Starting a new career path can always be challenging and the impact of Covid-19 has made it that more difficult for individuals to settle-in and ‘learn the ropes’. Added to that, the lack of social interaction can make it difficult for individuals to get a good impression of a company and its work. This was not the case for me during my first week at CBTax.
Monday
The Introductions
I was pleasantly surprised with the warm introductions I received from every member of the team on my first day. The welcomes varied from messages on Microsoft teams to quick calls to say hello, with everyone showing support and excitement for me joining the team.
Chris delivered an informative induction on the first day, covering overarching themes such as the agenda for the week, roles and responsibilities of the individuals in the team, breakdown of the clients we work with and the delivery methodologies that are implemented at CBTax. It was really nice for the MD to spend 2 hours of his day to go through this with me, and I felt it really prepared me well for the week ahead.
IT Equipment and Services
In the afternoon, I had an IT masterclass from Matt covering the various IT systems that are used during day-to-day activities at CBTax, and it was a great way for me to get used to the new technology. I have been very fortunate to have been given an Apple Macbook Pro and IPhone 12 to support me in my role at CBTax and this only exemplifies the professional and forward-thinking nature of the company.
The session was a comprehensive and a valuable deep-dive into the Salesforce CRM system used. Right off the bat I could tell that CBTax had spent a great effort fine-tuning the tool, as it was sleek, ergonomic and blew previous CRM software I have used out the water.
Tuesday
Technical Deep-dive
For my first week I was buddied up with Felix, a Senior R&D Consultant, to shadow the technical delivery methods used for various R&D projects that are worked on at CBTax. The deep-dive sessions were a run-through of the end-to-end R&D claims process, giving me a better understanding for my responsibility as an R&D Technical Consultant and the quality of the R&D claims delivered at CBTax.
I spent most of the day reading over previous R&D technical reports and getting a feel for the technical details honed-in on during the technical aspects of the work delivered.
Wednesday
Settling In
By Wednesday, I felt settled in the team and had a good idea of the operations at CBTax and my responsibilities within the company. I was pleased to see some projects allocated to me within the CRM platform and I felt excited to tackle the pipeline of work ahead.
My first task was to assess client meeting notes and draft a technical report on the qualifying activities for the projects discussed. This was my first real taste of working at CBTax and I felt confident in both my ability and the support from the team to take on the responsibility.
Thursday
First Client Meeting
I had a client meeting scheduled for Thursday, where I teamed up with Felix to undertake a technical interview – an important aspect of the consultant role at CBTax. I was happy to know that I’d have support during my first client interview, and I feel the meeting went well, even managing to contribute to the discussions made after only a few days in the job. I spent the rest of the day working on my technical report, aiming to get a draft in by the end of the week.
Friday
First Drafted Report
I spent most of Friday working on drafting my first technical report. Taking on-board the learning and support from my team over the previous days, I felt confident in the delivery approach to the task and sent the report over to Felix for review.
Taking on another project I had in the pipeline, I had my first experience introducing myself to a client over the phone during initial technical engagements. After a conversation about the R&D claims process moving forward, I proposed a technical meeting for next week to get the ball rolling on the project.
Overview
I have felt supported throughout every stage of my first week at CBTax from both colleagues and the Managing Directors. I already feel well settled within the team despite the potential for Covid-19 restrictions to have affected this. The team are more than willing to help with queries I may have and are always on hand to offer support and guidance.
This first week has set me up nicely for what I hope will be a prosperous career at CBTax, and I look forward to taking on more responsibility and challenges over the upcoming weeks and months.
