Starting an academic job during a pandemic
Some of you already know that at the beginning of June, I started a new job in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic (follow me on Instagram to follow along more with this transition!). Although it’s absolutely been a challenging transition, I couldn’t be happier with the position I’ve moved into and I feel incredibly fortunate that things were able to move forward despite the difficulties in higher education right now.
Many folks in academia and higher education will be starting new jobs in the coming weeks and months. Now that I’m a few months into my new position, I wanted to share some lessons I’ve learned along the way.
1) It’s going to take you longer to do things. Like, a lot longer. Universities are places where the pace of things like on-boarding, hiring systems, and getting access to technology can be slow under normal circumstances. Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made those things take even longer (it took me almost 2 months to get a computer!). Your new colleagues might be slower to respond or more difficult to get ahold of right now, so figuring out how to do things or getting access to the things you need will take a lot longer than usual.
2) No really, things will be moving reallllllly slow. The pace of my work so much slower than what I’m typically used to right now. Coming from a job where I felt like a total expert to one where I need to learn almost everything is a bit like diving into the deep end of the pool. It’s easy to forget that coming into an entirely new university system or department means you don’t really know how anything works, like who to ask about getting keys to your office or where on the server archived files are stored (and also who gives you access to the server? And how do you connect to it from home??).
3) It’s okay to feel overwhelmed or frustrated. It’s really, really hard to go from working in one environment relatively efficiently, to starting somewhere completely new where you know next to nothing (I spent about a week figuring out how to order some important offices supplies, only to get them delivered to a campus building that’s currently closed 😳). Try to remind yourself that you’re new at this, and that you’re trying to learn everything from scratch in an environment where that would be challenging to do even in person, without the threat of a global pandemic looming over your head. Take lots of deep breaths and remember that it will get easier as time goes on.
4) Be kind to yourself and to others. To say we’re all dealing with a lot right now is the understatement of the year. Beyond learning everything from the ground up, you may also find that you have a harder time focusing on work and being productive right now. You may have children at home or other distractions in your work environment. Remind yourself that this is not normal, and your new colleagues are also probably dealing with the same kinds of distractions. Extend some empathy to them, but don’t forget to extend some to yourself too. Everyone is doing the best they can (including you).
5) Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Academia trains us to always be the expert, but when coming into a new work environment you have to get comfortable with not knowing. Reach out to folks in your department or lab and ask for help. If you’re not sure who’s the right person to ask, say so and ask someone anyway. Most people will be more than happy to point you in the right direction, and if they’re not? Re-visit #4.
6) Write everything down. Lists are your friend in any new job, but especially in one where you don’t see your colleagues on a regular basis - not being able to pop into someone’s office down the hall means that information needs to be shared over email or in meetings. Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good to-do list. I’ve started keeping running lists of questions to ask in upcoming meetings. I also have a spot in my notes-taking app where I can note to-do tasks that come from that meeting. If they’re quick tasks I can check them off after the meeting, or if they’re more involved I can add them to my main to-do list.
