The 10 Things You Should Do in the First 30 Days of a New Job

The first month of a new job is often a nerve-wracking experience.

There are new people. New customs. Abbreviations you don’t know. And the whole time you may be wondering if you are making a good first impression, if you’re doing things right, and if your boss really likes you.

Well, we’re here to help and ease those nerves. In her LinkedIn Learning course Strategies for Your First 90 Days in a New Job, career coach Madeline Mann shares her tips and tricks for making the most of your onboarding period. 

The first 30 days are known as the “absorb” month, where a new employee takes in a great deal of information. And it’s not just where the break room is and how to connect to the WiFi. It’s also who are your team members, who are the key stakeholders, what’s the company culture like, and much more. 

To help you hit the ground running and put your best foot forward at a new job, take these 10 steps during the first month to help ensure you make a good impression with your new colleagues and set yourself up for future success.

The 10 Things You Should in Your First Month of a New Job

Mann suggests doing these 10 things in your first 30 days of a new job:

1. Actively ask questions

At your day-one meeting with your new boss, Mann says, they’re likely to give you about 60% of the information you need in order to be successful. It’s not that they intend to shortchange you — they just don’t remember what it was like to be new to the role.

To help you fill in the missing 40%, Mann recommends asking these four questions:

1. What should I accomplish in my first 30, 60, and 90 days?
2. How will my work be measured?
3. What tools, templates, and documents will I use, and how will I get access to them?
4. What expectations do you have?

And if your manager has the time, remember this golden rule: Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions.

2. Set boundaries

The flipside of asking questions is setting boundaries. Once you understand your manager’s expectations for your new position, you have an opportunity to firmly define what your work schedule is expected to look like, including how you will handle any potential after-hours calls or issues and your preferred means of communication.

Note this should be more of a discussion and mutual agreement than a list of demands. But it’s important to have the discussion before you get too settled in.  

3. Build out your 90-day plan

Manager expectations will help you begin to develop an overarching plan for the first 90 days in your new position. If you’re in a more junior role, expect your manager to work closely with you to develop the plan and set goals. They may even already have one built for you that’s ready to implement. For more senior roles, you’ll need to dig into the company’s goals and develop your plan of how you can make a positive impact.

4. Do a listening tour

“When you’re a new hire,” Mann says, “you possess a superpower. And that is the power to get onto almost anyone’s calendar without much explanation.” She recommends taking a “listening tour” to make connections and learn how you can best be an asset to the business. 

5. Identify skill and knowledge gaps

Even the best fit for a new job likely won’t have all the knowledge or every skill they need to succeed. Your listening tour can help highlight areas where you can round out your knowledge, pick up new skills, and even get some career advice.

Write down where these gaps exist and develop a plan to close them through online courses, meetings with your new coworkers, stretch assignments, or research. 

6. Build reaction documents to get meaningful feedback

When you’re new at a job, you might not know exactly what ideas and in what format will best resonate with your new manager and coworkers. The solution? Something that Mann calls a “reaction document.” 

It’s essentially a rough draft of ideas that people can react to before you spend more time finalizing and formalizing it. 

Reaction documents can help save time on individual projects as well as help you learn how your colleagues work, so you can make every interaction more productive.

7. Maximize your time and effort at your new job

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of your new job and miss the opportunity to truly get your feet beneath you at a new company. Do your best to give equal weight to both the learning and doing parts of the role. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice some of the day-to-day to better understand what’s expected of you long term, where there may be opportunities for career development, and how to get to know the company beyond your immediate role.

8. Update your brand on LinkedIn

Your new coworkers will likely be looking to connect with you on LinkedIn. If they don’t make the first move, be proactive in networking with them. This means, of course, ensuring that your profile is up-to-date and highlighting your previous accomplishments, skills and interests, and your excitement at starting your new role.

Take a few minutes to comment on coworkers’ posts and reshare anything you find valuable. This internal networking is critical, especially at a larger organization where you won’t necessarily be on first-name basis with everyone.

9. Secure (and document!) early wins

In your initial meetings with your manager, be on the lookout for low-hanging opportunities you can use to prove yourself. Write these goals into the first 30 days of your plan. When you reach these goals, don’t hesitate to show off your accomplishments. 

Documenting these early wins is about more than justifying your hiring. It’s about building trust in your ability to effect positive change, making management more likely to trust you with critical projects in the future. 

10. Have productive performance conversations with your manager

Regular check-ins are crucial for your first 30, 60 and 90 days. If your manager doesn’t already schedule regular meetings, it’s okay to take the initiative and ask for them. These meetings can give you an opportunity to highlight your accomplishments, ensure you’re both still on the same page, and talk about next steps in your onboarding process. 

If you keep these lines of communication open, you’ll be in a better position to head off any disconnect or miscommunication between you and management.

To learn more about what to do in your first 30 days at a new job — and what to do in the second and third months as well — be sure to watch Madeline Mann’s course, Strategies for Your First 90 Days in a New Job.