The first couple of weeks at a new job

The first couple weeks of a job are pretty boring.  That’s not a bad thing!  If you’re nervous about a new job or internship, it’s okay, it probably won’t be too much too soon.  Your managers and coworkers know that you aren’t going to jump on board and know everything.  They don’t expect you to be an expert on your first day.  These first couple of weeks give you the time to complete all of the learning and adjustments that you need before you get busy with project work.  Don’t take this time for granted, no matter how much you want to get started.

 Chances are, you’ll have an orientation and a ton of trainings.  The trainings may be in person or online, independent learning.  You might be eager to get going with real work, but this training is actually pretty important.  Take as much as you can, because it will help you understand the company and product before you get really involved with it.  Besides, the day will go by faster if you have things to do!

During your first week, meet other people.  If you’re invited to join the group for lunch, do it!  These first impressions can establish good relationships…and you might even get friendships out of it.  If your company has an org chart, get to know this.  If you get an email from someone or hear others talking about someone who you have not met or do not remember meeting, check the org chart. 

You should also get to know your company’s website and intranet.  The more you learn on your own, the smoother the process of locating information when you’re working on actual projects.   While you have the time, decorate your cube or office and adjust your monitors, keyboard, mouse, and chair to best fit you. 

Commuting, part deux

So as you know, I have a new job.  The commute is nearly the same, just 1.5 miles longer.  I had been in Burlington, but am now in Bedford.  I live southwest of Worcester.  Mass pike to 128 to route 3.  I know, you’re jealous of those clogged highways!  It’s 51 miles each way, but I was able to keep the same schedule I had before – 7 to 3:30 or 4.  Traffic is pretty light in the morning, and is manageable in the afternoon.  Last week, it seemed NO ONE was on vacation.  It took 1.5 to nearly 2 hours to get home.  This week, it takes 50 minutes and there isn’t much traffic at all.  Currently, I drive into the sunrise, which might sound awesome, and I guess it is, but that’s 38 miles (east on the pike) of driving directly into the blazing sun.  Oddly enough, I smile when there’s a cloudy morning.  Less solar slowdowns, no need for smudgy sun glasses and that moment when I’m almost in the building at work and realize I still have prescription sunglasses on.

How do I deal with the boredom of commuting?  Well, I’m pretty used to it by now.  I leave home at 6 and get to work at 7.  I rarely realize how long I’ve actually been in the car because I’ve done it for so long and try not to measure it by time, but instead by what milestones I’ve gone by.  On the pike, these are usually exits or rest stops.  On 95/128, it’s turns in the road and construction progress.  I’m only one route 3 for 2 miles, and by then I’m in the work zone.  Once you’ve gotten used to subconsciously recognizing milestones, you start to acknowledge when and where typical slowdowns occur.  Usually, these are by exits the closer to Boston you get, but there are still some that seem random.  You slowly begin to accept these areas and prepare for them, backing off of the person in front of you or switching lanes if you’re getting off soon.  You get used to it so it doesn’t stress you out…it’s all part of the experience and the routine. 

I used to listen to playlists on my mp3 player or iPhone.  That can get kind of isolating.  Now, I listen to the morning shows and know what times they go to commercial and who isn’t at a commercial so I can switch over.  There are some stations that have great little skits or features I wait for.  I’m starting to branch out, as sometimes the radio personalities get annoying.  Today, I happened to tune in as Mayor Manino  called in to talk about Chik-Fil-A.  That was cool, and who can resist his Boston charm?

Anyways, commuting isn’t bad.  Even if you’re driving over 500 miles a week, it doesn’t really feel it.  If you end up having to commute, don’t fret!

Laid off...but it all worked out!

It’s been awhile, but much has happened.  I was laid off from my previous Company at the end of April.  They had a huge, unexpected layoff in which, among many other things, more than half of the doc team was cut.  Severance was issued, but it wasn’t much and only served to slow the process of receiving unemployment.  It happened to rain all work week during my first 4 weeks of unemployment…depressing since those unemployment checks weren’t coming in and I had nowhere to go.  I spent a lot of time with my cat, but it wasn’t paying the bills.  My days were filled with surfing all the job board sites, applying for relevant jobs and constantly updating my spreadsheet of jobs.  I found that there weren’t many jobs because it was the end of the fiscal year.  I had a year of experience, but most places hiring at the time were looking for 10+ years.  When my eyes were tired from searching, I would clean the house or do household chores to pass the time.  After a couple weeks, I started to get into more of a routine.  That was nice.  I was only unemployed for a month and a half, but that was long enough!

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.

I applied to a company I had wanted to get into since senior year of college.  I had checked the company’s website that morning, to no avail, and a few hours later, it was posted!  It was perfect for me and I hastily applied.  I got a call back the next day.  I spoke with the recruiter who said he’d call me back after talking to the hiring manager.  The next day, I had a phone interview with the hiring manager (it was a Friday), and the next Wednesday, I got a call to come in for an in-person interview to meet with him and three others.  It was incredible!  I scurried home, the 51 miles, and sent thank you emails and wrote out actual thank you cards to mail the next day.

I waited.  I received a call from the recruiter saying things were looking great and I just had to send references and take a drug test.  I was in the clear!  They offered me the job and I gladly accepted and started two weeks later.

The moral of the story: from what I thought was devastating (losing the job), came the opportunity to work at an excellent company with other PWTC-ers and also take a raise and a slight promotion (I was an associate tech writer and am now a regular tech writer).  It’s been one hell of a year, but things ended up very well.