from Gergely Orosz | by Gergely Orosz

Onboarding to a new company as a software engineer/manager: what are approaches that helped *you* do this faster for small companies and bigger ones? (not talking about what companies could do better: there are, admittedly, a lot) I'll start:

Onboarding to a small company: - Clarify before joining what I'll work on - Befriend the most senior person around (often a person with long tenure) - Ask how things work, don't assume (especially when coming from big co) - Try to ship something on week one (should be possible)

Onboarding to a large company: - Insist on/find a buddy you can nag with questions the first few weeks - Start a document to write down all the new things (system acronyms, build commands, bookmarks to key systems etc) - Accept nothing will make sense at first and that's ok

Onboarding as a manager: - Meet your team and make a friendly impression - Meet other managers: especially at large companies, you'll need them. Find one or two "buddies". - The manager role is slightly different at all places: figure out what it entails (from your manager/peers)

And we need to mention onboarding at Facebook as it's so different. From what I gather (feel free to correct): - Bootcamp :) Yes, it's true and cool. - While at bootcamp, talk with people & observe. Best to find teams before bootcamp ends - Get information, but also sell yourself