How to make the most of your first 90 days

Wouldn't it be nice to have the CTO say "I've heard great things about you" when you first meet and for a coworker to introduce you at a upper level stakeholder meeting with "if you don't know them by now, I don't know what you've been doing here" within your first 90 days? These are both thing that have happened for me and I would love to make them happen for you.

Here are the top 5 critical action items to make the most of 90 days:

1. Come in as the subject matter expert on day 1

   1. Speak up- Start talking and sharing UX opinions on day 1. Most of this is asking clarifying questions and trying understand the product and industry (especially if it is new to you) in the beginning, but it gets people used to hearing your voice and making room for your opinions, which is very important especially in a remote settings.

   2. Bring confidence in your suggestions- Many times UX works in a team of one, which means gaining allies is even more important. You are there as UX's main representative so know your job is important.

2. Integrate into company and team culture

   1. Hopefully the interview process gave you an idea of what kind of team and company you're joining. Understand how people like best to be communicated with and if you can reach out to anyone or if you need introductions.

   2. Take the chances you have to be social like happy hours, affinity clubs, etc. Work shouldn't be your whole life, but it's good to bond outside of work.

3. Go on the "Campaign Trail"

   1. The most important skill to build your UX career and influence design and change in your organization is the Double R (rapport & relationships). So many decisions in the business happen on a higher level and then trickle down to product and affect your job as a UX designer. (Follow me and keep an eye out for my followup post of the business levels that UX needs to understand and manage!)

   2. Make a list of people in your team and external teams that you should grab a 30 min Meet & Greet with.

4. Deliver value

   1. This is going to be heavily individual in what work you've been allocated and what your company's onboarding process looks like, but make sure you are working with your manager to find work that helps you deliver value.

5. Be gracious

   1. At this point you're going to need help getting all your access, hardware, etc setup so there might be some IT tickets in your future. Handle all of this frustration with gratitude. Just a simple Thank You goes a long way. (I got an Apple trackpad approved by IT just cause I was nice)

   2. Similarly make sure you're expressing appreciation to the Product and Eng people you might be leaning on to get onboarded. These are the most important relationships for you to cultivate in being able to affect UX process and ship good stuff.

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