By now you are settling in and making meaningful contributions. Here are some other things to keep in mind during your first months at the Institute.
One to Six Months
Continue conversations with your manager, team members, and other key employees about how your work, knowledge, and skills contribute to your team and Department, Lab, Center, or Institute (DLCI). Consider your interests and strengths and how you can learn, grow, build relationships, and connect to MIT’s community.
Connect with your manager
- Prepare for a three and six month performance check-in.
- Bring up any questions or concerns you may have
- Develop performance goals and professional development goals
- Address questions about your schedule, work arrangements, and your DLCI's flexible work policies and procedures
Build relationships
- In coordination with your manager, set up meetings with your team members and other key employees
- These meetings can be on-on-one or group calls; start with conversations about their background, career paths, personal/professional interests
- Continue to build rapport with follow up invitations for more in depth conversations about the DLCI, partnerships, collaborations, projects, and initiatives
- Plan to meet with co-workers, direct reports, and employees from other departments with whom you’ll work closely
- Inquire about and attend team building and social events within your DLCI
Training and development
- Continue role based training
- Start looking at opportunities to learn, discover, and chart your career at MIT
- Consider how you might align your learning opportunities with your performance and professional development goals
- Explore the WorkLife and WellBeing Center's range of programs and resources that address specific life issues and events
Stay informed and connect with the MIT community
- Ensure you've met your deadlines for benefits enrollment
- Review the resources and attend events through the Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO)
- Become familiar with MIT Values and explore the MindHandHeart website. MindHandHeart and the ICEO raise awareness, facilitate discussions, and offer workshops about MIT Values.
- Attend events and programs of interest to you
- Join Employee Resource Groups
- Stay informed and learn about interesting opportunities across campus by subscribing to newsletters, such as MIT News, MIT Medical, Faculty, and Sloan’s Thinking Forward
- Explore MIT's Office of Sustainability and the MIT Climate Portal to learn about campus sustainability efforts, how to get involved, and climate science happening at MIT.
- Get involved: MIT is part of the All In Voting Coalition, a national, non-partisan effort to promote civic responsibility and voter registration. Register to vote.
- Continue to learn about MIT history, watch videos featuring discovery, news, and campus life, and visit the MIT Museum's online resources, virtual events, and at-home activities
Six to Twelve Months
As you gain momentum in your work and take the lead on some initiatives, this is a great time to assess what you have done well and what you could have done differently in your first six months. As your work moves forward, continue to develop relationships with peers as go-to partners.
Connect with your manager
- Prepare for the annual performance review process and a discussion with your manager about:
- Your experience at MIT to date
- Your strengths, skills, areas for growth and development
- Accomplishments and successes
- What is working well and what could be working better
- Additional support or resources
- The year ahead
- MIT Values
Build relationships
- Continue to build rapport with your team members and colleagues within your DLCI. Follow up with invitations for more in depth conversations.
- Consider applying for a more active role in an Employee Resource Group, either as group’s committee member or as a co-lead
- Participate in conversations on Slack workspaces. MIT has many workspaces where you can direct message individuals or create conversation channels for topics, projects, and groups
- If you joined MIT in a support role, learn and network with the support staff community
- See the ways MIT’s Employee Recognition Program celebrates our work and community. Celebrate your colleagues and the great work in your DLCI with a Spot Award
Training and development
- See our opportunities to learn, discover, and chart your career at MIT.
- Visit the MIT Learning Center to browse workshops and to sign up to be notified about upcoming courses
- Expand your knowledge through a variety of online, self-directed, just-in-time learning resources
- Attend WorkLife and WellBeing Center’s webinar series
- Schedule a Career Development consultation to help you think about your career and development plan at MIT
- Explore how the Tuition Assistance Plan can help you build or improve the skills you need to develop your career at MIT
- Search Inside Yourself
The Search Inside Yourself program teaches mindfulness-based emotional intelligence skills designed to support engagement and well-being. Join your MIT colleagues from across campus to learn new skills and practical applications to develop greater self-awareness, increase resilience, improve communication, build empathy, and lead with compassion. Learn more and register (both virtual and in-person options available!).
Stay informed and connect with the MIT community
- Continue exploring opportunities through MindHandHeart to learn about and discuss MIT Values.
- Attend virtual events and programs of interest to you. The MIT community comes together for many signature events through the year such as Commencement and the MIT Excellence Awards.
- Continue to learn about the resources that MIT offers to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across the Institute
- As you continue to develop in your new role, sign up, as needed, for professional training, and explore Cambridge in addition to MIT’s campus
What's Next?
As you continue to grow in your role and explore the many facets of the MIT community, let us know how we can help. Your Human Resources Officer is always a good person to contact if you have HR issues or concerns. We're glad you're here!
