So, you’ve landed your first comms role. Congrats! Right now, you’re probably feeling a mix of excitement and “oh wow, what did I just sign up for?” and that’s completely normal.
The first three months in any new role can feel like a whirlwind. You’re meeting new people, trying to decode workplace culture, and figuring out how to actually do the job you’ve just been hired for. In communications, that whirlwind is a little more intense because you’re often the one responsible for all the communication.
Here’s what those first 90 days in a comms role might actually look like, and how you can set yourself up to not just survive them, but truly thrive.
Month 1: Getting Your Bearings
Your first month is all about getting your bearings. Yes, you’ll be eager to contribute, but resist the urge to rush into big changes before you understand how things work. Your goal should be to observe, absorb, and understand.
What to do in this phase:
- Understand the business: Learn your company’s mission, goals, products/services, and target audiences. Read annual reports, past campaigns, and brand guidelines.
- Learn the culture: Every workplace has an unspoken communication style. Some are formal and structured, others casual and quick. Notice how your team communicates internally and externally.
- Meet your key stakeholders: Schedule introductions with colleagues, managers, and other teams you’ll work with (marketing, HR, product, leadership).
- Review current channels and content: Go through existing press releases, newsletters, social media feeds, and past campaign results. See what’s working and what’s not.
- Ask good questions: “What’s been our biggest comms win recently?” and “What’s been our toughest challenge?” will tell you a lot.
Month 2: Start Adding Value
By the second month, you’ll have enough context to start stepping in more confidently.
What to do in this phase:
- Take ownership of projects: Manage a newsletter issue, draft a blog post, handle social media for a week, or organize a media list refresh.
- Build trust through reliability: Meet deadlines, communicate updates, and follow through on commitments.
- Bring fresh ideas: Share small suggestions for improving content, workflows, or audience engagement, but always frame them as “building on what’s already working.”
- Get comfortable with tools: Whether it’s a CMS, social media scheduler, analytics dashboard, or design software, the sooner you master them, the better.
- Learn your metrics: Understand how success is measured in your role, like open rates, engagement, media mentions, lead generation, etc.
Month 3: Establish Your Presence
By your third month, you should have a clearer sense of the company’s communication priorities and your place in the team. This is when you can start suggesting ideas rather than just executing them.
What to do in this phase:
- Take on more complex assignments: Own an internal campaign, manage a stakeholder presentation, or lead a content strategy review.
- Strengthen relationships: Schedule follow-up check-ins with colleagues and stakeholders to maintain connections and understand their evolving needs.
- Analyze and report: Present insights from your first projects, like what worked, what could be better, and what you’d do differently next time.
- Demonstrate strategic thinking: Start aligning your day-to-day work with broader business goals.
- Seek feedback: Ask your manager and colleagues for specific feedback, not just “How am I doing?” but “What’s one thing I can improve or one way I could add more value?”Your first 90 days in a comms role aren’t about proving you know everything, they’re about showing you’re curious, adaptable, and willing to learn.
- Listen more than you speak (at first).
- Ask thoughtful questions.
- Deliver on your tasks consistently.
- Show that you care about both the message and the people behind it.
If you focus on that, you won’t just settle in, you’ll start to build a reputation as someone the team can count on. Your first 90 days in a communications role set the tone for your success. If you focus on listening, building relationships, delivering value, and continuously improving, you’ll not only survive those first three months but you’ll set yourself up for a thriving career.
And you can register for cohort II of the Comms Accelerator to launch your career in communications.
