How to start a new job from home: Flexibility reigns supreme
A series of stories from recent USDS hires on starting from home.
By: Jason Kahn, USDS team at CMS
Article 2 of 4 in this series, read the previous one.
Be flexible — this situation is new for you and for your coworkers
At this point, March feels like a very long time ago, but it hasn’t actually been that many weeks as people figure out how to work in this new environment.
My first day at work was scheduled for Monday, March 16 with CMS New Employee Orientation (NEO) that day. On Sunday afternoon, the federal government shifted to “maximum telework” in the DC area and plans began changing. The NEO team at CMS had to quickly figure out what a remote orientation would look like — everything from how to share all of the welcome information to how to get the right paperwork signed.
For my cohort, NEO was still in-person, but abbreviated and social distanced — everyone was spaced at least 6 feet apart in a large auditorium. To minimize exposure time, the session was reduced to the essential steps: 1) make it legal to work (paperwork + oath of office) and 2) receive the keys to teleworking — laptops, badges, and accounts. Since my group, CMS New Employee Orientation has gone completely virtual.
Whether your new office is completely remote or somewhere else on the telework spectrum, the main constant will be changing as the pandemic continues to evolve.
My best advice: expect things to keep changing and be flexible.
Tips from some of the USDS Spring 2020 Cohort on starting at USDS in an all-remote world.
In the midst of a pandemic, we’re very privileged:
- To have a job at all in this environment
- To be able to start and continue working from home
- And to have an amazing welcome from coworkers at USDS and our partner agencies
We’re not experts at teleworking, but now that we’ve been on the job for ~100 days, we wanted to share tips from our experience in case you find yourself in a similar situation. We’re also hiring at USDS; come join us!
If you need help during the pandemic, there may be federal resources available — anything from checking if you can get health insurance outside of open enrollment, to advice on how to handle bills if you’ve lost income, to ideas on how to help others during the crisis. A full list of resources by agency is listed at usa.gov/coronavirus.
The best of technology.
The best of government.
And we want you.
We’re looking for the most tenacious designers, software engineers, product managers, and more, who are committed to untangling, rewiring and redesigning critical government services. You’ll join a team of the most talented technologists from across the private sector and government.
If you have questions regarding employment with the U.S. Digital Service, please contact us at usds@omb.eop.gov or visit our Hiring FAQ.
