Technical Note: Before Day One: Proactively Approaching Job Transitions

This technical note outlines how students can create a Personal Onboarding Plan (POP) to facilitate a smooth transition into a new job. Research has shown that a high-performing transitioning leader reaches acceptable performance nine months, or 30 percent, sooner than average managers. Students can experience as many as a dozen job changes during their careers, so this advantage would make a significant difference in aggregate.

A POP covers three transition periods. The first is the "Get Ready" phase, which begins up to two months before a transition. This period focuses primarily on self-assessment, evaluating personal strengths and weaknesses. The objective of the second phase, "Get Set," is to understand the specifics of the new organization, the position, and the new boss during the four to six weeks preceding the start of a new job. The final week before transition (the "Go" phase), is devoted to planning initial actions, impressions, and demonstrations of commitment.