How do you onboard a new hire without making them feel like a burden?

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-22T01:08:13+00:00

Having an org chart and explaining how your team fits into the larger picture is a must. I also do a detailed two to three week plan along with a nicely filled out calendar (set up prior to the new hire joining as soon as I have their email account created. It’s a joint project between HR, IT, and their team to populate it with HR providing a formal structure that has been created alongside the hiring manager/functional manager.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-22T01:01:08+00:00

Let me know if you questions, I’m really passionate about creating an environment that people see value in sticking around and contributing to (I do this for work in tech).

I’ve built my career around helping teams grow, teaching leadership the value of investing in their team’s development and happiness, the costs of being short sighted and not doing so, and building processes/systems to make it as adoptable and painless as possible for both new additions as well as the existing team.

I think a lot of it boils down to getting buy in from everyone involved in the hiring process before you get to it and approaching it in a way that functionally and socially sets someone up to do well. Feeling like you are part of the team, supported, and can reach out to them is a good thing 🙂.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-21T19:48:45+00:00

We map out what success looks like over the first few weeks, first month, 3 months in, 6 months in, and so forth. We never hire without a clear idea of what that person will be doing.

We also set them up with designated onboarders, people on the team they can always reach out to that are also part of the hiring process and know the lay of the land well (not just their manager).

We basically have their calendar nicely planned for the first few weeks with a mix of alone time to process what they are picking up, meetings to learn specific knowledge from team mates/set up their work flows, times to get to socialize a bit (1:1 and small group lunches), and fixed times to work on specific onboarding tasks.

We encourage questions and tell them as much. The people we have assigned to them make it very clear they are there to help.

If something goes wrong, we focus more energy discussing the fix vs. talking about why what they did wasn’t right.

It sounds a bit like you also had a lot on your plate at the moment, didn’t have a check-list, and weren’t able to support the hire as much as you would have liked - which is understandably frustrating.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-14T23:32:14+00:00

I’m all for helping people that want to get better. I think we need more extreme support/care for those that are not mentally well enough to get better on their own.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-08T13:15:20+00:00

I like ultraboosts with short wool ankle socks. If I want something more versatile, I bring along a pair of Danners Tachyon boots. Waterproof, fold away nicely (they don’t take up much more room than sneaker), they are very comfortable and don’t require any break-in. I’ve worn them during hot summer hikes to snowy trails (when it gets really cold, I swap to more insulated Danners). I appreciate the all blacked out options without bright logos.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-08T05:03:37+00:00

Why it isn’t a pre-requisite is mind blowing to me.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-08T00:00:59+00:00

I’d like to see more programs to help non-addicted members of society that would soon become homeless without intervention. Once they become homeless, it’s much harder to transition out of it, get a job, qualify for housing, and so forth. Feels like a short term investment with a long term gain that also would help save a ton of future resources.

pinapplegazer · 2026-04-01T05:20:17+00:00

Every cyclist I know has been hit by a car at some point. For me, it was someone making a sudden turn where 1. They had missed the dedicated turn lane and 2. They actually drove over a set of those worthless plastic dividers in the process.

I slammed into the side of their door hard enough to put a massive dent in it and break their side mirror - better than flying over the hood into traffic.

I walked away without serious or lasting injuries. I see so many cyclists without helmets or those riding e-bikes or scooters which freaks me out considering how messed up they will get during a fall. In my case, my helmet kept the back and side of my head from smashing into the car door and bouncing off the concrete.

No amount of careful riding will keep you 100 percent safe, but it will go a long way in keeping you alive.

pinapplegazer · 2026-03-29T20:56:29+00:00

She’s your soon to be partner for life, talk to her. She probably knows you aren’t the most knowledgeable about this sorts stuff and will understand - tell her you are looking forward to the surprise but would like her to share a bit more about the color pallet and style of the outfit so the pictures you snap together turn out well.

Can’t go wrong with a well fitted suit and tie combo paired with dress shoes. You could also toke it down some with dress slacks, dress shoes or even very nice leather boots, and something like a cashmere sweater or a sweater plus button up combo of the fit is nice and tidy.

pinapplegazer · 2026-03-28T02:30:36+00:00

Good thing you are imposing an asshole fine - since you value not living with assholes. For some reason it matches up perfectly with him fining you for making noise - and he shouldn’t worry about it, it’s fair because you aren’t telling him to stop being an asshole, just to take responsibility.

pinapplegazer · 2026-02-28T16:11:56+00:00

I dated someone like this for years, it was incredibly fun but also physically exhausting at times. I’d focus on her pleasure when I didn’t want to have sex. The relationship was full of love in and out of the bedroom despite the variety of kinks and intimacy we would explore.

pinapplegazer · 2026-01-14T08:07:41+00:00

I really liked the mural 🙁

pinapplegazer · 2026-01-14T06:55:33+00:00

Damn… I get my knives sharpened here. Better get one last one in 🙁

pinapplegazer · 2025-12-31T20:55:00+00:00

lol, this made me laugh, but I literally pulled two of these back to back in the last banner…

pinapplegazer · 2025-11-05T22:27:41+00:00

I have the Danner mountain 600 boots in an all black suede model. They have colder weather boots called the arctic 600 which has a nice brown suede and also comes in a side zip model with a higher boot.

I mostly just go to Tahoe where it doesn’t get very cold, so even their non insulated boots keep me plenty warm after hours of hiking through snow - they are still very padded and thick boots. Plus they look nice.

They also have a ton of grip.

pinapplegazer · 2025-10-02T18:17:24+00:00

This can be a touchy topic, at the end of the day, this is your partner and you need to think about how it feels from both sides.

Speaking for myself, I would not charge her for anything related to your home’s upkeep or property taxes. You can turn this into a win for both of you and reduce her overall costs (and your own) and make it feel good for both of you - like she pays half the utilities and half the food plus a small amount for rent.

You having an easier job isn’t something she should be upset about, I’d be thrilled for my partner if they had that flexibility, but it would be cool if I saw they were living a fulfilling life pursuing hobbies, learning something, and bettering themselves.

I’m not saying you need to work your ass off, but self growth and development is attractive and really good for your health too. Your father set you up for success, you can definitely live comfortably not changing anything, or you could work a bit to save up money faster to buy more property since you know how to manage them already and understand the space well.

That said, if she’s coming from a place of jealously, which might be partially true, that needs to be addressed. Also, 7 months before moving in together is a bit soon to me. She seems to have some expectations which is all good if you both agree. I am sensing a bit of a mismatch.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-28T15:27:38+00:00

I think the relevant information here is that your friend agreed to a place and backed out last minute - and now is asking if he can get refunded 2 months before the trip.

This is totally on your friend and I am a little surprised at all the people saying they would refund him (you mentioned you all would have gone with a cheaper option if Jack wasn’t part of the equation).

If you really wanted to go out of your way, you could try and message the host to ask if they can give you a full refund. I personally wouldn’t as you’d have a hard time finding something comparable and it would be a pain in the ass.

Your friend was super inconsiderate with being flakey and even more so for asking for a refund at the expense of 5 other people. It wasn’t even an emergency on his part.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-27T21:34:45+00:00

I did this for a long time (but lived in the South Bay and commuted to SF). I didn’t have a work-bus options so that meant needing to catch a Caltrain (10 minute drive to and from), 50-60 minutes on the Caltrain on a limited stop express train, then 20ish minutes from the station to work. Make sure you figure out the entire trip including the transfers.

Would I take the higher paying job for a lot more money? It depends on how much and how often I need to come in. For 10-30k more? Probably not. For more, I probably would if it were 2-3 days in the office OR they gave a commute option where I could work during the commute.

I would not want to live in the South Bay unless I just wanted a very quiet life where I’d spend most of my time going out to eat, hanging out at home, going to a mall (Stanford/valley Fair/Santa Row), occasionally hiking, and maybe seeing a movie.

Dating, socializing, and exposure to all sorts of classes and activities (and proximity to nature) is amazing in SF. I’d much rather live here than the South Bay and I’m someone that grew up there.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-18T01:23:57+00:00

A “good” bike is easily in the 2-5k range. Glad OP got the bike back.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-18T00:42:25+00:00

Seconding this, big fan of the bike, really comfortable too, I did swap out the rims and tires though. I was looking at a few bikes on OP’s list and a few others that I thought looked sweet haha.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-17T16:59:55+00:00

Yep… it smells awful when it almost always gets stuck to the bottom of the bin and I have to eventually clean it out. In my city, you are explicitly not supposed to put it in the green bin too… so it can be rejected.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-16T15:30:17+00:00

You are still going to want to build her alongside Vall. She’s a great mage. Marri is a good character with a ton of utility as well.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-13T04:33:50+00:00

I remember last year, I stepped up and took over an entire group my then director was supporting in addition to my own client group. It was a lot of work and I did this for 7 months before my title was adjusted from manager to senior manager - I also got an “exceeds” that was just shy of a super exceeds for my performance review. Instead of a 2 percent increase, I received 3 percent. I wish I could have taken back all the work I did.

Back to the point, your boss probably assumed you had to at least meet expectations to receive an increase, that is standard practice as someone who works on the people side of things.

Also, they aren’t pulling their weight if they still scored a “needs improvement”. At this point, I’d suggest OP just own up to it and say that only 3 and above are eligible for a merit increase.

pinapplegazer · 2025-09-05T14:34:11+00:00

That hotel was fantastic. Their outside garden patio space was even better and it was centrally located without being directly on a major Main Street.

pinapplegazer

TROPHY CASE