Travis Jones

Making a plan begins with a good self onboarding plan besides the one that you should receive from your new employer. Look at strategic direction as far as mission, vision of the organization and how you can align with it. Cultural values that describe the organization. Learn the hierarchy and structure and how things are measured. Study the leadership and understand the components of the communication style. Create a plan for your first 30, 60 and 90 days. Consider what the things are you need to do to adapt to this new company, who you need to build relationships with. What stakeholders meeting do you need to schedule including internal employees as well as key clients. It is work, but it will set you apart from the crowd.

If you have the time to test the waters, check out a reliable staffing firm and offer for a time to be sent out on as many temp assignments as possible to really test the waters. You will find it is much like dating. You will decide whether you like that kind of work or not. You can find out a lot about a company when you are there on assignment. They are looking for good people that fit, so talk to them about roles they may have and learn all you can. You are on a journey and are filling your backpack with knowledge that will help you explore new opportunities. One point that is important - if you want to get noticed, give them more value than they are paying you for. You will always win.

A good assessment is available from mynextmove.org. It is free and helps a person assess their skills and interest and at the completion will give you a list of dozens of careers. Take some time to explore those positions on a site like Indeed and set up a career alert to send them to you to see if they are really what you imagined. This tool will help people open their minds to new opportunities that they would never know about unless they did a simple assessment like My Next Move. I refer people to this site and many have changed into a career where they thrive today. I love it when our workforces thrive. How about you

Work balance is so personal and what is good for one person, may be totally out of balance for another. Get to know your people and find out what drives them and what energizes them. The more you know about what drives them, the more you will be able to support your people both at work and in thier personal life.

If at all possible, try to connect in person on a regular basis. Could be just a walk in the park, or attend one of your co workers kids events, look for free events around your community to just show up for an hour. If you have cell numbers, just check on one another.

Professional development never ends for engaged employees. Have a weekly share something you learned, what books are you reading and a takeaway, what have your learned from a co-worker this week that you would like to share. Have fun with this and set a time that is odd, like 13 minute check ins and update each week for groups of people in a similar role.