Don’t be demanding.  Yet.  This is your dream job, right?  The last new job you hope to take?  Then you’ve got lots of time to demand things. Note:  That doesn’t mean you should take the bottom of the barrel jobs either, just play your cards at the right time.

Don’t assume!  You’re allowed to not-know.  Try to figure things out then ask questions to confirm.

Don’t quibble over semantics.  Ask questions but don’t quibble.  There are subtleties that you are not aware of, even if I can’t voice them.

Don’t put anything in your calendar that you don’t want to share.  You don’t know who can see it.

Get Up to Speed

Read up on anything we talk about. Especially since you may not have a computer at first and you will have time.

Review your business unit’s org chart. It probably won’t be gospel but it will help you get familiar with the various names and positions.

More importantly, figure out who’s who and what their roles are. Don’t worry too much about their responsibilities unless you report to them. You do not want to be known as a “not-my-job” gnat.

Read through your project’s documentation. This includes:

• Past minutes
• Mission statement
• Past and upcoming deliverables
• Statement of Work
• Upcoming agendas

Introduce yourself around. You may find yourself in a culture where people don’t know each other well. You may not be so “new” after all, so introducing yourself gives you a leg up.

Find more than one person who can paint the big picture. Each will have a different view on:

• The real stakeholders in your work
• Politics in play
• Unspoken expectations.

Join the company’s Yammer-equivalent if only to read up in who’s who and what’s what.

If you don’t have computer/phone, share your personal email and mobile phone with your immediate team so you can be invited to meetings and such.

Better yet, bring your laptop and a copy of Microsoft Office if you have it so you can do some work while you’re waiting on equipment.

Best, bring a MiFi or wireless card if you have one in case you can’t get on the company intranet.

Take Care of Yourself

Possession is 9/10ths of the law.  Within reason.  So if you need a stapler grab one from an empty desk.  Have an opportunity to upgrade your chair?  Take it before someone else does!

Make nice with admin, security, parking, and IT support staff.  They work hard, know what’s really going on in the building, and can be valuable resources. Especially in your first weeks.

Learn about hotelling.  What are the bad spots?  Where would you be stuck with a screen glare, under a vent, or next to printer?

Learn about:

• Joining the water club (if you dare)
• Sharing someone’s MiFi
• How to book conference rooms
• Where a usable (cough) fax machine is
• Where the best (cleanest?) bathrooms are
• The rules for using the team’s microwave, coffeemaker, fridge, dishes, etc.

The more homework you can do to learn about the real goings-ons of your team and the ways to make things easier on yourself, the better you’ll shine.