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We take a look at our onboarding experience through the eyes of our new joiner, Maria, a recent graduate joining our Project Management team in London. Being part of a team entrusted with scoping, coordinating and managing our Creative, EBI, Social and Tech teams to deliver on time and on budget, involves a steep learning curve during those crucial first months.
The day before my first day at TMP Worldwide, I found myself boarding a plane to London with just a one-way ticket and a big suitcase. Coincidentally, this was also the first day of 2024, marking the start of a new chapter in many ways.
Although I had previous work experience as an intern during my student years, this was my first full-time job. And this has definitely been a journey of its own. The past few months have been transformative, teaching me many, many things. However, for the sake of brevity (and for your own sake, reader), here are the five biggest takeaways from my onboarding process.
Lesson 1: Write everything down.
Long gone are the days when I could rely solely on my memory to keep track of everything I had to do. To-do lists have now become an extension of my brain; and this is coming from someone who was already fond of checklists. While the small dopamine release from ticking off a task is definitely a bonus point, keeping track of what has to be done allows for better organisation and prioritisation and to learn from past project, as well as monitoring your development and learning process.
Lesson 2: Everything can (and will) be abbreviated.
Picture this. It’s your first day, and you overhear somebody asking, “Have you seen EB&I’s comments through DLOps on the CE for MoJ’s EVP? We need to update the client before EOP and get the PO before we book the AD.” … It’s no surprise that the first tab I created on my OneNote during my first week at work was titled “Acronyms”.
Regrettably, before I even knew it, I had gone from needing to jot down the meanings of all these abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms, to internalising them so deeply to that I now use them even in my inner dialogue.
Lesson 3: Ride the wave.
As my boss eloquently put it a few weeks ago, the work rhythm for project managers is not steady but rather ebbs and flows like waves. At times, these waves can resemble tsunamis. But what I’ve learned from this analogy is the importance of navigating these fluctuations.
The first time I ever surfed was in the North of Spain at the age of 14, facing waves that were easily double my height. To this day, it still amazes me that I dared to get into the freezing water and just go for it. While it can be intimidating to find yourself at the crest of the wave, if you just push through, you suddenly find yourself gliding forward. Similarly, tackling a new project can feel overwhelming at first if you get caught up in the overarching whole, but by concentrating on breaking it down into manageable tasks and ticking them off one by one, the seemingly distant end result suddenly becomes attainable.
Taking a moment to zoom out allows you to realise that you’re not alone. Much like a supportive surf instructor, my team has been there to provide the initial push, cheering me on as I awkwardly found my balance and rose to the challenge, and reassuring me that, should I falter, and I will, they’ll be there to lend a helping hand.
Lesson 4: Get comfortable with being a pain in the … bum.
Before starting this job, I associated chasing people, double-checking, and asking questions with being “annoying”. Now, it’s an inevitable and essential aspect of my role. Consequently, I have had to come to terms with the idea some colleagues might perceive me as somewhat … persistent at times. However, as a co-worker reminded me when I apologised for asking multiple questions about what would be involved in a project we would be working together on, that all I was doing was trying to do was do my job well – for which I shouldn’t feel the need to apologise. Asking questions also fosters communication and ensures a thorough understanding of the project for all parties involved, which is crucial for achieving a positive outcome.
Lesson 5: You will never know everything (and that’s okay).
This is probably the last thing you want to hear as you are starting out in your first job. The sheer novelty of it all can make even the smallest hint of uncertainty feel daunting. And so, there must be a concrete answer – a “right” way to do things, because if there is room for uncertainty, then there is room for messing up.
However, the reality is that starting any new role, and particularly in project management, involves absorbing an immense amount of information. As a Project Manager, you’re expected to grasp every aspect of your company’s products, services, roles, tasks, and efforts comprehensively. While there may be a general step-by-step process to follow, each project brings its own set of variations and unique challenges.
In conclusion, it’s a lot. So much, in fact, that it is impossible to know it all. But here’s the silver lining: you don’t have to. You can simply ask (remember lesson 4!).
Although lesson 5 may initially seem disheartening, there is a deep sense of comfort to be found in it. It’s a humbling realisation that serves as a reminder of the vastness of knowledge and the importance of continuous learning, or, as Socrates put it much more succinctly, “all I know is that I know nothing”.
