A guide for new employees: Ask Early
How to use your buddy to settle in faster in your first 90 days.
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
What this guide covers
What helps
Three things make the first months work
Newcomers do better when they know their role, feel able and feel accepted.
Asking looks smart
Asking makes you look more able
People who ask for advice on hard tasks are seen as more competent.
- How would you handle this? Asking someone directly works best.
- I will figure it out myself. Costs you days.
People say yes
People help more than you expect
People underestimate how often others agree to a direct request for help.
Silly questions
Ask the questions that feel silly
Your buddy expects them, and every newcomer has them.
- What does this abbreviation mean?
- Which meetings can I skip?
- When do people usually leave?
- Chat, e-mail or a call: what do people prefer?
How things really work
Ask how things really work here
Knowing who decides and how was part of settling in, in seven organizations.
- Who should I talk to before I suggest a change? Shows you who decides.
- What does everyone know that nobody wrote down? Shows you the rules.
A running list
Keep a running list of questions
Write questions down as they come, and bring the list to each meeting.
- Question Who approves travel?
- Answer your manager, in the HR system
- Ask next how long approval usually takes
Meet people
Meet one new person each week
Ask your buddy who you should know, and why.
- Ask your buddy Who should I know, and why?
- Fifteen minutes a coffee or a short call
- One question What do you wish you had known in your first month?
Say it early
Say early when something is wrong
Your buddy can help, or point you to the right person.
- You do not know what is expected
- You have no access or tools yet
- Too much or too little work
- Something feels wrong in the team
Mentornity in Claude and ChatGPT
Use Mentornity from Claude or ChatGPT
Ask in your own words; your assistant plans meetings, fills in tools and drafts messages.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Connect it once
Add Mentornity in Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP app, then sign in.
Ask in your own words
Plan meetings, fill in a tool or form, find a mentor, reply.
A preview before every change
The assistant shows what will happen; nothing changes until you say yes.
Disconnect any time
It sees only what you see; Settings shows what it did recently.
Your goals and the Academy
Set goals, learn, earn a badge
Track your goals in My development and learn in Mentornity Academy, in your language.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Set your goals
Write what you want to reach and rate it at each check-in.
Badge courses for mentors
Seven skills with short practice, then a 20-question exam.
Guides for mentors and mentees
Research-based guides, a deck for every tool, and decks for your program.
Add your badge to LinkedIn
Pass the exam and share the badge page, valid for two years.
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M. & Tucker, J. S. (2007) Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707-721
- Brooks, A. W., Gino, F. & Schweitzer, M. E. (2015) Smart people ask for (my) advice: Seeking advice boosts perceptions of competence Management Science, 61(6), 1421-1435
- Flynn, F. J. & Lake, V. K. B. (2008) If you need help, just ask: Underestimating compliance with direct requests for help Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 128-143
- Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. & Wanberg, C. R. (2003) Unwrapping the organizational entry process: Disentangling multiple antecedents and their pathways to adjustment Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 779-794
Bring three questions to your first meeting
Write them down now, including the one that feels silly.