Unique Program Eases New-Job Jitters
What if when you started a new job, you had a built-in friend? Someone who would be there to welcome you, guide you, and answer all the questions you may be afraid to ask your manager.
When you join DCG, you’ll attend a fun and engaging virtual new hire orientation session with the HR team focused on DCG’s culture and benefits. The best part of new hire orientation occurs when your “buddy” is announced.
Megan Wojcik and Jennifer Combs share their thoughts on the Buddy Program:
Megan: Here we go again, I thought, steeling myself for an intense six months. It was my first day at a new job. Though I hadn’t changed jobs too many times in my 22-year career, I knew from experience the “settling-in” period — for me, usually six months — would likely be painful: full of questions I may or may not get answers to and trying to find my place among the inevitable cliques.
Except it wasn’t like that. When I joined DCG, I was warmly greeted by my buddy, who was excited to meet me and get to know me. She reassured me I wouldn’t be left to figure everything out alone. She would help me every step of the way. She wanted me to be successful. She believed I would be successful.
So many of my new-job jitters slipped away. Yes, I would need to work hard to learn about an unfamiliar subject and how to work with a new client. But I knew I could handle that. My buddy’s kindness and confidence in me helped me accomplish something much harder to grasp quickly: feeling like a valued part of a team.
The Buddy Program set the tone for my new position. What had been so hard in the past wasn’t.
I’ve now been lucky enough to have been a buddy twice for incoming DCGers. Yes, I answered their questions about the company’s policies and procedures. But it was deeper than that. I got to know them as people, not just as coworkers. I learned Katie Duggan is originally from Ohio and travels there often to see her close-knit family. Her brother just graduated from Army Ranger School. I learned Jennifer Combs loves to garden and is an amazing mom to her daughter, Natasha. They, as well as Jennifer’s husband, Rick, are regulars at their favorite place, Disney World.
This program has let me scratch the surface, to get to know someone and discover all the incredible talents they bring to DCG. When I started at DCG, I was so grateful to have my buddy. But now that I am that buddy, I realize I’m the lucky one.
Jennifer: I’ve been with DCG for a couple of months now. During new hire orientation, I was thrilled to learn that DCG has a buddy program and that I’d been matched with another writer, Megan Wojcik!
When DCG offered me a full-time position, I was pleased but I wondered how a newbie would avoid feeling isolated. I’d worked remotely but only part time and, frankly, I had hoped that whatever my next job was, I could go to an office a few days a week. But the position with DCG was a perfect fit, and I put off worrying about isolation — until my start date, when I started to wonder if full-time remote work would “feel right.”
However, my worries didn’t last long. Pretty soon after orientation, Megan reached out to me. I was so happy to meet her — it was like we met at the water cooler! After a couple of video chats, it felt like we were old pals. We have a lot in common, not the least of which is that both of us changed jobs after we were well into our careers.
It’s been so terrific being able to have a friend to answer all the little questions about a new job (like what’s that little memo thing that pops up when you submit your timecard?). I always look forward to our “visits” to update each other on our kids and other things going on in our lives. And I so appreciate the information and advice Megan continues to give me about life at DCG. I am so grateful for my DCG Buddy!
Join us! Learn about DCG’s great benefits, work culture, and open positions at https://dcgcommunications.com/careers/.
Built-In Buddy was originally published in DCG Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.