So, this week I started my new development job, actually my very first job as a developer. In this post I want to share with you my thoughts on what to do or not to do on your first day.

1. Bring your own laptop with you

Chances are that you will get a laptop and all the setup from your new company and it’s great. It happens though, and it happened to me, that it will not be there on your first day.

At my brother’s companny they even had to send a new developer back home for one week because the equipment and all the setup was not ready. After 1.5 days of reading manuals they didn’t know what to do with him.

Bringing my own laptop made sense for me without thinking about it too much. In retrospect there are few ways it helped me. So, bring your laptop because:

  • It’s your machine and your working environment - you are set up and have all the tools you need to be productive
  • It shows that you care about your craft and are prepared to dive in
  • It can help your new boss or coworkers to relax because they know you have something to play with

2. Get the WiFi credentials if possible

You will surely need the connection. So the first time someone shows you the key, just make a picture of it or write it down. You will probably need it more than once in the next few days and don’t want to ask every time.

3. Get the source code

Try to get the source code as soon as possible. In case that you are alone for a certain amount of time you can start exploring the project on your own. In one of the next posts I will cover the way I started exploring the code base.

Until then, what was your experience on your first day? Happy to read your comments..