Our Head of Recruitment and Employer Brand, Ben Craig, has written about everything from Miro’s equity scheme to the ways our hybrid strategy helps us co-create the future of work. Today, he’s joined us to pull back the curtain on the trials and tribulations of a Mironeer’s first 6 months on the job, and how to make sense of the whirlwind.
So you’re thinking about joining Miro… great!
Starting a new job can be overwhelming, whether you’re head of an organization or a member of a team. During my first six months at Miro, I experienced many things that surprised and challenged me, and ultimately made me a better teammate and leader when I came out on the other side. Here, I’d like to share my experiences and learnings, and my advice on how to embrace all of these things and thrive.
Time has absolutely flown by! As a new Mironeer, I have experienced 4 main stages of emotions during my first six months at Miro:
Stage 1: Excitement
‘I got the job… YES! And, it’s with a product I love… Whoop!’
My first few weeks included the typical onboarding activities: IT access, meeting the team, cultural onboarding, agreeing on my 90-day plan, learning more about the product, and spending time with my onboarding buddy.
What became immediately apparent was the unique culture. At Miro, you’re working with some super smart people who are all laser-focused on building the product, the business, and their teams, each person contributing in their own way. This is a culture of growth and failure, both of which are celebrated. So here we fail fast and grow fast, but grow together.
I loved how embedded Miro’s values were from Day 1. The value that resonated with me the most was: ‘Learn, grow, and drive change.’ This was easy for me to relate to, what with the continuous invitations to retrospectives and planning sessions that I was invited to right from the get-go. I happily dove right into it, learning where we might have gone wrong and adding insight into where we can improve in the future.
My biggest surprise during the Excitement Stage was that I thought I knew how to use Miro as a previous user. Quickly, however, I realized that I was just scratching the surface of this multifaceted tool. I learned a whole lot more in my first few weeks, and I mean a whole… lot… more, from recording videos directly onto a Miro board to using all the various application integrations.
💡 Do your Miro Academy courses before you start
You will thank me later! Most things are done on a Miro board and this will help you to onboard faster.
Stage 2: Spin-out
The Spin-out Stage started during my fourth week. You may not realize this, but Miro has been around for more than a decade… and we are moving fast to take advantage of the opportunity to change the way the world works together. This means that there is a lot of information available and a lot going on. Sometimes, it can all feel overwhelming.
During this period, you may look around and find yourself wondering: How is everyone else so calm and just getting on with it?!
Other feelings and thoughts (apart from spinning) are:
- Where do I find x?
- Who should I be talking to?
- How on earth do people get things done here?
💡 Don’t try to solve problems right away
At Miro, onboarding makes sure to emphasize from the get-go that you shouldn’t start solving problems right away. First, identify them, list them, understand them, and then — in time — look at what needs to be done by focusing on solving the most impactful problem first.
Everything inside of you will be screaming, ‘I can solve that,’ and, ‘Let me fix it, let meeee fix it.’ You will be itching to make an impact and add value, and don’t worry… your time will come. Now, all you can do is be self-aware and recognize where you are — spinning — and just know it will pass. Keep a running log of what you tackle each day. This way you can look back and remember how much you have accomplished.
What I found helpful was to be brave and to ask lots of questions. It can be daunting to ask people questions, especially in open forums and meetings, but realize that everyone was once in the same situation as you in their Miro journey, so jump in and ask:
- Where can I find that?
- What have we done previously?
- What does that term or acronym mean?
- What problem are you trying to solve here?
- How are you going to measure success?
The faster you get the answers and context, the faster you can add value. At this stage, you should also be asking for feedback on the progress you’ve made.
Stage 3: Making an impact
Around month 3 (yes, I made it to month 3, phew!), I finally started to feel like I was beginning to make an impact and contribute to my team in meaningful ways. I didn’t know everything, but I was starting to grasp how everything fits together, and what a great feeling that was!
The feelings and questions I had at this stage were:
- How do I influence and work together with other teams?
- Getting things done can be hard
- Wait… You want this shipped tomorrow?
I definitely felt more confident here, though. I knew what I was doing, I knew where to go and who to go to, and — most importantly — I knew I liked working here, a lot!
💡 Think like an owner
One thing that has stuck with me was something our CEO, Andrey Khusid, said: “Think like an owner of this business”, reminding us all to be accountable for the success of Miro. This means being mindful with my investments and focusing on efficiency.
In your own third month of a new job, it’s important to realize that it just takes time to get to this place in your journey. Surround yourself with people that you know are making an impact and focus on one of our other values: ‘play as a team to win the world.’ Keep learning from them and share what you’re working on. This will help give you a pulse on the relevance of your projects and ensure you are on the right track. Try to understand how impactful people around you work, how they get things done, and who they socialize their ideas with. And, of course, don’t forget to have fun!
Stage 4: Whoop you’ve figured it out… you think!
You’re now confident to just go ahead and get it done. You know what you need to do, how to do it, and what success means. The Miro value that resonates at this stage is to focus on impact and make it happen.
Our CFO, Justin Coulombe, gave us this extremely sage advice during our onboarding at Miro: “Be really clear about what you are going to focus on, make sure that you vet priorities with your manager, and, when the avalanche of things hit your desk, rely on this and be ready, willing and able to make trade-offs.”
My takeaway? Stay focused on the big picture of what you’re trying to solve, continuously assess expectations with your stakeholders, and maintain alignment. I’ve learned to embrace that things move fast here and you need to be ready to pivot quickly!
💡 Never stop learning
Now is also the time to focus on yourself and your development, so never stop learning. This could be an internal course or something external or it could be words of wisdom from one of your leaders or a coworker.
I’ve loved each step of my journey so far with Miro, from learning to spin out and step back to celebrating small (and big) wins. It’s been incredibly rewarding and I am looking forward to what lies ahead as a member of the Mironeer family.
