Personal & Life
Before Day One: From Graduation to Your First Job
Beginner | 1 whiteboard page · Task board: 5 columns (5 parent tasks, 10 subtasks)
Beginner: No technical terms. Just answer the whiteboard's questions, following the examples, and it takes shape.
A pre-start checklist covering everything between accepting an offer and day one, opened six months out as graduation requirements, paperwork, moving and pre-start work land at once. The whiteboard holds your day-one goal and document deadlines, a six-step flow from acceptance to day one, a grid of what to finish by when, a mind map of what to do while still a student, and frames for degree-critical courses and pre-start rules. Five parent tasks cover the offer, graduation, paperwork, housing and pre-start learning, and cards move from brain dump through deadline checks to done.
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Whiteboard preview
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Before Day One Prep Board
How to use: (1) Write your own dates onto each step of the flow, counting back from your start date → (2) Rewrite each grid square as you clear it and move the matching card along the task board
The goal for day one and the document deadlines
- Three pillars Graduation confirmed, a home and living costs in place, and the pre-start learning done before your first day. Don't track them separately.
- Graduation terms Check remaining credits, required courses, and thesis dates against confirmed numbers in the student system, not estimates. Raise any gap with your supervisor.
- Document deadlines Certificates, bank details, tax and insurance forms are usually due a month before you start. Anything that takes two weeks to issue has to move first.
- Decide these first Move-in date, moving day, and commute route. Until these three are set you can't budget your living costs or pack, and everything slips.
Six steps from accepting the offer to day one
- Accept offer Confirm the terms and start date in writing and accept before the deadline. Settle team and location here.
- Graduation Count remaining credits, required courses, and thesis dates, and re-plan your enrolment if anything is short.
- Paperwork List the certificates, bank details, tax and insurance forms, and send them longest-to-issue first.
- Housing Shortlist by commute and rent, set the move-in date two weeks before you start, and book the move.
- Pre-start Finish the reading, courses, and pre-start forms a month before you start, and write down what you still want to ask.
- Day one Confirm what to bring and where to meet the day before, and shift your sleep to working hours over a week.
What to finish by when, area by area
| 6 months out | 3 months out | 1 month out | Final weeks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academics | Count remaining credits | Finish the thesis check-in | Confirm you are on track | Check ceremony and diploma pickup |
| Paperwork | List documents and deadlines | Request the certificates | Gather bank and tax details | Re-check nothing is unsent |
| Housing | Set a commute and rent cap | View three places, compare | Fix move-in and moving dates | Book power, gas, internet |
| Money | List spending until you start | Get quotes for the move | Cover living costs to payday | Set up rent and bill payments |
| Learning | Ask which skills matter most | Start the reading and courses | Submit forms, log questions | Prepare the day-one kit |
What you still want to do as a student
- Student days
- Travel Pick one trip only a long break allows
- Licence Book the lessons while you still have time
- New skill Choose one qualification and set the exam date
- People Fix dates to see mentors and seniors before you leave
- Portfolio Turn your student work into something you can show
Courses your degree depends on
- A failed required course rarely has a substitute and costs a whole year
- Count credits only from confirmed figures in the student system
- Book time with your supervisor the moment a gap appears
Pre-start onboarding steps
- Copy each form's deadline into your list the day you receive it
- Tell them in advance, with a reason, on any date you cannot attend
- Put socials and training after your graduation deadlines, never before
Questions to ask before you start
- Start time, meeting point, dress code, and what to bring
- Your team and what you own in the first three months
- Reading or glossaries that help before day one
Task board contents
To sort out 15 items
Confirm your offer
Get the role, work location, start date, and pay in writing, then accept within the deadline. Every housing decision waits on this.
Return the offer
Check how and by when it must be returned, fill in every field, and send it three days before the deadline.
Check role and site
Confirm your team, work location, and first-day meeting point, and note them as the brief for your housing search.
Clear graduation
Count remaining credits, required courses, and thesis dates in the student system, and re-plan if anything is short. No degree means no start date.
Count credits left
Use the confirmed numbers in the student system and list every course you still have to pass.
Book thesis dates
Put the check-in, submission, and defence dates on the board and spot the weeks that clash with your prep.
Gather paperwork
List every certificate, bank, tax, and insurance form, and start with whatever takes longest to be issued.
Order certificates
Ask the university office how long issuing takes and what it costs, then request every copy you need at once.
Collect tax and ID
Put your payroll account, tax and pension numbers, and emergency contact on one sheet you can reuse.
Sort out housing
Shortlist by commute and rent ceiling, set a move-in date two weeks before you start, and book the move.
Shortlist by commute
Fix a travel time from your work location and a rent cap, then view three places against the same checklist.
Set the move date
Lock the move-in and delivery dates and book power, gas, and internet for the same week.
Prep before day one
Finish the reading, online courses, and pre-start forms a month before you start, and log the questions left over.
Finish the reading
Decide the order and a daily amount, and keep notes of key points and questions to raise on day one.
Set up your laptop
Try the tools you will use on your own device and settle your network and workspace before day one.
