Dear First Gen,

​You made it! The first 30 days were light, full of orientation activities, and maybe one or two deadlines. Then another 30 days went by where you gained some responsibilities, and probably made a few mistakes due to misunderstandings. Now, your first 90 days have passed. You are still in the learning phase, but you are starting to get the hang of how things work.

In The Four Agreements by @DonMiguelRuiz, he advises his readers to make #fouragreements with themselves when moving through life. One of those agreements is especially applicable when you are a new hire: “Don’t Take Anything Personally.”

Don’t fret when you get an acronym wrong, or need to send a second email to a group because you made a mistake in the first one.

Don’t get offended when your opinion on a topic is not selected because it is in the minority and not the majority.

As a new employee, there is a learning curve you will have to adjust to. As long as you are progressing along the curve, you shouldn’t beat yourself up.

It’s important to keep this agreement in mind in the workplace. You could think a colleague or supervisor has a gripe with you because they corrected you on a few occasions or marked up your drafts to a point that it is hardly recognizable anymore. What I have learned is that some people like to have things written or presented in a certain way, and maybe you just haven’t learned their way quite yet. That preference is usually due to the fact that they have been doing it that way for 6 or 7 years.

Even after #90days, I’m still learning and trying to pin down concepts. I frequently attempt to summarize my day or meetings in a way that will allow me to get the main points or takeaways. After I have written my notes, I also discuss them with my supervisor to make sure I got everything right. During each conversation, there has been a fact or observation I missed because I was unaware, or it went over my head.

Each time my supervisor adds another piece of information, I could have taken it personally and concluded that they thought I wasn’t paying attention. But that’s not the case.

Instead, I am taking the initiative to make sure I am picking up on the things I was supposed to, and taking a chance to learn more. During those meetings, I am only bringing what I learned, but my supervisor is bringing a wealth of information and historical context to help me along the way. I appreciate my supervisor taking the time to explain and help me grow in my role.

The first 90 days were not easy—I spent several weekends working on assignments so I would not get behind, reviewing concepts too many times to count so I would not be too confused in meetings, and then thinking of how I could make my mark and contribute in a way that is valuable.

These 90 days were the start of my growth and moving forward. I have committed to not taking it personally when I continue to have moments where it shows I am new in my role.

Being the new person is fun, so enjoy it and know that this bumpy road you are on is leading you to rise!

Fellow Riser,

​Irnande


***Disclaimer: 2018. All rights reserved. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. No reproduction of any content on the website without the express permission of the author. The text, pictures and videos are the sole property of FirstGenRise.

​Dear First Gen,

Your first 30 days have passed and the next milestone will be 60 days at your new job. The excitement of being the new person in the office has worn off and you are probably being looked at more closely and being expected to produce “better results” than 30 days ago.

I hope you are still enthusiastic about your position and the work you are doing. My last post offered three suggestions on how to make the most out of your first 30 days. You should continue to use these strategies as you move into the next 30.

Things may start to move pretty fast. In my new role, I was asked to take the lead fairly early on. Only 30 days had passed when I was told by my supervisor to attend a meeting on my own and to take the lead in a drafting assignment. Even if I wasn’t sure I was ready, my response was immediately, “Sure. I’ll do it.”

I was fortunate that it was just one meeting that week, which gave me a chance to reflect on the meeting and how best to execute on my assignment. When I took a crack at drafting a document, it was returned to me with several errors noted—and those errors were in places where I thought that I knew the concept or task well.

The two lessons I learned from this experience?

Accept the Leadership Role. If you’re asked to take on a leadership role early on, it’s probably because you have been producing good work so far, and your supervisor believes in your capability to handle more responsibility. You may be nervous and concerned about your lack of preparation or knowledge, but you should not shy away from the opportunity. After all, if you turn this chance down, they may not ask you again. Take your chance to show—and develop—your skills. However, if you do not feel prepared or are certain you cannot complete the project as assigned, don't hesitate to ask for guidance, assistance, or to split the role with someone else. After my first leadership role, I thought about what worked, how I represented myself, and how I tackled the assignment. It gave me an opportunity to work on the clarity of my notes and think about what I would like to do the next time I am attending a meeting alone.

Learn from your Mistakes. The sooner you accept that you are new to the position and the format, structure, or procedures, the sooner you will learn the best way to tackle a task. It’s better to make and learn from mistakes early on so that you’re not spending too much time correcting your mistakes after you’re well-established in your new role. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn the best way to produce your best work. As your time increases in your job, your responsibilities will increase, and that’s not the time to make costly errors. You’ll need to be diligent about your time management once you have more responsibility, so let's get those mistakes out of the way early on, so you can move on to bigger and better things!

These two lessons are key to moving forward in your position. If you are seeking to rise, I think this would help you to climb the ladder and shine your brightest in this new position that you’ve worked so hard to attain.

Fellow Riser,

Irnande

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***Disclaimer: 2018. All rights reserved. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. No reproduction of any content on the website without the express permission of the author. The text, pictures and videos are the sole property of FirstGenRise. ​​​​