How to Crush Your First 30 Days at a New Job

Over the last 3 weeks, I packed up my life, moved across America, and landed in the capital of the Lone Star state. Austin has been treating me well since my arrival, and I continue to fall more in love with all the city has to offer. And when I say has to offer, I’m solely referring to the endless number of food trucks this city somehow is able to economically support.

When I first arrived in Austin after an 18 hour drive, my cousin (who helped me move, a literal Godsend) and I turned to each other, both strung out on Red Bull, and said, “this feels like a vacation.” Both of us hail from the Upper Midwest, so Austin is a “big city.” A place we would go for a family vacation or a bachelor party. However, I knew it wasn’t a vacation.

I moved here to progress and grow professionally and personally, so slowing down or slacking were not in my plans upon arrival. Therefore, during my first weekend in Austin, days before I began my new position as a Business Development Representative (also called a Sales Rep elsewhere) at Dropbox, I grabbed my favorite notebook and pen and laid out a plan for my first 30 days.

Define What “Success” Looks Like

When I owned my window washing company, success was self-defined. I decided how high the bar was. That can be challenging at times (I always set the bar too high for myself, and when I reach it, I’m burnt out, yet am still unsatisfied), but it’s one the greatest benefits to owning your own business. However, transitioning from being self-employed to employed can be challenging if you don’t know what success looks like.

…ask your manager what success looks like. And let that be your northern star.

Once I stepped into my new office, I scheduled a meeting with my manager. The only bullet on our meeting agenda being, “What does success look like for this role?” That one question opens up an endless, ever changing conversation about success in the workplace. If you ever are questioning what value you bring to your job or what it is your exactly supposed to be doing (I’m constantly surprised by how many people were never clearly communicated what their role is supposed to be), ask your manager what success looks like. And let that be your northern star.

What Are the Best Practices

Every position has some best practices that generally lead to success in a role. Defining what those are and becoming the best you can be at them gives you space to experiment. My former manager used to say, “We need to earn the right to innovate” (check out his LinkedIn (@TuckerRichadrson) for outside the box thought leadership on innovation). Once the basics of your role become second nature, that’s when innovation can take place. And you can excel.

Once the basics of your role become second nature, that’s when innovation can take place.

However, I am still amazed that many of my peers (myself included) still don’t understand the simple concept that you have to be good at your job before you can start doing interesting work. We can’t just expect innovation and opportunity to land in our laps when we aren’t executing on the task at hand. You can only be entrusted with as much as you are capable of handling. Thus, it takes experience and discipline to be trusted with more (more responsibility, team members, projects, budget, etc).

Interview as Many Coworkers as Possible

I began this practice at the first job of my professional career. I was surrounded by freakishly intelligent people who were industry experts (Appareo, y’all hire the best in the Upper Midwest). I’m a generalist, so the opportunity to chat with experts that are passionate about what they do felt too good to be true. I was fortunate to have a work environment full of people open to talk and who didn’t belittle me for knowing less than them. So, I put my empathetic, question-asking skills to use and learned more than I could’ve imagined.

Learning to build a tribe of mentors may be the single most valuable practice one can have in their professional (and personal) life.

When I started my current position, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that most of my first week would be filled with interviews and chats with my coworkers. After my first week, the tribal knowledge I gained made me more prepared than any formal training could have. Learning to build a tribe of mentors may be the single most valuable practice one can have in their professional (and personal) life.

Define a Career Progression Plan

After gaining my bearings and the beginnings of a work rhythm, I wanted to define what success looked like beyond my current position. Defining where you want to go early on at a new company will help you stay focused and help you consistently grow.

Without vision, our wheels spin.

Without vision, our wheels spin. I can be easily distracted by the “grind.” Working really hard, getting results, and simply pushing myself have always come naturally to me (some days I definitely don’t feel like grinding, but it is my “normal”). These can be great attributes, if I have vision. Without vision, I get stuck in the grind of a role and never really grow. I may find success or results, but I hold myself back from innovating and adding unique, indispensable value. My goal isn’t just to hit my numbers. It always has to be to execute and ______ (fill in the blank). The “And 1” is how you never stop growing.

Have Fun! You Don’t Get to Do This Twice

The first 30 days of any position are going to be overwhelming. It’s a whole lot of new, and it can be a challenge to wrap your head around it all. However, you only have this opportunity once, so have fun with it! Enjoy the chaos, there’s something so exciting about fresh madness.

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what you would do in your first 30 days at a new job, let’s help each other out!

Ander