COVID-19 has rewritten the narrative when it comes to job onboardings and how we do the everyday. For Tyler, it was the story from day dot.

I clearly remember the day I signed the contract for my new job at Initiative Perth. It was March 3rd, and I was over in Sydney for Mardi Gras. I was signing and scanning hordes of documents in the Sydney State Library, trying to avoid paying another $5 to use the public computers every 30 minutes. (The librarian was not having a bar of me).

Once I was back in Perth, things began to escalate.

I am sure I am not the first to go through an entire onboarding process working from home, but I knew that this experience was a unique one. It was going to have its trials and tribulations. And it is not over yet.

Three months deep into my position as an Investment Partnerships Associate, I've just come to peace with working from home. And so, looking back, here are my top three take-outs for anyone who has to do the same:

1. Video record all your inductions.

It’s actually great when your new workplace decks out your calendar with non-stop inductions. It shows they care. But by the end of the day, it’s safe to say you’ll be brain-fried by all the info thrown your way.

While you hope that writing notes will make you an absolute pro, it’s often not until you’re doing the job itself that the questions come to mind. And working from home, it’s not like you can just tap someone on the shoulder and ask.

So, make sure you hit that record button so you can go back to it (and likely save yourself a Teams call). And, if it’s not covered in your induction, go through all the available resources before you make the call to ask.

2. New structure, who dis?

As a 24-year-old going on 60, I feel a sense of relief successfully adulting ahead of the next working week. But COVID-19 meant a whole new structure to work routine. We said sayonara to the office for the foreseeable future and turned our dining room tables into our very own enterprises.

And at first, I frothed on the novelty of working from home. I got an extra 30 minutes of sleep in and went to the gym before work a little later. I saved a good chunk of money and could play the Sugababes as loud as I wanted.

Now three and a half months in, I'd say it's more of a love/hate relationship. Though I'd prefer to be in the office (my return is still to be determined), I've done my best in trying to keep up a routine, and I’m putting jeans on more than trackies.

3. Don’t be a hero. Save yourself a few stress lines and reach out. (And don’t let workplace banter die!)

When people ask me what the past few months have been like, I usually spew out, "It's been tough. But surprisingly not as tough as it should've been."

It's been a great reassurance that I’m not alone when my more established co-workers express that they are facing their own trials and tribulations with working from home.

And if your co-workers are going out of their way to check in on you throughout the day working from home, they'll definitely take care of you when you’re back in the office.

Written by Tyler Worth, Perth WA.