New job start date approaching fast
Discussion
Like most people, lockdown has been a strange time, especially with work. I've been fortunate to have a job through the whole pandemic and if anything, it has been busier than ever. But the constant WFH and monotony of life has broken my desire to progress in my job. Well, that and a terrible new structure which hinders people, rather than helps them to progress with their career. Anyway, I won't moan about that now.
I have a new job starting in a few weeks. My first day will be WFH and not knowing any of the team, I am worried about how this will go.
Personally, I don't really like WFH. It makes me grumpy and very distracted. I'm hoping I will be able to go into the office 2 / 3 times a week, but for now, I need to make a good impression while WFH.
So, I'm just after some tips from you lot who have started a new job from home.
How did it go? I'd honestly appreciate any advice.
Thanks
NG
I have a new job starting in a few weeks. My first day will be WFH and not knowing any of the team, I am worried about how this will go.
Personally, I don't really like WFH. It makes me grumpy and very distracted. I'm hoping I will be able to go into the office 2 / 3 times a week, but for now, I need to make a good impression while WFH.
So, I'm just after some tips from you lot who have started a new job from home.
How did it go? I'd honestly appreciate any advice.
Thanks
NG
Networkgeek said:
Like most people, lockdown has been a strange time, especially with work. I've been fortunate to have a job through the whole pandemic and if anything, it has been busier than ever. But the constant WFH and monotony of life has broken my desire to progress in my job. Well, that and a terrible new structure which hinders people, rather than helps them to progress with their career. Anyway, I won't moan about that now.
I have a new job starting in a few weeks. My first day will be WFH and not knowing any of the team, I am worried about how this will go.
Personally, I don't really like WFH. It makes me grumpy and very distracted. I'm hoping I will be able to go into the office 2 / 3 times a week, but for now, I need to make a good impression while WFH.
So, I'm just after some tips from you lot who have started a new job from home.
How did it go? I'd honestly appreciate any advice.
Thanks
NG
I am IT contractor my last day in an office was back in March 2020 and as soon as Covid/lockdown's were on the horizon all contractors were shown the door. I have a new job starting in a few weeks. My first day will be WFH and not knowing any of the team, I am worried about how this will go.
Personally, I don't really like WFH. It makes me grumpy and very distracted. I'm hoping I will be able to go into the office 2 / 3 times a week, but for now, I need to make a good impression while WFH.
So, I'm just after some tips from you lot who have started a new job from home.
How did it go? I'd honestly appreciate any advice.
Thanks
NG
Since then I have had 3 contracts, working for 3 different companies, different trades, different people etc. My current role I started back at the beginning of December 2021, luckily I actually know 3 people here so it's slightly different but I don't speak/contact them daily as what I am working on they have no involvement.
You just have to get on with it, use teams/zoom etc as much as possible, use your camera so you can see people, the first few weeks will be difficult as you can't just spin around in your chair and ask someone, but once you pick up a few things you'll be fine.
Although I hate video calls, have a practice of your setup and make sure you're conveying the image you want to convey.
e.g. in the background a bookshelf full of intelligent or relevant books, have a shave, no Black Sabbath t shirts etc.
Also play around with the camera angles and lighting, even in summer I tend to have a room light on for video calls so that I appear to be of a consistently happy and sunny disposition.
e.g. in the background a bookshelf full of intelligent or relevant books, have a shave, no Black Sabbath t shirts etc.
Also play around with the camera angles and lighting, even in summer I tend to have a room light on for video calls so that I appear to be of a consistently happy and sunny disposition.
Even though you already have a WFH setup - I'd suggest moving it and making it "new" for the new job, even if you just turn the desk round. Get a decent camera and as others have said, use lighting to improve the experience for others.
I personally also use a speakerphone as I hate headphones for video calls. I use a Jabra speak 510 which does a pretty decent job for me on my mac and I can use it comfortably all day.
In terms of starting a new role WFH - I did this last June and nearly 2 years on, have yet to get to an office, and have only met a few colleagues. My entire working life at this job has been remote / on video.
My best piece of advice (to me) as a new starter in this environment was to make sure I join all calls early in order to have a bit of a chat with the other early joiners. This way you get to make a comment about something non work related and start to build some rapport with colleagues wherever they may be located. I still do this today.
I personally also use a speakerphone as I hate headphones for video calls. I use a Jabra speak 510 which does a pretty decent job for me on my mac and I can use it comfortably all day.
In terms of starting a new role WFH - I did this last June and nearly 2 years on, have yet to get to an office, and have only met a few colleagues. My entire working life at this job has been remote / on video.
My best piece of advice (to me) as a new starter in this environment was to make sure I join all calls early in order to have a bit of a chat with the other early joiners. This way you get to make a comment about something non work related and start to build some rapport with colleagues wherever they may be located. I still do this today.
I'll give you the viewpoint from the other side. We've onboarded 4 new people in my team since March 2020. We all work remotely up until recently. When I have a new starter in my team I book them 1/2 hr teams calls for 1-2-1's with each of the people in my team. I join the meeting and then introduce the new starter to my colleague and then I drop off the call and leave them to introduce themselves to each other.
I also book them 1-2-1 introduction calls with any stakeholders relevant to their area, any projects they are going to be working on together. Again same as above I join the call introduce them and then drop off the call.
We also have a 1/2 hr daily standup that all my team attend each morning at 9am I get them to join that and then they can have an idea of what we're all working on etc.
Its a bit laborious setting all the meetings up, but it does seem to work in that they get up to speed reasonably quickly and then also get to spend time getting to know each other, OK its not as good as face to face interaction, but it does work.
So my advice to you is once you start, get a list of people off of your boss who your boos thinks it would be useful for you to introduce yourself to and book short 15 - 30 minute calls with each one and then go from there.
I also book them 1-2-1 introduction calls with any stakeholders relevant to their area, any projects they are going to be working on together. Again same as above I join the call introduce them and then drop off the call.
We also have a 1/2 hr daily standup that all my team attend each morning at 9am I get them to join that and then they can have an idea of what we're all working on etc.
Its a bit laborious setting all the meetings up, but it does seem to work in that they get up to speed reasonably quickly and then also get to spend time getting to know each other, OK its not as good as face to face interaction, but it does work.
So my advice to you is once you start, get a list of people off of your boss who your boos thinks it would be useful for you to introduce yourself to and book short 15 - 30 minute calls with each one and then go from there.
Largechris said:
Although I hate video calls, have a practice of your setup and make sure you're conveying the image you want to convey.
e.g. in the background a bookshelf full of intelligent or relevant books, have a shave, no Black Sabbath t shirts etc.
Also play around with the camera angles and lighting, even in summer I tend to have a room light on for video calls so that I appear to be of a consistently happy and sunny disposition.
Can’t quite be sure this is a piss take, but made me smile e.g. in the background a bookshelf full of intelligent or relevant books, have a shave, no Black Sabbath t shirts etc.
Also play around with the camera angles and lighting, even in summer I tend to have a room light on for video calls so that I appear to be of a consistently happy and sunny disposition.
I've never had a job where I could work from home until the beginning of 2021 and I have to say it was hard work to start with. Although I had a fair amount of transferrable skills there was just enough new to me stuff to keep me on my toes.
My first week was pretty much back to back video calls with new colleagues and getting to know what they wanted from me as I was in a newly created role. I was shattered for the first month but soon settled into calling people instead of picking up the phone and I am not the kind of person who likes their photo taken so being on camera took a bit of getting used too.
We had a brief period back in the office in September/October and the strangest thing was I barely recognised anyone face to face, I'd become reliant on Teams telling me who was calling so that was a bit of a wake up!
My first week was pretty much back to back video calls with new colleagues and getting to know what they wanted from me as I was in a newly created role. I was shattered for the first month but soon settled into calling people instead of picking up the phone and I am not the kind of person who likes their photo taken so being on camera took a bit of getting used too.
We had a brief period back in the office in September/October and the strangest thing was I barely recognised anyone face to face, I'd become reliant on Teams telling me who was calling so that was a bit of a wake up!
Freakuk said:
I am IT contractor my last day in an office was back in March 2020 and as soon as Covid/lockdown's were on the horizon all contractors were shown the door.
Since then I have had 3 contracts, working for 3 different companies, different trades, different people etc. My current role I started back at the beginning of December 2021, luckily I actually know 3 people here so it's slightly different but I don't speak/contact them daily as what I am working on they have no involvement.
You just have to get on with it, use teams/zoom etc as much as possible, use your camera so you can see people, the first few weeks will be difficult as you can't just spin around in your chair and ask someone, but once you pick up a few things you'll be fine.
I work in IT as well, but I'm a permie these days. What is it you specialise in? Since then I have had 3 contracts, working for 3 different companies, different trades, different people etc. My current role I started back at the beginning of December 2021, luckily I actually know 3 people here so it's slightly different but I don't speak/contact them daily as what I am working on they have no involvement.
You just have to get on with it, use teams/zoom etc as much as possible, use your camera so you can see people, the first few weeks will be difficult as you can't just spin around in your chair and ask someone, but once you pick up a few things you'll be fine.
That's what I'm not looking forward to. I've been in my current job for a few years now and very comfortable with how the infrastructure hangs together and where to find the right information if I'm stuck. I don't mind learning in a new environment but not having someone to chat with quickly is a daunting thought at the mo.
Thanks for your advice.
fizzwheel said:
I'll give you the viewpoint from the other side. We've onboarded 4 new people in my team since March 2020. We all work remotely up until recently. When I have a new starter in my team I book them 1/2 hr teams calls for 1-2-1's with each of the people in my team. I join the meeting and then introduce the new starter to my colleague and then I drop off the call and leave them to introduce themselves to each other.
I also book them 1-2-1 introduction calls with any stakeholders relevant to their area, any projects they are going to be working on together. Again same as above I join the call introduce them and then drop off the call.
We also have a 1/2 hr daily standup that all my team attend each morning at 9am I get them to join that and then they can have an idea of what we're all working on etc.
Its a bit laborious setting all the meetings up, but it does seem to work in that they get up to speed reasonably quickly and then also get to spend time getting to know each other, OK its not as good as face to face interaction, but it does work.
So my advice to you is once you start, get a list of people off of your boss who your boss thinks it would be useful for you to introduce yourself to and book short 15 - 30 minute calls with each one and then go from there.
Thank you for your comment, it has been really helpful. I also book them 1-2-1 introduction calls with any stakeholders relevant to their area, any projects they are going to be working on together. Again same as above I join the call introduce them and then drop off the call.
We also have a 1/2 hr daily standup that all my team attend each morning at 9am I get them to join that and then they can have an idea of what we're all working on etc.
Its a bit laborious setting all the meetings up, but it does seem to work in that they get up to speed reasonably quickly and then also get to spend time getting to know each other, OK its not as good as face to face interaction, but it does work.
So my advice to you is once you start, get a list of people off of your boss who your boss thinks it would be useful for you to introduce yourself to and book short 15 - 30 minute calls with each one and then go from there.
If my new manager doesn't do this, I will look to book some time with my new colleagues. Fantastic idea
Networkgeek said:
Freakuk said:
I am IT contractor my last day in an office was back in March 2020 and as soon as Covid/lockdown's were on the horizon all contractors were shown the door.
Since then I have had 3 contracts, working for 3 different companies, different trades, different people etc. My current role I started back at the beginning of December 2021, luckily I actually know 3 people here so it's slightly different but I don't speak/contact them daily as what I am working on they have no involvement.
You just have to get on with it, use teams/zoom etc as much as possible, use your camera so you can see people, the first few weeks will be difficult as you can't just spin around in your chair and ask someone, but once you pick up a few things you'll be fine.
I work in IT as well, but I'm a permie these days. What is it you specialise in? Since then I have had 3 contracts, working for 3 different companies, different trades, different people etc. My current role I started back at the beginning of December 2021, luckily I actually know 3 people here so it's slightly different but I don't speak/contact them daily as what I am working on they have no involvement.
You just have to get on with it, use teams/zoom etc as much as possible, use your camera so you can see people, the first few weeks will be difficult as you can't just spin around in your chair and ask someone, but once you pick up a few things you'll be fine.
That's what I'm not looking forward to. I've been in my current job for a few years now and very comfortable with how the infrastructure hangs together and where to find the right information if I'm stuck. I don't mind learning in a new environment but not having someone to chat with quickly is a daunting thought at the mo.
Thanks for your advice.
I tend to just get thrown in at deep end and it takes a while to understand the project(s), people, processes etc. As I mentioned previously my current role was slightly different in that my boss is actually someone I've worked with previously (not my boss prior to this though), so he's shielded me slightly and let me paddle in the shallow end for a few weeks before taking the reigns off.
I started a new job just before Christmas and although I had been working from home for the past 2 years it was a bit daunting. What I found helped was to always have my webcam on for meetings, and as previously mentioned join early to get the pre-meeting chat whilst waiting for the latecomers to join. I ended up getting an external webcam, as I found I was using it so much and the angle/quality are better than from the built-in one on the laptop.
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