Your First Thirty Days: Building a Professional Image in a New Job

by Elwood N. Chapman, Martha Chapman

For a new associate, the first month is the most bewildering. Here is a week-by-week guideline for becoming a professional member of an organization within that crucial first month. Sample 30-day evaluations for both employee and supervisor are included, as well as a Job Specification Worksheet which illuminates the purpose of a job and the most critical responsibilities.

77 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Rod Hilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm starting a new job soon, decided I'd give this a read. It's short and sweet, easy to get through in a single sitting.

The book definitely seems outdated, even antiquated in many ways. Some of the advice feels like something you'd hear 20 or 30 years ago. I especially like all the attention to cleanliness and well-manicured fingernails, that feels super relevant in a world where my coworkers have sleeve tattoos and 5-inch ear gauges.

The book also suffers from broadness. It's meant to apply to any new job, blue collar, white collar, office, bagging groceries, whatever. In that way, it often felt too broad to be terribly useful. A lot of the advice is about dealing with your manager, getting help, asking for guidance and evaluation from them, etc. I can see this being useful if you're the newest waiter at a restaurant or something, but as a software engineer I assure you that my supervisor will want me to be much more self-sufficient than this, and a lot of it would be seen as a nuisance. I particularly laughed at the sheets at the end you're supposed to print out to go over your first 30 day performance with your manager, I imagined handing that to my boss and having them just laugh me out of the room. It stinks of desperation and a lack of self-confidence.

Overall, a useful read, I'll definitely be keeping in mind in my first 30 days. I liked the weekly goals, and what to focus on each week. I particularly like the idea of focusing my first week mainly on personal relationships, and my second week on actual job performance. This isn't in my nature and I think it's a good idea. My natural inclination is to get in there and start kicking ass immediately to prove I was a good hire, but the book basically convinced me this is a super-stupid thing to do because it ignores the value of creating personal relationships at work, and it creates an unsustainable pace. I'll definitely be taking this advice to heart.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a helpful tool in setting expectations for someone new to the work force. While it contains very simple, straightforward advice we think everyone knows, you can't assume everyone knows it. It helps clarify expectations for a new employee and helps managers understand that they have basic expectations.

[Mack Asaga · Rating 2 out of 5]

*[ If you're not sure if you're doing things the right way, you may want to read this book, it's easy to understand and takes you step by step for the first days of a new job/change of position. ]