Onboarding Starting a New Job Successfully

Anita Brick: Hi, this is Anita Brick. And welcome to CareerCast at Chicago Booth. To help you advance in your career. Today, we're delighted to be speaking to Maude DiVittis, who is the VP of global People and Organizational development at Coach International. In her global role, she serves as the internal expert on people development strategies. Mod completed and defended her doctoral research at Columbia University.

And I love this moment that the dissertation was on the value of coaching support for senior leadership during onboarding. DiVittis also serves as an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University. Thank you so much for making the time today. I know that you're super busy. Well, it's nice to be here. Well, let's start off. So we're all starting with the same grounding. How would you define onboarding and who would you say is responsible for it?

Maude DiVittis: Great question. First of all I would define onboarding as a process and an assimilation process. And oftentimes people will use the term onboarding and orientation as if they're the same. And you know orientation is an event. And it's an important event where we share a lot of information. But it's just one component of many, many elements that make up for an assimilation process that we call onboarding.

I believe in order to be successful in onboarding, you need a lot of you need a big support system. There's not one individual who's responsible for onboarding. So I really feel it's a shared responsibility and a shared accountability. So there is the organization itself and many individuals within the organization. And I see a critical player being the hiring manager to support the day to day onboarding and assimilation process.

In addition to that, throughout the organization, there are support systems. Oftentimes organizations like coach, we actually assign someone an onboarding buddy to act as a support and be able to answer questions and in many ways welcome them to the new culture that they've joined. And then, of course, programmatically, you'll see lots of different support pieces to get people the information and expose them and give them visibility to the organization across the board. I was a little surprised.

Anita Brick: There were so many questions. So I think the people want to do it correctly. They want to take responsibility. One question that came in a lot of different variations, how can a person make the most of the time between accepting the offer and the start date?

Maude DiVittis: I believe the onboarding process actually starts in the interview. So when you're interviewing and you are getting exposed to the organization, it's really a two way street. Obviously, they're looking at you as a potential new person to join the organization, but you're also looking at the organization to see if this is a place that you feel that you'll really fit and be able to contribute.

And I do believe that onboarding actually happens in those exchanges, whether it's email by phone, in person, where you're beginning to get a sense of what this organization could be like. The first recommendation I would have is that onboarding actually starts during that process. And be very conscious and be observant of how you experience the individuals that you have exposure to.

That's the first piece. And then the second is I would do your homework. I think for me, the onboarding process is really around developing a learning plan. You have a lot to learn and there's a big learning curve. And if you are new to the industry, I would suggest that you begin to get familiar with the industry industry terms.

What are support groups as it relates to the industry or profession? In addition to that, there's the organization itself. I would suggest having an opportunity, if you know people who work there to just connect with them and get a sense of what it's like to work there. So I do think you could be doing your homework as it relates to building your knowledge base on the industry as well as the organization itself.

Anita Brick: I like what you said about if you're coming in a new industry or new function, there's a whole other level of things that you should be doing so that you're really prepared and hopefully you're doing them for the interview. But if not adding on to that once you say yes, that's right.

Maude DiVittis: And I would like to add to that as you're building that knowledge, I think also relationship building is critical. Staying connected to your new boss. Sending a thank you note to the recruiter after you finalize the offer. These are individuals that are, you know, the first individuals you've probably spoken to in the organization that you'll see throughout your journey in that organization. I think it's important to stay connected to them, especially if you have a period of time before you start. And some people don't start right away during that period of time. So the organization feels good. If you stay connected.

Anita Brick: Very, very good point. A weekend MBA student. Ask the question if you're coming in as an outsider, what can I do to win the confidence of my peers and subordinates?

Maude DiVittis: I would suggest two things. I would encourage that person to ask a lot of questions, and I would encourage that person to then listen to the responses and to really be in that mode of being a sponge, of taking in information, connecting with individuals and really trying to understand where their boss is, where they're situated in the organization as well as the team itself.

I would suggest that oftentimes people make the mistake of wanting to prove themselves and wanting to share all this great knowledge and content that they have and why they're so good, right? Because that's sort of human nature to say, oh, you hired me, and I really want to prove myself. And I would suggest that you're in a new context.

This is a new organization for you, and I think it's important for you to understand the context and understand the relationships people have within the organization, and just how the organization works absolutely should be. Your first agenda item is to learn as much as you can. And I would suggest asking a lot of questions and really being in a listening observant mode.

Anita Brick: Got it. So to follow on with that. So now you have accepted the offer. Maybe you're in that window in between accepting and starting. Maybe you've already started another weekend. Students said, how do I manage expectations of a new manager and group? Find out how I will be able to meet expectations and exceed them. And the last part, I think is a little trickier and position myself best for the next position.

So it sounds like there's two pieces here. Number one, how do you really know what to expect? And how do you know that you can achieve an evaluation a year later that will exceed those expectations, while making you a candidate for a future position?

Maude DiVittis: I think in those first initial meetings, you should be asking questions of your boss, and here are some suggestions you should be asking. What are your expectations of me? What are your expectations of me in this role? What are your expectations of me as a member of this team? What are your expectations of me as a member of a project team and really sort of break it down because expectations vary.

They're not general or broad based. So the more detail you can get from your boss to really ask your boss to articulate those expectations within maybe the various roles that you'll play, being a member of the team, being a direct report, being at headquarters or being in a satellite office, whatever context, it's really important for you to ask those probing questions.

And then I would also ask questions around your boss's preferred style. How do you like to receive information? Do you like email? Do you prefer phones? Does it make sense to do a drive by? In other words, is it okay to pop in your office? And I think if you can sort of have this initial level setting conversation with your boss, I think it really allows a dialog.

Oftentimes people don't do it. They sit in, they sort of meet with their boss and the boss says, do you have any questions? And you're kind of like, oh no, I just go back and begin my task or get to work. And I think that's a big mistake. I think the opportunity at the beginning, that first initial meeting with your hiring manager, who sits down and says, hey, welcome.

How was your first day? How was orientation? Do you have any questions? I think having very thoughtful, probing questions around expectations, role clarity and asking specifically around preferred style will allow you to show up in a way that's going to resonate for the team and resonate for the boss. Sounds like you had a third part of the question, which was, how did that set you up for the next job?

And I have to say, I think the question itself is very telling, and I experienced this often with my friends and colleagues. It's not unusual that someone takes a job, and at the very beginning, they have an eye on the next job. I would very much caution someone to walk into an organization thinking that they have one eye on the immediate job and an eye on the next possible job at such early stages in their journey, I would caution them to take a step back and say, first and foremost, learn the new context, learn the new organization, understand the players, and understand how you might fit into that organization.

And I truly believe that the onboarding process is really working on more of a 12 to 18 month horizon. Now, organizations are very complex, and I feel that it takes some time to really understand how to properly navigate, just be in learning mode at the beginning during the onboarding.

Anita Brick: Course, if it looks like you're off to the next job before you even there, you're not going to win. You're not going to succeed in the current role.

Maude DiVittis: It sounds like you just have more energy around your own agenda versus even understanding the agenda of the organization, the team, the department, the function.

Anita Brick: Yeah, and that's a big mistake too, is a follow on question from an alum that said, what's the right balance to take between learning and listening, which is what you were just talking about versus trying to make big decisions or weighing in on decisions while you're still learning the business to ensure that you're thoughtful. But they are also seen as decisive.

Maude DiVittis: Wow. That is a great question because that really is a dance, isn't it? There's a fine line between going into an organization and being in learning mode, asking questions, and taking in information to really understand before you want to weigh in on decisions. And at the same time, they're definitely a bias to getting things done, being, results oriented and contributing.

Most organizations have that bias, making sure that they've hired people that are going to be able to contribute and be high performing and productive. One thing I would ask is to understand not just the what, but the how, like how processes are done and how decisions are made. What I would suggest is that you'll know that it makes sense to begin to weigh in on decisions when you not only know the what and the who, like in other words, the players and what needs to happen, but how things get done in an organization.

In my research that I did for my doctoral work on support people need during onboarding, they said the most difficult part was understanding how much influence they had and when they were becoming insiders, that they could actually make decisions. Because, you know, when you first come from the outside, you're not part of the inside circle yet. I think that what I would suggest on that one, in that dance of when do I begin to weigh in on decisions and have a point of view?

Just make sure you know how decisions are made and when it's appropriate, and what forms are set up in order for you to weigh in.

Anita Brick: Got it, got it. There was another question which I found very complimentary in executive MBA students . What are your recommended actions to involve existing management? What kinds of social events do you recommend to get connected with the staff, besides a business discussion, and how do you bridge any cultural challenges? And the MBA students said examples would be great.

Maude DiVittis: Okay, great. When we're talking about getting prepared for your onboarding even before your day one, I said talk about knowledge building and building your understanding of the industry and of the organization itself. And one of the best ways of doing that is through other people's experiences and making those connections. I highly recommend it when people talk about what's the best way to really assimilate and adapt into a new organization, and I think it's through creating your own network and building relationships within the organization.

I believe having a strong relationship with your manager is critical to your success, both your short term and your long term success. I would say from the very beginning, it's not just knowledge building and relationship building, but it's also cultural understanding. So it could be the corporate culture. Or in this question, the suggestion is, what are some of the things that you need to do to make those connections?

When you're working in a culturally diverse organization, many organizations are experiencing globalization, as is our organization. And it's not unusual at all to know that we actually provide. But we say building cultural intelligence, meaning that understanding how there are cultural differences in how work gets done, how communication happens, how decisions are made. Good example of that would be that we have had rapid expansion and growth throughout Asia and specifically mainland China in the last three years. We've really established a strong presence in Shanghai with a corporate office.

We have been expanding China, building 30 stores in the last three years. Each year we just hit 100 stores, and we spent a lot of energy in building those relationships. More importantly, building cultural intelligence and understanding as it relates to doing business in China. You'll see that many organizations have that. And if you look at the strategic plan of your organization and you see this expansion into different geographies, cultures, you should do your homework and try to build that cultural intelligence. And I'm sure there would be support for those informal, informal inside the organization. And I would suggest taking advantage of those types of knowledge building sessions. What are.

Anita Brick: Some clues? Because there was another question about how do I get to know my coworkers to hang out with them? What are some clues that you see in organizations that either indicate that it's great to go out and hang out socially, or that it's not, because in some organizations it's not done, and in other organizations it's almost part of the job.

Maude DiVittis: That's why it's so important when people ask for advice around, what should I do in that onboarding time frame? I always say that you really want to ask questions and you want to observe. You have to be careful. What I would suggest is to try and observe where the boundaries are in the organization. So you'll start seeing that there are certain norms and rituals and almost traditions in organizations. So I would sort of ask those questions. What are some of those traditions? Do you have town halls? Do you have a cocktail event? Do you have holiday parties? Those sorts of things. And I think some of that will signal to you where those boundaries lie in appropriately building really strong professional relationships. So again, really ask the questions.

Listen, observe. And you'll see those boundaries begin to surface just by different activities that are in many ways sanctioned. That's one piece. That's the formal piece. But there's an informal piece to this. And I think it's really kind of important to know the informal network that exists as well. And again, it's just being observant. And as you're building relationships, you may be invited into those informal networks again, keeping your eyes wide open.

So for me the answer to that is understanding the context in which you're working. And then also recognizing that there'll be some natural boundaries that the organization creates, and then there'll also be some boundaries that you'll need to think about for yourself, the level and the time that you want to engage as it relates to some of these sort of informal networks that definitely exist in the organization.

Anita Brick: There is a nuance around that that came from, he said, I'm a U.S. citizen about to accept an offer to work for a global North East Asian company. At the EVP level, I'll be relocating to Asia. Any advice to help me with my transition to a completely foreign firm? Have you found that your advice concerning global transitions is universal?

Maude DiVittis: I call this, and I've written about this a little bit. I like to call this the aggregate of new. The aggregate of new means. How many new things do you have as it relates to your transition? There's many newness that's happening. Not only is this a new job, it is a new organization. So it's a new level, an EVP, a new job.

It is a brand new organization. It's not only a new geography, it's a new culture. For me, anytime you have more than three significant news stories, that's the aggregate. It will be a steeper learning curve. This question represents to me one of the steepest learning curves. And the question is there is not a universal response to this. Do you have to look at how steep that learning curve is based on the newness that you're embracing?

And oftentimes you'll be told to recognize that sometimes it's not good to take on too many new things in your life. In addition to those new things which are external, there might be new things that this individual's taking on as well, like if they're bringing with them a spouse or children or leaving certain situations behind. So again, there's so much new to this.

What we do is we extend these same expat opportunities within our organization. And I would highly recommend to this EVP to take full advantage of the counseling that's being offered, the complete, what they call acculturation training. That will happen, and you should definitely start that many months before you begin your new role. So this is a great example where onboarding, where there's so much newness and there's an acculturation piece in addition to an assimilation of a new company, a new job, the acculturation piece that knowledge building and understanding will be critical to their success.

And just also, just to add back to this idea of having support systems, the more new that you have, the greater you need for the support system. So lots of research indicates that there needs to be a lot of personal support for these expat assignments to be successful. In other words, you're built in support systems, maybe a husband or wife or a significant other or a family member being able to sort of support the social component and the emotional component of being in a brand new culture. It's a really big move. It's one of the most significant, and it really demands a terrific support system as well as a really thoughtful assimilation process and acculturation training.

Anita Brick: If they don't exist in an organization, those would be things to request in your negotiation of your total comps. Those kinds of things could be built in.

Maude DiVittis: Absolutely. In fact, you know, built into those deals as well when taking those kinds of assignments is oftentimes the opportunity to build relationships, it's not unusual to have an opportunity to belong to a social club or a golf club and those sorts of things. There's affiliation groups, there's expat communities, and there are lots of forums that organizations can set you up and gain membership to in order to support your assimilation. That's very, very commonplace. Anyway, this person is taking on a very exciting new, new, new opportunity. It's a big deal and will need a lot of support on that.

Anita Brick: Thank you. Great. Another question that was along the same line. If someone was coming in, they weren't pulling as many of those levers. And even if students said are there specific things that someone who's trying to start a new business, such as a VCR within a $15 billion firm, can do before and after starting a new company, assuming he's expected to come up with ideas.

Maude DiVittis: Oh, right. That's really good. So that's a great context setting question I would recommend when you're thinking about your specific onboarding and your onboarding plan, and the things that you should be doing in order to be able to get up to speed and feel that you've really been able to adapt and contribute and perform in your new organization or new venture.

I highly recommend identifying the context and then having a game plan or learning plan to support the context. So a startup is a very different scenario than maybe a turnaround or sustaining growth. So those are three very different contexts in which you're operating. And the expectations will vary by those three very unique contexts. So I actually would recommend that in that situation there's a really good book.

Michael Watkins wrote the first 90 days. And what's really interesting about that book, and what I probably like most about it, is much deeper in the book. It just talks about these contacts, and he talks about specific, very actionable, tactical things to do if you are in a startup and what that onboarding might look like and what the pace might look like and the expectations might be versus a turnaround versus a sustained growth type of company, I think that the context is everything, and you're trying to build knowledge going into these new situations.

And I don't think knowledge exists without context. That's why it's so critical to understand the context in which you're working. What are you facing so you can show up in a way that's going to be able to contribute?

Anita Brick: It's funny that you should mention the first 90 days, because there was a question this person said, I just moved into a very different role with my current employer on March 18th, and the book, the first 90 days have been very, very helpful. Are there any additional actions, maybe, that are not in the book that this person could add now?

Maude DiVittis: Yes, I'm very familiar with not only the book that might be misguided a bit. I think the title The First 90 days, some people might read that as 90 days is the period of time in order to be on board. So what I would caution is that it's very smart to sort of begin to think about this in days and weeks and months, but to recognize that horizon for onboarding really goes 12 to 18 months that you kind of have to experience all four seasons.

My call out would be to see it on a much bigger horizon, to get to that one year mark for the performance review. I think sometimes people might feel like things are going quite well and months three and four, and you might have a false sense of, hey, I've really made it, and I'm really grounded here. What we found is that you're learning a lot, but there's also sort of an emotional component too.

So there's definitely ups and downs that you'll feel and you think that you get it and you think you have to really get it here, and then something will happen. You'll get an email or they'll have a conversation. It doesn't go the way you think. And then all of a sudden it's like you put into question, do I really get it?

Do I really understand how things operate here? So I would say the horizon, making it more of a longer horizon past those 90 days. In addition to that, oftentimes, Michael, walk in to highlight this idea of quick wins. And I would just caution around the quick wins. When you're going into an organization and you're able to see some early successes, I'd be careful to count those as your quick wins.

You know, it's like the analogy of being, you know, in an established franchise or professional team and feeling that you stepped on to that team. And as the coach of that team, there were a lot of things in place for that team to be successful. So I would caution around this idea of trying to gauge your success on quick wins.

Anita Brick: Got it? No. That's good. You know, she felt that she had a really solid foundation. But the two editions are very, very useful, very useful because there are some questions about some trickier situations. Are you up for talking about that? Yeah, I love it. Okay, cool. First and evening students said upon taking up a new role or position, how do you effectively challenge an executive or senior level leader in order to bring about change without sounding cocky or burning bridges?

Which I think is a great question. The fact that this person is even asking this question means that they're probably going to be reasonably successful at this, because they're even aware of it. What advice would you give this person?

Maude DiVittis: First of all, I think that's a great question. And there are so many things that you come into an organization and you have a fresh set of eyes on, and you may see things that don't make sense, and you'll see things that seem inefficient and you'll see opportunities for positive change. However, is the individual you're speaking to you ready to hear that message?

So I think the first thing is, is there a willingness to hear that message? And there are a lot of circumstances that would be able to indicate that there's a readiness to hear. So is it the right forum if you're challenging someone more senior, or how many people are in the room and based on the corporate culture, think about the different cultures and how, you know, we choose to communicate with others.

If indeed you feel that there's a readiness and they're receptive and you find an appropriate forum, I think it's always important to have two components with you to have support the support of your boss or support of of others, that this makes sense and that this is going to be received and they're receptive to it. So you need support.

The second piece is I think it's really important to convey that you've taken time not to formulate your own point of view and ask the challenging question or make the challenging recommendation. But that you are demonstrating to them that you took the time to understand the complete situation. And that's why I find that when people early on have a suggestion or wish to go do this, or challenge a senior leader, they often don't know the more complete story.

They do see a piece of it, and then they have this what they think is this great idea. And oftentimes the person may respond and say, oh, well, we just did that or that's been done in other places. So I always say, do your homework and understand as much of the situation as you can asking questions. This is something we tried in the past.

It is something that has happened in other pockets of the organization, is something that's been presented their challenge previously, and how was it received? Just demonstrating that you have some knowledge of the fact this is a known issue. Sometimes people, this idea of being cocky, etc., they come off as being arrogant and cocky, arrogance being that they have nothing to learn.

So I think you need to demonstrate to them that there is some learning, that this is probably a challenge that others are aware of and that there's some history to it. So I would say do your homework and know that history so that all those things are in place, if you choose to move forward and challenge, just make sure you're ready, receptive, there's support and that you've done your homework and you demonstrate to them there's some understanding around the bigger picture. And that would be it.

Anita Brick: It's good as an executive MBA student, and this is something I've certainly experienced, and I know a lot of other people have as well. This MBA student said, what do I need to do? And keep in mind, if the employees I am now managing are younger than me or former friends.

Maude DiVittis: Yes, back to this idea of contact setting, which is, you know, redefining the relationship. You know, it's different. And then this idea of boundaries, it's sitting down and having a very thoughtful conversation from the beginning by talking about expectations and saying, in the past, this is our context. We were peers or we had a different relationship, and it's redefining that relationship and putting a set of expectations and having a conversation around boundaries.

I think that's really important. And doing it at the very beginning. If not, that person may show up or you may show up in the old context. You may not recognize some new boundaries that are necessary.

Anita Brick: You know, there was an ally in who is, I believe, in Australia. I think that's what she said. And she's taking on a new role. Her manager is in a different time zone, and one of her concerns is regardless of the time zone, does she need to get there before her manager? Does she need to leave after her manager, and how does she set up the right impression going in when number one, the whole company works long hours. And number two, there's this added time zone difference.

Maude DiVittis: That's a great question. I'm kind of smiling because when I started my career and that was over 20 years ago, I actually had a friend who started her job and she told me the story and she said, I have to tell you, mod. I went in, right, it was 8: 30. And, you know, I thought I was on time because I had to be there.

At 830, my boss sat me down and I'll never forget what he told me. So my friend Stephanie shared the story and so she said to me, I want you to know, here at this organization, you need to remember that being early is being on time. Being on time is being late, and being late is unacceptable. And so wow, I was like, well.

And that was my reaction. I was like, wow. It was just a level setting conversation on her first day, and it just made it very clear that not only was this true for her boss and the team, but it was true for the entire department that this was their standard. So I do believe that bosses and organizations and departments, they have certain norms, how they do things, how they dress, what the expectations are.

And I think understanding those norms are so critical. What I would suggest is don't assume or guess that you should do that. What you want to do is on that first day, you want to in that first meeting, usually the hiring manager sits down. How's it going? You want to do a level setting? Again? I had suggested earlier in our conversation, you want to ask questions.

What are the expectations? When do usually people come in and begin to sort of ask around the norm and then just be very observant around those norms and norms, around how people dress, how people talk, what the sort of preferred communication are they face to face meetings or the emails or the conference calls, just asking those questions and understanding what the norms are.

But I had to share that story. It's a little bit old school. We still joke about it now, 20 years later. Teens are still very close friends. She never forgot it because it became very clear what the standard was for her boss, and because of it, she realized how important punctuality was in the organization. So she always got there really early.

Anita Brick: Well, and it goes back to what I've actually said multiple times if you observe and sometimes people won't tell us, but it will happen through observation, by observing and listening and asking questions and really listening to the answers, you're going to understand what rules, so to speak, are and how people operate and what the standards are, and all of those things. And it can vary so much from one company to another.

Maude DiVittis: It's your can. I just wanted to add another example where, assuming and observation, you have to be careful with, because there are different norms by department and it's not a double standard, there just are different norms because there are different expectations. And I'll give you an example. Previously I worked at MTV, there was a very casual dress code, and you would see in the elevator that many people wore jeans and it was casual.

However, when you got off on one floor, many people were wearing suits. This was not the executive floor. This was actually the ad sales floor. The sales organization at every level, entry level, all the way to the top really required a very formal business dress code. And the reason being is that they were working with external vendors and they were going on calls, and the expectation was a dress code that was much more formal than the rest of the organization.

And it had nothing to do with the double standard. It had to do with what was appropriate in order to get business done. So again, I went to Sam. I think observing is important, but I would actually ask the questions around the expectations around dress. What are the norms for the team?

Anita Brick: Got it. Good good good. An executive MBA student seems to be having a challenging situation in his current role that he hasn't been in for very long, he said. My question is that employers do not look into past experience and accomplishments after the first day of a job, and therefore are very opinionated about what someone is capable of. Given such a tunnel vision, how do I show them my broader skills and accomplishments that I had at previous employers? Without having to prove this every single day over and over again?

Maude DiVittis: That's a very good question. I would caution the first assumption, which is from the first day, they aren't valuing the previous experience because oftentimes they've hired you because of that experience or skill. However, the concern this person has is a real one, which is, how do I get to leverage this skill set and experience base that I have in order to be successful?

So if I frame the question that way, I actually suggest to again, be very careful of trying to convey the great knowledge and expertise you have and recognize that you're in a new context. And there really it seems that it would be best is to really understand your new context before, you know, trying to sort of convey how much, you know, someone told me and this really resonated for me, is that often people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care about them and the business.

And I think demonstrating a care and concern, a curiosity for how things work, how the business is run, how we've been successful in this new context is probably the more important first step than conveying to them how much you know.

Anita Brick: You're so right, because people will give us more latitude. People will help us out if they can tell that we are interested and we care. I care about them, care about the business, and I think a lot of people miss that. They don't necessarily think that way, especially if they're walking into a situation where in most companies today, the expectation is you're going to deliver very, very quickly.

And so someone is just trying to catch up and they forget that they'll get a lot more support if they can find ways to genuinely care and be interested. Really, really great point. Here's another question. This is from an evening student. It sounds like this situation has happened more than once, as what do I do when I find out on the first day on a consulting job where I joined at the client site, that there is no onboarding and the recruiter who hired me is no longer responsible.

And now I'm getting bounced around between different HR personnel. Do you try to make it work? Which I did rather unsuccessfully in my last job? Or do I just leave, which I probably should have done in my last job? So this person sounds kind of defeated to me. Is there any advice that maybe some of this is salvageable, or at least to figure out how to have some kind of success, even if he or she does leave?

Maude DiVittis: Great question. And it goes back to earlier when we were defining what onboarding is. And then you said, who is responsible? I feel that there are many players that help create the support system. So one suggestion that I always have is when you're in your final interviewing stage, oftentimes people will say, are there any more questions? And you know, I've gone through so many stages in the interview process.

Oftentimes you don't have a question. And I believe in those final stages as you're negotiating your offer, etc., you should ask the question. I'm very curious and would like to know what kind of onboarding support the organization has. What are some of the programs, what does that look like? And they're able to tell you in some circumstances, this consulting circumstance, we actually don't have that kind of support.

We expect you to show up on the first day. You know, you'll get your badge, get your photo taken, make sure you have your benefits, and then you're off and running. It's just important to know what exists. So that would be to me sort of a minimal support, right. That's minimal support. However, others will have pretty extensive support, which is programmatic support, opportunities to meet people.

A set schedule, an onboarding buddy, those kinds of mechanisms. And there's many more. What you want to really do is just to ask what kind of onboarding support is made available, and then at least gives you an idea of what you're dealing with, and then you can create your own support and your own learning plan. And there are a lot of ways to do that.

As I had suggested earlier on, Michael Watkins book. But there's another really good book that George Brand or George wrote, a really good book on the 100 day action plan, and he really sort of breaks it down to things that need to happen in order for you to take hold in the organization, become an insider and be able to adapt to this new situation.

So the question is, who's responsible? There are many that are going to help you be successful and if the organization does not have that formal program, do not give up on the organization. In fact, what I would suggest is for you to create that support yourself. And there's ways to learn around what is the best type of support.

And some of the informal relationships are important. And I would suggest going to someone who's relatively new in the organization and see the onboarding support that they have created, and that in itself creates support. And who knows, by doing that, you could inform an onboarding practice for that organization.

Anita Brick: No, you're absolutely right. And it helps you build allies and partners in the organization. And for those of you on the call, George did the very first career cast that we did on onboarding. You'll find it and a chapter in his book. And then they found the job and it was, well, it seems like such a long time ago. I guess it was Mark in 2008. Do you have time for one more question?

Maude DiVittis: I do, I do.

Anita Brick: Okay. He's given us so many great ideas, some strategic, some tactical beginning when you're interviewing and certainly looking at the time horizon of 18 months. So what are three things that a person could do today, whether they're in the earlier stages or even if they're already on the job to either start or advance their onboarding?

Maude DiVittis: I think I'd like to answer that question in three categories. The first category is your individual behavior, and there are three things that you can do within your individual behavior. They're really learning behaviors because what it's going to allow you to do is have a good collective learning experience in this new organization. And the three behaviors, if you can demonstrate this, when the onboarding process starts, which is really during the interviewing and throughout that first year are the three things you should do: you should be asking questions, you should be listening, and you should be actively seeking feedback.

You should be saying to your boss, how am I doing? Do it at mile markers the first week. How am I doing at the 30 day mark? How am I doing at the 90 day mark? How are things going? Oftentimes, if this organization didn't have formal onboarding, they may not have mechanisms to provide feedback. So again I think you should be asking questions.

You should be listening and you should really be seeking feedback. So that is it that the individual learning behaviors that are really going to drive your success. The second category is just building understanding. So my second advice is just build your knowledge base, build your knowledge base. And it might be within the industry or the processes in the organization or the proprietary systems.

It really gives you insight as to how things get done. And it's critical to your success, especially that first year. You don't want to miss that opportunity. And then you've been with the organization for some period of time. And there's holes in your knowledge. And then the third recommendation for your success has to be relationship building. And that starts from the interview process with the recruiter, with the hiring manager, with team members, with senior leadership who you'll be interviewing with, and use that as a starting point in the onboarding to continue to build on those relationships.

So I guess the three successes are the individual learning behaviors. This idea of knowledge building and opportunities to build your knowledge base and your know how the final piece has to be this idea of relationship building and really developing these strong professional relationships.

Anita Brick: It's great and summarized it really, really well. You've given us so much to think about. This is a very complex process. It's not just coming in the first day and filling out whatever forms you still need to fill out. And as you said, getting your badge. It's a complex process because it's a big decision on both sides. It's a big decision to hire. It's a big decision to say yes to an opportunity. So thank you for giving us just really a ton of wonderful insight. And thanks so much for making the time.

Maude DiVittis: Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Anita Brick: And thank you all for listening. This is Anita Brick with CareerCast at Chicago Booth. Keep advancing.