*** How to Make Sure Your First Three Months Are Not Your Last!

You're one of the lucky ones who just got a new job or you started on a new project. How can you make sure you your first 90 days isn't your last?

It's all about showing your value to the employer or your manager while still learning the industry, company or job.

That can be tough. You say "yes" to everything and sometimes you don't even know what everything is. But you want to please.

So how can you please?

Get Out There. I know someone who failed in a job because he spent a lot of time learning about the company. But he did his education by reading documents and being on the intranet. He avoided meeting people, talking to his peers and making contacts with other people in the organization. No-one knew who he was!

Know What You Don't Know. You are hired to manage a sales team and you know your boss wants you to increase sales. Easy! But wait a moment. What have the company tried before? How does the team think they are performing. Are they a new team who needs training. Or an old team who used to be successful but lost their edge and need new techniques to get their game back. Or are they a great team who doesn't know how to be fabulous. Or are they just the wrong team. If you don't know then you won't be able to solve it.

Don't Take Too Big a Bite. There may be many things to fix and it may be tempting to put together a five-year plan. But it's also good to have a quick win. It establishes your credibility and gives you the ability to launch the bigger plans.

What Flavor Manager Did You Get? You need to have communication with your boss but you need to know who her or she is and how they like to manage.
Is the manager plain vanilla - regular meetings, friendly meetings with clear responsibilities? Or is he or she something more exotic - chilli chocolate - hot tempered with dark moments. Or peppermint - cold and formal, written reports with no time on chit-chat. You need to find out.

No I in Team. Who are the peers you need to work with. Who are the people you need to be careful of. Who are the co-workers you need to avoid. You need to know when and how to create a team of supporters around you so they help you get through the first 90 days.

Be ready to show who you are, get some quick results and fit in with your boss and you team. Good luck!