How To Rock Your First 90 Days In a Job

By Jenna Ross

I decided to write my article on the session I attended, called How To Rock Your First 90 Days In a Job. Being a senior about to graduate and transition into an entry-level position, I found that this session was extremely helpful, and I learned a lot of valuable things from it

The opening slides of the presentation showed a book called “The First 90 Days”, written by Michael Watkins, which is what the speaker based her talk off of I first learned some statistics about workers. For example, I learned 25% of people change their job each year, and that even moving positions within the same company can be very challenging. This was interesting to learn because I assumed that when you move within a company, it is not as challenging I also learned that 40% of executives fail within their first 18 months of a position, which was eye- opening to me. Additionally, I learned about an acronym for the five common situations that leaders move into The acronym is STARS, and which stands for Start-up, Turnaround, Accelerated Growth, Realignment, and Sustaining Success. It was interesting to learn about each aspect and how leaders involve themselves in each one. Lastly, I learned that when starting my job, it’s so important to “Be what you sold them on” This made me realize that I just have to be myself and be that same person that sold me into getting the job. I learned to ask, listen, and absorb during my starting few weeks in my job Overall, I enjoyed this session and learned valuable things to do and remember when starting my job.

Can you have it all?

By Minakshi Thapa

The "Can you have it all?" session at the WeLocal conference organized by the Society of Women Engineers was one of my favorite sessions and it was valuable learning experience for me. The session aimed to provide insights on how to integrate career and personal life effectively, applying project management techniques, minimalism, and 5S to both areas of life. The session covered several important aspects of achieving a balanced and fulfilling life

Firstly, I learned about creating a vision, understanding their values, and what drives them. This was followed by setting career and life goals and creating a plan to achieve them, prioritizing resources and time. Asking for help and seeking mentorship were also discussed, emphasizing the importance of having multiple mentors.

We were also introduced to the concept of minimalism and 5S, which they could apply to their possessions, to-do lists, and experiences, prioritizing quality over quantity. The session highlighted the importance of minimizing negativity in life.

Finally, the session emphasized that goals and plans can be adjusted as one progresses in life, similar to re-baselining in project management. Overall, the session provided a structured approach to integrating career and personal life while prioritizing values and quality over quantity. I left with a clear understanding of the steps I need to take to achieve a balanced and fulfilling life, with practical advice that could be applied to both my professional and personal life.