What Does The First Week Look Like For a New Project Manager
After my very last recruitment call, the time slowed down. Even though it’s been just a few days before I received the decision, I couldn’t stop constantly refreshing my email box. And, oh my god, I eventually saw the awaited message. Joining Netguru (which is a market-leading software house in Poland) was my big goal, so I don’t need to describe how proud and happy I was when I saw the offer. The curiosity level went high immediately when I started to think about the upcoming adventure — how does it feel to become a new project manager the remote-first company? And here I am to tell you what my first week looked like.
I decided to take a month-long break between quitting my previous job and starting the new one. Here is my advice to everyone who is changing jobs — take a good rest before starting. Allow your brain to get rid of the former company, clear your mind, and enjoy some free time. I traveled a little, but any kind of rest is great.
The first day at the new company was closer and closer and I felt ready to act like never before. A few weeks before the onboarding day I got an email with the schedule and details about the first days at Netguru, which made me feel secure and well informed. Also, I received the names of my leader and mentor who would support me during my first months in the company. It was great to know what will actually be happening, so I could prepare myself for every upcoming event.
The first day took place in company’s HQ in Poznan. I live in Cracow, so I traveled there a day before the onboarding. The onboarding started at 10 AM with a presentation about the company’s culture and values, which also covered the about perks and benefits in Netguru, included some security workshops, and finished with a photo session!
Although everybody can work remotely in Netguru, for the second day I was invited to the Cracovian office just to meet people, receive my access card, and learn how to use some internal office-related tools. It was a bullseye since it was a Wednesday, which is also known as Sweet Wednesday in Netguru offices :)
Few days before my onboarding I’ve got an email with the information about who my leader and my mentor are going to be. I’ve found this very interesting because in my previous workplaces I never had a mentor. Obviously, there was always someone to help me during my first days and answer my questions, but usually, it was my boss, or someone above me, which creates some sort of distance between me and those people (because you don’t want to overuse their help, you are too shy if there are many questions and make an impression someone annoying). Whereas my new company dedicates a special person in the same position, who is supposed to help you during your first days, show you around, take you through the onboarding process. My mentor reached out to me and we had few calls. During the call, I received lots of tips, explanations, help, and support. I’ve been provided with an onboarding checklist with lots of useful information and tutorials which helped me learn or get a refresher regarding key knowledge and tools (Jira, Salesforce, Github, etc.). The amount of available materials is huge and I am very impressed by it. Fortunately, I have some time to catch up on it before I actually start on a project. I have to admit that the long onboarding has a lot of advantages. I am a person who doesn’t have much experience working in big companies (I worked in a small software house in past), so I always had to learn everything on the fly and start working immediately, which has always been quite a stressful experience. At Netguru new PMs (no matter what seniority) usually have at least two weeks to get to know all the tools, learn the processes and understand values, meet your team, set personal growth goals with the leader, etc. before starting work on the first project.
During the third day, we (all newbies) were invited to join a call with the CEO of the company. During the call, he introduced to us the biggest clients and told us about the challenges and goals of the company. Later, we could ask questions and share feedback. The most valuable item I understood during that meeting is that the company is very transparent and the transparency gives me the feeling that I can reach out to any person in the company and I will always be listened to and supported.
The rest of the week was calm. I had the ability to join my mentor’s project and to see how the agile ceremonies are facilitated, how the development team works, and how the communication with the client is handled. I’ve been invited to my mentor’s project in “ninja” mode, which means that I’m not actively working on the project but rather observe the workflow. Every morning we connect for the standup meeting and speak about daily progress. I received access to the project in Jira, so I could see all the tickets and tasks created. I also could see how the PM prepares the weekly review, demo, and other product meetings. Other important project management activities I took part in were invoicing, iteration retrospective, and sprint planning. It was not an issue to involve me in communication with the client so I could see how the team communicates everything (both good and bad things) to the client and on what the self-organization in that specific project leans.
All of this gave me an understanding of how my work will look. There are lots of interesting webinars and Happy Hours happening almost every week at the company which I joined with pleasure too. A Happy Hour is an initiative when specialists in a specific field share their knowledge with others. During that session, you can share your case study, ask for advice and support, or receive some materials to study. During my first week, I joined one related to risk management, and another one was related to working with external developers.
The conclusion
Despite the fact that Project Manager role is not new for me, it felt completely new for me this time. Switching from the small software house to the big company was a completely new experience for me. I used to have completely different workflows, habits, and techniques in my previous companies. Everything was very fast, chaotic, rapid. At my new company, it remains rapid thought, however, it feels more… I would say organized now. The wonderful thing was having a long onboarding, instead of putting me into the deep water straightaway. I really believe that the first few weeks might have a huge impact on your wellbeing in the company. Thus, it’s crucially important for employers to onboard new person as well and comfy as possible; and for the employee — to act in the way you’ll be proud of. Communicate the issues straightaway. Give the feedback (be radically candor), and don’t let others impact your personality or creativity anyhow. Show yourself in the best possible way (but don’t try to be someone else) — be yourself and act like your’ best version, like your latest release with all new working features included :)
Tell me how was your first week at your current companies? Did you enjoy it? Is there something you would like to improve?
Originally published at https://www.netguru.com.
