As you prepare for job interviews, you're really looking at the job role and organization from an outsider's perspective.

One thing you'll need to consider: if you get the job, what would you do in your first 30 days?

And if an employer asks you this in a job interview, you can't reject the question....

Oprah holding her hands in the air during an interview.

...so how do you answer it to appeal to the insiders on the other side of the table?

What To Say

Show the employer that you're ready to dive into your first 30 days with some key priorities:

  1. Eager to learn — you'll act like a "sponge" to new learning opportunities.

  2. Meet new people — you'll require the support of others to introduce you to the organization's culture and dynamics, so those critical coffee connections with your new colleagues will be at the top of your mind.

  3. Get acquainted with tools and systems — you'll plan to get a lay of the land and learn the organization's major tools so you can get up to speed as soon as possible.

A panda spinning around on a chair behind the text

What To Avoid

A woman saying,

The employer knows that you're new and your first 30 days will be challenging. Things to avoid as you answer this question:

  1. General uncertainty in how you'll approach the first month

  2. Telling the hiring manager that you follow what they say

  3. Providing an unrealistic answer that you'll overachieve on expectations/deliverables

Quiz

What's the best answer to the question, "What's your plan for your first 30 days on the job?"

Take Action

While there's no specific right answer to this question, there are definitely some wrong ones.

However you decide to answer:

A person walking down the street behind the text

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