Familiar-Like: An Executive Order, Your first 90 days on the job are a power play
It’s a rare and beautiful thing when a manager actually does their homework before hiring you.
Because let’s be real, half of them are out here playing a guessing game with job descriptions they copy-pasted from LinkedIn.
But I’ll never forget the time a hiring manager really understood my brand & customer marketing expertise well before I even stepped into the first interview. She didn’t just skim my resume—she came prepared with receipts.
This woman asked me about the chatbot on my website and told me she wanted me to implement it at the company! A hiring manager who actually researched my work? I almost cried.
That kind of recognition will have you walking into a new job feeling like Beyoncé on her Homecoming tour—respected, ready, and already in formation.
That request will always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Because of that, I hit the ground running on day one. No second-guessing, nor was I sidelined. No need to prove myself. I was trusted as a decision-maker, given the autonomy to actually do the job they hired me for, and empowered to lead with confidence instead of survival mode.
That kind of endorsement makes you want to give more because you’re not spending half your energy convincing people you belong.
But let’s keep it real…this kind of support is not standard.
For women entering the workforce, it’s still the exception, not the norm. And for Black women? It’s like spotting a pink unicorn—magical, mythical, and nowhere near as common as it should be.
And for that reason, I created this executive order.
Whether you have that level of support or not, you can make a power play in the first 90 days. Heck, you can start over even if it’s your 90th week on the job. Because waiting for someone else to advocate for you…that’s a gamble you don’t have time to take.
BY ORDER OF THE NEW HIRE POWER PLAY DEPARTMENT:
This executive order is a decisive action—no debate, no committees, no waiting around for approval.
It’s how leaders walk into the room, make their presence known, and start moving things in their favor from day one. Some have used it to bulldoze their way into power, signing off on decisions like they were flipping through a restaurant menu (we all remember that first week in office.) But in your case, it’s about stepping into your new role with authority—not hesitation.
Now, before we get into the details, let’s address the obvious: a lot has been happening. The year of January alone had enough plot twists to make a full-season recap necessary. So, after taking a moment to process all of that, it’s time to focus.
The first 90 days of a new job are your personal administration’s transition period. Move with intention, operate with clarity, and establish your reputation before someone else defines it for you.
Failure to comply may result in unnecessary meetings, performance anxiety, and coworkers forgetting you exist until month four.
MONTH 1: YOU WERE HIRED FOR A REASON—ACT FAMILIAR-LIKE
Directive 1A: You did not stumble into this job by accident. DO NOT underplay your skills. You were chosen, so stop acting like you need permission to belong.
Conduct an audit like a consultant: What’s broken? What’s slowing the team down? Where can you help immediately?
Accept all the meetings. Even invite yourself to ones (that seem relevant) —cross-functional included. However, avoid spamming your coworker’s calendar with meaningless 1:1s just to “introduce yourself” or coffee chats. Not only is it not a good use of your time (initially), but nobody likes unnecessary meetings when they’re at capacity.
Instead, ask targeted questions: What’s the biggest bottleneck? What’s taking longer than it should? What’s not working as well as it could? This is how you establish yourself familiar-like—as someone who listens, learns, and solves.
These are your golden tickets to scoring quick wins.
MONTH 2: THE SIDELINES ARE A TRAP—GET INVOLVED FAMILIAR-LIKE
Directive 2A: Watching from the sidelines is a one-way ticket to irrelevance. Get involved quick.
Get involved with existing projects early. Offer to help on projects where your skills apply, but be strategic—this is about contributing, not overcommitting. Every company wants you to learn its values, mission and culture by reading the documentation. But you learn faster by jumping in and working with the team.
Read the onboarding materials (yes, all of them) so you don’t waste time asking questions that already have answers or stepping on anyone’s toes. But also, don’t be timid about diving in simultaneously.
Be the solution to existing issues. Whether that’s setting up a process to make it easier to do something, recording the action items from a meeting to re-share or stepping in to fill a role if they’re short a person. *You would have discovered the existing issues by doing the audit in month one.
The faster you contribute, the faster you become familiar-like with the real work culture—not just the handbook version.
📌 NOTE: If you are waiting for someone to personally guide you into productivity, prepare to be disappointed. Self-starting is the real onboarding.
MONTH 3: AUTOMATE, ORGANIZE, AND WORK SMARTER—FAMILIAR-LIKE A PRO
Directive 3A: Chaos is inevitable, but preparedness is optional.
Set up your own workflows early. Organize your tasks in a way that makes sense for you.
Automate redundant work. Not to take on more, but to protect your mental bandwidth on days when you don’t want to think—just do.
Have a process. Working smarter is how you maintain your energy (not your time). A process in place allows you to put more emphasis on the strategy rather than the execution. The sharper the sword, the cleaner the cut.
⚠️ VIOLATION PENALTY: Failure to automate may result in burnout, unnecessary overtime, and wondering why this job suddenly feels way harder than it should.
FINAL RULING:
Getting up to speed is your job—nobody’s handing you a syllabus.
Your fresh perspective is only valuable if it’s backed by actual understanding. If you don’t have enough context yet, don’t be out here scheduling 1:1s just to ask, "So, what do you do?" That’s LinkedIn small talk, not strategy.
The goal isn’t to be the new hire everyone remembers because you booked half their calendar—it’s to be the one they respect because you ask smart questions and move with intention. Don’t come in thirsty to prove yourself (gives off pick-me energy). Instead, be active where it counts: drop insightful questions in meetings or Slack (“Where are the biggest opportunities for improvement?” “What’s a total time-suck we should fix?”).
Listen more than you talk. That’s how you figure out what actually matters.
Once, a manager mandated I set up 1:1s with everyone during a campaign launch. Imagine squeezing yourself into someone’s already overbooked calendar just to say hi—when they’re trying to meet a deadline?! Be so for real.
To successfully familiar-like your first 90 days, you must:
Pay attention, then conduct an audit.
Get involved early.
Establish your process and presence.
*Also, I am dropping this post here once you’ve settled into your new role and realize it’s a hot mess like every other company you’ve been in.
Thirsty as F*ck: Was 2020 the best year for human capital? →
OFFICIAL SEAL OF APPROVAL: If followed correctly, these directives will result in a seamless, confident, and respected presence at your new job. If ignored, prepare for a long, awkward onboarding period where people constantly ask, “Oh, are you new here?”…although it might buy you some grace (and plausible deniability) when you inevitably fumble a few things in your first 90 days.
“Who knew it could be this complicated?”
Need a 90-day template? Here’s mine. File. Make a copy.
👋🏾 Soooo…collective illusion is public enemy number one—Don’t Believe The Hype. Bi-weekly, we’ll say the quiet parts out loud (in your inbox). So we can cancel or co-sign marketing or market trends and discern pop culture gems from flops together. And start making sense of the nonsense online.