New Stuff

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

One of the things that is both exciting, and overwhelming, about starting a new job is all the new stuff you get to use. In a week and a half since starting the new job, I’ve been getting used to having a Droid instead of a Blackberry, using Google Apps, learning new systems for things like HR and CRM, learning how our learning management system works for recorded training, and just trying to navigate my way around. Soon, I’ll be learning about recording those online training modules and doing live online training with our labs, all while also traveling to do training classes in a number of different places in the next couple of months.

Like I said, as a geek, having new toys, software, hardware, gadgets, etc. is pretty exciting. At the same time, that is tempered by the enormity of it all, and trying to figure out how to prioritize all of the different things I need to learn.

I’ve always cautioned friends and professional peers that starting a new job is very humbling, because when you walk in the door, you bring certain skills with you, but that first day, before you get the lay of the land, and fit yourself into the workflow, you’re pretty useless. Heck, you probably don’t even know where the bathroom is without having to ask someone.

When you start a new job working from home, the only advantage you have is that you know where the bathroom is. (And maybe where to get lunch..) Everything else, including adapting to working from home all day, is totally new! But, eventually, you learn how things work, where you fit in, and where to start. What separates the best new hires is not knowing everything when you walk in the door, it’s quickly figuring out where you fit into the grand scheme, and how you can best start playing your role effectively.

That’s why I often feel like the best thing you can do for the first week or two, is just shut up, and listen to the people around you. They are tying to help point you in that direction.More than likely they’ve been doing extra work while this spot remained open, they want you to get up to speed.

Of course, it never hurts to have some online support as well, so who can tell me about the Motorola Droid x2, and what apps I should definitely look at? 😉

Share with your friends!
LinkedInBlueskyMastodonThreadsRedditBuffer

Similar Posts

  • | |

    Linked – Teens have trouble telling between Google ads and search links

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

    This isn’t a good thing, at all. I don’t think it’s just teens either. Advertising has become so prevalent on the web, and so embedded, that the difference between actual “news” and an ad is pretty blurred. That means that savvy marketers could influence public opinion with stories that seem to be news, but truly…

  • |

    Employees and Employers Have Roles to Play in Career Development

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

    It is in your best interest to have employees who are growing and advancing in their careers. One is because they continue to become more valuable to the organization, which you need. Secondly, as they grow and become more valuable they are also more likely to stay. Turnover is costly. The organization can provide mentors and other resources that would be more difficult to do on their own. In return, they get employees who grow with the organization. Who wouldn’t want that?

  • |

    Linked: Is the 4-day workweek a ‘perfect recipe for burnout’?

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Pre-2020 we spent 8+ hours in the office, plus maybe an hour or more commuting, turning our workday into about 10-11 hours of our day, on average. But, as I mentioned, part of that was just commuting, and part of that in-office time was spent interacting socially with coworkers, going to get lunch, etc. Now? We wake up and start working. (If you’re lucky and plan you might even get a chance to shower before work.) You eat at your desk. You work right up until 5-6PM and you simply shut down. Again, you’re lucky if someone doesn’t still email or “ping” you after that. So, for many of us, our workday might still be 10-11 hours, or it might even be a bit shorter, but it’s ALL work, and as we just saw, the reality is that around the 6-hour mark our productivity started to dip. The key then, to not burning out, is to make that day flexible. Instead of demanding you put in “x” hours each day/week/month, we should simply lay out what work needs to be completed, what the deadlines are, and give workers the freedom to find the best way to accomplish that. Maybe, for some, they will want to really focus for 4 days per week and have the extra day to live their lives. For others, it might look like working some in the morning, some in the afternoon, and then again in the evening. Not everyone is going to fit into the same bucket when it comes to finding the balance that allows them to do their best work, and also have a life. Don’t force them to fit into the bucket you like. That’s how you burn them out.

  • |

    Linked: Want People to Listen to You in Zoom Meetings? Follow These 3 Rules

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Two things that I want to say about this:

    1. Getting there early is an opportunity to have small talk, and maybe even a laugh or two, something the we are all lacking in the work from home world, and which science is now telling us is making us feel more alone, even as we sit on video conferences on and off all day long. When we go from call to call talking business only and getting off as quickly as possible, that is Zoom fatigue. If you have a few laughs together? Totally different.

    2. Also, don’t sleep on being the one to send the follow up notes, and meeting wrap ups. Yeah it’s a pain, it means you have to take notes and pay attention. You know what else it means? When the next meeting starts, you are now the keeper of the notes, and probably running the meeting to kick it off. Now you don’t have to find a way to interject politely, you have the floor. Additionally,  if you are running the meeting, be aware of who is talking, and who isn’t. Who looks like they want to say something, and isn’t getting a chance. Don’t setup your screen to show you the large image of who is talking and small screens of everyone else. That only drags your attention away from the group, and the people not talking. Don’t leave them behind.

  • People Have Names

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    This is a story about something that I experienced at the ILTA conference, but really isn’t related to the conference, it’s just an observation. I wasn’t staying at the Opryland hotel, the conference bank of rooms was sold out, so I found myself staying at the Radisson and shuttling over to the Opryland each morning….

One Comment

  1. Ha! Sounds great, Mike. You hit the nail on the head — very humbling, like a fish out of water. I don’t like to feel stupid so learning a new environment is unsettling for me sometimes. But your advice to LISTEN is perfect and so true. No need to show off or rattle off your credentials. Actions speak louder than words. I’m excited for you to do the online training thing. I am doing it too for Georgetown and for LitSuppGuru. I remember when your company launched their online training program. Good luck and have fun! — Amy

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear (possibly after moderation) on this page. Want to update or remove your response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again. (Find out more about Webmentions.)