Starting a new job can be hard and going through the on-boarding process at any firm isn’t always going to be easy. We experience all kinds of emotions as we go through the growing pains of learning new processes, meeting new people and ultimately doing things a new way. We bring many expectations and hopes to a new job, some that are realistic and inevitably, some that are not. We want to have a real impact quickly, in order to prove ourselves, yet we don’t know what our lawyers or supervisors expect of us.

There is an assessment and trying out phase. Given this, sometimes, the work we are doing during the on-boarding and probationary period is not necessarily the work we envisioned ourselves doing, or that we were told we would be doing during the interview stage. During this time, the work may seem slow, too administrative, and not busy.

Our lawyers and supervisors have their own expectations. During your probationary period and on-boarding, it is important to remember that your firm is investing time, effort and money in you, because they believe in you. They want you to succeed. They are feeding you work at a pace they feel is best to successfully amalgamate you into the firm and the way they do things!

While we may not necessarily agree with the pace or how things are done, it is important to have confidence in their process. If things are not going how you envisioned, instead of immediately believing you need to find a new job or instead of complaining, you need to be patient.

This is especially true if you like the work environment, the firm culture and if you get along well with everyone. If the pace or volume of work is the only thing that seems to be off to you, then patience is key.

During this time, it is best to take time to really understand and learn your job. Overtime, you can make suggestions and changes as situations arise, and as your input and expertise is called upon. You can ask for more work, to be more involved, and for more complex files.

Thanks for reading! We hope this helped. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this topic, be sure to give us a call or send us an email.

Happy Job Hunting and Good Luck!