How to onboard yourself: your first 90 days at a new job when there's no playbook
When you switch industries or pivot roles, no one's training you but you're expected to deliver. Here's what to do.
Hi, it’s Hannah! Welcome to Nonlinear News, where I share advice for high achievers who refuse to choose between wealth and fulfillment.
Thank you for being here!
Getting a job 🤩 vs. starting a job 😔
You did it! You finally got the job you spent months (maybe even years) working towards - dozens of coffee chats, apps that disappeared into a black box, final round interviews that gave you false hope…now you’re onto the next phase of your career!!
But now you’re a few days before starting and thinking: I can’t do this…You start missing your old job where you knew how to do everything, who to ask for what, because it felt comfortable.
How I’d onboarded myself again
Three months ago, I left my comfortable remote job at a thousand-person tech company where I was one of five product marketers to join a 40-person startup where I’m the only marketer. I went from remote to in-office, structured to chaotic, and into an industry I’d never worked in before (fintech/crypto). Most 30-60-90 day plans didn’t feel like they fit.
Last month I posted a story on IG about how hard the first few months felt, and how it finally started clicking around month 3. I got dozens of DMs from people about to make similar moves: switching industries, taking pay cuts for long-term upside, joining smaller companies where they’ll be the first or only person in their role.
They all wanted to know: what do you actually do when there’s no structure and you’re expected to figure it out yourself?
Here’s how I’d do it again:
Set these 3 goals before you start
Expect the 3-month rollercoaster
Build your 4-pillar onboarding plan: team, customers, product, industry
Ask (the right) questions
Know if you should quit
