The first three months

It has been three months since Canadians were ordered to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been three months since our newest team member, Stu Collins, joined us. He shares a few words about what its been like starting a new job on the first day of lockdown:

I started at RESEARCH STRATEGY GROUP on March 16^th, or, the day the Prime Minister got on the air and said to stay home. I’ve been to the office for a total of one day – kind of a bummer, because it’s such a nice space. Working from home has been less of a change for me than some; instead of Skype calling my friends from across the country, I’m Zoom calling my team from across town. That said, starting any job can be an adjustment period and starting it in lockdown has been…an adjustment, period!

Three things I’ve focused on to give me a smooth start:

Be proactive.

Working remotely won’t give you the same level of exposure as a new face around the office. Actively seeking to be involved in things helped to build some “street cred” for my skillset and get me eased into the workflow. Let ‘em know you’re online and ready to work!

Be social.

Join the team Zoom hangouts. Slack your boss about what you did on the weekend. I like the social aspect of working in an office and am looking forward to returning to that. Until then, the WFH experience won’t provide the same level of team atmosphere unless you make an effort. Make that effort!

Be confident.

I’ll be honest: weeks one & two, I was waiting for the phone call that my start date was getting delayed. There was a period of just not knowing. The goal became to push through that and start delivering – to double down on the above two points. Now I’m just passed 90 days with RESEARCH STRATEGY GROUP and I’m feeling happy and integrated. There’s still the background noise of wondering whether I’m doing enough and whether my work is well-received. The best advice I’ve ever gotten on this is: “If your employer isn’t happy with you, they’ll let you know”!