First Ninety Days Plan

Who this is for

A new job planned in three stretches. For the first thirty days, the second and the third, write the goals you are setting yourself, who can help with each, how you will know it is done and a tick when it is — with a list of the people you mean to meet alongside.

Anyone starting a new role, returning after a long break or stepping into a new team, who wants the first months to be deliberate rather than reactive.

What this helps you track

• What you mean to learn, do and settle in each thirty-day stretch
• Who can help with each goal, named
• How you will know each goal is met, written before you start
• The people you intend to meet, and whether you have
• A plan to read again before the probation review

How to use it

1. Fill in the role, the employer, your start date and your manager's name at the top.
2. For the first thirty days, write the goals you are setting yourself — often learning the job, the people and the systems.
3. For days thirty-one to sixty and sixty-one to ninety, write what you want to be doing and delivering by then.
4. Against each goal, name who can help and write how you will know it is done — a piece of work finished, a system you can use unaided.
5. List the people you want to meet, why, and tick them off as you do.
6. Tick goals as they are met and take the sheet into your probation or first review.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do the goals come from?

From you, from what your manager said at interview and in the first week, and from the job description. The sheet imposes none; it gives each of yours a place and a way of knowing when it is done.

What if my probation is not ninety days?

The three stretches still work. Write the dates that match your own probation at the top of each table and treat the headings as first, middle and last.

Is this an employer's onboarding plan?

No. The employer's induction or new starter checklist covers what they will do for you. This is what you intend to do, kept by you.

How many goals should I set?

As many as fit on the page and no more. A few that you can say are done are worth more than a list you never look at again.