This document provides an overview and agenda for a lesson on starting work on the right foot. It discusses topics like interacting with managers and coworkers, dressing professionally, getting involved in appropriate office activities, underpromising and overdelivering, and building a professional network. The objectives are to feel confident at work, make a good first impression, communicate goals effectively, and set oneself up for success. It provides discussion questions and additional resources on each topic. The assignment is for students to develop 3 SMART goals to achieve in their first 90 days of work.

1. Lesson 1: Starting work on the right foot

2. 2
Agenda + Objectives
● Discuss your current work situation
● Lesson topics:
○ Interactions with your manager and
coworkers
○ Dressing like an adult
○ Getting involved in office activities, not
office politics
○ Underpromise and overdeliver
○ Building your professional network for
the future
○ Work-life balance
● Assignment: setting a work goal
Agenda
● Feel confident about work
● Make a good first impression
● Know how to communicate your goals to your
team and manager
● Set yourself up for success as a member of your
team
Objectives

3. 3
● What do you do for work?
● What are your goals in the next month, this
quarter (3 months), and 1 year?
● How would you describe your relationship
with your manager/supervisor so far?
● What are some skills you’d like to gain in
your current job? What are some current
skills you’d like to enhance?
?
Discussion

4. Observing the dress code
● Your appearance shouldn’t distract people from your professional competence,
but should instead emphasize it.
● Dress professionally: No hoodies, no sweatpants, no flip flops.
● Observe the dressing style in your office and stay within the upper limit of that
standard (jeans at a tech office; suit at a bank, etc.). Note that “business casual” can
mean a variety of things depending on industry, location, etc.
Lesson: Dressing like an adult
Additional Resources
● Reddit: MaleFashionAdvice and
FemaleFashionAdvice
● Hemster for tailoring
● Chrome Extensions: Honey,
Rakuten, and RetailMeNot for
coupons/cash back
● Go-to brands: Brooks Brothers,
Banana Republic, JCrew, Ann
Taylor, Madewell, Nordstrom
Rack, The Gap, Old Navy,
Marshalls, TJ Maxx
Building your wardrobe
● Focus on buying good-quality items that are timeless and can last multiple years,
as opposed to fast fashion.
● Fit is important — make sure to get your clothes tailored (especially suits).
● Thrift stores are your friend, especially in wealthier neighborhoods since they
tend to have more upscale brands.
Personal hygiene and self-care
● Maintaining good personal hygiene (showering often, wearing deodorant, etc.) is
the foundation of a professional appearance
● Having a good skincare routine and can go a long way!

5. Working with your manager
● Clarify your manager’s expectations for your role and what success looks like.
● Set up two types of 1:1s with your manager: tactical conversations (what your
priorities are this week) and professional development conversations (what your
PD goals are and how your manager can help you reach them).
● Proactively set the 1:1 agenda and try to send it to your manager in advance
● Be enthusiastic about new assignments, no matter big or small.
● Advocate for yourself. It’s okay to voice when you’re not enjoying your work or
responsibilities. Any good manager will work with you to set you up for success.
Lesson: Interactions with your
manager and coworkers
Additional Resources
● Work With Me” doc
● HBR, What Good Feedback
Actually Looks Like
● Lattice, How to Give Your Boss
Feedback Without Sounding Like a
Jerk
● Radical Candor
● Never Split the Difference
Working with your coworkers
● Start an open and honest feedback loop, and practice giving feedback,
● Be clear about how to best work with you; “Work With Me” doc is a good
reference to have with those who you work with closely.

6. Being social in the workplace
● Attend lunch-and-learns, happy hours, and other organized social activities as
much as possible.
● Find out a social butterfly in the company and grab lunches/coffees with that
person regularly to get a lay of the social landscape.
● If you want to organize a fun activity, go ahead! Find a coworker who is equally
enthusiastic about your idea and ask them to be your co-pilot or hype-person, so
you can organize with momentum.
● Attend organized social activities that align with your particular affinity/identity
group(s). They are a great way to build community!
Lesson: Getting involved in office activities,
not office drama
Additional Resources
● HBR, Managing the Social
Butterfly in Your Office
Managing work relationships
● Be friendly to everyone, especially your fellow starting class coworkers. Having
allies never hurt, and someone in your starting class can end up vouching for you
and vice-versa.
● Never ever speak ill of any of your coworkers. You never know who’s talking to
whom.
● If you are faced with a conflict, either take it up with the person you are in conflict
with directly, or surface up to your manager and ask for advice on how to handle
this situation. Do not talk to others about it.

7. Own your voice, communicate tactfully
● Learn to read the room, or code switch. Gain organizational capital by forging
close relationships, know when to speak up and when to shut up.
● Do great work, and learn how to speak up and take credit for it. Best way is to give
recognition to your teammates, regardless of whether they deserve the praise
Lesson: Underpromise and overdeliver
Additional Resources
● Great at Work: How Top
Performers Work Less and
Achieve More
● Getting Things Done: The Art of
Stress-Free Productivity
● The First 90 Days
● Fiverr Virtual Assistants
● IFTTT
Getting priorities straight
● When juggling multiple projects, be clear with each of your coworkers who gave
you assignments of what else you’re working on and your anticipated schedule of
completing the task.
● When in doubt, meet with your manager and ask for their feedback on your
assumptions of how you should prioritize your tasks and projects.
● When you find yourself doing a task repeatedly, think of ways to scale the task at
hand or outsource the task (eg. find a virtual assistant on Fiverr who could do the
same 2 hr task for $10 - check with your office privacy policy first).
● Use tools such as IFTTT (If This Then That) to automate your life and workflows.
Get ready to pay your dues
● Your first job is probably not your dream job, and that’s ok.
● Gain skills that you can talk about in your next interview, get projects (no matter
how small) under your belt. No task is too big or too small

8. Lesson: Building your professional network
for the future
Building your network at your company
● Join Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), clubs, and any other “extracurriculars” to
develop relationships with people outside of your function.
● Reach out to people on your team who you admire, whose career path you want,
etc. Set up coffee/lunch and pick their brain! They may become your mentors over
time.
Additional Resources
● How Women Rise: Break the 12
Habits Holding You Back from
Your Next Raise, Promotion, or
Job
Cultivating relationships
● Set up regular 1:1s (bi-weekly is a good rhythm) with people you’ve worked with
on your team, and of course with coworkers who have become friends.
● Start building your “personal board of directors” — your go-to mentors and
advocates who you’ll keep in touch with over the years and ask for advice
throughout your career. Aim to have at least one mentor with whom you have a
bi-weekly meeting/call with to talk about your career.
● Go on LinkedIn and check out people’s career trajectories. If you see yourself
following in their footsteps, go ahead and set up an informational interview with
them.

9. Develop a list of 3 goals you hope to achieve in your first 90 days (first
quarter) at work. These can be as broad or specific as you’d like.
● Goals should be SMART:
○ Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
○ Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
○ Achievable (agreed, attainable).
○ Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
○ Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
Journaling Assignment
Be prepared to share out a takeaway from your journaling assignment in next week’s class!