How to Succeed in a New Tech Role

A 12-month roadmap from 21 top engineers to make your first-year count.

Executive Summary

You’ve landed a new tech job—what’s next? Many take the usual route: they work hard for the first month and settle into mediocrity for the rest of the year.

But this approach ruins your growth. After all, you want to thrive in your role well past the first month and become indispensable by day 365.

To understand how top engineers navigate their first year and avoid pitfalls, we spoke to 21 of them at Google, Amazon, Airbnb, and leading startups.

In this report, we’ll break down their insights into a 12-month plan to keep you on track.

By the end of this report, you’ll know what to focus on each month for success—because your career deserves more than the bare minimum.

Key Findings at a Glance

In your first 30 days, it's all about getting the fundamentals right. Focus on understanding your team’s vibe, mastering the tech stack, getting your setup in place, and asking smart questions. These early moves set the stage for everything that follows. 💪

The First Month Nail the basics to set the tone

Finding Balance Balance learning with doing

In months 2-4, focus on finding the right balance between learning and delivering results. Take on a variety of tasks that push you to explore different parts of the codebase, while making meaningful contributions to the code.

Connect To Grow Build bonds with your team to learn faster

Forming strong relationships with senior engineers and cross-functional partners is essential. Their mentorship and code reviews will help you elevate your skills quickly.

Power of Feedback Proactively seek critiques to improve quickly

Don’t wait for feedback—demand it. Set up regular 1:1s with your manager and team to receive actionable input on your performance and areas for growth.

Career Blueprint Be intentional about your career trajectory

In the latter half of the year, align with your manager on a plan to reach the next level. Identify the skills and experiences needed to exceed expectations and earn that promotion.

Maximize Impact Make your work visible to the right people

Doing great work isn’t enough—you need to ensure it gets noticed. Share your wins, mentor others, and find ways to add value beyond just coding.

Key Chapters

Chapter 1 : The first month

Cover the basics
Understand your tech stack
Set up your coding environment
Ask questions
1 more topics

Chapter 2 : The next 3 months

Balance learning and doing
Build horizontal relationships
Demand feedback ruthlessly
KPIs for the next 3 months

Chapter 3 : The last 6 months

Make a career plan
Build your brand
KPIs for the last 6 months

Chapter 4 : A year is over

What to do for your annual performance review?

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