Q1 I do contract work so often move between companies and have to deal with new systems and processes each time. With experience, the depth and duration of the dip is less. That’s because I am aware that it doesn’t take too long to learn the new systems and processes and I’m aware of the frustration when you have to tread a new path. Hence, the unconsious incompetence is less as, although I am not aware of what I don’t know, I generally know what to look for and the questions to ask. Then I move on to the consious incompetence where I’m learning what buttons to push and codes to use. Most companies aren’t that good at onboarding so moving on to consious competence is often quite hard as they don’t have adequate support and/or training to get through this part. The reality is that it is OTJ training that helps you to transition through to unconsious competence.
Q2 The main impact is on not getting too frustrated during onboarding – often hard when there isn’t the support. Generally, I make myself a pain by asking a lot of questions.
Q3 Cheat sheets, instructional videos, online user guides. Maybe a mentor for the onboarding. It’s difficult as I normally come in to a company outside of a normal intake so there is little formal onboarding set up.