WEBVTT - How Do I Start a New Job on the Right Foot? 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.680 That's my colleagues. We'll start commenting on everything I get 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:08.400 my assistant eyes at people and meeting. Why does my 0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:10.879 coworker keep taking credit for all my idea? Have any 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:14.040 wisdom for me? Hi? I'm Alison Green. Welcome to the 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:17.640 Aska Manager podcast, where I answer questions from listeners about 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.440 life at work, everything from what to say if you're 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.080 allergic to your coworkers perfume to what to do if 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:26.000 you drink too much at the company party. Let's get started. 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.520 Starting a new job can be nerve racking, getting to 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:34.400 know a bunch of new people and new information, learning 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:38.960 a new culture, making a good impression, figuring out new expectations, 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:41.720 all while you're still figuring out where the bathrooms are 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.560 and where to get a good burrito for lunch. Our 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:46.839 guest today is about to start a new job and 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:51.240 she has questions. Hi, and welcome to the show. Hi. Also, 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.160 thanks for having me, Thanks for being here. So you 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.360 are about to start a new job and it's been 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:59.160 a while since you were the new person somewhere, and 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.000 you have a bunch of questions that you want to 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.880 talk through, all centered around getting off on the right 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.080 foot at the new place. Does that about sum it up. 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:09.759 That's absolutely right. I've been in my curtel for about 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:12.959 five years and UM in the industry for about ten, 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.560 and this is just very new to me. I haven't 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:18.679 um for for a while anyway. I haven't started a 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.160 new job in a while, so I want to make 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.280 sure I get going right. It's weird to start a 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.400 new job, I think, after you've been somewhere else for 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.280 a while. So I'm going to give you a bunch 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:30.720 of general advice about starting a new job, and then 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:35.440 let's dive into your specific questions. If that sounds good, perfect, okay. 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.000 So I think that one big thing to frame the 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:43.160 whole conversation around is don't get overwhelmed. And at the 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:47.039 same time, you are going to get overwhelmed because there's 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.280 going to be a huge amount of new information getting 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:51.920 thrown at you during your first week, everything from who 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.720 to talk to about the retirement planned how to actually 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.880 do your job, and you are not going to retain 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.680 all of it, and that is completely normal. So don't 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.280 panic if you feel like you can't remember everything that 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.960 is coming at you. It would be really surprising if 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.120 you could remember it all. I don't think i've ever 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.520 seen a new hire who could remember everything they were 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:15.040 told during their first week. So don't freak out if 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:18.400 you feel like you're not retaining everything, um not to 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.840 the extent that you can. It's smart to write things down, 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:23.280 and you should keep all that paperwork that they give 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.760 you on your first day. Like I think people never 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:29.280 look at it again after day one, But actually, if 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:31.880 you hold onto it unlike your third or fourth week, 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:34.000 you should pull it out again and take a look 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:36.880 at it then, because you're much more likely to retain 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:39.079 more of it than it's going to have more meaning 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:42.080 to you once you have a bit of a structure 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.400 built in your brain to sort of place it all 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.400 in at that point. If that makes sense, Yeah, it does. 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:49.640 And I mean it's three or four weeks in, it's 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:54.480 still appropriate to go back and ask more questions, right, absolutely, yeah, 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.480 And really, I mean I think in most jobs it 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:59.040 takes at least a few months to feel like you 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.800 know what you're doing and not realizing that you have 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.640 constant questions that you need to ask someone. And sometimes 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:07.040 it's even more like six months, depending on the job. 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.040 So if you're a month in and you still feel 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:11.799 a little over your head and you still realize you 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:15.639 have questions. That is completely normal, and in the vast 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.400 majority of cases that is going to go away in time. 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.480 There's usually a point later where suddenly you realize that 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:24.760 everything has clicked and you're in a flow, but it 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.760 takes a few months for most people. Yeah, bet great. 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:33.960 And then, related to feeling overwhelmed, take notes because you 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:35.839 are going to have all these details coming at you. 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:37.800 You're there's no way you're going to remember all of them, 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.520 so just like carry something to take notes with you 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.800 everywhere you go. You know, I think I say that, 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:46.920 but I know a lot of people religiously take notes 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:51.840 and then never look at them again. Of those, for sure, 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.200 there is something for some people about the act of 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:57.960 writing things down that does seem to lodge it in 0:03:58.000 --> 0:03:59.920 your brain a little bit more than if you never 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.400 wrote it down. So I still think there's some benefit 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.040 to doing it, even if you aren't really good about 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:06.560 going back and looking at them. But this is a 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.880 time I think where like you know, the end of 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.080 your first week, beginning of your second week, pull out 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:12.920 the notes and take a look, because I bet there 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:14.600 will be something in there where you'll think, oh, I'm 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:18.160 so glad that I am remembering this. Yeah, definitely, even 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.279 if it just I'm this type of person, I'll write 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.920 a note and it'll just jog the whole conversation for 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:24.479 me when I look back at it. So that makes 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.840 sense exactly. And sometimes you might realize you didn't have 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.240 a question about the topic at the time it was 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.719 being discussed when you were taking notes, but now a 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.240 week and a half in you have more context and 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:37.839 it's going to jog questions for you that you'll realize 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:41.680 you need to ask. Yeah, for sure. Let's see. Another 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:46.120 big thing is culture, So you want to really make 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:49.080 a point of paying attention to the office culture. Every 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.560 office is going to have these sort of unwritten rules 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:55.560 about how we do things here, and sometimes they're so 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:58.400 ingrained in the culture that people who work there can't 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:02.240 even spot them in order to articulate them to newcomers, 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:05.520 but they can tell when someone's not following them. So 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.000 for your first couple of months, I would say, pay 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:09.920 a lot of attention to help people operate, So like, 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.880 watch things like are they all exactly on time for 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.000 meetings to the minute, And it's a huge faux pat 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:18.680 to walk in a few minutes late or same thing 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:21.159 for time of arrival in the morning. Actually, some offices 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:23.640 are are pretty laws a fair about it, and others 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.839 are not. Um and stuff like, you know, do people 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:30.240 mainly use email or slack to communicate or do they 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.760 pop by in person? And how do they handle lunch? 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:36.000 And who gets copied on emails? All of those little 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:39.880 things about how the office operates that you really just 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.520 kind of pick up by watching pay attention to that 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:46.080 stuff because you're going to learn it eventually anyway, but 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.600 if you make a concerted point of watching for it 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:50.120 in the beginning, I think it will help you learn 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.640 the culture more quickly, and you're it's going to feel 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:55.160 like a more familiar environment where you fit in more 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:58.240 quickly as well. I hadn't even thought of that, a 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:02.600 little little office quirks that um, yeah, I've gotten used to, 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.279 And now that I'm looking back, I'm thinking, did I 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:08.360 set that example for the people who were new at 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.200 my last job? That's really interesting and it's I think 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:12.880 it's going to feel weird to you. It would feel 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:15.119 weird to anyone starting in a job, because you're so 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.480 used to the culture at your old office and you're 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:20.600 going to see differences, and some of them will be 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.120 things that I bet you wouldn't have even thought of 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.240 if someone said, like, tell me about what your current 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:27.800 office is, like, what's the culture like? There are things 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.760 that are so ingrained and so unconscious that you wouldn't 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.239 even think to name them, but you're going to become 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.200 really aware of them at this next job because of 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:39.000 the contrast. Yeah, definitely. Well, I'm coming from a very 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:42.400 small company, um and where you know it's very casual 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:47.640 and going into a much more corporate office and there's 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.760 hundreds of people in the building and um that that 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:54.400 alone is very overwhelming. But to consider each of those 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:58.800 cultural nuances within that larger corporation is is a big 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.280 deal for me. So that makes a lot of sense 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.320 to follow that. By the way, do you know if 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.880 you're gonna be like in your own office or in 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:10.320 a cube or in an open office space? I don't 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:13.120 know yet. Um I believe it's going to be a 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:17.520 cubical kind of situation. Okay, if it were a completely 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.400 open office, well, first of all, you would have my sympathies. 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.400 But second, if it were an open office, I would 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.960 say there's I think there's even more practices that you 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:28.600 would find that had evolved about how people work in 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.200 that space, like stuff like no one ever takes a 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:34.080 call and speaker phone if you're lucky, and and will 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:36.600 be really rate if you do, or just like modulating 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:38.960 their voices or so forth. So if you did end 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.320 up in a shared space, I would say, really watch 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:45.120 how people navigate that, right, because it's it's so easy 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.720 to run a foul of unspoken rules in that kind 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:54.080 of environment. Yeah, definitely. And then I think there is 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.560 a whole category of stuff about getting aligned with your boss. 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:01.000 So do you have a feel for your new boss yet, Like, 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:02.720 do you have a sense of what that relationship might 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:08.360 be like? Yeah, it seems um, very friendly, very open. Uh. 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.760 He both interviewed me with a very open and honest 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:15.040 kind of tone and then also called me um just 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:16.960 a few weeks ago to welcome me once I did 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:21.040 formally accept and Um, so far seems really open, really 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:25.520 friendly and welcoming and consider it. He seems like he'll 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.280 be you know, open to working with me and and 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:30.920 seeing how we're going to work together. So I, um, 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:34.360 it feels good. He's really really good. Good. So yeah, 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.719 so your boss may initiate this when you start. But 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:40.079 if he doesn't, sometime during your first week, try to 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.520 sit down with him and talk about what your goals 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:44.360 should be for you, like your first month and your 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.400 first six months, and ask if there are things that 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.320 you should be reading or reviewing or people you should 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.360 be meeting with to help you get up to speed. 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:56.360 That is stuff that your manager should proactively take care 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.959 of talking to you about, But that doesn't necessarily mean 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.360 that he will be has Some managers, many managers, really 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:06.320 are pretty bad at training and orienting people, and it 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.320 doesn't necessarily mean that's the sign of a bad manager. 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.640 Like I think training is a whole separate skill set 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.959 unto itself, and some people are pretty decent managers, but 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:21.280 not super thoughtful trainers. So if you aren't getting this 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.360 stuff flowing at you from him, don't hesitate to raise 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.080 it on your own. Oh that's great. I've I've never 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:29.679 thought of that, of sitting down and just asking, like, 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:33.559 what do you expect of me for this particular time period, 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.920 But that would be actually really helpful for me. I 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:39.120 thrive on that kind of thing. We're having set goals 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.800 is really important to me, and meeting those goals or 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.680 exceeding those goals. Just it's a feel good moment for 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.160 me and also shows them what I can do. I 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.079 really like that idea good. Yeah, And I think there's 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.760 there's this weird feeling when you're new at a job 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.760 where you're just kind of floating and you're not anchored 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.200 to any specific expectations yet the way that you might 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.640 be six months down the road often always and it 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.679 can be hard to know, like I feel really overwhelmed. 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.920 Am I even doing an okay job? Am I where 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:10.400 they would expect me to be? Or am I really 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.040 messing those up? And if you have, if you've talked 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.520 explicitly like Okay, here is what we are expecting from 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:17.720 your first month, your first three months, your first six months, 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.760 then you do have something to anchor those feelings against 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:23.160 and you'll be able to tell, Okay, we talked about 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:24.800 like I should accomplish a B, C and D in 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:26.360 my first month, and I'm on track to do that, 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.120 and it's going to take away some of that free 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.080 floating anxiety that I think otherwise can be really common 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:35.120 when you're new. Well, that sounds great. Along the same lines, 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:38.840 don't hesitate to ask your manager questions about anything. Really, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.800 it's okay to ask what can I look at to 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:45.440 get a better understanding of X? Or with this project 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:47.680 that you're asking me to do, are there samples of 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:49.800 this type of project from the past that I could 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.280 look at to see how it's been approached previously? You know, 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.679 really anything like that is I mean, if I were 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:56.840 your manager and you're asked me those questions, I would 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:00.240 be thrilled. So don't be shy about doing that. And 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:03.320 it's also totally okay to check in with your boss 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:05.160 and aska things are going. Like after you've been there 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.240 a couple of weeks, maybe two or three weeks, you 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.959 can check in with him and you can ask if 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:13.240 there's anything he wants you doing differently, or if there 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:15.240 are areas where he wants you to focus in more. 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:19.000 And again, that is stuff that he should tell you proactively. 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.840 But not all managers are on the ball with that 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:23.959 kind of thing, or some just take longer to get 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:27.000 around to it. So by you asking the question and 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:30.199 making it clear that you really welcome feedback, you can 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.520 sometimes get useful input earlier and sometimes often actually it's 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.120 just gonna be, Yeah, everything is going great, you're picking 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:38.840 up what we want you to pick up and it's 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:42.079 really nice to have that reassurance. Oh yeah, and that's 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.320 that's honestly one of the reasons that I'm leaving my 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:48.000 current company is I never got feedback, or if I 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:52.200 got feedback, it's really only felt negative. Um. And I 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:53.959 think everybody wants to feel like they're doing a good 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.840 job sometimes and um, so I was ready for something 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.880 like that. And one of the things that sold me 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:02.480 on my new job is, um, they actually showed me 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:06.240 a little bit about their feedback formula and it's basically 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.000 a three segment This is what you're doing, good, keep 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:12.160 doing it. This is something that I can deal with, 0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.600 but like from a manager's perspective, but you could improve 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.360 upon it, and these are deal breakers I need to change. 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:20.440 And what they told me is that most people never 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.040 have anything on that third part, but it's there in 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.240 case we do come across that. And it was just 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:31.520 really reassuring to see that they have a formalized standard 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.800 for giving that feedback, both good and bad. Yeah. I 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.880 love that because it says that they're being really intentional 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.360 about making it a normal, ongoing part of their culture 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.120 and it's not going to be in office hopefully, where 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.240 the one time you get feedback is on your annual 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.920 performance evaluation in December exactly. And I never had a 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:54.200 performance evaluation with my old company, so super excited to 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.560 have anything. You're like the only person in the world 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:58.880 he is excited about the prospect of a pervice evaluation. 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:04.280 That's okay. Now, I'm actually right there with you. I 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.800 think they're they're really it's really helpful. Frankly, let's take 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:10.679 a quick break here and then come back and get 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:22.240 into your questions. You know. One other thing I would 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.600 say is, and we touched on this a little bit earlier, 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.160 but I want to really dry it out. Don't be 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.760 shy about asking for help when you need it, because 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:34.439 sometimes I think when people are new, they hesitate to 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.319 ask for help because they worry that it'll make them 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.240 look like they don't know what they're doing. But you're new, 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.200 and it's normal to not know exactly what you're doing. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.079 People expect you to have questions and to need help, 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:49.200 and frankly, it's more alarming if a new person doesn't 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.760 ask any questions. And most people will be perfectly happy 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.400 to answer questions for you, especially if you save them 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.480 up in batches, you know, as opposed to peppering people 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.040 throughout the day with them, But most people will be 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:02.599 very open to it if you say, hey, do you 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:04.719 have ten or fifteen minutes later this week where I 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.400 could sit down with you and go over some of this. Okay, 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.920 that's great. One other thing kind of on that note, 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.760 you know, I know that there's another person in the 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:14.600 group who is going to be doing the exact same 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:16.160 work that I'm doing, and she's been doing it, of 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.280 course for longer, you know, would it be okay if 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:22.120 as I finish a part of a project or a project, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.960 you know, just say ask her, can you check this? 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.400 Make sure I'm doing it right. I don't want to 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:30.320 sound not confident, but I want to make sure before 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.760 I get too far ahead that I'm not just totally 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:36.280 screwing their system up. Yes, absolutely, I think for sure 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:38.960 the first one or two times that you do it absolutely. 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.640 Whether or not to continue doing it after the first 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:45.360 one or two times, I think depends on how complicated 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:50.280 and difficult the work is generally understood to be. Um, okay, 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:52.200 But but you could ask that to you. You could say, 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:53.760 is this the kind of thing that would make sense 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:55.560 to have you do maybe for my first month or 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:57.520 does it make more sense to just do it my 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:01.000 my first one or two times? Okay, makes sense, you know, 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.720 before we get into your questions. Actually, one other thought 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:06.480 that I have that people don't always think about when 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:10.160 they start a new job is to avoid getting drawn 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:14.640 into office clicks or office politics. I mean, you want 0:15:14.720 --> 0:15:17.280 to be friendly to people, of course, but just have 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:19.280 in the back of your head that you don't have 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:23.160 all of the context yet and you can't truly understand 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.480 what might be going on in a particular disagreement or 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:29.920 a particular conflict, and you can harm your own standing 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:33.120 if you take a side prematurely. So in your first 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.960 month or so, if people try to get you to 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:40.480 weigh in on any office conflicts, I would stay neutral. 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:44.920 And that is especially true if you hear anyone bad 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.920 mouth and your boss or bad moth in anyone really, 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:52.120 because it could be that they're right, but maybe you're 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.400 talking to the office slacker or the person with the 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.800 worst judgment in the company and you don't know it 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.880 yet because you're new. So I would just say avoid 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:03.440 waiting into that kind of thing for a while. Yeah. No, 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.480 that makes a lot of sense. I hadn't even thought 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.680 of that. All the office gossip, I don't. I don't 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:11.400 want to deal with it. It's I think it's so 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.880 easy to get ensnared into it early on because someone 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:17.520 starts being friendly and you think, oh great, someone's being friendly, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.080 and then before you know it, you're being pulled into 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:24.160 that kind of conversation. Yeah. Yeah, I'll be cognizant of 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.800 that for sure. Well, so that is my initial monologue here. 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.080 Does that all make sense? Is there anything you want 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.400 to ask about there before we get into your list 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:36.040 of questions? No? I think it's Um, it's really helpful. 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.920 I Like I said, it's just been so long that 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.240 I feel like I am I'm ingrained in in what 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:46.280 I know, and now I'm going into a totally unknown 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.760 situation and things have probably really changed since I last 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:54.120 started a job. So this is really helpful for sure. Good, Okay, 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.440 tell me what's on your list? Oh, this is a 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.720 good one. How do I introduce myself to my new coworkers? Uh? 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.400 That's the elevator talk has always been something I've really 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:09.200 struggled with, kind of that first burst of explaining who 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:11.639 I am. What's the best way to do that that 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:16.119 exudes confidence but not arrogance. I that's a great question. 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:18.919 If your office is good about this, your manager or 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:20.720 someone else is going to do a lot of the 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.199 introductions for you. But if that doesn't happen, or if 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.959 it doesn't happen with everyone, it's totally okay for you 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.040 to just initiate it yourself. You can literally just walk 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.119 up to someone and say hi, I'm Jane Smith and 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.120 I'm the new graphic designer or whatever your role is, 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.160 and then you say I just wanted to introduce myself 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:40.879 and say hi, and then you can kind of tailor 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.120 it from there, Like if it's someone who you think 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.240 you'll be working with pretty closely, you could say, I 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:47.960 think we'll probably be doing a lot of work together. 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.080 I'd love to sit down and talk through any upcoming 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.879 projects anytime you want, or anything along those lines. But 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:56.200 people are usually going to take it from there. They'll 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:59.800 introduce themselves, they'll welcome you. Some people will stop there 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.320 at that point. For them, the introduction is done and 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:04.439 then they're going back to work and that's it. But 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:06.720 other people will ask you questions like what you were 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:09.919 doing before this or so forth, So just watch for 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:12.919 cues from them, because you'll usually get a feel for 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:17.120 whether someone wants extended conversation or not. If you can't tell, 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.840 and it's not somewhere like the elevator where obviously they 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:23.359 don't need to instantly turn back to their laptop, I 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.840 would say, if you can't tell, assume they're busy. Say 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:28.920 something like it was great meeting you, I'm looking forward 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.240 to working with you. But generally people will be pretty 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.840 friendly and will make this pretty easy for you. And 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.520 if someone doesn't, I would assume that is more about them, 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:43.359 not about you. You may have just found the office grump. Okay, yeah, 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:46.320 that makes sense. And then on the same note, you know, 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:51.120 is there any informational no notes like stuff that I 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.960 don't need to share right away? Um? I know, you know, 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:57.000 stuff maybe about my previous company if it were negative, 0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:00.080 it's not particularly negative. But all dead leave for or 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.320 a reason or anything personal. Is there anything that I 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:06.359 just shouldn't divold right away for some reason? I would 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.520 avoid bad mouthing your old company or getting into heavy 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.880 details about why you left, so like if you left 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.399 because you couldn't get a raise, or your manager sucked, 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:17.720 or your job had become horribly boring. Don't get into 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:21.240 that stuff people. You know, people won't usually ask why 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.600 you left anyway, although they might ask what drew you 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.520 to this job, the new one, or the new company. 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:29.520 And if anyone does ask why you left and you 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:31.719 don't really want to get into it, a good answer 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:34.600 is to just respond with why you came to this 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:37.239 new one. Or you could just say like, oh, I've 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:39.480 been there five years, I was ready for something new. 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:41.840 You can't say that if you were only there you 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:43.439 or a year or two, that would sound odd, but 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:45.760 I think you actually were there for a while. Yeah 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.320 I was yep, I was there for just over five years. Yeah, 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.880 so something like you know, i've been there five years, 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:54.600 I was excited to do something new, and this job 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:57.920