I’ve worked in three different positions at two different companies in my ‘career’ (if that’s what you would like to call it). I learned that the easiest time is the first three to six months on the job, right after the initial couple weeks of adjustment to new surroundings.
This time is great because not too much can be expected you coming right out of the gate. You need to learn policies and procedures and where files are stored and layouts of databases and where the supplies are kept, etc.
You’re not on call for production issues. You won’t be asked to do mission critical tasks. How are you supposed to when you don’t know enough about the mission yet?
I’ve found that the following phrases are great ones to use while you hang out in your cube and collect your first paychecks:
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“Just been walking through the code. It’s confusing, but I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“I’ve been reading up on documentation. There’s a ton out there.”
“Yeah, I ran into a few problems installing (random program), so I had to do it a few times. It took forever.”
“I didn’t know that I was supposed to be in that meeting. My calendar must not be set up correctly.”
“They didn’t tell me that during orientation.”
It’s once people get used to seeing you around when the problems start…
Technorati Tags: work, free money, slacking, slacker
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:27 am
I find your blog hilarious. I need to start using the long lunch tips.
Just one question. Aren’t you afraid of getting fired?
Or is Brad not your real name?
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:30 am
I’m going to plead the fifth as to whether or not Brad is my real name.
Seems like everybody else is a little more worried about me getting fired that I am
I like to think that I wouldn’t care much and it would me the kick in the butt I need. I reality though I would probably cry like a baby.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:16 am
i guess the ones i’ve been using at my new job are not really helping my case very much:
“your code sucks”
“you don’t know the first thing about building a relational database schema”
“you should fire your qa department immediately, they’re hurting your business bad”
“where’s the big scalable application you said i would be working on? all i’ve found is a small heap of 25 shitty java classes and a dozen database tables”
i’m finding subtle ways to phrase the above sentiments, but life would be more fun right now if my coworkers had been more honest in presenting their company during my job interview.
i have a lots of questions i will never again fail to ask in job interviews.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
What has happened to me has been the best scheme for avoiding work ever:
1. Get a job where your title is pretty ambiguous.
2. Make sure your work area takes some effort to get to and gives you some warning so you can minimize whatever non-work you’re doing.
3. Then your current boss suddenly decides s/he’s going to transfer to another branch.
4. This happens at Christmas time so, many people are gone on vacations or have the joys of the holiday on their minds.
5. Then the relatively new HR manager gets homesick for New Jersey and quits.
And there you have it. In the months that have followed, I have had no boss, no one really to check on things, there were only three people in the department anyway and they’re of the ‘up and coming climb that corporate ladder’ mentality, which strikes me as odd given the three of us are on the administrative side and this is an engineering firm. Just doesn’t seem like a lot of vertical movement in the paper pushing sector, but it does mean whenever such related work comes in you have a couple of people raising their hands saying “I can do that! I can do that!” Yes, I bet you can.
And the great thing is, because it IS an engineering firm, the place is filled with engineers, and in large part, as long as you’re at your desk and there’s a computer in front of you, it’s taken as given that you are working as hard as they are.
So far that’s gotten me 6 months (3 of acclimating, 3 of people not knowing I’m here basically) of pure, blissful slacking. I think JR Bob Dobbs would be proud..