What do you expect to do your first week in a new position?

mrj

Thought I'd throw out a more interesting question than the typical "How do I find a job/Resume critique/etc" --

Onto the question at hand;;

What do you expect/anticipate on your first week, or first two weeks at a brand new job?

What workload do you anticipate?

How soon do you expect to be given real "work"?

Do you expect to be given all documentation related to infosec policy, all links an access to everything you could possibly need to do your job (ticketing systems, etc), or do you expect to have to ask for things piece by piece?

At what point do you say to yourself "I'm going to stop asking for help/suggestions, and go it alone." in regards to customer/problem solutions, and internal systems (figuring out the intricacies of the ticketing systems/databasing perhaps).

I'll post my response in just a bit.

mrj

I really expect the first week to be smooth and have as little customer interaction as possible.

No matter how comfortable I am with a skillset/system, putting me on the phone for a new company the first few days is ludicrous in my mind. It takes me at least a week to remember WHO I work for, and to get the "Hi this is Bob Dole from ___companyname__" correct.

I expect to be trained the first few days on the infosec policy (if you didn't mention one, don't get pissed when I start RDP'ing/SSH'ing/IRC'ing/HTTP'ing around like a mad man.), and I expect to be given time to set my system up, organize everything, get email going and set up, and really just get comfortable with the new environment/systems/ticketing/accounting/whatever that I'll be working with in the future.

Basically, I expect to be dead weight for the first few days/week (depending on complexity of environment) -- I'm curious if you guys are any different.

The reason I bring this up is I thought back to another job I've had recently, in which they gave me a ticket to complete at 9AM -- before I had an email address, phone, knowledge of any of their systems.. and even better, before I even had a computer. I'm a ridiculously calm/mellow guy, and, wow, this completely shocked me and I'll admit, pissed me off.

Nothing is worse than that first week when you're having to work with customers/clients, while not knowing how to navigate the company sites, and at the same time trying wholeheartedly NOT to sound like the new guy, lest this client get pissed off that your company actually gave him Lieutenant Super Newb to solve all of his problems.

Poison Reverse

Lol yeah i expect to be dead weight for at least 3 days. Then after that I should be good

JDMurray

If it's a medium to large-ish company, I'd expect to be given a stack of manuals and binders to read for the first week while the IT people find a computer (and possibly a cubical) for me to use. If it's a very small company, I'd expect to be doing my own computer and cubical scrounging.

BigTone

The first day at my current job I booted my new computer up and had a hard disk failure. My first helpdesk task was to fix my own computer!

Plantwiz

JDMurray wrote:

If it's a medium to large-ish company, I'd expect to be given a stack of manuals and binders to read for the first week while the IT people find a computer (and possibly a cubical) for me to use. If it's a very small company, I'd expect to be doing my own computer and cubical scrounging.

Brings back a bad memory. I was silly enough to 'think' they'd be ready for me Not only did I have to create my own account (and at this point I wasn't in IT), I had to scrounge a chair and CRT from another area....AND....intraoffice mail request pens from a friend of mine as our supply didn't have any. I was even supposed to be head of the department. I didn't stay, but 2-3 weeks when they still couldn't pull their heads out of the butt.....a years later they went bankrupt. (couldn't see that coming ).


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First week, typically getting to know the staff. Orientation of the property. Paperwork. Depending on the position....maybe meet/greet clients.

Daniel333

If the hire is qualified for the job...

Fist couple of days are normally fully of company boiler plate. Company ethics videos etc.

They spend the rest of the first week watching how things flow and building friendships. it's important for management to provide long lunches and breaks during this period, an office party etc. Teambuilding starts here! I can't stress this enough. Most teams are destroyed at this stage.

Week two and three are normally hand in hand training, again. Thanking the trainer and supporting the trainee. Focus on team building here and now before the employee falls into a "click".

And by the end of the month they should be taking on small projects and working their way up in complexty over the next three months.

By the third month, they should be at the 95-100%, meeting company standards. If they are not, find their weakness.

sykotik

I pretty much agree with everyone else. The first week or two should consist of training(policy and procedure, tools, etc) then afterwards, getting out and actually using the tools with some sort of supervision I suppose.

After that, well, I guess it depends on the job or the company what happens next.

famosbrown

Well in my experience...

Day One...meeting people, being shown around, general overview, setting up new equipment rather it be Blackberry, laptop, office area, and filling out paperwork.

Day Two...shadowing someone technically so you can get used to how things are running, routed, setup, common problem areas, etc.

Day Three...you are doing what they hired you to do...work! A lot of the work is resolving lingering issues that have not been solved by current staff, improving or fixing the common problem areas, optimizing environments with knowledge or ideas that the current staff didn't think about or know, helping out with projects, etc. Of course if you don't know, you ask.

Although the boss may say that you can take a week or two to get accustomed to the new environment, I like to get dirty early and not waste the organization's money.

First ever I.T. job was a little different...had OJT for about a week, then it was on.

snadam

yea, I agree, expect the first week to be general "getting to know your new job" week. After that, they will probably set you loose. MOST places do that, but some are different.

if youre lucky, you might get to watch those cheesy 90's sexual harassment videos. I know they are important and valid, but damn the acting is hilarious!!!