Onboard Yourself
Get set up for success in a new role.
Starting fresh in a new role can be daunting. I know it’s hard for me to suddenly not be the expert anymore, not have the trust and rapport built up with your colleagues, and maybe not be working with people who understand your role.
I’ve put together five steps across five posts that I believe you can use to show off your skills from the get-go. My goal for these posts is to give you a sense of structure for success when you start anew.
My examples focus on starting a writing role, but you can apply the principles across many different positions.
Emotional rollarcoster
Before getting stuck into the steps, I think it’s important to recognize the emotional experience of starting a new role. For me, I typically feel:
- Overwhelmed
- Nervous
- Uncomfortable
- And particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolated.
From talking with others, I think these are pretty common feelings to go through.
When I’ve started new roles, there were:
- Lots of acronyms I’d never heard before.
- Names of people I was asked to contact that I didn’t know enough about.
- People assuming I already know the company’s internal processes.
- Decisions I was put on the spot to make about things I don’t feel skilled in.
However, there are lots of positive feelings about change too, such as:
- Excitement
- Being energized
- And feeling hopeful about new opportunities.
The steps
With that context, you might understand why I care about ensuring I’m set up well in a new role and feel a sense of stability, particularly during this pandemic.
That’s why I use this framework and why I’d like to share it with you. These are the five steps I believe will help you onboard yourself:
If you prefer to watch a video, check out my talk below:
Michael Belton is a Technical Writer at Carted, a software company seeking to empower the future of eCommerce. He’s interested in helping people through content, explaining complex things simply, and making good food. Find him on his Twitter, @mykale37.
