With my daughter Elyse starting her senior year of college, my thoughts are returning to the day we moved her in as a freshman. It was an exciting time for sure, filled with anticipation, expectation, anxiety and lots of lists to follow in preparation for this new adventure. Besides the travel and unpacking all of her stuff, my job was to help get her acclimated to her new surroundings and roommate so that I’d be able to leave knowing she had everything she needed for a good start.
As we know, a transition of this magnitude can be trying. But the more prepared we are as parents and the more we know about the scenery, the school, and the living situation, the better off everyone will be. In many respects this is like starting any new employee in a home. The employee should know everything they can about the position: what is required of them, how should they handle certain situations, what are the boundaries, who are the people that they will be working with, who are the people that they will be reporting to, and what should be done in case of an emergency.
It’s important to get all of these details ironed out upfront so that the first day, or even the first week, goes as smoothly as possible. And I would say that the smoother the first week goes the better the chances are that the position will last for quite a while. As I left Elyse and headed home, I felt she was in good hands, that I’d passed along the right instructions, and that she had a keen understanding of what needed to be done.
I could see that Elyse had a good feeling about her new beginning. And with her first three years now complete, I’m happy to report that all is going well. My hope is that all will go just as well with my candidates and clients. With the right preparation during the early stages of any new endeavor, success is elementary.