People starting a job, internship, apprenticeship, return-to-work placement, or new role who want a practical system for learning the work and asking for support.
Course 52 · Work course 13
Keep the Job: Your First 90 Days
Turn a new job or placement into a manageable first 90 days with clear expectations, early wins, feedback, safety awareness, and a growth plan.
Before you start
Use a fictional or anonymized role; never paste confidential employer records, customer information, or private credentials.
See everything you’ll needWhat you’ll leave with
A plan for your first 90 days, a record of completed work, a feedback routine, a list of who can help with problems, and questions to help you settle into a new job.
Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.
Your project
Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.
Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.
- Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
- Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
- Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Optional course overview
Watch an introduction.
This overview from Emily Lago Anderson introduces ideas you’ll practice in the lessons.
Watch directly on YouTubeEmily Lago AndersonHow to Stand Out in Your First 90 Days at WorkYouTube
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.
- Use a fictional or anonymized role; never paste confidential employer records, customer information, or private credentials.
- Collect the written offer, onboarding checklist, schedule, or public role description if you have one.
- Choose one person you can safely ask for feedback or general guidance; the course does not replace a manager, union, HR, or qualified adviser.
Finish with proof you can use.
Create a first-90-days plan. Include questions for week one, priorities, small useful tasks to try, feedback notes, evidence of completed work, contacts for help with problems, and reviews at days 30, 60, and 90.
Save a project record in My ProofSee project checklist and review criteria
- An annotated onboarding brief with confirmed terms, setup checklist, unknowns, and five focused questions.
- A first-week calendar and daily closeout template with one disruption plan.
- A priority conversation script and a one-day task board with owners, deadlines, dependencies, and status.
- A feedback-to-action log with three entries and a short summary of the behavior you changed.
- A decision chart showing how to respond to a routine problem, an urgent concern, or a situation needing confidential support.
- A complete first-90-days plan and accomplishment log template.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas
The rules behind the steps.
Learn the local operating system
Every workplace has routines, definitions, tools, and decision paths that must be discovered rather than assumed.
Earn trust through small promises
A few clear commitments completed and communicated are stronger than a dramatic first impression.
Record growth while it is fresh
Dates, outcomes, feedback, and examples make progress visible when a review or next opportunity arrives.
What do these words mean?
Key words
Key terms worth knowing.
- Onboarding
- The process of gaining access, context, training, expectations, and relationships for a new role.
- Early win
- A bounded, useful result that demonstrates understanding without overpromising or bypassing the team.
- Escalation path
- The approved person or process for a blocked task, safety concern, conflict, or decision outside your authority.
- Accomplishment log
- A dated record of work completed, outcome, evidence, feedback, and the next improvement.
Your route6 lessons.
6 lessons.
One useful project.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Read the offer and onboarding instructions
Separate confirmed role terms, required setup, unknowns, and questions before the first day.
- 222 min
Build a realistic first week
Plan access, travel, preparation, questions, learning time, and recovery around the first week of work.
- 324 min
Ask clarifying questions and set priorities
Turn a long or changing task list into an agreed order, owner, and definition of done.
- 430 min
Receive feedback and track completed work
Turn feedback into an observable adjustment and keep an evidence-based record of progress.
- 528 min
Handle conflict, escalation, and safety concerns
Choose a safe, respectful response when work conflicts, unsafe conditions, harassment, or unclear authority appears.
- 631 min
Build a 30/60/90-day growth plan
Set staged learning, contribution, feedback, and support goals for the first 90 days.
Use the tools
See all tools Tools to help you practice.
Source transparency
Sources and further study.
Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Potential collaboration: Employers, workforce programs, mentors, and employee-support organizations
Partner with LifeStarter