Onboarding your apprentice
Jules avatar
Written by Jules
Updated over a week ago

1. Get a schedule of when your apprentice will be helping

Make sure you both understand when you are working, when they are working, and when you'll be working together.

2. Set a time for a weekly feedback call

This is one of the most important parts of the entire apprenticeship, and the core reason your apprentice is willing to work for free. You have to provide value back to them by scheduling a weekly phone call to tell them how they're doing, answer any questions they have, and give them advice on their career.

3. Keep in touch regularly

Your apprentice signed up for mentorship, not an unpaid internship. That means you must keep in touch with them regularly to check their progress and if they’re learning from their apprenticeship. This way, they’ll let you know if they find a task difficult, need help understanding a marketing principle, or need your opinion or insight.

4. Add them to team channels

Part of working with a team is keeping everyone in the loop. If you add your apprentice to your team channel—whether that’s on Slack, Microsoft Teams, or others—they will understand how communications work in a typical job setting. Not only that, they’ll understand how your business works better, and have more ideas on how to execute their tasks.

5. Create a general 3-month roadmap together

Your apprentice should have a general idea of what they're going to do over the 3 months you are working together. This doesn't have to be detailed, just a syllabus of what you're going to cover, and perhaps what they're going to learn, and the skills they're going to gain.

6. Ask your apprentice what they want to work on

This is perhaps the easiest way to get great work from your apprentice. People work hard on what they enjoy working on. Even if the tasks they enjoy aren't the ones you want them to complete, allow them to do both. You'll be amazed at the results.

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