Episode 38: First Day Success
First day on the job? Not sure what to expect or do? We have you covered! We break down some tips and strategies to get through the first day of the new job. Also, we talk about gauging company culture and how to make things a little easier to navigate those waters. Join us!
TechaWare is having its Women, Wine, and Tech event in Burlington, MA on Oct 27th from 5:30-7:30 pm! We've partnered with CBT Nuggets to give away two 6 month subscriptions to their platform. The event is free, just need to register! Check out the event details here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-wine-tech-burlington-ma-tickets-404310953947
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Pat: 0:31
Hey everybody. Welcome back to this week's edition of Breaking Down the Bites. As usual, I'm your host. You can find me on Twitter @layer8packet. That's the number eight. You can find Kyle on Twitter as well @danath256. He's riding shotgun as usual. You can find the show on Twitter @breakinbytespod .We're pretty active on Twitter, so come say hello. If you do like the show, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite streaming platform of choice. Head to our website, breakingbytespod.io and all of the streaming platforms are there with a subscribe link. So, check it out and make sure you don't miss an episode. Kyle. What's up, man? Back for another week. How you doing?
Kyle: 1:17
That's it. Doing great. Beautiful weather out. Crazy.
Pat: 1:20
Gorgeous. Gorgeous.
Kyle: 1:21
I don't even know what's going on. It's like swampy freezing weather and now it's like 75 degrees sunny.
Pat: 1:29
Yeah, we had like four days of rain straight and the uh, was a hurricane down there in Florida. Ian, I think it is. They named it. So anybody listen to Florida, We hope you're doing all right and get back on your feet. We are certainly thinking about you have some relatives down there, so, Yeah totally thinking about you. Couple notes off right off the bat. Thursday, So two days from now when you're hearing this Thursday, we are doing a live podcast, our first live podcast ever. Woo. And the crowd goes wild. We are doing our first live podcast. It'll be Thursday October 13th.
Kyle: 2:08
Yeah.
Pat: 2:08
The big one. Three 8:00 PM Eastern October 13th, 8:00 PM Eastern. Right here, we'll be live streaming from our platform that we record on, which happens is to be Riverside fm. Shout out to them. We'll be live on our YouTube channel and Facebook and LinkedIn as well. So we're going live everywhere. We're trying to reach the masses. So come hang out with us. The topic is the ever scary it horror stories. Oh man, we all know y'all got one. So come. Come with your beverage of choice and your favorite scary it story. What did you break? How did you break it? How many people did you affect? We wanted to know all the juicy details, so come hang,
Kyle: 2:55
Yeah. When it went sideways, how sideways did it go?
Pat: 2:59
That's right. We want angles, we wanna get down and dirty with the IT horror stories. We figured with the month of October and all the scary season that we're, that is upon us. Come with your IT horror stories and come make it fun. So Kyle and I will be doing, we'll be on video so you can see our ugly mugs. And then also, yeah, I better dress up for that one. And then put a clean shirt on. You know what I mean? Come on,
Kyle: 3:22
right. No gravy. Stains,
Pat: 3:24
right. Wipe the crust out my eyes. Let's go. Yeah. So we'll be on videos so you can come chat with us, come hang and yeah, we'll just make it a party and a real good time. So Thursday. October 13th. That's two days from now. When you guys are here in this 8:00 PM Eastern, come hang. We will have a link up on our website to the Riverside dot fm platform. But you can check us out on Facebook YouTube channel, Twitter they'll be everywhere. So follow us on some sort of a form of social media and you'll get to us. So it's all good. All right. Now that, that's outta the way oh, I have one more. Forgot to mention. Our, we mentioned it last week, our friends in tech. My friend Nikki her nonprofit company, Tech Aware, they're doing their women wine and tech events. They're branching outside the Pennsylvania borders where we all reside. The first one is in, we told you about last week, is in Burlington Massachusetts. It's in the New England area. That's October 27th, five 30 to seven 30. And that's at Microsoft Campus at Five Wayside Road in Burlington, Mass. The event link will be in the show notes. It's a free event. All you gotta do is register. Tell 'em you're coming. So it's women, women wine in tech. So it's basically just a bunch of women getting together. You. Conversation, headshot. I think they're doing headshots and resume help and just general helping women get into tech and just camaraderie, that kind of thing. So I'll check that out. And then as of this week they have another event in Washington, DC that's going to be Thursday, November 3rd, five 30 to seven 30. That's going to be at. 0 4 Wisconsin Avenue. Seventh floor, Chevy Chase, Maryland. Man, Chevy Chase got his own city named after him. Geez. Oh, What are we doing wrong? No, Again, that's in the DC area for all you folks in dc. Same event, women, wine and tech. Just come out and gr meet other great women in the tech space and again headshots and wine and resume help and all that kind of stuff. So just wanted to mention those couple of brief footnotes here, but this week Kyle and I are going to chat about We've had some good feedback on our topics as of late, and we figured this one was also in the pipeline and I've been hanging around for a little bit. So we figured out, let's see what we can do. Rock and roll on this one. This week we are going to chat first day on the job, right? First day on the job, and, knowing or trying to pick up and blend in with company culture, right? So that's important, right? And they go hand in hand, right? So, you found your job right? You applied, you went through. Interviews, Right? So whether that's one or two or whatever usually from a help desk or a service desk perspective, it's a one interview process. Sometimes two. Most of the time it's one. But yeah, you nailed the interview. You got in there and now you actually got, you figured out your salary, right? You came to a, came to an agreement on the salary. And here you are. Now it's okay. Now it's first day, first and the job, which can be kind of intimidating to be honest. Um,
Kyle: 6:34
No for.
Pat: 6:36
Every company is a little different the way they do introductions and their onboarding process, right? So, I feel like a first day on the job. Slash knowing company culture really depends on the company's onboarding process. And I've been at a few places that has some really good onboarding processes and others like, it doesn't exist, so you kind of have to like, kind of swim the waters yourself. Which is hard, right? You have no idea. You don't know anybody outside of, your one or two conversations with the boss. You don't know anybody else. it's kind of his or her job to assimilate you while you try to, swim in all this information of okay, new, new guy and, fresh bait, kind of deal. But so we're gonna talk a little bit about that. Try to hide how to kind of, weigh those waters and see what you can come out of on the first day and hoping to. Know those company cultures and trying to blend in the best as you can. So, anything on that? Kyle, you wanna kind of kick that off or?
Kyle: 7:33
Yeah, I mean, like you're saying the first day is pretty wild. I mean, for me, I. Two interviews, one with like the team one with the cio, and then it was just like, Cool, we want you. And just showing up on, a new campus kind of deal like that, And like there with my lunch bag and my book bag, like first day of school, just like looking around, like, it's all new and different.
Pat: 8:01
where's the fridge?
Kyle: 8:02
Right And it's, it's like anything you change, different scary
Pat: 8:07
Yep.
Kyle: 8:09
you push through it, everybody, at least, for me was super cool and super inviting and nice and was was just different,
Pat: 8:18
Yeah.
Kyle: 8:18
the worst part, you get comfortable and familiar with things and getting outta your own way and outta your own head shell kind of thing. Like that was good though. Yeah, Definitely. Good for growth,
Pat: 8:31
yeah, for sure. Right? You don't grow unless you're outside your comfort zone, right? It's always been that kind of deal. But yeah I would say, Yeah, the first day is always hectic. First day is always a lot of paperwork as well, right? So you try to, like, oh, HR is gonna get you for a couple hours and you gotta go through some training. Depending on what industry you're in or what vertical you gotta do extra training or and it feels like today, right? The first day or maybe even the first week is gonna be, yeah, you're gonna hit, be hit with some sort of cyber security training, right? It's don't click on the fishing links and all that kind of. Crazy, crazy stuff. Yeah, definitely a lot of paperwork on the first day for that from that perspective. But yeah, but Right. A lot of this should go without being said, just kind of briefly, kind of skim over them. A couple of notes that Kyle and I jotted down, but I always come. Questions, right? So, be prepared as much as you can and ask questions. When you get there, say, Hey, you do this, or, What's your policy on this? Or, X, y, and z Again, that, that's gonna, that's gonna vary on what vertical you're in, you're in or what obviously what, every company is different. But yeah, it's getting your laptop and knowing what you can and can't put on a company laptop, right? Do they have you strictly pick from a company store, right? And then you're kind of shoehorned into using what apps they make available to you, or do you have admin rights on your machine? You can download, your favorite text editor that sort of thing. So you. Doing that right. Obviously keeping things in line with, things you need to do your job right. That sort of thing. So, and then also, it's, you almost have to, you almost have to sell yourself on the first day if that makes sense. So like you're meeting all these people for the first time, like have a. 22nd or 32nd, elevator pitch, if you will, to say, Hey here's who I am, here's where I was before, blah, blah, blah. Cause that's gonna come up, right? Everybody that you meet, or most people that you're gonna meet, they're ask, they're gonna ask like, where you were, what you did before that, or, things of that nature. So, I would almost come up with like a 32nd elevator pitch to, to give to these folks that you meet and say, Hey, here's who I am. Here's what I do. Here's what I'm bringing. Or here's where I was, here's, what I'll be doing in my, in the position, here, blah, blah, blah. So they just, so everybody has like a vague understanding of what your purpose is and kind of go from there. So, Cause you're gonna meet everybody, right? Everybody from it, people to non. It people. I should probably preface this, right? So in this day of, working from home, most, a lot more work from home now than there used to be pre Covid, But. This is obviously for people that are in an office, right? Which most of the time is, the first line help desk or, service desk, or, sometimes even second, tier two, right? And in an office, right? So this is under the impression that you're, you're in that sort of role that is either full. On site or, maybe, three to four days a week in an office, right? So it's much different obviously from home and you're meeting people on a screen versus, in person in the flesh. So just want to throw that out there as well. But yeah, this is obviously without saying the obvious, this is for folks that are in the office. Full time, right? So in an actual brick and mortar building. So, yeah. Yet again, first day kind of thing, show up, right? Show up early. I would, I usually, at most places I've been, when I was younger, like, I, like, like I'd have trouble sleeping the night before. I'm like, All right, can't just be morning like, I wanna do this, that kinda thing. You. But yeah, I would say, show up early, but enter the actual building on time. Right? You're just like, all get there, whatever, 20, 15 minutes, 20 minutes early and then, if you start at eight, I would probably walk in somewhere at five of, eight o'clock on the dot, that kind of thing, depending on how far you gotta go up when you get into building. So, but yeah, I would, get there early, find a coffee shop, something right Dunking, something be there. Kind of mentally prepare yourself, but you definitely wanna give yourself enough time to, account for the the unexpected, right? So the the traffic or an accident or something, that's gonna slow you down in the morning, right? You don't wanna be, you don't wanna have your place 20 minutes away and leave, leave 20 minutes before the start time cuz something is bound to go wrong at all times. So just show up early, kind of relax, chill, find a coffee shop, and mentally prepare for that. That first day you know, and I would figure out too, like once you kind of get in there, this is easier said than none, but you sort of have to figure out your social landscape if you will. Like, I feel like Yeah, you're gonna associate and not only get along with all your coworkers, but you gotta associate and get along with the right ones as well, right? So there's, there's always this weird hierarchy of, this person has looked upon better than this person. Well, I wanna hang out with the person that's looked upon pretty good. That, that's that's my lunch table, right? So you always wanna kind of do that. And that gets back to some of the office politics we talked about a couple weeks ago, but, Yeah it's an interesting, I don't know, it's an interesting way of looking at it, but like, okay, who's a good one to follow and who's a good one to stay away from? Right. Cause I've been those places where, people weren't necessarily in my department, but you kind of, you saw 'em from a mile away. You're like, ah, that, that person's got the type A personality. She's, he or she is like, flies off the handle on the regular, I'm not You It's one of the, it's one of those things like, eh, take on mental note on that one But yeah and obviously, read people's, titles, what they, you know what kind of titles your coworkers have, and that kind of, that'll kind of gimme an idea of who to hang with and who to, rub elbows and be in the same, same circles with.
Kyle: 14:19
I would definitely say you. Usually get a good layout from your boss and stuff like that too. Like who does what, maybe people to watch out for, stuff like that. Definitely go back to what you're saying though. You show up early, be on time. You don't want to make a bad impression that, especially the first day
Pat: 14:37
Yeah. Yeah.
Kyle: 14:39
absolutely terrible.
Pat: 14:41
You're work, you're working uphill, unnecessarily,
Kyle: 14:43
Right, right.
Pat: 14:44
Exactly. Yep. Show up on time.
Kyle: 14:47
Yep. All those things. Elevator pitch, you're gonna they prayed you around to the office the first day and they're like, Hey, this is the new X, y, Z guy. And, everybody kind of wants to know a little backstory, so just kinda have that had that.
Pat: 15:01
Yeah. And then you go talk to, No, non IT folks that your boss introduces you to, like HR or, sometimes they have like a welcoming committee or whatever, and they're, Oh yeah, this is the new. Whatever guy, and they go, Oh yeah. Like you could see in their eyes, they know, I, they have no clue what you do, like You know what I mean? I've been there too. And it's like, all, I'll see you, I'll see you when I see you, that kind of deal. But now the other thing I would say too just kind, I mean, this should probably be number one, but you just gotta relax, right? It's, first days can be. Can be jittery, right? And nervous and all that kind of thing. But again, well rested, prepared, on time. And, all of that accounts for that being a visible milestone, right? And you just wanna be at your best. So just, relax. At one point everyone else was a newbie too, so you just gotta relax and, Meet everybody. You can shake hands, fist, pump, elbows, whatever. Now in the age of, the post Covid age we live in yeah. And, then that comes with that, smile, right? You just, you smile at everybody. You smile and nod and say, Hey, this is what we're doing. Or Hey, how are you, blah blah, blah. So yeah, I would. I would say definitely, smile, nod, agree, and like I said, that first impression always, sticks with everybody the most. Right. They matter. They certainly do. So,
Kyle: 16:23
What's the other thing that they say? Matching body language that helps. So if you see somebody cross their arms, nod their head, smile, like kind of do things to, to blend in and look and what you were saying with relax too try and watch your caffeine intake. You don't wanna get all hopped up, be a bouncing off the walls and stuff like that. That's not gonna help if we're talking to 800 miles a minute fidgeting or something like that. Cause you're all caffe.
Pat: 16:50
Yep.
Kyle: 16:51
Or overly caffeinated.
Pat: 16:53
exactly. Yeah. Go easy on the Dunking when you pull in Totally. A and this sort of pulls into, the imposter syndrome that we talked about a couple weeks ago. But, when you're, you're there, you're hired as a whatever, you gotta look and play that part, right? Say, Hey, this is here. I belong here. They hired me to do this job. This is, This is what I do, right? So you gotta be as professional as you were in the interview process and, address the part and, things of that nature. But you gotta look and play the part, and you'll fit right in. People won't think twice about it. It's just what it is. So I, I would definitely say you, I would definitely say that helps you blend in. It helps you make, helps others. Be comfortable around you, things of that nature. And, this goes as a standard thing, but you know, if you're not sure what the dress code is, either ask the boss or, call HR and ask. Right. Everybody asks about, whatever. So, yeah, totally. Take advantage of that as well. Don't be shy. That's another one. I would say, Hey, say hi. And like I said, introduce yourself to everybody, right? So the more friendly you are, that's the vibe you give off. And the easier, more comfortable it'll be for everybody. So, yeah, totally. Totally there. And you're gonna have your boss and, maybe a counterpart in your in your department. But you want to definitely befriend at least to one person, right? At least one colleague, you wanna be a, make a friend, right? That's kind of thing. Take that extra step and go, make a friend on day one, right? So, It's just, it's good for, it's good for you, kind of people showing you the ropes or, having that person there that's been there for a while, kinda, show you the ways and things of that nature. Always, be available to lend the helping hand. And we always say this little, little goodwill goes a long way. So, pos, positive energy, things of that nature. But yeah, I would definitely try and. Be a friend to at least one person, day one, and then it just gets easier from there. So, totally on board with with making a friend. Right. Certainly doesn't hurt. Don't turn down a lunch, right? I, every place I've worked, they take the new guy out for lunch, his first.
Kyle: 18:49
Yep.
Pat: 18:50
Everywhere, And I say, All right, line it up. Let's go If it's offered, which most times it will be maybe not the first day, depending on what's going on, like if there's something really broke or whatever. The boss is tied up or whatever. But definitely the first week,
Kyle: 19:04
No.
Pat: 19:05
They'd say, Hey, come on, let's go to lunch or whatever. And yeah, I, I would go on a heartbeat, you'd show that you're ready to mingle and rock and roll with the new team. So, save the pack lunch for another day, for day one for sure. And this one's a big one too. I, depending on what the role you're in, and I think the higher up the chain you go this applies less, but it still applies just less. But listen and observe I think is super, super important, Like day one, like from a listening and observing perspective, Like, and this is debatable, right? So take this with a grain of salt. But I think depending on your position you should be. Listening at least listening and observing for at least the first three months, sometimes even six months before you even suggest anything, because it gives you a chance to know the environment that you're in, right? So, and Know the environment. Maybe you do see a thing or two that's, that could be done better or that could be done differently. But if you suggest it without knowing why they did it that way in the first place, that could cause some issues there. So, and usually in that, the first three to six month period you can, usually you get a lot of questions answered as to why. Certain things are done that way. So like from Kyle and I's perspective, why is the network done this way? Or why is this v l done this way? Or Why is routing done this way? And like, Okay, yeah, you noticed that day too, but. You need to give it a couple of months to, okay. Really learn the environment from a 50,000 foot view. Maybe it was done that way at the time because it needed to be done that way at the time. A bandaid or an app needed certain whatever and it needed to be routed that way. Or they, like, again, they threw it in as a bandaid and just never got back to it. That kind. And that's okay, but you don't wanna suggest things like in the first week and then, They go, Oh, well it's done this way because, and you go, Oh yeah, I didn't think about that. That kind of thing. So that's where it comes in to like listen and observe at least the first three months, sometimes even six. And then you can kind of, say, Hey, I've been, over the last couple months I've jot down a couple notes to say, hey, we could be doing this better, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that waiting period, usually a lot of your questions are answered and you don't have to kind of go hunting for them. But you know, in Kyle and I's position, when you're sort of expected to hit the ground running, you don't necessarily have that time. So that, so the listen and observe thing is a shorter window for guys like Kyle and I because it's like, all right, well you're brought in here to do X, Y, and z. At a help desk level, serve a test level, when you're first breaking in there, that window is longer to listen and observe and get those opportunities out there. So just a a long-winded note on that one. So, but I would say, write down any notes, you can take as much notes as you. Then organize them and, develop them however you, your mind, develops them to totally, do that. But yeah, so be prepared to take a ton of notes first day and that definitely the first three to six months. Again, sort of showing interest in everyone and the company, right? So you gotta know, you gotta know what your company does, right? You gotta know what it does to make money to pay you, right? So, I definitely, you're gonna be introduced to a ton of people. They're gonna try to learn a little bit about you, right? Making an effort to find out a little bit about them and their roles and, that sort of thing. It. Certainly, it certainly strokes their ego, but it'll help you do your job better if you know where pieces of the puzzle are. Right? If you know everyone, if you know close to everyone's pieces of the puzzle, it makes your job easier, right? I think because you see it from a 50,000 foot view that sort of thing. So yeah, definitely show interest in everybody and, and the company. Right. And Kyle, this goes back to what you said, pay attention to your body language too, right? So they kind of, Hand in hand, right? What you're saying to people in your body language have to kind of mesh, right? So people can pick up on that sort of thing. And day one sort of thing, and this is more than day one, but you gotta be available to the boss, right? So, that might sound obvious that it's face value, but first day of work, right? You gotta know know where the bosses, have the boss know where you were at and kind of, know, go from there. But make sure that you're accessible to him or her. And yeah, this is definitely something that it's more of a first impression thing, right? You don't wanna. Skimp on that, right? So you're gonna be working with your boss the most, right? Usually you're the one that's gotta make them happy the most. So definitely put them higher on your priority list. of, uh, they wanna see you. You're, you know, where you can be seen, right?
Kyle: 23:43
Yep.
Pat: 23:43
It's, it's one of those things set. So Yeah, be yourself. And that just is what it is, right? So, I don't know, maybe this is a little more in the newer school of thought in today's world, but you know, I, I don't know, college, Did you ever work with somebody that was like, All right, he, like, you knew him one way in the office and then like five o'clock hit and you went out for beers and he was like com. Like, here, he or she was this completely like different person, like outside the walls.
Kyle: 24:11
Like a switch just flipped and like, they're in the office and they're like just chugging away. They're, like a functional vehicle on the tracks and then five o'clock hits and they're off the rails and you're like, Where is this person like coming from?
Pat: 24:29
Yeah, exactly.
Kyle: 24:30
crazy.
Pat: 24:31
I've met a few people like that. It's an interesting dynamic where they're just like, All right, they're all business and brass tacks boom. And. Like five o'clock hits and you out for happy hour, and they're like the most personable person ever. You're like, Wow, this is crazy. What are you doing
Kyle: 24:45
Right.
Pat: 24:47
Like,
Kyle: 24:47
Where's all this personality at work?
Pat: 24:49
That's right. Yeah. I, That would make my job my day. Go for a little faster if you're a little more personable. I get it. I get it. Yeah. So. Definitely be yourself, right? Me and I think people that know me I'm the same person all the time. Like at work, I am the same person that I am, outside of work, I, I'm very hard on my sleeve and, that sort of thing. So there's no big mystery of my personality of, work versus non-work. But yeah, I definitely, be yourself. It's, again, it's more, think of ways to being relaxed and, project yourself as who you are, right? So it's stressful enough to be someone else or try to be someone else. So why bother right? To be honest and you want consistency, right? So day in and day out, right? You want that consistency. So, yeah, I would definitely try to, just be yourself, relax, and just take it all in and, kind of go from there. But and the, sort of wrapping up the first day of work ideology there. But, leave it a good. Good attitude, right? So, last thing you do or whatever, just say, hey, write notes or you organize or things of that nature. And, five o'clock hits, Hey, all right see you tomorrow. Hey, you didn't scare me off on, I'll be back for another round. So you, that kind of thing. So, But if it doesn't if it doesn't go flawlessly, don't, it'll be too hard on yourself. It just, it is what it is. You got first aid jitters or whatever, it happens to a bunch of people. So, come back and hit it hard again tomorrow and see where you land. So, just prepare to do your best and, try to accomplish too much. You get overwhelmed and then, the honeymoon space, runs out quicker. Nobody needs. Nobody needs that. So there's always tomorrow. The work will always be there tomorrow. So
Kyle: 26:25
Yeah, that's true.
Pat: 26:26
No big mystery there. And Kyle, anything you want to add there on that?
Kyle: 26:29
Yeah. I mean, if you leave with a good attitude and stuff like that, even if it didn't go flawlessly, there's always room for improvement. You could do better. You can, that's why you learn. You ask questions. Listen, that was one of the things that we're saying.
Pat: 26:42
Yep.
Kyle: 26:42
And you'll pick it up and you'll, it takes a little while, like you said, three, six months, something like that. Maybe even a little faster if it's something a little more fast faced or
Pat: 26:52
Yep.
Kyle: 26:53
An advanced kind of level or something like that. But there's room for improvement. You'll pick it up, you'll get on track and, be chugging along. You only have one first day, right?
Pat: 27:03
That's it. That's it. That is it. Yeah. So just a couple of notes that Kyle and I jotted down as far as, first day on the job type deal. So, but but again, going back to the onboarding process, I think the last couple years, HR departments have really tried to do better at onboarding. Process. Right? So that includes any kind of paperwork or employee contracts or training or, reviewing an employee handbook orientation type, type deal. I would definitely learn about that. In those aspects of, the onboarding process and Say, hey, I met so and so today. I would technically, I would pro, I would probably do this before my first day, but I would research. Your new colleagues on LinkedIn, right? So you can search by company, say, Hey, put, put the company into LinkedIn and it tells you everybody that currently works there and, kind of get a lay of the land and a better idea for what they're bringing or what their roles are. To the job, that kind of thing. So, yeah. And the, yeah. New job. New, it's like new school supplies. Right. By yourself. A fresh notebook, Right. Right. That's, I always have a notebook. And kind go out a little. Tyran here, but I always try to find like the new fan dangled app that I wanna like take all these notes in and do all this cool shit in And I never, it never comes to par. Like I always go back to pen and paper. It's, I don't know what I'm doing.
Kyle: 28:26
it's so funny. I watched the evolution of Pat go through all these. Fucking apps and like, Oh, check out this rocket notebook thing. And I'm like, That's cool. And then he is like, No, check out this thing. No, look at this weird whiteboard app. I'm like, What? I can't even keep up. But you're jumping all over. You got four different things.
Pat: 28:47
I know. It's awful. I can't stop myself. I can't, I just can't at, I would've bought that, that desk buddy. White board notebook thing, but they were all out of the black. I couldn't find a black. They were all out, or else it would've been on my desk right here. Damnit. Ugh. Yeah. I just I don't know what it is. Like I try all these new things, right? I try all of these fan dangled apps, right? And I just like, I. Like, I don't care what app it is, like I have to be disciplined enough to use it. I, that's just where my problem is. I'm not disciplined enough to use it, but then I go back to pen and paper. It's just what it is. Although the rocket notebook is pretty cool. I must say Yeah, that is pretty cool. Like I used that. I used that for a lot of my studies. So then I'm not going through throngs and throngs of regular notebook paper. Just write it, Erase. Keep writing, erase it, keep writing, and that sort of thing. So, But the rock, the rocket notebook is cool. Cause once you write it, you can upload it with the app and it goes through Google Docs and all of a other kind of crazy shit. So, it's like a reusable notebook, which is great. So, that one I do use quite a bit. But yeah, the other ones I'm just like, man, I can, I always find myself going back to regular. Pen and paper for notes and to do lists and all that kind of stuff. And it's like there's a thousand apps out there for 'em, and I just I try 'em and then I get bored and I move on. I'm like, Nothing works
Kyle: 30:07
Shout out to Rocket
Pat: 30:09
That's right. Sponsor the show. No, I'm
Kyle: 30:11
Yeah. No really
Pat: 30:13
Yeah. Yeah. It's expensive to put this show on. We gotta make some money somehow. Oh man. Anyway. Yeah. Nope. Notebook. Yeah. Get yourself a new notebook. What's the worst that could happen? Right. You just, notepad and. Write everything down, different orientation to meeting notes, to whatever, other daily activities or to do list and all that kind of stuff, right? Write it down. And then you, The other thing too, I think happens, it's probably better at the end of the day, right? Create a list of questions, right? So say, Hey, don't ask what you can, right on the spot. But most of the time stuff comes actually so fast on the first day. You just don't have time. So I would just say, write 'em down and then ask 'em all at once, whether to the boss or depending on who they need to be aimed at. So, totally for that. So,
Kyle: 31:00
back to your your research, LinkedIn, social media kind of
Pat: 31:04
Yeah. Yeah.
Kyle: 31:07
Definitely onto something cuz I mean, like we said, I, the it world isn't that big,
Pat: 31:12
No.
Kyle: 31:12
So it's like, You got like the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of thing like that. Like you might start adding these people and they went to school or they worked with somebody that you worked with or went to school with or something like that. And then maybe you can get little more insight by hitting up one of your buddies or something like that too. You know, It's crazy how interconnected everything is.
Pat: 31:32
It's kind of wild. Yep, absolutely. Wild what goes on there? So yeah, always do your homework as far as who's who's who. And you may have some mutual colleagues, and then you go ask that mutual colleague, Hey, how do you know this guy? Or, Hey, what's he like? Or, X, Y, and Z. So, totally agree with that to do as much social media background as you can. Right. that's where we're at. So yeah, those were just a couple of the first day jitters out the way things to do that sort of thing. So the other part of this I guess is more of the the blending in company culture, kind of deal. And again, I think the company culture starts with a strong onboarding program. And some people have good ones and some companies really don't it just kinda throw you in the deep end. Hey swim, that sort of thing. But you try to do what you can and, kind of go from there. So, so kind of fast forward, okay. First day, maybe first week, first couple of weeks, whatever you're trying, checking out Things like, okay, alliances, Who's talking to who who's getting what done? And all that kind of, jazz and you've decided on a on an app to take notes. But I would look at things like Like check I think this is an underrated one, right? You gotta check out check out the office decor, right? Cause if you're like, ah, people are fun and they have, they have trinkets on their desks or whatever. In my case I used to always have a Funko pop or two on the desk, depending on which one it was or, kind of the vibe that it was going for. Yeah. But, and then like people knew that I was into those and I collect them. So like, For, like, I don't know, Christmas gifts or just, whatever. Like, hey, I saw this, or whatever. Actually, truth be told, I worked with a girl Tanya. But she was awesome. She was great. And she knew I was into funks cause I had two or three on my desk. And the one Monday I come in and there's a Funko on my desk and I. Where did this come from? And Tanya, who has had like two cubicles down, she's like, Oh. She goes, Oh, me and my wife were at, we're at Toys us this weekend. This is when Toys us was like closing down. It was like the last, like the final countdown, know, whatever. A couple years ago. She's like, Oh yeah. It was like a my little pony Funko that she bought. She's like, Oh, this made me think of you cause I know you collect them, blah, blah, blah. And it was like this purple sparkly funko in this I was like, Oh, that's kind of cool. You know what I'm saying? I'll take it for sure. But I was like, Oh, it's like, it was like pixel. Pixel Sparkle or some, I don't know what the hell the name was. I it's here somewhere. I have to find it. But but yeah, it's like, just little stuff like that, right? You just gotta figure out, who's doing what or, or or pictures of their kids or, any kind of trinkets or, now I think today's all the rages, those mechanical keyboards, the ones that are super, super loud, that kind of thing. I've seen people have those at their desks and whatnot. Just kind of get a vibe for your what the office space looks like. And also another story. When I worked at a Volvo ip, they around Christmas time, they they had a little competition between departments of who could like build their department section in the most Christmasy themed kind of deal. And. I'll always remember this for cuz it was a cool idea. I think it was over in, I was the project managers or product, or I don't know what, I forget where they were. But they had this huge wall, this it was like a, it was like an exterior facing wall kind of thing, but it was big and it had like, it had nothing on the wall. It was just kind of, it was this large, unused space. They actually made the Grinch in the Santa. With the freaking naps, with his nap sack. They made the picture and they made it out of different color. Post-it notes.
Kyle: 35:08
What.
Pat: 35:09
Yeah, it was wild. I was like, Who thinks of this? This is amazing. So there's a picture out of it out there somewhere. I'll have to find it and send it to you, Kyle. But yeah, it was literally. The pic, they made a picture of the Grinch on this huge wall in different color. Post-it notes. It was awesome. I was like, this is the coolest thing ever. Yeah, so they had all different departments, decorated for Christmas and all kind of stuff. So yeah, just one of those kind of things like. Be aware of the surroundings and that kind of can, that can tell you what kind of culture you have. So that was and evolve's. Culture was pretty good. So, based off of the story I just told, so it was it was definitely good. So, yeah, just kind of couple tips on how to, gauge your company, culture and kind of make sure you fit, fit in right, that kind of thing. So, The other thing too, I would, I, this kind of goes back to what we talked about first day, but I would ask about like lunch routines and, participate when you can. Right? So do people go out to lunch? Do they have a kitchen? Do they gather in like a common. Space or do they all, do they order in often? Do they have it, Uber Eats or, Door Dash to the place? Or do some folks like, do exercise during their lunch breaks? So like, you. When I worked at Atlantic, Mike Kelly, and I shout out to Mike him and I would, take a minute or, a couple minutes and walk around the building. Right. And, just a couple laps around the building, get the blood going, right? And some people, some days people would join us. Other days it would just be me and Mike and, we'd bitch for 20 minutes and go back. Put our happy faces on You could tell what kind of culture was, it wasn't the greatest, but you know. Whatever it is, find out what people do and join in. Right. It, it helps you learn about your coworkers and, things of that nature. And to be honest with you, some of my coworkers that I've worked with at various jobs are still good friends to this day. So, about 'em and definitely you can form some lifelong friendships there. But yeah, totally. But then also I would also say then too, like if you have a vendor coming in, so like. You use, I'm just gonna throw Cisco out there. If you use Cisco as a vendor and they come in once a quarter and show their face and shake hands, and your salesperson, has a sales pitch ready in their hand, you know they're gonna take you to lunch. You bet your sweet ass. I'm gonna go to that lunch. I'll sit through a sales pitch for a good stake or whatever.
Kyle: 37:24
Oh yeah.
Pat: 37:24
So do that too. So as many vendors come in, definitely. Definitely take 'em up on their lunch opportunities. So, the other one too I haven't seen a lot of this. Some of it, but not a lot, but I would say, create your own. Profile if your company has like a platform to do so. Like for example, a lot of places are Microsoft shops, so they're like, they're SharePoint people, right? So like, you can kind of create your own. Profile within SharePoint to a certain extent. Cause a lot of people, a lot of companies put like organizational charts in there and things of that nature. And then when you click on your profile, like when somebody clicks on your picture, brings up a little profile of you and blah, blah. Like, I would fill that out. Right. It's just, it's just another way to. Communicate with people if people wanna, use that avenue or, some places have like a Slack or a Discord or any of those other kind of, chat platforms, that sort of thing. So I would definitely get on board with that and kind of, go from there. So, any sort of new hire should definitely jump into any sort of online community. So, I've even had places that were. Google. They had like a, it, they had an IT space inside, inside Google. I forget what the, wasn't Hangouts. It was whatever Google's forum is now. I forget what the, that they changed apps like, like all the time. But it's hard to keep track of what Google's doing. But they had like a, they had a space for just IT, people that were invited to, It was a room for a lack of better term, it was a room. Right. So they, and People in it posted memes or good jobs or, hey, thanks or whatever was going on. So, definitely jump into any sort of online communities that you have at your particular place of employment there to kind of gauge gauge culture, things of that nature. But but again, the kind of the final one here is, don't be shy, right? So, again, everybody was a newbie once, right? Reach out and get to know people, meetings, engage, just participate, right? I would just say, that's the number one thing, right? You gotta participate, you gotta play to win, right? So people don't know who you are. If you. If you don't tell 'em who you are. But again, it's, it, I, when I think company culture and fit is a hard one to kind of, it's hard to quantify cuz it's good that it's bad, right? If you have a terrible culture, then your company, then people are just kind of walking around like robots and, whatever and blah, blah. But if you make it fun, if you make it not such. Like such a job or, you know what I mean? It's easier to digest and you want to interact more on a day to day basis with your colleagues because you wanna be there and you want a common goal, right? So, but yeah, I personally, I think company culture is hard. You're trying to satisfy however many people you have in. In your organization and everyone's different. So it's hard to kind of quantify that. I don't know. It's just, it's what I've seen over the last couple jobs I've had and some people really do it right, and some people just, they can't get, they can't get outta their own way. just is what it is. So, I don't know. You have any other thing on that, Kyle?
Kyle: 40:26
no, I think you covered that pretty well. Got everything got everything in.
Pat: 40:32
Cool. So yeah, I think that's gonna be it for this one. So couple, just to kind of recap couple things to kind of make the first day on the job go smoothly and then kind of blend it in with some. Culture tips or how you can kind of gauge your company's culture in the first couple of weeks that you're there. So definitely I hope this helped some folks that are looking to break in or even, changing roles or whatever. Certainly. Let us know how we're doing. So always feedback is always welcome. But hope you enjoyed this episode. So we're gonna, we're gonna get outta your hair. I know this is a little bit of a shorter one. We're trying to keep 'em a little shorter nowadays. So when Kyle, it's just Kyle and I we're kind of keeping 'em a little short, 45 minutes, somewhere in air. And then when we have a guest on, we can kind of go a little longer for the hour cuz it's more engaging and obviously guests are always great. So, we're due for a guest here, another episode or two. So, but yeah, totally. Totally check out this Thursday the 13th. Check out our live episode and join from your favorite platform cuz we're gonna be all over. Be on the lookout for that invite. So, yeah, totally bring your scary story. We want to hear it all. We love them. I have a scary story of my own or two that I'm gonna bring. So, it, it's gonna be on, it's on like, Dokey Kong baby. Let's go.
Kyle: 41:44
Wow.
Pat: 41:46
I promise I won't bring any more of those corny jokes. But so. All right buddy, we're gonna get outta here. Thank you again for joining this week on the show. Make sure you visit our website, breakingbytespod.io, where you can get a subscription to your favorite streaming platform. whether that's iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher anywhere. That that you can get a podcast, we are there. So, if you're in iTunes, which most of you are why don't you leave us a raving review. I might say, or, hey, middle of the road whatever you're feeling, we'll take any kind of constructive criticism we can. So, leave us raving on iTunes that always looks better on us and. Attracts more folks and plays with the algorithms and all other kind of stuff, so that'd be great. And also tell a friend, right? So that's even better some days I think some days even better than some of the reviews and stuff that's out there, right? Word of mouth is always great. So, follows on Twitter again. Like I said, Twitter Facebook. We have a Discord server out there, the invite all of our socials and stuff will be in the show notes of the show. We have a survey out there for everyone. Again, it just helps us tweak the show a little bit. Just a couple questions. I think there's like nine or 10 questions out there. So, Go out and do that. We don't collect any info. We don't know who you are. It's completely anonymous. It just helps us. It just aggregates answers and helps us tweak the show. So, hang out at the survey there. Then get us going and I think that's it. Kyle. You got anything else? We get outta here.
Kyle: 43:12
Yeah, that's it.
Pat: 43:13
Cool. All right everybody. Thanks again for joining and we will see you on Thursday for the live show. Take care.