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HI Mt-Guys...

open question: 

what to do while waiting to start a new job?

I am in a job transition.. I will start a new job in 30 days..  any advice about what to do before starting a new job?

getting in touch with the new manager? 

any experience???

Ariashley's picture

The last time I was transitioning to a new company, I had 3.5 weeks off in between.  I cleaned my house and reorganized and started my new job feeling like everything at home was really organized and set.  I didn't really do anything to prepare for the actual job itself, but was transitioning to a similar role as the one previous, though in a different industry.

However, when I most recently transitioned jobs within my current company, it was much more well you still have all of your old responsibilities and then here are your new ones and when we figure out who is taking your old job you can offload the old ones.  I spent a lot of time reading to prepare and needed to take exams, so I basically worked for 80+ hours a week between the 12 hour days in the office and the 20 hours of studying evenings and weekends.  A lot of the extra time was the studying and learning to get licenses I needed.

So do you know anything about what you don't know?  If so, you could spend some of your time off learning.  If you don't know what you don't know, there isn't much you can do to learn while not working there, so you get the rest of your life in good order in advance, so you feel like you can't concentrate more on the role when you begin.

brianr5's picture

For software jobs I have seen engineers ask if they can study information on the architecuture of the product they will be working on and any training documents, so they can hit the ground running on their first day.  I think that shows a lot of initiative, but it can be complicated too.  If they aren't officially an employee yet, the company may not want to share proprietary documents or have the documents leave the office.  Especially if they have not executed a trade secret agreement and/or non-compete at that point.  

freakedout's picture

Thanks for your suggestions. Learning would be definitely a good choice.
I am in sales.. I was wondering: should I start contacting my future manager? How? How can I show him that I am excited about the job and looking forward to know him and start there?
I didn't find any podcast about this topic...

If I remember well, once Mark said: it is not professional/advisable to accept the offer and keep radio silence with your future employer until you start the job...
I want to show them how excited I am and start a relationship but at same time not bothering them

Smacquarrie's picture

Look at the industry and see if you can identify your future company's niche market or specialty. Review industry magazines and articles to see how they stack up against the competition and try to identify those areas where you need to get involved and learn. 

Learn everything that you can about sales techniques and the different nuances about the industry. Reach out to your future manager and see if (s)he has any recommendations about what to focus on before you come into the role. 

I am sure that at this point you have some contact information for your new boss - I would recommend AN email to see if they are open to the dialog. 

Reach out to your network and see if anyone is in a similar position either at this company or another and see what they recommend. 

Good luck.

 

Mac

williamelledgepe's picture
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Call your new boss.  Tell him/her that would like to get a jump start. Ask if they have anything in mind that you could do before you officially start. 
 
At my last job I did this and walked in my first day with some proposal text written and a sketch for the graphics person. I got off on the right foot with the marketing staff because most proposals are prepared last minute.  They had a full week to work on mine. During my entire tenure I had a positive, effective relationship with everyone in marketing. 
 
In my current position, my last two hires made this same request of me. I asked one to read a report and have a recommended next action ready when she starts - so she could start on day one with that action. I asked the other to listen to the MT basics casts on O3s. Both new employees went up in my rating system by asking. And both will walk in day one with just a little less anxiety than a normal first day.