Onboarding (First 30/60/90 Days)

How to introduce yourself and ramp up at a new company in English (用英文在新公司做自我介绍和上手)

The First 90 Days Set the Trajectory (前 90 天定调)

Your first 90 days at a new company shape how people perceive you for years. Native English colleagues form fast first impressions and rarely revise them. Get the basics right early — over-communicate, ask "obvious" questions while you have permission, and build relationships before you need them.

新公司的前 90 天会塑造别人对你未来几年的印象。英语母语同事的第一印象形成得很快，且很少修正。早把基础做好——多沟通、趁还有"许可"时问"显然"的问题、在需要之前就建立关系。

The principle 原则: In your first month, no question is too dumb. By month four, every question is judged.

第一个月没有蠢问题。第四个月每个问题都被评判。

Day 1 / Week 1 (第一天 / 第一周)

Self-introduction in your first all-hands or team meeting (在首次全员或团队会议上自我介绍)

A 30-second intro. Have it ready.

30 秒自我介绍。提前准备好。

Structure (结构)

1. Name + role + team
2. Where you were before (1 sentence)
3. What you'll work on
4. One personal/relatable thing
5. Open invitation

Example (例子)

"Hi everyone, I'm Yuhan — I just joined as a senior engineer on the Platform team, working with Alice on the auth migration. Before this I was at [Company] for four years, mostly on infra. Outside of work I'm into hiking and trying to learn jazz piano (slowly). Excited to meet you all — feel free to grab time on my calendar anytime."

Variations (变体)

Async / Slack intro post: same content, written.
One-on-one introductions: shorter, more conversational. "Hi, I'm Yuhan — just joined the Platform team. Mind if I steal 15 min next week to learn what you do?"
Skip-level intro: "I'm Yuhan, just joined under Alice. Wanted to put a face to a name — would love to chat in your first available 1:1 slot."

Intro Email to the Team (给团队的入职邮件)

Subject: Hi from your new teammate

Hi team,

Quick intro — I'm Yuhan, joining as a senior engineer on the Platform team
starting today.

A bit about me:
- Coming from [previous company], where I worked on [domain]
- Specifically excited to dig into [topic relevant to new team]
- Outside work: hiking, jazz piano, terrible cook

I'll be ramping up over the next few weeks. If you have time for a 20-min
coffee chat in the next month, please grab a slot here: [link]. I'd love
to learn what you're working on.

Thanks,
Yuhan

First-Week Phrases (第一周常用语)

When you don't know things (当你不知道时)

"This is my first week, so forgive the basic question — what does [acronym] stand for?" — 这是我第一周，请原谅这个基础问题——[缩写] 是什么的简称？
"Still ramping up — could you point me to the doc on X?" — 还在上手——能给我指一下 X 的文档吗？
"Where do you all hang out — Slack, email, or somewhere else?" — 你们主要在哪沟通——Slack、邮件还是别处？
"What's the easiest way to find [resource]?" — 找 [资源] 最简单的方式是什么？

When asking for help (求助时)

"Hi [name] — I just joined and [manager] suggested you'd be a good person to chat with about X." — 你好——我刚入职，[经理] 建议跟你聊聊 X。
"New here — would you be willing to give me a tour of [system]?" — 新人——能带我过一遍 [系统] 吗？
"Mind if I shadow you on [activity]?" — 介意我影子跟一次 [活动] 吗？(shadow = 影子跟随=旁观学习)

When introducing yourself in 1:1s (在 1:1 中自我介绍)

"Thanks for making time. I wanted to learn what you do, share a bit about my background, and figure out where we'll work together." — 谢谢抽时间。我想了解你做什么、分享一下我的背景、看看我们会在哪里合作。
"What's the best way for us to work together going forward?" — 我们以后最好怎么合作？

First 1:1 With Your New Manager (跟新经理的第一次 1:1)

Topics to cover (要聊的话题)

1. How do you like to communicate? (Slack, email, frequency)
2. What's your management style? What do you expect from me?
3. What does success look like in 30/60/90 days?
4. Who else should I be meeting?
5. What's the team's biggest current challenge?
6. What would you have wished you'd known on day 1?

Phrases (短语)

"How do you prefer to communicate? Async or live?" — 你倾向异步还是实时沟通？
"What does a great first 90 days look like to you?" — 在你看来理想的前 90 天是什么样？
"Who are the 5-10 people I should make sure to meet?" — 我一定要认识的 5-10 个人是谁？
"What's a question I haven't asked but should have?" — 我没问但该问的问题是什么？
"How will you give me feedback? I want to be coachable." — 你会怎么给我反馈？我想接受指导。

Building Your Network in First 30 Days (前 30 天建立人脉)

Goal: 10-15 coffee chats in the first month (目标：第一个月 10-15 次 coffee chat)

This is much higher than maintenance pace, but possible because everyone says yes to a new joiner. You won't have this window again.

这比平时多得多，但能做到，因为新人提的请求大家都答应。这个窗口不会再有。

Who to chat with (跟谁聊)

All direct teammates
Adjacent team leads (Platform talks to API, Mobile, Data...)
Your skip-level (manager's manager)
2-3 people in the role you might want in 2-3 years
Your "buddy" / onboarding partner if assigned

Cold ask template (主动邀约模板)

Hi [name],

I just joined as [role] on [team], and [common connection / reason]
suggested I should connect with you.

I'd love a 20-min coffee chat in the next 2-3 weeks to learn about what
you do and share what I'll be working on. Would any of these work?

  - Tue 2pm
  - Wed 11am
  - Fri 3pm

Otherwise feel free to grab time on my calendar: [link]

Thanks,
[Your name]

Asking "Stupid" Questions With Permission (借许可问"蠢"问题)

In the first month, you have explicit license to ask anything. Use it.

第一个月你有明确许可问任何事。用上它。

"Forgive the new-person question, but..." — 原谅新人的问题，但是……
"Stupid question, but I want to make sure I get it right..." — 蠢问题，但我想确认一下……
"I might be missing context — why does the team [do X]?" — 我可能缺背景——团队为什么 [做 X]？
"What's the history behind [decision/system]?" — [决定/系统] 的历史是什么？

Maintain a "questions doc" (维护一个"问题文档")

Keep a private doc of every question that comes up. Some you ask immediately; some you save for your manager 1:1; some you answer yourself after a few weeks. By month 3 it's gold for the next new hire.

私下记录每个出现的问题。有的立刻问；有的留给经理 1:1；有的几周后自己回答。三个月后这是给下一个新人的宝藏。

First Code Contribution / First PR (第一次代码贡献 / 第一个 PR)

Setting expectations (设期望)

"Targeting my first PR by end of week 2 — small fix, just to learn the workflow." — 目标第二周末提第一个 PR——小修复，主要学流程。
"Heads up — first PR will be tiny on purpose. Want to get the deploy process down before anything bigger." — 提前告知——第一个 PR 故意做得小。想先把部署流程摸熟。

When asking for code review on early PRs (早期 PR 找人 review)

"My first PR — please be picky. I want to learn the team's standards." — 我的第一个 PR——请挑剔。我想学团队的标准。
"Calibrate me — what does 'good' look like here?" — 帮我校准——这里"好"是什么样？

30 / 60 / 90 Day Check-Ins (30 / 60 / 90 天检查)

Many companies have formal check-ins. Even if yours doesn't, propose one.

很多公司有正式检查。即使你的没有，主动提议一个。

Self-questions at each milestone (每个里程碑自问)

Day 30: Do I know what success looks like?
        Have I met everyone I need to?
        Am I unblocked technically?

Day 60: Have I shipped meaningful work?
        Where am I behind expectations?
        Where am I exceeding?

Day 90: What's my reputation forming around?
        Am I on track for the role I joined for?
        What's my plan for the next quarter?

Asking your manager (问你经理)

"Quick check-in — how am I doing relative to your expectations at the 30-day mark?" — 快速对一下——按你的预期 30 天我做得怎样？
"What feedback have you heard from others about how I'm settling in?" — 你从别人那里听到我入职情况如何的反馈？
"What's one thing I should be doing more of? Less of?" — 我应该多做的一件事？少做的一件事？

Common First-Month Mistakes (第一月常见错误)

Going too quiet (太安静)

❌ Heads down for 4 weeks, no Slack presence. People don't know you exist. ❌ 4 周埋头干活，Slack 没存在感。别人不知道你存在。

✅ Daily small Slack presence: ask a question, react with emoji, share a link. Light footprint, high visibility. ✅ 每天 Slack 上有点存在感：问问题、加 emoji、分享链接。低成本，高可见。

Going too critical too fast (太快批评)

❌ Week 2: "Why don't you just use [X]? At my last company we did it this way..." ❌ 第二周："为什么不用 [X]？我上家公司是这样做的……"

This is the #1 way to alienate the team. Wait at least 60-90 days before suggesting major changes.

这是最快疏远团队的方式。至少等 60-90 天再提大改动。

✅ Month 3+: "I noticed X — curious if it's been considered. Here's what I've seen work elsewhere, but I want to understand the context first." ✅ 三个月后："我注意到 X——想知道是否考虑过。我在别处见过这个做法，但我想先了解背景。"

Saying yes to everything (来者不拒)

❌ Taking on every offered task in week 2 to "prove yourself." ❌ 第二周接下每个任务"证明自己"。

You're still ramping up. Ramp time is sacred. Saying no to extras early is fine.

你还在上手。上手时间神圣。早期对额外任务说"不"是可以的。

Not over-communicating (不主动沟通)

Your manager doesn't know you're stuck. You think you should figure it out alone. You don't deliver. They worry. Trust erodes.

经理不知道你卡住了。你觉得该自己搞定。你没交付。他们担心。信任流失。

✅ Daily-ish updates: "Working on X today. Stuck briefly on Y, figuring it out now. Will have something to show by Friday."

Phrases to Avoid (要避免的表达)

❌ Avoid (避免)	Why (原因)	✅ Better (更好)
"At my last company..." (frequently)	让人觉得你不投入	Use sparingly, ask first what they do here.
"You guys do this weird."	即使开玩笑也显得 dismissive	"Different from what I've seen — what's the rationale?"
"I've done this a thousand times."	显得傲慢	"I have some experience here — happy to share if useful."
"Sorry, I'm new..." (every sentence)	过度道歉	(only when actually relevant)
Going silent for weeks	不可见 = 不存在	Daily small touches in Slack.

Calendar your coffee chats in week 1 — Don't let them slip. 第一周就把 coffee chat 排进日历。
Keep a questions doc — Future you will thank present you. 维护问题文档。
Daily Slack presence — Even small. Visibility = trust. 每天 Slack 有存在感。
Don't critique for 60 days — Build credit before spending it. 60 天内不要批评。
Over-communicate progress — When ramping, more is more. 上手期多沟通。
Document as you learn — Write the onboarding guide you wish you'd had. 边学边写下次新人的指南。

Onboarding (First 30/60/90 Days)

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