Your First Six - Engineering Career Services · Your First Six Months on the Job Nick Montgomery, EWI Lauren Verhoff, ECS. Overview Professionalism in the work-place Working successfully

Your First Six Months on the Job

Nick Montgomery, EWI

Lauren Verhoff, ECS

Overview

Professionalism in the work-place

Working successfully in teams

Managing expectations

Building relationships with colleagues and supervisors

Performance evaluations

Professionalism in the Workplace

List

en

• Understand your environment – Dress codes? Working hours?

• Understand your customer – Who receives your work product? How does your job affect the bottom line? Who are your up-level management?

• Understand the job expectations – Ask questions? Who else does the job? Check in with management – are you on the right path?

Professionalism in the WorkplaceLe

arn • Be Present – Work in the office. Come to work

with your game on

• Positive – first response should never be “its too complicated or too hard.” Give the request some thought – propose alternatives.

• Remember you bring a fresh perspective into the team

• Develop the elevator speech – succinctly talk about your projects as well as your company

Professionalism in the WorkplaceR

eco

gnit

ion • Remember you were hired to do a job – Do that job well

and for a good period of time

• Master the skills in your current position – PLUS think outside the box.

• Don’t assume extra-dimensional assignments until your day job is running without a hitch

• Not every opportunity

• Is planned

• Seems exciting

• Produce immediate results

Professionalism in the WorkplaceK

no

w y

ou

r R

ole • Learn your scope of responsibilities and know what

you’ll be held accountable for on a daily basis

• You should be able to communicate this to others (think elevator pitch)

• Make sure you have a clear understanding of what your specific deliverables are and what actions you need to take to get there

• This includes knowing processes, software, standards and resources you have available to do your job

Working Successfully in Teams

Questions are good, but good questions are better!

Don’t ask yes or no questions, but rather open-ended ones

• Ask questions with the purpose of understanding something

• Ask follow-up questions

“This is what I heard you say…”

Don’t just ask “What should I do Next?”… Bring your proposal on what to

do next and go from there…

Get to know the people on your team and your cross-

functional partnersThank those that help you

Managing Expectations

Who are you going to work for?

What are the ‘Core Values’? Do they align with what you believe to be your values?

Note: figure out your values or what is important to you. Core values tend to be more fundamental in nature and stem from a person’s background and upbringing, religion, education, experiences, and central beliefs you gravitate toward or relate to the most

What type of “culture” is prevalent at the company?

Culture can mean many things – work environment, attitude of company and employees, beliefs and mission, etc.

Culture stems from core values in support of the company mission

Do the employees represent the values and live the mission?Does the management “walk the walk?”

What do you want from a company? Work/life balanceBenefitsWork environmentPay

Litmus test: would you buy this company’s stock?

Learn as much as you can

Reduce the learning curve before you start

Connect with current employees

Research everything

Managing Expectations

Know your role

Know you know NOTHING!!

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Listen and learn

Respect those who have come before you

Contribute where appropriate

Be a shadow

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Download with your manager

Ask what he/she expects

Meet their needs and adjust where you can Don’t expect the opposite

Ask first and then act

Find a rhythm

Establish rapport with team members

Building Relationships

Know Thyself

Connections (not alliances)

• Anxiety will occur

• Trust yourself, you know more than you think!

• Don’t change for anyone…but adjust where needed

• Take time to talk to people

• Partake in company events

• Volunteer

• Visibility leads to awareness…don’t be a ghost

• Avoid “cliqueish” behavior

• Much like High School at times

• Stay above the fray (gossiping is not good for anyone)

• Let people in…don’t close the door

• BEFRIEND THE RECEPTIONIST

Building Relationships

Find a Sherpa

Mentor

• Personal guide

• Informal guidance on terrain and nuances of company

• Find answers to questions not found in the handbook

• More formal training

• Technical expertise passed on

• Career guidance

• Shadow, listen, observe, learn, practice, apply

• Be a sponge

• Discuss mentorship opportunities with HR

Performance Management Planning & the Process

Shared responsibility with manager

Determine performance expectations…then do it

better

Plan for success – know what you are supposed to do

• Don’t meander or linger

Discuss goals and objectives

• Collaborate on performance objectives

• 90-plan should occur in first week

• 6-12 month plan should outlined with deliverables and target dates

Explore potential career paths

• What do you want?

• Be good at what you are doing NOW (soft-pedal discussions on next step in career)

Manage your career – take ownership!

360° Process Performance occurs between the reviews

Feedback is the breakfast of champions

Seek continuous feedback on performance and adjust

where needed

Questions?

Nick Montgomery, EWI

Lauren Verhoff, ECS