Starting a New Job is Humbling
Yay! You got a new job! You're awesome! But also get ready to feel like you have no idea what's going on. And yes, I have tips for you.
Today marks 3 months since I started a new job as a Data Scientist at a mid-size public tech company. (I don’t create content on behalf of the companies I work for, which is why I never use their names in my content, but you can check LinkedIn if you’re curious.)
Things are going well but starting a new job is very humbling.
From familiar …
If you’re leaving a job for a new position, you’re leaving familiarity. I was with my last company for over 5 years.
I knew the business, what problems we were trying to solve, what metrics mattered, how we defined KPIs (key performance indicators).
I knew the data well - I knew what was available, I knew the seasonality and other nuances, I knew the baseline of our KPIs so I could quickly tell what looked off, I knew how to join data from different tables, I knew how it was collected and what it represented. I knew the distinction between similarly named columns or tables.
I had built relationships. I had stakeholders who I had been working with for years, some for the entire 5+ years I was there. I had products I had been working on for the entire time (or close to it) I was there, even as the product manager changed. Many of the product managers I worked with were sad (and perhaps worried) to see me go.
I felt like I knew what I was doing. I felt comfortable. I felt appreciated.
(Of course, there were things about the job which weren’t a good fit for me anymore, which is why I left.)
… to unknown
Starting somewhere brand new can be very uncomfortable.
Nobody knows me. I have to take the time to build relationships and build a good reputation. I feel like I have to prove myself, prove that I actually know what I’m doing, that I can actually deliver value.
But that’s hard when you’re learning the business, learning which metrics matter and how they are defined. Learning what data is available, what is represents, and understanding the nunace of each column or table.
I know it’ll get better. This isn’t the first time I’ve been the new hire - it’s the 5th. These things take time. I’ve even asked a few of my new colleagues how long it took them to feel like they knew what they were doing and could deliver value - most said it takes a year.
That doesn’t mean I won’t do good work before then, but I won’t be able to do it without asking questions, checking in, making sure I’m on the right track, getting pointed to the right data sources, etc. I’m still at the point where I need someone to check my SQL query to make sure I correctly understand the data I’m using.
Tips for you
Anyway, here is some advice I have if you’re starting a new job:
Takes notes for everything. You are getting a lot of information. Write it down because you won’t remember. In the age of Zoom, you can record your informational meetings or if it’s acceptable at your company, use an AI note-taking assistant. (What a time to be alive.)
Ask lots of questions. This is the only time you’ll be able to play the “sorry, I’m new …” card. Speak up if you don’t know something and it seems like you should.
If I don’t want to interrupt someone or derail a meeting, I also like to keep a running list of questions for my next 1:1 with my boss or to follow-up later with the appropriate person.
Utilize the resources that exist.
Does your team have a shared Github repo? See what’s available.
Does your company have Confluence or some other source of collaborative information? Search around and see what’s available.
Is there a data dictionary? Wow are you lucky! Check it out.
Did your boss provide you with some sort of onboarding document or cheat sheet? Read through it and read it again.
Also, if it’s a template or shared resource, offer to update it as you go so that the next new hire has a good experience.
If nothing like this exists, offer to create one as you go through onboarding. Quick win for an opportunity to contribute while you figure out how to do your actual job.
Does your company have some kind of FAQ Slack bot? Try it out.
Reach out to the last person on your team who was onboarded and ask what resources they found the most helpful.
And don’t forget to refer back to your own notes!
Meet people! Your boss should help coordinate meetings with the people you’ll be working with, but if they don’t - ask! Or if there are other people you think you should meet or get to know better, be proactive and reach out. This can be for colleagues who are in the same office or virtual chats.
Also ask about scheduling weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with people who you will collaborate with often, especially if you aren’t working from the same office.
Ask lots of questions! Use these meetings not just to learn how you’ll work with them, but learn what matters to them and learn about their part of the organization so you can start to get an idea of how you can help.
Set reasonable expectations. Don’t expect to “hit the ground running.” Don’t expect to wow them on day one or even week one. You already wowed them in the interviews, otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten an offer.
Ask for timelines. It can help take the pressure off if you know that you have time to get it done.
This goes for tasks and projects but even just for getting through all of your onboarding/tech setup/installation tasks.
Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback! When I hit my 1-month mark, I asked my boss and skip-level manager for their feedback. And now that I’m at my 3-month mark, I have a note to ask again.
It can take the pressure off to hear “you’re doing great!” even when all you’ve done is onboarding stuff.
It can also be helpful to know where you can do better and try to establish good habits sooner rather than try to fix them later, or after you’ve established your reputation.
What about you? How do you feel when starting a new role? Any tips?