-onboarding, while filling out my I-9 my onboarder had a very open, honest, and kind conversation in which they gave me the run down and it had me running home to draft my 30-60-90 plan. In the first 30 days, I had three goals.
- Learn as much as possible
- Align with the company
- Establish at least one connection
I know these aren’t SMART goals, but I am a fan of simplistic and manageable goals that I can scale. These three goals were a buoy because, in the first 30 days, I was swimming. I wouldn’t say drowning because my head was definitely above water. It’s just starting the job I was happy to simply get my toes wet, but honestly, my new job pushed me into the deep end. And that’s not a complaint, looking back on the first 30 days it was necessary.
1. Learn as much as possible
To me learning as much as possible meant learning about the organizational structure, learning about people and the culture, learning as many applicable skills as possible, and asking questions. That last one is a big one– ask questions. If you aren’t asking questions are you learning? You should be building connections and prioritizing your learning based on observations, interactions, etc. In the beginning, all you have is time, no one expects much but expect a lot from yourself. The conspiracist in me feels like maybe they do this to see if and how new hires respond to pressure. Here is a good article on the first thirty days and what to learn.
2. Align with the company
When you are interviewing we all look up the organization, purpose, values, and history. Why? because it gives you an edge, let’s the company you know you are interested, it’s a talking point. Well, let’s make this clear. Just like personal values which you live, breathe and enact effortlessly, organizations live, breathe and enact their values. And once you understand and align with those values it is like putting on a snorkel when you are out to sea. You can put your head underwater and are confident that you can see opportunities, navigate this sea, and aren’t going to die a social or professional death.
3. Establish at least one connection
One of my classmates once told me, “your network is your network.” There is a lot of value in a strong network. But if you are like me the word networking tastes like ash in your mouth and gives you the sweats- start small. Networking is an exponential exercise and does not have to be extraordinarily aggressive, quality creates quantity. One a month is 12 a year not including the attached introductions. 12 people are more than enough in the first year to get your name out there. But more importantly learn, acclimate, integrate and back to number two align.
Classroom to Corporate 