Lesson 12 of 1220 minutesFree

Your first 90 days, and how far you’ve come

A 30-60-90-day plan for a senior start, a before-and-after report from the Job-Readiness Check, and a victory log to keep.

Goes with Chapter 12 of How To Get Your Dream Job. Everything saves in this browser only.

Before you start

Your path

Choose your field and level. The examples and suggestions in this lesson change to match.

The story

Three changes by Wednesday

Ana · Counsel · first week in a new firm

Ana started as counsel on a Monday. By Wednesday she'd suggested three changes to how the team ran its cross-border cases. By Friday, the senior associates had gone quiet when she spoke.

She spent her first month on “learn”: one-to-ones with every partner and senior associate, reading the files, asking why. In her third month she and the senior associate who had built the old process proposed a joint change. The partners adopted it, with both their names on it.

“Same idea as my first week. Completely different result.”

Winning the job is the start, not the end. The first three months shape your reputation, and your next move.

Step 1 · Your 30-60-90-day plan

Learn, contribute, lead

At senior level, ‘your manager’ may be a chief executive, a managing partner or a board. If you're inheriting a team, meet every direct report one to one in your first two weeks. Resist restructuring in your first ninety days unless you were hired to do it.

Stage

My goals

How I'll know I've succeeded

What would make my first three months a success, from my manager's point of view? (Ask them.)

Step 2 · How far you've come

Your before-and-after report

Take the Job-Readiness Check again, honestly, without looking at your first answers. If you took it at the start on this device, your first scores appear alongside.

Step 3 · Your victory log

Twenty things, large and small

Write at least twenty things you achieved during your search: the outreach message you were nervous about, the interview where you said your pitch in thirty seconds and stopped, the offer you negotiated. Then keep it going in your new role, one line a week.¹

What I achieved

1. Adapted from Shaun Simpson, Why Should I Give a Monkey’s? (2024), Self-appreciation Exercise 1.

★ Core activity

Your before-and-after report

Your 90-day plan, your Job-Readiness scores then and now, and your victory log, on one page. Keep it with your Positioning Statement and evidence bank for your next move.

Before you move on

Three questions

Five minutes, in English or your own language: whichever lets you think most clearly.

Which statement on the Job-Readiness Check changed most, and what made the difference?

What's the most useful thing you've learned about yourself during your search?

Where does your Positioning Statement point next, in two to five years?

What to remember

Five things to keep

Resign in person first, in writing second, and leave well.
Hand over generously: your notice period is your last impression.
Learn first, contribute second, lead third.
If you inherit a team, meet everyone before you change anything.
Getting a job is a skill you now have; keep your evidence for next time.

You've finished the programme

Keep your Positioning Statement, evidence bank and victory log somewhere safe. When it's time for your next move, start with Lesson 1 again: it's much quicker the second time.

Retake the Job-Readiness Check All lessons

← Lesson 11 Job-Readiness Check