DEV Community

Discussion on: What do you wish you knew when starting your last gig?

Collapse
 
lpasqualis profile image
Lorenzo Pasqualis
  1. Understand the specific domain concepts. Build a glossary of terms used in the company, and become very familiar with them.
  2. Understand who does what. Get a clear sense of who is responsible to do what, and start building a good relationship with your new co-workers.
  3. Listen carefully. Observe. Study.
  4. Understand what is expected of you, and exceed that expectation.
  5. Be enthusiastic, stop worrying and have fun.
Collapse
 
rossbates profile image
Ross Bates

Build a glossary of terms used in the company, and become very familiar with them.

I like this one a lot. It combines both practical knowledge & team culture into a format that's easy to digest.

At my last company any object that was "other" was called a 534. Why? Well because when we first seeded the database in week 1 of the company that was the index of the last entry in the table - the one we simply inserted by hand with the label "Other - Not Found". For the life of the company 534 was just shorthand for something you couldn't categorize.

Also, for those looking for a trip down memory lane. Let us not forget ESR's Jargon File.