Meetings
How to write meeting notes people actually use (a template for the junior note-taker)
How to write meeting notes that get read: a copy-paste template with a TL;DR, decisions, owners and dates, and open questions.
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Career Basics
The long game: learning, mentors, networking without being cringe.
A career is a long game played in short quarters. The habits that matter most in the first year aren’t strategic — they’re structural. Keep a brag doc. Save the nice emails. Take notes in 1:1s. Ask for feedback before you need it. None of this shows up on a résumé, but all of it shows up when performance review season starts and you’re the only person on the team with the receipts.
Mentorship is the second lever, and it’s less formal than college made it sound. A mentor isn’t a person with a plaque on their door who meets you monthly — it’s anyone one or two steps ahead of you who’ll answer a specific question over coffee. The trick is asking good questions: concrete, time-boxed, and respectful of the fact that they’re doing you a favor. Do that a handful of times and some of those coffees turn into real relationships.
Networking is the word that makes new grads cringe, and they’re right to cringe at the bad version of it. The good version is much smaller: stay in touch with people you liked working with. A two-line email every six months. A congrats on the promotion. A forwarded article. Over a decade, that’s a network. Over a week, it’s five emails.
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The one to read first.
All 25 posts in career basics
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Professional out of office message (first-PTO scripts that don't sound green)
A professional out of office message for first PTO, sick days, and short offline — email OOO, Slack away, and one manager handoff line that names a briefed backup.
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How to Ask for a Promotion at Work (Script + Timing)
How to ask for a promotion at work — timing, evidence pack, and meeting script for your first title/level/scope ask. Not compensation. Not ladder theory.
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How to leave a job professionally (notice, scripts, and what not to say)
How to leave a job professionally from your first role: the notice sequence, four scripts, counter-offer deferral, and what not to say.
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How to decline a meeting politely (without looking unhelpful)
How to decline a meeting without looking lazy — four polite scripts for calendar, Slack, manager-on-invite, and when you need the info but not the hour.
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How to say "I don't know" professionally (without tanking credibility)
How to say I don't know professionally when you're cold-called — meeting, Slack, or email. Stall, bridge, timed follow-up. Four scripts. Kill "I'll look into it."
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How to be taken seriously at work when you're the youngest in the room
How to be taken seriously at work isn't about sounding older — it's four credibility scripts (pushback, clarify, own a miss, intro) that stop age from being the story.
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Small talk in American offices: what it's actually for (and 8 openers that aren't weird)
Small talk isn't filler — it's a 30-second trust signal. Venue-grouped openers and clean exits for foreign hires and new grads who freeze in the kitchen.
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What to do when you get sick in your first 90 days
Sick days in your first 90 days feel higher-stakes than they are. Here's how to handle the message, the handoff, and the return without making your manager worry.
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A reader asks: my onboarding buddy has gone AWOL — what now?
Your assigned onboarding buddy vanishes in week two. More common than anyone admits. Three moves that make the rest of your ramp work without them.
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Dress code decoder: when business casual means something different at every company
How to read the unspoken rules behind a business casual policy so your first impression is signal, not static.
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How to introduce yourself without being weird
Scripts and strategies for your first-week introductions on Slack, email, and in person.
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Why your first 30 days feel weird (and what is actually happening to you)
An honest look at the first-month fog so new hires can decode the rituals and what the company is actually doing.
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The First 90 Days OS: your Week 1 boot sequence
A simple Week 1 setup so you look competent fast: define success, build your note system, and stop guessing what matters.
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The 30/60/90 Plan That Doesn't Make You Look Like a Try-Hard
A one-page 30/60/90 for new grads that reads like alignment, not a manifesto — plus the email script your manager will actually answer.
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How to ask questions at work (script and examples)
Exact wording for asking questions without sounding clueless — and without wasting anyone's time.
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Workplace competition: healthy hustle vs. toxic tug-of-war
How to stay ambitious without turning your team into a zero-sum game — especially in your first 90 days.
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Gen Z at work: the real friction (and why I'm optimistic)
A fair look at the friction points — and the systems that help new grads succeed in their first 90 days.
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Introducing Cubicle to Corner Office
Why I wrote the guide I wish I had — and how it fits into the First 90 Days OS.
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The definition of done: how to avoid rework in your first role
Stop wasting hours on work your manager didn't actually want. Learn how to calibrate expectations before you start.
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Office etiquette: the quiet signal that shapes your early career
A first-job lesson: your professionalism is a system — attire, punctuality, and how you show up in the room (and the chat).
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Managing expenses and work travel (without getting a reputation)
A first-job guide to expense policies, gray areas, and how to stay above board without being a pain to work with.
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What to do with downtime at the office (without looking checked out)
A practical guide to using slow moments to build trust, skills, and momentum.
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The First 90 Days OS: Your Boot Sequence
How to set your professional defaults in the first three months so you don't spend a year fixing a bad reputation.
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Chart your industry's landscape (so you're not just doing tasks)
A simple way to learn the competitive context of your first job — value chain, profit pools, and the questions that make you sound switched on.
This topic maps to Chapter 1 — Corporate culture of the book. See the full chapter →