How to Create a 30/60/90 Day Plan at Work

Some of the best career advice I ever received was to put together a 30/60/90 day plan for starting a new job.

A 30/60/90 day plan is a strategic outline that you can create and use to set goals and define success during your first 3 months in a role. 

The plan is divided into 3 distinct phases:

👉🏻 30 Days: EDUCATION

👉🏻 60 Days: CONTRIBUTION

👉🏻 90 Days: INITIATIVE

Following a structured approach like this can help you quickly acclimate to your role, understand and align with company expectations, and begin showing measurable progress and impact. 

Ultimately, it serves as a roadmap you can refer back to during those first few months, which can be filled with ambiguity and uncertainty around what is actually going on in this new role.

I remember the first 3 months of my first corporate job… I had literally no idea what was going on or what was expected of me and I WISH I had this information available to me to help with a starting point.

A 30/60/90 day plan also doesn’t need to be siloed to just starting a new job. It can also be used if you are looking to re-invigorate your career, make a career move, or it can be used as a basis to creating a promotion plan.

Whether you’re starting a new role OR looking to make a career pivot, a 30/60/90 day plan is your roadmap to making it happen. 

Let’s dive into the details!

FIRST 30 DAYS: EDUCATION

The first month at a new job can be really challenging. You are focused on trying to understand the culture and the company, the role and your responsibilities, and begin building relationships.

If you feel like you are drinking from the firehouse from Day 1, you’re not alone. 

👉🏻 This is your opportunity to learn AS MUCH AS YOU CAN about the company, team, industry, role, and responsibilities.

👉🏻 Get acquainted with the systems you’ll be using, take the necessary trainings to get up to speed, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Now is the time to ask “silly” questions without sounding silly!

👉🏻 Set up meetings with your team, listen in on meetings with your manager around projects you may be involved in, and gain a deep understanding of the problems and processes that exist.

GOAL: Identify the gaps and pain points that exist and begin identifying ways you can solve or address them to add value as soon as possible.

FIRST 60 DAYS: CONTRIBUTION

At the end of your second month, it’s likely you have a much clearer idea of what the heck is going on in your job and what is expected of you. 

By this point, you are able to perform the responsibilities of your role with little/no oversight.

👉🏻 You are actively contributing to the team and company goals, and are working on or involved in projects or tasks related to your core responsibilities.

👉🏻 You should also define important metrics that you can track your projects against and determine what the key outcomes are going to be.

This is a great point in time to begin creating your task-management system where you can monitor your projects and value-add!

GOAL: Begin tracking your work and accomplishments so you can showcase that after 2 months on the job you have begun to achieve something and add value.

FIRST 90 DAYS: INITIATIVE
By your 90-day marker, you are pretty much fully up to speed.

👉🏻 At this point, you understand your responsibilities, workflow, and the key focal points that your team is working on.

👉🏻 This is where you have opportunity to start being proactive and strategizing with the information you have learned over the last 60 days.

👉🏻 Begin taking ownership of your projects and continue to hone and develop key skills you’ve identified for your role.

GOAL: Be proactive with your workflow and initiate change, whether it be through improving a process, assisting a teammate, or identifying a pain point that you can address

To summarize, here is what you should aim to accomplish in the first 30/60/90 days on the job:

👉🏻 30 DAYS: Onboard. Understand Expectations. Learn the Basics. Build Relationships.

👉🏻 60 DAYS: Deepen Skillset. Contribute Actively. Seek Feedback. Establish Routine.

👉🏻 90 DAYS: Demonstrate Impact. Expand Responsibility. Evaluate Progress. Plan Ahead!