Going On Call for the First Time

Being on call for the first time can be daunting, but with proper preparation and support from your team, it can become a manageable experience. Essential steps include understanding written guidelines, clearing your project schedule, and familiarizing yourself with a documented response SLA. Engaging in business hours on-call practice and shadowing or reverse shadowing with experienced colleagues can build confidence. If your service lacks frequent incidents, participating in game days or chaos engineering exercises can simulate on-call scenarios. Strengthening skills with observability tools, like Honeycomb, is crucial before actual incidents occur. Always having a primary and secondary on-call partner ensures support and aids in effective escalation, which should be seen as an opportunity to learn rather than a failure. Resources like the Google SRE book and mentorship from experienced colleagues can further enhance your understanding and readiness for on-call duties.