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Well it looks like I am the new guy here at Plattform. Or at least I was three weeks ago when I started. Since then they have hired several others. Seems you are not the new guy long here, this company is just growing and growing. I was asked to explain what it is like to be the “New Guy” at Plattform and to be honest it is an amazing experience. Let me start with my first day…

My first day at Plattform started off fairly a-typical for any company. I filled out paperwork for HR, I was told the rules, details of the programs they offer, and shown around the building a bit. Then I was introduced to the team I would be working on in the Interactive department. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone is close to my age being in either their 20’s or 30’s. The environment is extremely relaxed. Everyone is having a really good time, joking and kidding each other, chatting, yet I noticed something odd about all of this… They were still being very productive.

This is completely counter-intuitive to normal corporate theory of operation, yet they pulled it off. I soon realized that they are not really strict about anything. As long as you can accomplish your goals with it, you can use any tools that you like. There are chess boards and Nerf guns everywhere. People have each of their desks customized to their liking, many with their own hand-drawn cartoons up on a wall nearby. This is truly a unique and fun place to work.

Things don’t stop there though. Because everyone is close with age no one talks down to you. No more being called youngster, kid, son, or tiger by those you work with, just because they are 30 years older than you. It is a wonderful change that I am enjoying very much. It helps relax me and just make me more comfortable to know that I will be treated as an equal here.

As you can probably tell by now, I really like working at Plattform and that is just on my first day. But the day didn’t end there. I was taken to lunch by my co-workers, welcomed with open arms into their community. One of them bought me lunch. Then when we got back I was informed that they were starting flex Fridays that week, which allows us to leave on Friday after we have worked for 4 hours. To make things even better they told me that I get to have my first flex Friday on my first week at Plattform. I have to say, that was a great way to ease me into my new job.

The rest of my first week went really well. I met more people than I am capable of remembering. I found that I like pretty much every person I met at Plattform. I won buzzword bingo. I also got to spend some time chatting with two old friends of mine that just happen to work here too. All-in-all it was a great week. Since then things just keep getting better and better.

I expect that I will continue to be very happy at Plattform for a very long time. For the first time in my life I actually enjoy being the “New Guy” at work.