The Magic of the First Weeks

Great to see the results of the marketing campaign of PA Consulting when I was at London City airport last week (see photo). I joined their life sciences and healthcare practice recently and can only be very positive about the experience so far. Starting somewhere new can be exciting, awesome, overwhelming, nerve-wrecking and many more things, which is very much dependent on the kind of personality you are. An introvert will experience the first weeks in a new position in a totally different way than an extrovert. Being an extrovert myself who likes the aspect of networking, I truly enjoy starting somewhere new and having the opportunity of meeting so many new people and hearing about their exciting backgrounds and experiences. My first two months at PA have therefore been great. There is, however, something magic about those first weeks and as soon as you become more a part of the establishment some invisible barriers seem to get in place that prevent you starting a conversation in the lift or at the coffee machine with someone or to reach out to colleagues at a higher level in the organization. Similar to a room full of people that do not know each other: they start to talk and to interact and new contacts and networks are made. Now take the same room and fill it with people from one company and you see little groups forming of people that already know each other and there is much less networking. If someone new, not known to anyone in the room, was to arrive, this person would initiate some networking and might bring different groups together. Similarly, new arrivals in a company bring with them some 'magic' that allows them to quickly establish new contacts and bridge different groups, departments and divisions. But this magic, depending on the size and nature of the organization, only lasts for several weeks or months. Best to use it to the max while it lasts...