First Days at My New Job
As starting a new job is somewhat of an exciting experience and definitely one that entails new learning opportunities, I decided to jot down the summary of my first days. I was planning on having three whole days in a row. I'm aware this doesn't sound like much but when you're not used to doing "full-ish" work days it is. Besides, being in new place and surrounded by strangers is very energy consuming for me.
Wednesday (9.30 AM - 3.30 PM)
On my first day, I had a bit of a bumpy road to work. Not only had snow fallen the day before but my scooter decided to randomly almost cut out its engine through the second half of the journey. Somehow "he" (I've gendered my scooter - get over it, he also has a name: Axe) powered through and even the one time he actually cut out I managed to kick start life into him again. I arrived ten minutes before scheduled time and felt pretty good. Meeting my future colleagues again and popping into the offices of people I haven't met was not a favourite but I think I managed okay.
We spent quite a while getting me set up at the computer with the user and the reccomended programmes and fetching forms and before I knew it over an hour and a half had passed. In this space I had to call the IT twice and somehow managed quite well? The very first guy got a bit grumpy as I couldn't find my computer's name but he joked about it afterwards. I let it roll over me but I made sure to have the name ready next time I called. Afterwards, I got roughly half an hour to just sit by myself and acquainted myself with the system and I really appreciated the quiet time.
At 11.45 AM practically the whole department headed up for lunch and I was kindly allowed to eat free on my first day, mostly since I wasn't quite registered yet. I felt a little odd sitting between colleagues that have been together for a while but everyone was so friendly and I couldn't help but join in when the topic of conversation turned to the horrible outcome of the American election. I also think they actually valued my input. Afterwards "the girls", the five girls in the department, asked if I wanted to join them for a post-lunch walk around the building twice.
I happily joined after they helped me drop a form on the way out and I'm so glad I did. I got to chat particularly with three of them, one who's a mum, whose daughter is taking riding lessons. The topic afterwards turned to Pokémon GO as one of the women was catching them as we walked, on her son's account though. It was adorable and I felt able to fit in despite the quite big age gap between me and everyone else.
Back at the office, we tried to actually get me into the terminology system I'm supposed to work in but we couldn't get it to work. My colleagues, who's one of the admins on the projects, also got an odd warning at log in, so it's possible that the system wasn't working. We spend some more time mapping networks, so I had access to everything and I got a bit of quiet time again, this time to look over the list of terms that need to be transferred into their new database. I also went down to have my photo taken for my ID card late afternoon but the camera was acting up and that became a task for tomorrow.
Upon my day drawing a bit to an end (I was already so tired), I mention that I wasn't sure if my scooter would start and instantly the department boss was looking up the public transportation from my town to work, which I found so incredibly sweet, albeit a bit unnecessary. I could have looked it up myself but I just thanked for the help and smiled. I thanked the remaining employees for a nice first day and headed outside. By some miracle, Axe drove bloody perfectly, not hitching his motor once, and I made it home safely.
Thursday (09.45 AM - 04.00 PM)
When they told me yesterday that I could essentially decide when to show up to work, it caught me off guard but it also really put me a ease. In the beginning, I'll be needing more help to get accustomed to everything but eventually I can decide what kind of hours I work as long as I help out as much as I can and work dedicatedly. Keeping that in mind, I attempted to arrive around the same time as yesterday but I didn't fret when it took me a little while longer to get out the door (it usually does).
Axe worked without a single complaint and I arrived at work and nervously tried the staff doors with my borrowed ID card. I didn't realise I had to swipe the actual chip part at the first door but by the time I moved onto the next, I had figured it out and actually walked right into the correct corridor where the staircase took me right to my department's office.
It was a bit odd walking through the doors to the shared office space and greet my colleagues but kind of cool too. The first thing I turned my attention towards was attempting to get into the terminology programme again but to no avail. I called IT but they weren't sure how to fix it but they made a formal request for me. I'm going to be a pro at calling IT by the time I've been here a month.
I picked up work with my list of the words from the old terminology database and enjoyed immersing me into the data. There's still a lot of LSP (language for specific purposes) I'm yet to be aware of but it'll hopefully happen with time. I might also be going on a course to be introduced to how the big navy engines are actually made to make me familiar with them and all their parts. At noon, the girls invited me up to lunch and it was just as nice and chilled as the day before and I felt well taken care of and again particularly enjoyed the walk around the building. I find the concept so peculiar but wonderful at the same time.
Once I got back from lunch, I worked on the word list a bit more and then chatted with my supervisor for an extended period of time about how to sort the words and what he thought of my initial approach. I also made some critical observations about the programme and the excel file that the terms are temporarily stored in. I saw a lot of potential pitfalls and I wanted to bring attention to them as quickly as possible but I hope I didn't come off as too critical of their previous work - I really tired to be purely constructive in my criticism.
After a bit of confusion with me seeing an e-mail and hour after I had received it, I finally made it down to get my photo taken. The lady was able to produce the card within five minutes. The colouring on the photo went a bit odd but I honestly didn't mind. I was just so excited to have a proper card with my face and name on it. It felt grown-up and exciting. After that I headed to talk to the secretary of one of the managers, who's also a student and very kind, to get my previous hours registered.
I went back to my computer afterwards and tried to work on the list a bit more but my brain felt so fried. I didn't last much longer before I had to head home as I was throughly used up. I finished my second day and said to my new colleagues we'd probably be seeing each other tomorrow.
Friday
I never made it to work on Friday. I woke up bright and early a quarter to eight but I was feeling so worn down and my throat was all closed up. I quickly pulled out my phone and typed an e-mail to my supervisor asking if it was okay for me not to come in today but also thanking them all for such a warm welcome these past two days. I felt it really needed to be praised as their enthusiasm and friendliness had made the whole thing less scary.
It didn't take more than fifteen minutes for me to get a reply saying that it was perfectly fine. He also said that they had gotten a really positive impression of me and they were impressed by how quickly I had immersed me into the work. It felt really good to know, especially because at times I felt very young and inexperienced in the giant international company.
I have a feeling I'll learn great things at my new job. It'll be a challenge and hard work but I'm warming up to it more and more. I'm intrigued by the work and all the people I've met are so lovely, which matters so much in terms of work atmosphere. I'm still a bit hesitant and worried about my skills but I have a lot more hope now than I did before.
This is what you see when you look up from the waiting area in the reception
Wednesday (9.30 AM - 3.30 PM)
On my first day, I had a bit of a bumpy road to work. Not only had snow fallen the day before but my scooter decided to randomly almost cut out its engine through the second half of the journey. Somehow "he" (I've gendered my scooter - get over it, he also has a name: Axe) powered through and even the one time he actually cut out I managed to kick start life into him again. I arrived ten minutes before scheduled time and felt pretty good. Meeting my future colleagues again and popping into the offices of people I haven't met was not a favourite but I think I managed okay.
We spent quite a while getting me set up at the computer with the user and the reccomended programmes and fetching forms and before I knew it over an hour and a half had passed. In this space I had to call the IT twice and somehow managed quite well? The very first guy got a bit grumpy as I couldn't find my computer's name but he joked about it afterwards. I let it roll over me but I made sure to have the name ready next time I called. Afterwards, I got roughly half an hour to just sit by myself and acquainted myself with the system and I really appreciated the quiet time.
At 11.45 AM practically the whole department headed up for lunch and I was kindly allowed to eat free on my first day, mostly since I wasn't quite registered yet. I felt a little odd sitting between colleagues that have been together for a while but everyone was so friendly and I couldn't help but join in when the topic of conversation turned to the horrible outcome of the American election. I also think they actually valued my input. Afterwards "the girls", the five girls in the department, asked if I wanted to join them for a post-lunch walk around the building twice.
I happily joined after they helped me drop a form on the way out and I'm so glad I did. I got to chat particularly with three of them, one who's a mum, whose daughter is taking riding lessons. The topic afterwards turned to Pokémon GO as one of the women was catching them as we walked, on her son's account though. It was adorable and I felt able to fit in despite the quite big age gap between me and everyone else.
Back at the office, we tried to actually get me into the terminology system I'm supposed to work in but we couldn't get it to work. My colleagues, who's one of the admins on the projects, also got an odd warning at log in, so it's possible that the system wasn't working. We spend some more time mapping networks, so I had access to everything and I got a bit of quiet time again, this time to look over the list of terms that need to be transferred into their new database. I also went down to have my photo taken for my ID card late afternoon but the camera was acting up and that became a task for tomorrow.
Upon my day drawing a bit to an end (I was already so tired), I mention that I wasn't sure if my scooter would start and instantly the department boss was looking up the public transportation from my town to work, which I found so incredibly sweet, albeit a bit unnecessary. I could have looked it up myself but I just thanked for the help and smiled. I thanked the remaining employees for a nice first day and headed outside. By some miracle, Axe drove bloody perfectly, not hitching his motor once, and I made it home safely.
Thursday (09.45 AM - 04.00 PM)
When they told me yesterday that I could essentially decide when to show up to work, it caught me off guard but it also really put me a ease. In the beginning, I'll be needing more help to get accustomed to everything but eventually I can decide what kind of hours I work as long as I help out as much as I can and work dedicatedly. Keeping that in mind, I attempted to arrive around the same time as yesterday but I didn't fret when it took me a little while longer to get out the door (it usually does).
Axe worked without a single complaint and I arrived at work and nervously tried the staff doors with my borrowed ID card. I didn't realise I had to swipe the actual chip part at the first door but by the time I moved onto the next, I had figured it out and actually walked right into the correct corridor where the staircase took me right to my department's office.
It was a bit odd walking through the doors to the shared office space and greet my colleagues but kind of cool too. The first thing I turned my attention towards was attempting to get into the terminology programme again but to no avail. I called IT but they weren't sure how to fix it but they made a formal request for me. I'm going to be a pro at calling IT by the time I've been here a month.
I picked up work with my list of the words from the old terminology database and enjoyed immersing me into the data. There's still a lot of LSP (language for specific purposes) I'm yet to be aware of but it'll hopefully happen with time. I might also be going on a course to be introduced to how the big navy engines are actually made to make me familiar with them and all their parts. At noon, the girls invited me up to lunch and it was just as nice and chilled as the day before and I felt well taken care of and again particularly enjoyed the walk around the building. I find the concept so peculiar but wonderful at the same time.
Once I got back from lunch, I worked on the word list a bit more and then chatted with my supervisor for an extended period of time about how to sort the words and what he thought of my initial approach. I also made some critical observations about the programme and the excel file that the terms are temporarily stored in. I saw a lot of potential pitfalls and I wanted to bring attention to them as quickly as possible but I hope I didn't come off as too critical of their previous work - I really tired to be purely constructive in my criticism.
After a bit of confusion with me seeing an e-mail and hour after I had received it, I finally made it down to get my photo taken. The lady was able to produce the card within five minutes. The colouring on the photo went a bit odd but I honestly didn't mind. I was just so excited to have a proper card with my face and name on it. It felt grown-up and exciting. After that I headed to talk to the secretary of one of the managers, who's also a student and very kind, to get my previous hours registered.
I went back to my computer afterwards and tried to work on the list a bit more but my brain felt so fried. I didn't last much longer before I had to head home as I was throughly used up. I finished my second day and said to my new colleagues we'd probably be seeing each other tomorrow.
Friday
I never made it to work on Friday. I woke up bright and early a quarter to eight but I was feeling so worn down and my throat was all closed up. I quickly pulled out my phone and typed an e-mail to my supervisor asking if it was okay for me not to come in today but also thanking them all for such a warm welcome these past two days. I felt it really needed to be praised as their enthusiasm and friendliness had made the whole thing less scary.
It didn't take more than fifteen minutes for me to get a reply saying that it was perfectly fine. He also said that they had gotten a really positive impression of me and they were impressed by how quickly I had immersed me into the work. It felt really good to know, especially because at times I felt very young and inexperienced in the giant international company.
I have a feeling I'll learn great things at my new job. It'll be a challenge and hard work but I'm warming up to it more and more. I'm intrigued by the work and all the people I've met are so lovely, which matters so much in terms of work atmosphere. I'm still a bit hesitant and worried about my skills but I have a lot more hope now than I did before.
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