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&lt;b&gt;Welcome aboard!&lt;/b&gt; &lt;p&gt;Bleary-eyed and somewhat short of bushy-tailed, you arrived at your client site by 11 a.m. Monday (or sooner for sadistic teams).  You parked your goofy Chevy HHR (GM made the Aztek &lt;i&gt;and&lt;/i&gt; this, and didn&#39;t go bankrupt before today!?) so far out of the parking lot you count the walk as today&#39;s workout, eliminating a time-suck elliptical session. You called your contact, signed in with security and now sport a visitor&#39;s badge blazing your newness on a crisply pressed shirt. They directed you to the essentials, the coffee, cafeteria and restrooms.  &lt;p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Coffee is the primary objective here, as you nearly passed out reading trade magazines in the lobby waiting for your contact earlier.  The Flavia-, Nespresso- or Tassimo-fueled companies with free quality instant are precious indeed; darn ye coffee vending machine and its 85-cent mystery powder.  In that case, fire up the Starbucks Finder app on your phone.   &lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Your workspace is likely a cramped conference room, out-of-date cubicle, dank basement or perhaps, for the seriously unluckily, the cafeteria (though it&#39;s usually reserved for the auditors).  You have a 50/50 chance of even getting a phone.  After a few minor introductions, the first order of business is probably filling out onboarding forms for a security badge, client e-mail, team file sharing site and signing what can often be draconian IT security policies.  You may not even be able to access the internet yet.  A laptop cellular card is a lifeline until the access issue is resolved.  A week or two without access is not unheard of, though obviously it&#39;s a huge drain on productivity.   &lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I hope you memorized everyone&#39;s name; say their names seven times in your head and use it when you speak to them until their names&#39; electrons are laser etched in your grey matter.  In your travel-induced haze, what did you observe about the team, the project and the client? Collect your insights and reserve judgment for tomorrow.  &lt;p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Now it is time to leave for the day—that&#39;s right. The first day is a day of acclimation and meet-and-greets, not analysis.  What is the end of the work day, 5 p.m. (ha!), 6 p.m., 7 p.m., later?  Clarification is necessary, or you will end up playing the sit-around-until-enough-people-leave game. Ask in ahead of time what the typical schedule is.  That way, though your contact may be staying later that day for a certain task, you won&#39;t end up trying to unnecessarily mimic his/her timing but also meet expectations.  I would say a good guide is until your work is done... or at least after the client leaves.   &lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now it&#39;s time to check in to the hotel ... and fall asleep watching Hulu on a jittery wi-fi connection.&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;- &lt;i&gt;Taylor O&#39;Neal is a supply chain consultant for a major consulting firm.  He graduated from Miami University School of Business in 2005 and Indiana University&#39;s Kelley Masters of Information Systems program in 2006.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;

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