Advice for a new hire
Do you remember the very first day of your very first “real job?” Were you scared? I certainly was.
Regardless of your age, it can be quite intimidating to enter a new workplace. On my first day in June, I was overcome with terror. I had received my new-hire agenda and onboarding document in the wee hours of the morning, and I fretted, worrying that I needed to complete every task before my first meeting at 8:00 AM. I stayed up late and woke up early, but was only able to progress halfway through the material before my time ran out. With dark undereye circles, sweaty palms, and my best business casual attire, I showed up to my first meeting in a fit of panic. Rest assured, I had grossly overestimated the amount of work that was expected of me; in fact, I was given the rest of the week to configure my company logins and soothe my nerves.
Since that first day I have felt both eager and trepidatious, but never again have I felt that world-ending fear that I suffered on my first day of work. I am writing this Medium post with the purpose of reassuring anybody who is about to start a new position that it’s not as bad as you expect it to be — it’s much, much worse. Just kidding! There’s nothing to fear, and please trust my expertise in the matter since I have recently completed my eighth week here at Puppet by Perforce.
I decided to seek out some advice from colleagues much further along in their careers. Read on for their words of wisdom to a newly hired employee!
What advice would you give to somebody who is about to start their first day of work?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
Meet people! Take advantage of onboarding meetings, new-hire orientations, and fireside chats. Join “Donut” on Slack (check out this Medium post if you’re curious about the “Donut” program), and schedule 1:1s with teammates and colleagues you’ll collaborate with closely.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
You’ll likely be meeting with your manager on day one, doing a laundry list of onboarding activities, and potentially meeting people you will work with. I would recommend preparing questions for your manager that help you align on what success looks like in the first 90 days. Questions around what goals will be assigned and how/when they will be measured are always top of mind; and bonus points if you might already have an idea of what they are and want to use that as a starting point to validate them with your manager. As you will be absorbing a lot of new information, determine the best system to take notes and how to manage your workload and commitments; some people do better writing down notes, some use electronic systems like OneNote or EverNote, and some use project management tools. There is also a great book out there to prepare for how you might look at the first 90 days of a job called “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded.” Finally, don’t stress too much because there is no better time to learn and ask questions than in the very early days of starting your job — and managers understand that.
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
First, ask your manager what their expectations are for your first few weeks of work. This really will help you level-set where you should be focusing your energy.
Generally, I always suggest that on your first day or during your first week, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with all of the systems you will be using. You will get super busy as you begin your job and ensuring your health insurance, benefits, etc. are in place should not be overlooked. Make sure you know/learn about all the amazing things new companies can provide you too — like compensation for your phone or internet, health savings accounts, etc.
How do I ask for help when starting out a new job?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
Start with your teammates, your manager, and your mentor. If they don’t know the answer, they should be able to refer you to someone who does. Don’t be shy about reaching out to new people. We’re all on the same team and want to help.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
The easy answer: just ask for it. The more complex answer: it depends :-). Generally, identify a list of things you want to learn in the job, so you are fully aware and can always reference it. As you start to meet people, take note of their roles and what you might be able to learn from them. Perhaps some natural matches will surface as to who you might be able to reach out to in order to ask for help. I always recommend starting a question with context, so the person you are asking understands this is a learning opportunity for them to provide help. I also find that collecting a list of questions you need help with and asking them in one setting (unless it is a critical ask) is helpful for the learning process (sometimes I find the answer on my own if I just wait a little while) and more effective in establishing working relationships. You might be better perceived if you do your research and make your best effort to find the answer before asking for help. Overall, don’t be shy to ask — people expect you to ask for help, especially in the early days of a new job.
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
I would message someone on Slack and ask if they can walk you through something. Be conscious of their time and calendar. Working remotely, I will ping a colleague on Slack and ask if I can get fifteen minutes of their time, then look on their calendar to schedule a time that works for them. I find it easier to talk out the answer to my question via Zoom or in person vs. sending a million emails back and forth. Email and Slack can be a more challenging medium to learn on — but it is possible!
What is your advice to somebody who is new to the tech industry, specifically in DevOps and IT automation industry?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
Seek out different points of view. A lot of people and companies have rigid practices that may (or may not!) work there, but there’s never one right answer. Play with technologies, and find free online training and labs. Get a free account at your favorite internet cloud provider (ICP) and test things. You can always tear it down and start over. Experience is the best teacher.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
Read as much as you can in certain publications, websites, social media channels, or articles to be familiar with key terminology, trends, and pain points people experience. Join webinars and events where you can listen to speakers. For areas that are maybe difficult to comprehend, ask someone inside the company to help explain a concept to you. Take good notes and reflect on them periodically to retain new knowledge. Relish the moments where you are excited about a concept you learned about or feel passionate about something — and follow it!
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
Welcome! I think my advice is to find something that you like in this industry. Tech is a huge industry, so if there’s something that really fascinates you like robotics, go for that, or if you have ever been curious about marketing, maybe look to get a job in marketing for a DevOps company. Tech is a very fast-paced industry and always shifting and growing, so find something that you are passionate about — whether a job discipline or an area of focus — and get started.
What is your secret to being successful at Puppet by Perforce?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
I get a lot of different perspectives on our technology and I use those in my own testing. I stay very hands-on with our products but I want to understand how different customers use them. Get to know others, seek their feedback. Sometimes it won’t be ideal; no one is always right. But seeing multiple sides of any issue helps.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
For me, I quickly sought to understand what I needed to do in my role to create something that added incremental value to the company. In 90 days, I knew that our company would benefit from establishing a discipline of an integrated campaign and revenue marketing focus to drive higher performance demand generation in the long run. I was fortunate that I had support from the executive team and my peers, so it made building that campaign and establishing a revenue marketing discipline more possible across so many teams. Critical components of success: strategic communication — creating the story (a well-developed presentation) that is consistently used to raise internal awareness, get feedback, and ultimately buy in, in addition to the inclusion of stakeholders and those doing the work.
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
Being adaptable ;)
How do you keep yourself accountable while working from home?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
I’ve worked full-time from home for a long, long time (20 years). It’s easy to slip into lazy habits so I keep work at work. I don’t have a TV in my office; I don’t answer the house phone. I dress for work every day: collared shirt, proper slacks, dress shoes. At the end of the day I turn my laptop off and I change into casual clothes. I use Asana to track my in-flight and upcoming work, and I make a list of the top five things I need to finish every day.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
Everyone probably has a different way of managing responsibilities. For me, my calendar is how I do it…both for work and personal commitments, all in the same calendar. This was a lesson taught to me early in my career, as well as not checking email after work or “living in your inbox.” I also like to look ahead at commitments I have each week so I plan my calendar well and ensure I’m not in meetings 80% of the time, but actually have time to work, and more importantly…think. While working at home, it’s important to move, hydrate, eat, and strategically disengage throughout the day so I can come to meetings with a fresh perspective. Some days, I have many meetings which make it super critical to block times on my calendar for self-care, so I can be my best that day. For days that I don’t have as many meetings, setting time blocks for accomplishing projects can help to ensure I’m not forgetting about other priorities and also not spending more time than needed on a particular project.
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
I’ve always been accountable and I don’t think working from home or an office changes that.
What does self-care look like for you while working from home?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
Separation from work. I shut down, leave the office, and change clothes. It’s hard to disconnect because everything is on my phone, but I make sure not to get consumed. If someone asks for something after hours and it’s not a really urgent issue (it almost never is) I will promise it the next day and set a calendar reminder for myself.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
I learned from a coach what it takes for sustaining high performance throughout the day. I work to improve these areas each day to have the best energy and ability to deliver my best each day — which includes life after work and the energy you have for your family/friends: sleep (7–8 hours), mindfulness (breathing, praying, self-reflection), hydration (helps brain function), naps (when I don’t get sleep or I overeat at lunch…but the espresso nap concept is really a good way to get a quick boost of energy…espresso shot, then 20-minute nap), and movement (exercise). If I have to move things on my calendar or ask that others do as well so I give the best version of myself (I may need a nap), I do so. I also enjoy taking the dogs for a walk with my husband who also works from home or taking them outside to run the agility course I have set up, which brings joy to me and my dogs. Sometimes I need to schedule massages or chiropractic care during the day if I have low back or neck tension.
Zibby Keaton, Director of Marketing Communications
Taking breaks between meetings to meditate, nap, or run every day. I try to give enough space to not be in meetings all day; my mind needs breaks to think, relax and refocus.
Anything else?
John Laffey, Technical Product Marketing Director
Everyone at the company wants you to succeed. This is a team effort, so don’t feel shy about reaching out to help, introductions, or just to say hi. No one at our company has ever not been willing to listen.
Rebecca Kan, Senior Director of Digital Marketing Demand Generation
Because we are a largely remote workforce, Zoom is a way of work life. So there is an expectation to “show up” — on camera, engaged, and asking questions or commenting where appropriate, similar to how you would be if you were in the office with team members. Everyone has a different personal tolerance for “showing up” and it should be discussed on what is acceptable where you work as to how often you should be on camera or what situations would be acceptable for not being on camera. Another suggestion given the remote workforce is to get to know something about the people you are on Zoom with that maybe you didn’t know already — show interest, engagement, and care. Regarding self-care, there is no constant recipe for success, but it is something that evolves and the fun part is that there are lots of ways to keep this fresh and different. Know your limits and be brave enough to say you need some time if you sense the need for self-care. Also, Slack can be overused or misused and cause stress for others you communicate with; know how people like to communicate, Some things are more appropriate in email; some may be better suited for discussion in a meeting to avoid misunderstandings. Some Slack channels may be more suitable to longer discussions; private messages may not be. Living in Slack (much like your inbox) can be a time sink and an ineffective way of managing time and accountability. Finally — have fun! Don’t get stuck in a rut for too long — get out and play/do something different and then come back to the work. It will always be there.
