How to start a new job from home: Get to know your coworkers through 1:1s
A series of stories from recent USDS hires on starting from home.
By: Danielle Thierry, USDS at VA
Article 3 of 4 in this series, read the previous one.
When joining a new team in an in-person office situation, lots of introductions are the norm. With a virtual start, they’re just as important even if they don’t feel natural at first.
In your first week, try to set up 1:1 meetings with the 3 to 5 people you expect to work most closely with. From there, set up 1:1s with people across teams or departments who you share a project or area of expertise with. If you aim for 1 or 2 each week, you can get to know your colleagues without overwhelming your calendar.
A 1:1 structure I’ve found helpful: Set up 30 minutes.
Try for an equal balance between learning about each other’s backgrounds in general and learning about how you can best work together.
It helps to come prepared with a few work-specific questions.
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.
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