I covered this in a recent issue of a career newsletter I write [1]. Some snippets from it that I think would help new joiners (not only those joining a new industry):
1. No-one’s going to go out of their way to guide you. Esp at smaller companies, the fact that you’ve been hired means you’re joining a time-poor company, and there likely won’t be a formal onboarding process. So...you’ve got to onboard yourself.
2. Adopt a mindset of personal responsibility. This isn’t going to be a passive process, but an active one.
3. Don't meet everyone for the sake of it. The goal isn't to set-up endless meetings and become a burden. Limit yourself to a few, and make the most out of them. Make your ask clear when you ask someone for their time — e.g. 'I'd like context on X and what's been done so far'
4. Get some small wins on the scoreboard. Although your priority is to learn the key skills of the job, you also want to make a great impression during your first 60 days by showing you’ve made an impact. To do that, identify some smaller projects you can knock out to get a few small wins under your belt.
5. Be ‘seen’. Make your presence known. And communicate upwards so people know you’re busy. How? Tell your manager, “Can I send you a list of 5 things I think I need to hit the ground running? I’ll then set up a 1-1 and we could go through that.”
the full essay's here [2] (and plug: the newsletter I write is called Coached. If occasional career strategy is your thing, feel free to check it out)
Your point 1 has been my experience and I DO NOT understand why the most upvoted post in this post is saying to have one on ones with every team member on the team and also to have one of ones with related teams. I can't think of a time when that has ever been able to happen, especially on outer teams. Yes, it is ideal. But most teams and people feel like they are too busy all the time and also I have found that if you ask too many questions, sometimes that can be used against you if you don't know the team dynamics at play.
I think starting off with the impression of being a small wins person sticks, and people will think of you as "does small tasks well." No promos and whatnot.
It's why being a loud jackass that deploys something horrendous has better outcomes for your career.
in Dubai and whatever they’re doing this definitely working - over just the last month-ish we’ve had a 4-8 days of extremely heavy rains (and gov alerts to stay in), when just two years ago it’d be a surprise if it rained 3 days all year
That's actually climate change and the desert is prone for that. I don't think they are seeding these heavy rains as usually they can turn into a disaster.
So good - I came across your updates on Twitter and was blown away by how mature this product is already, especially at launch. Congratulations!
I’m also a user of your other Chrome app you developed (Intention) [1] - I’d recommend people try that out too (simple free app for productivity), it’s also so good.
Awesome, glad it was useful! Yes, great point there's only like 15ish in there so far. I do have a backlog of ~25ish more still to add that I'll be adding over the next few weeks. Hopefully I should be able to find enough content after that!
Hi HN! I've compiled a list of actionable career advice from the world's most successful people. Each piece of advice is accompanied with a few 'Key ideas' so people can quickly get an actionable insight without having to watch a full video or read a full essay.
I'd also really love your feedback on what this could evolve into (if anything!). This is just an initial version. Right now I curated links and distilled the core ideas on this page. But going forward, I'd love to have some more original content (e.g. interviewing people and sharing their advice in small nuggets).
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