End of week one
Sep. 7th, 2013 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llcoolvadI have now worked four days, and I maybe am starting to get a grip on the company, who does what, and what the company does overall. But I haven't even started looking at my own function yet!
So on Day 1 I was supposed to have orientation, where we'd get a welcome from bigwigs, have some chats about benefits, take a tour, all that. Instead, we filled out our I-9s, got our badges and laptops and a brief tech introduction, and were escorted (after a very brief tour) to our desks. The HR person was out sick, so we were castoffs. Anyway, I have Patrick sitting right near me, or should I say he had me seated near him, so he took me under his wing and brought me around and introduced me to everyone and later brought me to lunch with his posse.
My boss, who works out of the NY office, called me later and we chatted a bit. She told me a few priorities: go through the company org chart, read up on as much stuff about what we do as I can, and just really look around the website and the sharepoint site and a bunch of documents and ...
So I've been doing that, in addition to attending webinars, conference calls, talking to her some more, and even one F2F meeting with a team. And that's about all I've been doing. Next week I am going to start learning Sharepoint, I think. Although I'm already booked up for a lot more webinars and meetings and such. It's good. My boss told me that I have to "know a little bit about everything, and be able to talk to people who know everything about a few things." I've always been a bit of a generalist, so that works.
Until today I felt flail-y and lost, but I started to get a little more of a feel for things by the end of the day. Soaking in at last? I dunno. I plan to do a little over the weekend, try to get ahead. Whatever ahead can possibly mean.
I am so completely not used to not punching a clock. Not having to account for every little second. I don't even have a start time. Just...whenever. Patrick tells me I need to stop stressing about how many hours in the day I'm working, but I can't break that habit just yet, I think. I did take two walks today, however, right in the middle of my day. Sitting for so long watching webinars is strangely exhausting, especially since I am trying to remain invested and interested. I needed outdoors and exercise. So that's good.
I've been a computer worker for pretty much my entire professional life, usually locked to my desk by either a telephone or just being an hourly employee. This type of knowledge work is very different, however. Thinking! What's that? I don't feel like I'm earning my keep yet, but I'm sure next week will be better. Why is there not some kind of training for my job? Why is my boss not more organized? But I guess that's the point, right? That's why they need me. [Although I do believe they should have a page or two on the extensive website that had links to introductory training sessions like "welcome, here's what we do, here are our six main products, here's how they work." Because these trainings exist, but there is MUCH motivated digging required to find them.][YES, I will INDEED make that suggestion]
OH yeah: I thought I was losing two weeks of PTO by moving companies, but it turns out they have separate "sick" time at my new company totalling five days, so really I'm only losing one week. It didn't even occur to me to ask that, since my last two jobs PTO included any time off other than holidays. So that's a win. My boss told me I should definitely use that, too. Just be a little subtle, like don't have five sick days right after Christmas.
Other good things: the cafeteria is decent and reasonably priced and directly across the hall from where we sit. There is a secret snack chamber near my desk (I sit near all the developers, so there's a ping pong table, a soda fridge, and a snack chamber with, like, twizzlers and smart food and such). My desk is nice enough. I like Patrick's friends (they're all sarcastic and funny), and a good ice machine, water dispenser, and even vending machines are nearby (and not on a different floor, like at the last place). I'm on the first floor, so if the elevator dies it's not a health hazard. At least one upper boss that I've met is actually competent AND nice. There's only one annoying guy in my immediate seating area who is extremely loud and fond of himself, but at least he doesn't make gross eating noises like my overboss did in my last job, plus I don't have to answer at all to him, so it's still an upgrade. And I just wear headphones when he's on a conference call.
And the commute? Ah, the commute! I left my phone at home the other day (I am sooooo scattered!), so I went home to get it a half hour before I needed to be on a call with my boss, and I made it back in time! Why did I bother? BECAUSE I COULD. The biggest traffic problem in the morning is if there's a cop directing traffic at the one intersection before I get to the office. It's right near the on/off ramp to rte 95, so there's a bit of traffic there, but at most it adds two minutes to my drive. I guess I can deal! Patrick says it won't be long before I'm cussing everyone out. I'm certain he's right.
So on Day 1 I was supposed to have orientation, where we'd get a welcome from bigwigs, have some chats about benefits, take a tour, all that. Instead, we filled out our I-9s, got our badges and laptops and a brief tech introduction, and were escorted (after a very brief tour) to our desks. The HR person was out sick, so we were castoffs. Anyway, I have Patrick sitting right near me, or should I say he had me seated near him, so he took me under his wing and brought me around and introduced me to everyone and later brought me to lunch with his posse.
My boss, who works out of the NY office, called me later and we chatted a bit. She told me a few priorities: go through the company org chart, read up on as much stuff about what we do as I can, and just really look around the website and the sharepoint site and a bunch of documents and ...
So I've been doing that, in addition to attending webinars, conference calls, talking to her some more, and even one F2F meeting with a team. And that's about all I've been doing. Next week I am going to start learning Sharepoint, I think. Although I'm already booked up for a lot more webinars and meetings and such. It's good. My boss told me that I have to "know a little bit about everything, and be able to talk to people who know everything about a few things." I've always been a bit of a generalist, so that works.
Until today I felt flail-y and lost, but I started to get a little more of a feel for things by the end of the day. Soaking in at last? I dunno. I plan to do a little over the weekend, try to get ahead. Whatever ahead can possibly mean.
I am so completely not used to not punching a clock. Not having to account for every little second. I don't even have a start time. Just...whenever. Patrick tells me I need to stop stressing about how many hours in the day I'm working, but I can't break that habit just yet, I think. I did take two walks today, however, right in the middle of my day. Sitting for so long watching webinars is strangely exhausting, especially since I am trying to remain invested and interested. I needed outdoors and exercise. So that's good.
I've been a computer worker for pretty much my entire professional life, usually locked to my desk by either a telephone or just being an hourly employee. This type of knowledge work is very different, however. Thinking! What's that? I don't feel like I'm earning my keep yet, but I'm sure next week will be better. Why is there not some kind of training for my job? Why is my boss not more organized? But I guess that's the point, right? That's why they need me. [Although I do believe they should have a page or two on the extensive website that had links to introductory training sessions like "welcome, here's what we do, here are our six main products, here's how they work." Because these trainings exist, but there is MUCH motivated digging required to find them.][YES, I will INDEED make that suggestion]
OH yeah: I thought I was losing two weeks of PTO by moving companies, but it turns out they have separate "sick" time at my new company totalling five days, so really I'm only losing one week. It didn't even occur to me to ask that, since my last two jobs PTO included any time off other than holidays. So that's a win. My boss told me I should definitely use that, too. Just be a little subtle, like don't have five sick days right after Christmas.
Other good things: the cafeteria is decent and reasonably priced and directly across the hall from where we sit. There is a secret snack chamber near my desk (I sit near all the developers, so there's a ping pong table, a soda fridge, and a snack chamber with, like, twizzlers and smart food and such). My desk is nice enough. I like Patrick's friends (they're all sarcastic and funny), and a good ice machine, water dispenser, and even vending machines are nearby (and not on a different floor, like at the last place). I'm on the first floor, so if the elevator dies it's not a health hazard. At least one upper boss that I've met is actually competent AND nice. There's only one annoying guy in my immediate seating area who is extremely loud and fond of himself, but at least he doesn't make gross eating noises like my overboss did in my last job, plus I don't have to answer at all to him, so it's still an upgrade. And I just wear headphones when he's on a conference call.
And the commute? Ah, the commute! I left my phone at home the other day (I am sooooo scattered!), so I went home to get it a half hour before I needed to be on a call with my boss, and I made it back in time! Why did I bother? BECAUSE I COULD. The biggest traffic problem in the morning is if there's a cop directing traffic at the one intersection before I get to the office. It's right near the on/off ramp to rte 95, so there's a bit of traffic there, but at most it adds two minutes to my drive. I guess I can deal! Patrick says it won't be long before I'm cussing everyone out. I'm certain he's right.
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no subject
Date: 2013-09-08 03:56 am (UTC)Jumping into a new subculture is supposedly stressful, even if it's better, so keep taking care of yourself. Yea for lunchtime walks!