Ramping up in any new company including Finch is understandably tough! These are tips that touch on the common themes that help make people succeed at Finch.

• Internalize our mission and core values.Finch Company DNA outlines what makes working at Finch unique. Embodying and aligning with our values is critical for succeeding and working well with the team.
• Ask a lot of questions. There’s a ton to ramp up and asking questions is important to succeeding. It is understandable to struggle with confidence as you find your footing so don’t let that prevent you from asking questions. Avoid assumptions.
• Focus on maximizing impact. Impact is about solving problems— focus on reliably solving important problems and aim to be easy to work with. Even if mistakes happen, it’ll be okay as long as someone owns it and grows from it to move on.
• Approach with a beginner’s mind. Success in each company looks very different— what success looked like in the past will likely look different from succeeding at Finch. Be humble and see things with curiosity and openness.
• Prepare to break old habits. Do not assume something in your past company will work at Finch. Internalize why we operate the way we do and work within our culture. Propose solutions to problems from first principles and goals rather than solely “They did X so we should too”.
• Understand the goals behind all your work. For everything you work on, make sure you understand what the goals are and what success looks like. Do not blindly do what someone says without the broader context.
• Over-communicate. Avoid surprising people and keep folks posted on updates. If someone asks you for the status of something, then there was a missed opportunity to communicate sooner.
• Proactively seek feedback. Take ownership of your own growth and success. Others will share feedback, most often through your work itself, but you can also proactively ask.
• Practice explaining something to someone to evaluate your understanding. This is a great way to quickly ramp up on something new. If you can’t explain your project, a concept, a team norm, etc then there is likely a gap in understanding. Being able to succinctly write something out is another great way to check yourself.
• Reframe mistakes as growth opportunities. Everyone makes mistakes, and we don’t define people by their mistakes. What matters is taking ownership of the mistake, picking ourselves up, and growing from it.