Joined a new company, feeling lost

Question

Hey HN! I joined a large corporation in an R&D role right after a year and a half stint in a university research lab. Ever since I joined as a Research Intern, I've been feeling lost. I have an idea of what I should be working on, but I feel lost once I get involed in the details and start working on stuff. I read stuff and I feel like I'm missing bits and pieces here and there. I joined earlier this year and it's been about 3 weeks and I keep feeling this way. I don't have colleagues who check up on my progress either (my manager calls in about once a week), and whenever we do talk, I feel like there's some confusion in my role. I keep feeling like I'm wasting my time, end up irritated which shaves off more of my productivity.What do I do? I'm genuinely helpless and I've no idea how to cope. I'll be here for another 5 months before I head for grad school, and I honestly thought that this would be a great experience, an opportunity to give it everything I've got.How do I focus on my work? How do I establish relationships with my colleagues, especially in this remote world? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this HN.Many thanks!

PragmaticPulp · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, not all companies are great at managing interns. You might find that you have to create your own path and take the initiative to get things done.
> I have an idea of what I should be working on,
> I feel like there's some confusion in my role
Fix this first. Reach out to your manager to schedule a discussion about your near-term goals. Don't want for your manager to check-in. You need to be proactive. Reach out and clarify.
Identify near-term deliverables. The two things you need to clarify, and write down, are "deliverables" and "acceptance criteria". That is, what are you delivering, and how will you recognize when it's done? Until you answer those questions with specifics, you'll be lost.
Next, identify the "next steps". What do you need to do next to get closer to delivering the deliverable? If your next steps feel too big or you feel stuck, break it down into smaller next steps. For example, if you need to interface with a certain API, your next steps are to identify that API and find the relevant documentation. If you can't find the documentation, your next steps are to start talking to coworkers until you identify the owner. Then your next steps are to talk to the owner to get started. Then your next steps are to make test calls to the API. It sounds basic, but you want to get into the practice of identifying your next steps and clarifying them any time you get stuck. If you can't clearly state your next steps, pause to do some thinking about the situation.

david927 · Answer

Ask your manager if there is anyone on the team that you could use as a mentor -- someone to bounce ideas off of and talk to.
Ask your co-workers for Zoom "coffee break" meetings, just to chat and get their opinions on what they're working on, why they like to work there, etc. Don't be shy to ask for a follow-up meeting for those co-workers you hit it off with.
If you want to talk more, my email is in my profile. All the best!