Days 1–14: observation
Don’t suggest changes. Don’t complain about the codebase or process. Map who does what. Read the last 30 days of Slack in your team channels. Set up your local environment. Ship one tiny, obviously-correct PR.
Days 15–45: small wins
Take on the smallest, highest-confidence work in the backlog. Ship it. Ask for code review carefully. Begin a weekly written summary to your manager: "this week I did X, learned Y, next week I’ll do Z." This habit alone gets people promoted.
Days 46–80: ownership
Pick one small but real problem nobody owns. Own it. Drive it to done. This is what differentiates you from the median new hire — you stopped waiting to be assigned.
Days 81–100: feedback loop
Ask your manager directly: "How am I doing? What would you want to see more of?" Be specific in the question. Most managers default to "you’re doing great" — push for the actionable part. Use what you hear.
Quiet career killers
Not replying to Slack within a workday. Saying "I’ll get to it" without a date. Skipping the weekly company all-hands. Posting too much in #random and too little in your team channel.