Most companies have structured onboarding for new engineers and managers. At FAANG companies, the onboarding period has even more clearly outlined expectations. While the particular flavor of new hire programs may vary, the basic structure is the same: in the first few weeks, you familiarize the new folks with tooling, processes, and important people, while also completing any necessary legal compliance training and paperwork that’s required. There are usually very clear milestones for new hires to pass, whereupon you “graduate” from onboarding and start working on team or role-specific tasks.

After joining my fourth company in more than a decade of working in tech, I thought I was already an expert at ramping up quickly. I have now worked at every size and scale of software organization–from being the first mobile hire at a tiny startup, to being part of a team that grew from four to forty engineers at a hyper-scaling growth unicorn, to working at a post-IPO mega-corporation. Surely I couldn’t be surprised by onboarding expectations anymore?

But one thing not frequently discussed is the optional actions that can often pay significant long-term dividends. These actions are suggested but not required for new experienced hires. I found that these additional steps during onboarding allowed me to more quickly and effectively establish my technical chops at a large-scale organization.

Here is what I would do again during new job onboarding:

• Write a past work history overview
• Share 90-day reflections
  

Write a past work history overview

Once you’ve reached senior or staff-level, you’ve probably held multiple roles in the past, whether that’s from internal transfers at the same company or working at multiple companies over the course of your career. And if you’ve switched jobs at least once,¹ you’ve likely also updated your LinkedIn and resume with a summary of your accomplishments in each role.

When I joined my current team, I was asked by a peer engineering manager to share a summary of my work history. My initial reaction was surprise–after all, he could just look at my LinkedIn profile or my resume rather than create extra work for me. But after thinking it through, I realized it was a very useful ask. He wanted me to write a document that summarized previous accomplishments and responsibilities, with an emphasis on how these experiences could be relevant for the current role. In any case, I was fresh from the interviewing gauntlet, and having repeated endless variations my background spiel to an unending parade of hiring managers, writing a more targeted version of my work history was not too difficult.

Once I shared my past work history document, I noticed a marked change in energy and enthusiasm. My manager and peers now could contextualize my past experiences into what would help them and the team be immediately more effective. We skipped the questioning of my expertise and were able to speak with the same shared knowledge. I definitely felt like this fast-tracked my ramp-up and increased the trust with my technical partners.

In the early days of working, every experience felt new and uniquely stressful. Now that I’m deep into my career, more often than not the problems I see are variations on past themes. Individual circumstances of course still matter, and often they create especially challenging roadblocks, but past experiences can accelerate senior engineers and help them make faster inroads towards the solution. Finding those niches where the new person can bring all their outside experiences to bear is a massive opportunity for the company.

I would recommend that every senior and staff engineer starting a new role write a targeted version of their past work history to share with their new manager and team!

Share 90-day reflections

Almost every company encourages senior hires to do this, but it’s not a mandatory part of onboarding. I neglected to write up 90-day reflections in my most recent onboarding and I honestly regret not doing it.

When writing up 90-day reflections, keep it short and sweet. The stop-start-continue framework for retrospectives is a great way to break down feedback. Here’s a short outline to get started:

• Start
  • What opportunities or gaps have you noticed?
  • What did your previous teams do effectively that your new team is not doing?
• Stop
  • What made your onboarding harder or wasted your time?
• Continue
  • What are areas the team is doing really well?
  • What surprised you (in a good way) about the team/company?

Being the newest team member is a special opportunity to share learnings & feedback for the team processes & culture at a time when folks are especially receptive to the insights. Your observations might be that final push for your manager or team to do something about the problem. “You’ve only been here a short time and even you have noticed [X]” is a powerful message. Don’t miss that chance to influence things for the better!