HN Explorer

Ask HN: Do you do things differently when you first join a team/company?

3 points by kovac ↗ HN
When you are new to a team, is there any special protocol you follow such as not giving any negative feedback, try not to contribute too much beyond clearing the tasks to avoid attention, generally be agreeable as much as possible? Should the first few months at a job be different from the long term behavior and if so, why?

4 comments

[ 7.7 ms ] story [ 23.5 ms ] thread
beernet
I stay authentic and go full speed in the first few weeks of a new job. Only one chance for a first impression. When you leave a great first impression and deliver quick, valuable results you will have a much easier time in the future because people associate you with getting stuff done reliably. Usually leaves you with more degrees of freedom and responsibility. If you mess up in the beginning it is much harder to turn things around over time.
pxska
Just a random idea, but if you were to hustle in the first few weeks of your job and leave a good impression, wouldn't that translate you to actually being expected to be a quick deliverer? At one point you may simply burn out due to this…
gregjor
I think listening a lot more than talking works. You need to get to know the people and the routines, the business domain, how things work and why.

You asked for an answer as if some "protocol" applies in every case. But every situation differs, you have to adapt and shape your behavior to fit the organization and the personalities. Listening, asking questions, paying attention will help with that.

idunno246
The biggest thing I’ve run into issues with with some new employees is they think previous decisions were dumb. If a new employee approaches it assuming that their new coworkers were smart and made those decisions for a reason, and try to learn why, it works much better than coming at it as “you all did this wrong”. I don’t think that means be as agreeable as possible, but it just means assume good intentions