This week, I traveled 2100 miles round trip to spend less than 3 hours in Irvine, California. I do this 4-6 times a year, and every time, it always feels like one of the best uses of travel, time, and energy I could choose to spend. I go for day #1 of Collegewise orientation for new employees, which kicks off with a 90-minute welcome from me, the founder.
Part of my motivation for doing this is purely selfish—I really enjoy it. In the early years of Collegewise, I personally interviewed, hired, trained, and managed every employee. We’re a much bigger company nearly 20 years later. As we’ve grown, it’s been important for me to hand off various aspects of the work to other people who can devote more time or skill to a particular responsibility than I can. But the opening of orientation is one of the last things I’d want to step away from.
We spend a considerable amount of time and energy recruiting people to join us at Collegewise. We’re not just filling open jobs–we’re finding our future colleagues, people with whom we hope to do the best work of our careers. And we’ve designed our recruiting process to help us really get to know the applicant behind the application. By the time each new class finally arrives at orientation, I’m really excited to finally say hello in person and officially kick off their Collegewise careers.
Each session is a little different, but I typically talk about four areas:
The history of Collegewise
There’s a history here at Collegewise, and I enjoy sharing it with new colleagues. Nobody would be particularly interested in a dry recitation of dates and facts. But when I can personalize it, when I can explain how we got started, how we grew, what challenges we’ve faced, and why we’ve made many of the decisions we’ve made along the way, it breathes some life into our past that this group wasn’t here to experience. People feel more personally connected to the company when they understand where we came from and how we got here.
Our values
What do we believe at Collegewise? Why do we do what we do? What are the principles from which we will never stray? By the time someone arrives at orientation, they’ve inevitably been exposed to all of those things already. In fact, the values at Collegewise are a big part of what draws most people to work here. But discussing them during my welcome is yet another way to show people that our values aren’t just words we share in our employee handbook. They’re reflected in the actions we take—and those we refuse to take—every day.
The future
Work is not a place where people feel comfortable journeying towards an uncharted, vague destination. Orientation is my opportunity to talk about the future of Collegewise. Where are we headed? What are our plans? What’s the big vision? I want new colleagues to see where we’re trying to go and to begin thinking, right from day one, about how each of their particular talents can help us get there together.
Why they were hired
This is the most important topic I cover. It feels great to be offered a new job, but employees at most companies never get to hear why they were hired. So right there in the orientation, I tell each new colleague what ultimately tipped the scales and brought them into Collegewise. The story in their cover letter that resonated with us. Their reply to an interview question that made us say, “Yep—they’re one of us.” The reference check who raved so glowingly they almost scolded us for waiting so long to make an offer. New colleagues deserve to hear these things. We’ve learned from past classes that imposter syndrome is a very real feeling for some new employees here, like the new freshman at MIT who feels intimidated by their remarkable classmates and concludes they must have been the lone student admitted by accident. And just as many colleges reassure those unsure freshmen, we want our new colleagues to know we did better than just avoid a mistake; we made a thoughtful, informed choice we’re really excited about.
Does your club, office, group, or organization do an orientation for new members? If not, how might you design one to show people right from the start how thrilled you are to have them in the room with you? What could you share with them to make them feel not just like a new addition, but an important part of something you’re all invested in together? It’s easy to dispatch those considerations and claim you’re too busy. But experience has taught us that few returns on our investment are as guaranteed as those we make when helping our new colleagues feel like they’ve found the right professional home at Collegewise. For me, day one is always worth the trip.