Make Your Lunch Hour Work for You – By Richard A. Moran

Woo hoo! It’s a new day. It’s a new job. It’s an opportunity. What to do? Lots of advice. Lots of options but no clear way to secure the confidence of your colleagues and make an impact.

Wait, maybe there is and it involves something you probably enjoy – food.

The first day on the new job will be structured. You will struggle with tax and benefits forms. You will try to remember who to list in case of an emergency. You will try to understand how to ensure your paycheck is on direct deposit, and you will be disappointed in how much vacation you will receive. You will be oriented to company policies on sexual harassment and discrimination. (Pay attention.) And, you will have lunch with your new colleagues. The first-day lunch might be in the nice place around the corner, or it could be in the company café. In either case, you won’t have to worry about mid-day food — it’s all part of the program.

The second day, the program and schedule may not be as automatic and that is your time to pounce. You are now on your own to figure things out, which means the second day is your time to pounce and ask someone out to lunch. You will learn more in the unstructured lunch than you did the first day. Start with the person who used to have the same job you now have. Continue with others who are in your same general pay grade and age. No need to treat your lunch dates or do anything fancy; it is all about moving up the learning curve as fast as you can. Grabbing a turkey sandwich and eating at your desk by yourself is a daily wasted opportunity.

As you learn more, be more strategic in lunch dates. Go to lunch with the woman in engineering that no one seems to like. Ask the receptionist who has been there for a million years out for Chinese food. Grab the sales guy who is rarely in town and take him out for a salad. If you cycle through the group quickly, branch out a little on your lunch list.

It’s not about the lunch and it doesn’t have to be lunch. What you are doing is listening. You are asking questions to learn as much as you can so that you can then do something.

Simple lunch questions can include:

• How do things really get done around here?
• What matters in performance reviews?
• How are decisions made around here?
• What are the “sacred cows”?
• Who are the key people who make things happen?

In starting a new job, the easy route is to settle in to the same old ways and be agreeable to “the way we do things around here.” It doesn’t have to be that way. Why not be inquisitive and pointed? Why not try to make an impact? Why not ask the hard questions? Why not play the “new person” card and make recommendations?

Being active in your own career development may not be as easy as settling in to the routine and waiting for something to happen but it will pay off. If you want to enjoy your work, make an impact. If you want people to know you, if you want to make an impact, if you want to get promoted, go to lunch.

Why I Began Working Before My Official Start Date at eBay – By Maynard Webb

One of the most important mantras for success is determining how to get more from less.

That’s why when I think about the first 90 days on a job, I am thinking about how to steal days and gain time long before Day One begins. Think about how much common sense this makes. You’ve just gone through this big dating process and you’ve selected The One… and then you won’t see them again until your wedding day. That doesn’t make any sense! Spend time together, get to know one another better and determine how you collaborate together in this in-between period.

Of course I first learned the value of this method the hard way. In 1999, eBay was experiencing big problems, punctuated by a huge outage in June. That’s exactly when CEO Meg Whitman recruited me to join. I was in Asia on another project at the time, but the headhunter contacted my wife, Irene — she knew how decisions got made in my house — who immediately called me, “I think you should consider this eBay thing.” She wanted to move back to Silicon Valley and she liked the idea of me working for a woman CEO.

Meg and I had our first meeting in the airport on a Friday night in late July. “When can you be here?” she asked. I was up for the challenge and wanted to join eBay, but first I had to leave my current job and get my kids settled in their new school; I told Meg I could be there by September. She said that wouldn’t work. “We are in crisis, you have to be here sooner.”

Specifically, eBay needed me to be an employee by an Analyst Day being held on August 9 — now about a week away. I couldn’t just leave my current job so I wound up continuing as a contractor to ensure a smooth transition and starting at eBay at the same time. On August 4, a Wednesday, I met with Meg and the team, figured out the plan for the next month, and then went out and bought a house the next day. I was supposed to show it to my wife and kids on Friday, but the site crashed and I had to go into the office and try to stabilize things. The realtor picked my family up at the airport and took them to the house. (Luckily, they liked it; it even had a view I hadn’t known about or had time to see.) Irene came to the office to have me sign the final papers.

While Meg wanted me at eBay and sent me to the Network Operations Center (NOC) no one else had any clue why I was there, including the team of engineers that I was assigned to oversee. “Who are you?” they asked. They kicked me out. There was some behind-the-scenes discussion, I stayed, and we got the site running by 11 a.m. I was planning to fly out that day with my family and come back for Monday morning.

“No, you can’t go back home,” Meg said. She asked my wife to get my clothes dry-cleaned and bring me clean underwear. Amazingly, she did it and then flew home with the kids.

We finished our work by Sunday night only to have the site crash again — hard. We had to bring it back, which we did, but we were up all night. By the time I attended the Analyst Day that Monday — what was really to be my first day of work — I had already experienced what felt like 90 days’ worth of activity. I had been through hell and back having experienced two major and several minor issues. And, call me crazy, but I loved it because of how much I was learning.

I don’t recommend following this kind of onboarding experience, but I did learn the value of engaging people early with real work, and giving them the opportunity to make a real difference from the moment you begin. Here’s how I help the people who work for my organizations make the most of their first 90 days, without crushing them, but through collaborating with them and making the most of limited time:

Start before the official start. Before Day One, we meet and develop objectives that we agree upon so everyone knows how to hit the ground at full speed as soon as they officially walk in the door.

Don’t lose precious time with equipment setup and HR forms. Have all of that done before. This is always everyone’s least favorite day anyway! People want to do what they were meant to do, not sit around waiting for their email account to be set up.

Make sure there are resources and support systems in place. New hires need to know that there is somewhere to go with their questions and someone who will be able to provide the right direction and guidance. Communicate clearly that the intention is not for them to try to ponder it on their own.

Have daily check-ins. Take 20 minutes every day for the first week or two to investigate how it is going. You can instantly tell if someone is struggling or succeeding and iterate to make things work more smoothly. Always ask, “What do you need from me?” This will help both of you address issues and solve for concerns. Constant communication is key. I also learned this at eBay. Meg put me in the cubicle next to hers, which is where I stayed for the next seven years.

Give them work that matters. This is the real secret to onboarding effectively. Put them to work on real projects quickly. After all, this is what you’ve hired them for, but it will also make them engage more immediately.

Offer feedback. I ask them to grade themselves, and I too grade them after 90 days. I also give status updates to whole staff every week about where we are what we need to accomplish.

Please Don’t Strive to Be the Office ‘Golden Child’ – By J.T. O’Donnell

Years ago, when I first started in HR, I remember my boss warning me, “Whatever a candidate does in the job interview, multiply it 10X and that’s what you’ll get 90 days into the job.”

For example, if a candidate made a comment that felt a little inappropriate for our corporate culture, it was more than a little possible this person might be offensive in the workplace once they got the job and could let their guard down. Or, if the candidate was so quiet and barely gave more than one-word answers in the interview, they’d be so shy on the job that coworkers wouldn’t feel they could communicate effectively with this person. (Even worse, they might be hiding something and just trying to get through the interview to land the job.)

If You Got The Job, You Scored High On…

Some of you might think the hiring advice above is discriminatory. You would be correct. That’s because hiring IS discrimination. The employer is trying to find the best candidate for the job based on these factors:

Personality: Would this person fit in the culture and get along with teammates so productivity would remain high?
Aptitude: Would this person be able to adjust to the way we do things without constantly comparing us to their old employer’s way of doing things?
Experience: Does this person have the skills and knowledge to be able to hit the ground running, or at least get up to speed quickly?
Affordability: Will this person be happy with our pay and benefits, or will they be disappointed and feel like accepting a job with us was a step down?

The above factors are what ultimately determine if you get hired. It’s tough to win. If you get the job, your combined score on the above turned out to be the right number for the employer.

Congratulations! You’re a winner… for now.

NOTE: The Rules Change After You Get Hired

Once you are in the job, a different set of criteria determine if you are seen as a good hire with lots of future potential. Sadly, I’ve seen many new hires, blissfully unaware of the change in rules, short-circuit their success in the new role.

Here’s what you need to know:

You aren’t “the” best. You’re now part of, “the best” organization — and should act accordingly. In the first 90 days, it can be easy to want to come in and be the golden child of the office. You so desperately want to prove the company made the right decision in choosing you that you offer your help and advice to everyone in the office. You chime in with ideas, offer to take ownership of projects, and have no problem putting in some extra hours and burning the midnight oil to help the company succeed. You openly share everything you get done so everyone within earshot knows you are working hard. The problem is, you’re acting like a tornado, and that will have lasting effects. Some of which could include:

• Being seen as a know-it-all who is trying to be management’s new favorite.
• Stepping on the toes of employees who have been there longer and getting the reputation of being insensitive or ignorant to all that’s been accomplishedbefore you arrived.
• Creating the persona you’ll always be willing to work overtime.
• Giving the impression you have no problem taking all the unattractive jobs nobody else wants.
• Letting people think you will immediately help them whenever they ask.

Play A Long-Term Game. Here’s How…

I’m not going to suggest you be lazy or hold back in adding value to the organization in the first 90 days. I also don’t think you should keep your head down and let the work speak for itself. How well you integrate into the company in those early months matter greatly. There’s a direct correlation between being seen as an exceptional new hire and having an opportunity to fast-track your career growth with an employer. Management loves it when a hire turns out as good, or even better, than expected. However, you need to play a long-term game to make this happen.

Here are my 12 tips for creating a strong first impression and powerful office relationships:

1. Identify your manager’s communication style. Set a meeting with your boss and get clear on the best way to update her on your progress. Some managers want to meet in-person weekly. Others, prefer an email update as you go along. It’s very important that you determine how to communicate with your boss without taking up too much of her time. You need to be able to get answers and show you are getting things done without overwhelming her. The sooner you know the best way to stay connected with your boss, the better.
2. Develop (and get management sign-off!) on your 30-60-90-day plan.Outline in writing what you plan to accomplish each week/month in the next 90 days. It should have specific milestones highlighted to reassure your manager you’re getting up-to-speed and adding value as efficiently as possible. By showing this to your boss, you can open up the discussion to ensure he agrees with the goals on the timeline. If he feels it’s too aggressive, or too light, you’ll know before you get started and can adjust accordingly.
3. Get clear on each coworker’s job AND professional agenda. Each coworker you collaborate with is a stakeholder in your success, and you are a stakeholder in theirs. It’s important to take time to get to know their goals as a professional at the company. What are they focused on achieving, and how does your role directly tie to their success? This will help you support their efforts in a constructive manner. It will also show you respect them and care about partnering with them successfully.
4. Refrain from making any ‘fast friendships’ with overly outgoing peers. Be wary of coworkers who rush to be your friend and start giving you the inside office gossip. They usually pounce for a reason. Be nice, but keep your opinions to yourself and don’t let them bait you into commenting. Just say, “Gee, I’m so new here, I’m just taking it all in for now.” You may find their reputation in the office isn’t the best and that being aligned with them isn’t in your best interest.
5. Map out your core work and master it in less than 40 hours. Get clear on your tasks and responsibilities and become efficient enough that you can do them easily in less than a full work week. This will show you know how to work “smarter” not “harder.” Better still, it will free up some time for you to focus on the next tip.
6. Identify your first “reach” project. A “reach” project is a problem you’ve identified by doing your core work that you feel you could help resolve if you put some time into it. This should be something that saves and/or makes the company money so that you can justify you spending time on it. The best part about a reach project is that it should tie with a skill you are looking develop. This enables you to get the company to justify letting you develop that skill, which makes you a more valuable employee.
7. Hold off on any snap judgements or assessments of coworkers and company policies. Even though you chose to leave your last job, you will find yourself naturally thinking their rules and ways of doing things were the norm. Thus, when the new company or coworkers do something dramatically different from what you are used to, you may feel uncomfortable. Maybe even a little scared. Don’t react. The worst thing you can say aloud is, “At my old company, we did it this way…” Instead, take a deep breath and explore why your new employer might have a different approach. Which leads to the next tip:
8. Ask, don’t tell. Smart questions are your secret to success in a new company. When something doesn’t seem right, you should ask a question to better understand the situation. For example, if the team follows a process that seems time-consuming, you need to fight the urge to say, “That’s a really slow process,” and instead ask, “Why do you follow this process?” Followed up with, “Does the extra time concern you?” By asking questions, you can get a sense of the thought process behind what’s going on. You may be surprised to see that you didn’t have the answer. Or, your questions may lead to a pleasant discussion about possible changes. Either way, you will have navigated the conversation in a way that wasn’t threatening to your peers.
9. Keep your emails vanilla and your phone in drawer on vibrate. Everyone will be watching your technical etiquette. Emails should stay professional. Don’t send personal emails from the company account. More importantly, put the phone away. Coworkers don’t want to hear your phone dinging, nor do they want to see you texting away. You need to prove yourself as committed to making a good impression on the job. Being distracted by your personal technology will get back to the boss fast.
10. When in doubt, include anyone whose opinion might count. There’s nothing more relationship-killing than for you to leave out a coworker on an email that has a stake in something you are working on. When it doubt, cc the person. Worst case, they’ll tell you they aren’t involved and you can take them off the list. But leave them off and they find out, and you could get an earful for not realizing their importance to the project.
11. Find a trustworthy ‘new hire’ buddy. You are going to have lots of little questions as a new hire. You shouldn’t go to your boss with all of them. Instead, identify someone who is well-respected in your department and ask if they might be willing to be your on boarding mentor for the first few months. Explain you don’t want to bother your boss with lots of silly questions and hoped this person might be willing to help you out so you can get comfortable and integrate into the organization well. It’s a smart way to create a new office relationship with a key player too!
12. Be the most reliable person there. Every employer’s biggest fear is that they got snowed in the interview and the new hire is unreliable. Employers expect you to be at work everyday on time. They expect you to deliver your work on time and without issues. It sets off major warning bells if you are late repeatedly, calling in sick, missing deadlines, etc. Of course sometimes things can’t be helped. But, I will tell you not showing a real respect for the need to be someone the company can count will make the employer very watchful of you. If they feel it’s a trend that will continue over time, they would rather terminate you now then end up with an employee they’ve invested a ton of training and resources in who isn’t reliable.

If you can leverage the tips above, you should be able to establish yourself as a effective team player with a desire to exceed expectations. You’ll build positive office relationships and define yourself as a solid contributor.

The first 90 days on the job can be a career game-changer. Don’t let a misguided desire to be the golden child ruin that opportunity for you!

Founding 400 Companies Feels Like Starting 400 New Jobs – By Richard Branson

If you’re starting a new job, or launching a new business, now is the perfect time to do it. More changes happen at the start of a new year, and people are more willing to welcome ideas, variations and suggestions. It’s a great moment to make your mark quickly.

How do you go about this? Simple: listen to everyone you meet. This starts with your interview. When the interviewee asks “do you have any questions for us?”, treat this as a huge learning opportunity. Find out as much as you can, and you’ll have a head start on your first day. Then, start with the person sitting next to you. Don’t just ask them about practicalities; try to find out a bit about them personally. That way, you’ll start to naturally learn about the people culture of the company. Obviously, don’t overdo it and annoy everyone in your first week!

Nevertheless, set your sights high. Question your manager. Talk to your department head. After a little while, once you know the ropes, approach your CEO. If they are too busy to speak with you, that tells you something about the company right away. Leaders should make themselves as accessible as possible. I always try to ask questions of members of our team I haven’t had the chance to discuss things with before. This way, I hear new perspectives and get different ideas.

If possible, also quiz the person who used to do your job, or their equivalent. Find out what they liked and disliked, and what they wish they could have changed. Don’t take their word as gospel — treat it as research. Another interesting angle to take is learning more about your competitors. By discovering what they are doing in your area, you can figure out what sets your firm apart and how you can improve further.

It has been a long time since I officially started a new job, but being the founder of more than 400 companies means it feels like I enter a new role every few months. Whatever fresh project we’re working on, I throw myself into it. Again, this involves a lot of listening. Whenever I’m finding out more about the vision, the purpose or the minute details of a new venture, I write everything down. Whether it’s in an old-fashioned notebook like I favour, or on your iPhone, record what you learn and add your own observations too. You’ll soon have a priceless resource to build upon.

Now, what to do with these copious notes? Start making suggestions for how to improve your workplace. Don’t be a shrinking violet, quietly getting your job done adequately. Be bold, and the sky is the limit. Set yourself targets, write them down, and begin ticking them off on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Be organised in your goal-setting, but be flexible and adaptable in the way you work every day. By combining these two ideas, you can track your progress, while being nimble and open to the inevitable unexpected hurdles that come with a new job.

Most importantly, ingrain yourself in the culture of your company. Go out for coffee with your colleagues. Head to the pub after work. Make yourself available, work hard, and over time you will make yourself indispensable. Best of luck!