The goal of orientation is to help new employees get off to a good start by providing learning experiences to help you become familiar with your job, resources, and the organization. Orientation is both a short-term and a long-term process. It can take up to a year before you are fully aware of every aspect of your job.

NDSU Extension orientation consists of several parts. The topics listed to the left reflect key areas for success. A New Staff Orientation Checklist will help you, your supervisor and others make sure important information is not missed.

Lessons on the Web.  Each lesson will address one topic such as land-grant university mission, collaboration, resources, professional development, etc. Lessons are short and intended to generate questions that can be addressed by your supervisor, mentor and other extension colleagues.

On-campus Visits. You are invited to the NDSU campus to attend New Staff Orientation within your first six months of employment. This includes visiting with administrators and faculty, learning about resources available through the agriculture communication department and participating in facilitator training. Ask your supervisor about the date of the next session and be sure to get it on your calendar.

In addition, there is a second staff orientation workshop that you will be asked to participate entitled, "Building Strong and Effective Extension Programs." This workshop will focus on program planning, developing a county/state plan of work, conducting effective evaluations including electronic tools, understanding the character traits of a successful Extension agent/specialist, using citizen input or advisory councils to meet the needs of your clients, and working with multi-generations.

Mentoring. Your supervisor will introduce you to a staff person to serve as your mentor. As you work with your mentor, they will visit you at your office and you are encouraged to go visit their office. Each time you meet, be prepared with a list of questions. Your mentor is a great resource especially for helping locating references and finding resource people.

Checklist

Let us make sure you have some of the basic Extension supplies.

• Nametag
  Yes     No, contact Lori Lymburner, lori.lymburner@ndsu.edu
• Desk Plate
  Yes     No, contact Lori Lymburner, lori.lymburner@ndsu.edu
• Business Cards
  Yes     No, talk with your supervisor's support staff
• Enclosures (small pages with the Extension logo, your office address and your signature to include with materials you mail.)
  Yes     No, talk with your support staff