Congratulations on landing a new job! You must be excited and nervous at the same time. Acquiring a new job in a whole new environment can put you under certain pressure and leads to expectations on how to do your job well. Perhaps there are also some specific goals that you need to achieve to make a lasting impression on your employer or coworkers. So, what can you do best to adapt through this stage while mastering your job responsibilities?
Our answer is to add a 30-60-90 day plan to your daily rituals. If you’re unheard of, a 30-60-90 day plan is an effective strategy to help you set up your goals and organize your priorities and tasks output for the next 30, 60, 90 days ahead. The 30-60-90 day plan is useful because you will create a clearer focus on your job and ensure your daily actions to be productive. Setting up goals every day consistently will also help you adapt more quickly and smoothly to the environment. Plus, people at your work will see that you’re capable of self-management!
There are a few vital elements in a 30-60-90 day plan. As for each phase, you'll need to determine a specific focus on your role, set up your top priorities, make concrete goals that will support those priorities, then decide how you’ll measure the success. You can lay out your kind of 30-60-90 day plan, but we'll give you an example of how to start planning its elements.
Example
Before you start figuring your goals and priorities, watch for these five tips to make your 30-60-90 day plan easier:
1) Think of the big picture > Be specific
First and foremost, reflect an overall of your priorities. Like spreading a puzzle that just came out of a box, you should lay out all of your priorities and see what’s more important and can be done to help you push your self-management. After seeing the big picture, you can aim for the things you think have more value and are worth achieving. We recommend you only to take a maximum of 3 goals to attain so you won’t get deranged. Then be specific and concrete with the goals that you’re aiming for. Keep the words actionable!
2) Ask the question
This tip is probably highly recommended because people, especially employers, will witness you as an agile and proactive individual. Career coach Tamara Allison suggests you should ask your employer upfront, “What can I tackle in the first 90 days that will allow me to hit the ground running as well as make a significant impact in the organization?” 🙌🏻 By establishing this kind of question, you will find the employer taking you seriously and eager to pave the way to your success. They’ll know that you’re serious about learning the ropes in your new role and what to expect in the organization.
3) Use SMART goals
Set your goals as Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. Use a SMART sentence like, “Identify my biggest gap in growing as an individual contributor in the field of market research and grow my skills through online courses, such as Coursera. By the end of 2019, people in my division will recognize me as the subject matter expert on this topic. And use me as a resource to see how market research can help them make a bigger impact,” instead of using a vague sentence like, “Get better at market research to secure my job at my company.” Using a SMART goal will add meaning to what it means to be an invaluable addition to a team, as it will ensure you develop the skills that the organization truly needs.
4) Determine the metrics
Determining the metrics can differ in each of your goals. Metrics can be quantifiable (e.g., numeral rewards) or in a qualitative sense (e.g., positive feedback), depending on how you prefer to quantify it. The reason why it’s important to quantify your progress because you’ll be able to see your succession and would likely motivate you more in the next cycle of the plan. Knowing how well you did in your role can be very addicting. Try it!
5) Be flexible and maintain a growth mindset
The key to starting making your 30-60-90 day plan is to let go of your fixed thoughts and surrender yourself in your skill to adapt. Don't stress too much on the "what if" before you did take some actions about it! Be flexible and open within your new role. If you happen to encounter unsuccessful strategies, take it as another day of the lesson learned and move onto the next goal right away.
In conclusion, the purpose of a 30-60-90 day plan is simply to help you transition into your new role. A 30-60-90 day plan can also be your guided motivation for your career development. Instead of just guiding you on how to do your job well, the specific and concrete goals that you make should push you to perform better and reach a higher potential for success that you may not even realize yet. As Eliot Kaplan has said, “If you come in without a game plan and try to tackle everything, you’re going to get nothing done. Come up with a couple of things you can accomplish successfully.” If you’re interested in knowing more about career development, make sure to stay tuned to our blog posts! Also, follow us on Instagram @baikgp & @ayureadypodcast!