APB CODEX
Onboarding
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Welcome to APB

Your guided first 90 days — what to do, what to learn, and what "good" looks like at each milestone. This is your map; your leader and buddy walk it with you.

Audience: New consultants (EC) Pairs with: L1 (leader view) · M1–M4
Tutorial + How-to Owner: MD (Adam Beverley) Last updated: 2 Jun 2026 Review: quarterly
Start Here
Welcome to APB
You've joined a specialist recruitment firm that bets on depth, judgement and doing right by clients and candidates. Here's how to get up to speed fast.

The goal of your first 90 days is simple: get to your first wins, build the habits of a strong consultant, and feel part of the team. This page is your structured path to that — read it on Day 1, and come back to it through your first quarter. Start with Company Identity to understand who APB is and why we work the way we do.

You're not expected to know everything on Day 1 — you're expected to be curious, take feedback, and put the reps in. Coachability and activity matter more than polish early on.

Start Here
How Onboarding Works
The shape of your first 90 days, and who's helping you through it.
Your leader

Your Desk Lead / manager owns your development — your weekly 1-on-1, coaching, and your path. They've read the other side of this in L1 People Leadership.

Your buddy

A peer who shows you the day-to-day, answers the "is this a silly question?" questions, and helps you feel at home in the first fortnight.

The Codex

Your knowledge base — the playbooks (M1–M4), templates, and (soon) the Simulator to practise. Always here when you need it.

The structure: an intense first week of setup and learning, then a 30-60-90 path with clear milestones so you and your leader always know if you're on track.

Start Here
Your First Day
What to expect and do on Day 1.
  • Welcome & intros — meet the team and your buddy
  • Get your tech & logins set up (see Setup & Access)
  • Walk the Codex — start at the Hub, then skim the four playbooks
  • Read Company Identity — mission, values, how we work
  • Sit in on a live call (BD or screening) with your buddy
  • Agree your Week 1 plan and your 1-on-1 time with your leader

By the end of Day 1 you should know where everything lives, who to ask for what, and what your first week looks like. That's a successful Day 1 — not billing, just orientation.

First Week
Setup & Access
The accounts and tools you need to do the job.

Adam sets up your accounts before you start: your Google Workspace login (@apbstrategy.com.au), which is the single sign-on key to APB HQ, Codex and the Staff Portal, plus the shared credentials for your desk's tools (Monday CRM, Aircall, and sourcing tools) — all stored in LastPass. The Hub's Tools dock links to everything in one place.

The full step-by-step setup checklist lives in Tech Stack & Logins → Getting Access →

First Week
People & Your Buddy
Who's who, and how to use your buddy.

Meet the team early — see the org chart and roles in People & Structure. Your buddy is your first port of call for the practical, day-to-day questions; lean on them in the first fortnight. Your leader handles your development and coaching.

Ask lots of questions early. The fastest-ramping consultants are the ones who ask, try, get feedback, and adjust — not the ones who quietly guess.

First Week
Learn the Playbooks
The recruitment craft, in the order you'll use it.

Work through the four core playbooks — these are how APB recruits. Read them, then watch them in action by shadowing live calls.

ModuleWhat it teaches
M1 Secure BusinessBusiness development — winning and qualifying work (RAPID).
M2 Source & ScreenFinding and screening candidates (the 6Rs).
M3 Fill the RoleBrief to placement — interviews, offers, the guarantee.
M4 BillingInvoicing & commercial basics (you'll go deeper later).

Don't just read — shadow. Pair each module with watching your buddy or leader do it live, then try it yourself with coaching. (Soon you'll practise in the Training Simulator too.)

30-60-90 Path
By Day 30
Foundations laid — you know the playbooks and you're active.
Milestone · Day 30

Self-sufficient and active

  • Know the playbooks (M1–M4) and where everything lives
  • Self-sufficient on the tools and CRM
  • Consistent daily activity at the agreed level
  • First candidates in your pipeline
  • Settled into the weekly 1-on-1 rhythm with your leader
30-60-90 Path
By Day 60
Running independently — real work moving through your desk.
Milestone · Day 60

Running your own activity

  • Running BD independently
  • Live Job Orders on your desk
  • First shortlists presented to clients
  • Activity at target
  • Using coaching to sharpen specific skills

If you're well behind these by Day 60, that's a normal thing to talk through with your leader — not a failure. The earlier you raise where you're stuck, the faster it gets fixed.

30-60-90 Path
By Day 90
A self-sustaining desk — first placements landing.
Milestone · Day 90

Self-sustaining consultant

  • First placement(s) made or in progress
  • Desk running self-sustainingly
  • Coaching shifting from "how" to "how much"
  • Clear on your path to Senior Consultant (see People & Structure)

Day 90 isn't the finish line — it's the start of building a billing desk. Your career path (EC → SC → PC → MD) is in People & Structure, and your leader will have a career conversation with you about it.

Support
Coaching & 1-on-1s
How you'll be developed through your first 90 days and beyond.
  • Daily check-ins in your first month, tapering as you find your feet.
  • A weekly 1-on-1 with your leader — your time to get unstuck and be coached. Come with what you want help on.
  • Pre-call coaching, sit-ins and debriefs around real calls — the fastest way to improve.
  • Skill drills on the parts of the process you're building.

This is the new-hire view of what your leader runs from L1 People Leadership. Coaching isn't remedial — it's how good consultants get better. Use it.

Support
Where to Get Help
Stuck? Here's where to look and who to ask.
  • A "how do I…?" question → search the Codex, or ask your buddy.
  • A deal or skill you're stuck on → your leader, in (or before) your 1-on-1.
  • A policy / leave / HR question → HR Docs & Policies, or your leader.
  • A tool or access issue → your buddy / whoever provisions access (see Setup).

Asking for help early is a strength, not a weakness. The whole point of onboarding is that you're not doing this alone.