Enter The Noob

Recently two new full time employees and a part-time intern joined our team. That's sort of huge because prior to this our team was a three person team. So essentially our team just doubled in size. Knowing that all these new people were starting was terrifying to me.

I don't like that in-between time after a candidate has accepted a job offer but before they've actually started because I'm always racked with anxiety. I find myself asking what will he/she be like? Will we get along? How will this affect my job duties? How will the team dynamics change? etc. All of these questions cause dread to build and build as I run through worst case scenarios in my head, so that when the new person starts I'm less than thrilled for him/her to actually be there and I think it shows. As a result, I'm going out of my way to be much friendlier and more welcoming. How? Here are some simple tips to help you out:

1. Go To Lunch
   Taking new people to lunch is very welcoming because it gives you the chance to break bread with them and get to know them personally! It's a gesture they'll really appreciate and never forget.
2. Ask Questions (And Actually Listen to the Answers!!)
   It's great to ask questions about people to engage them and make them feel like you care, but you're likely going to be spending a lot of time with these new coworkers so it's important to make them a priority. Think about it, you're going to be spending 40 hours with these people a week- you're practically in a serious relationship with them. Listen like you would on a first date!
3. Explain The Law of The Land
   Any workplace has politics and unspoken etiquette. Don't let the new people learn these the hard way. Obviously you don't need explain things that are common sense but if there are some quirky things about your office make sure to warn your new coworkers. For example, at our office there are a ton of matching mugs. A new person might think that those are for general use, when in reality each employee was issued a matching mug. Take someone else's mug and you could be in big trouble. Some mugs people have labeled with their names, and other mugs people have just memorized incredibly subtle differences so that they'll know which ones is thiers.
4. Be An Includer
   Explain inside jokes to new coworkers and make sure that you invite them to team events and meetings. Because they just started, new coworkers likely will not have weekly team meetings or special outings programmed on their calendars. Invite them ahead of time so that it doesn't look like you forgot about them when you're all running off something without them.
5. Set Them Up to Succeed
   Give new employees whatever training documents or helpful resources you have. If they are going to be sharing in completing tasks or projects with you make sure that they have all of the elements that they need in order to contribute. This also applies to knowledge! Give new employees the verbal explanations and support that they need to get the job done. 

 The sooner you can assimilate new employees into your workplace the better off your team will be. Going out of your way to get things off on the right foot initially will make the process smoother and more pleasurable for all parties involved; and... you might end up really liking them!

Making The Best of Unpaid Internships

While I was in college I had three unpaid internships. For some of you, the idea of working for free may seem strange, but in the Boston area this is incredibly common. This is due to the fact that there is a huge student population around Boston so businesses know that they don't need to pay students to attract them as long as they promise the kind of experience that can be touted on a resume later on down the road.

Having one or more internships before graduating is standard at Bentley. I had internships at a financial planning office, an internationally known shoe manufacturer, and an events planning company. The common thread between the three was that I was mislead before accepting all of them. Going in I was told that I would be doing one thing (i.e. something that had to do with my major) and I ended up being asked to do something totally different (i.e. grunt office work, manual labor, and needless busy work). The moral of the story here is that when you accept an internship expect to do things you never signed on for. What will decide how beneficial the internship ends up being to your professional networking and career development is how you handle those unexpected duties. If you grudgingly do the least amount of work needed to complete them you'll end up getting bitter and cynical. It's very easy to fall into that trap! You think to yourself, "I'm paying $35,000/year to get an education where they tell me I need an internship and then I get one and I'm filing all day without even getting paid for it?!" But trust me, if you find a way to turn it around you'll get a huge payoff!

Here are some tips to make the most of those undesirable tasks:

• Go above and beyond- provide more than you were asked for, and provide it sooner than expected
• Find room for improvement- make the process more efficient, more complete, or more detailed
• Do it without being asked- if you see something that needs to be done just do it
• Brainstorm- come up with ideas to supplement what you've been asked to do

If you've had the same experience share it with our readers! What crazy things have you been asked to do at your internship(s)?