Before you go in
This covers the period between now and the day you walk through the door. It is organized by where you are, not by topic. Find where you are and read forward.
Four parts, organized by where you are in the process. Below: the four moves that matter most, then the parts themselves.
The four things that matter most
If you read nothing else:
Find where you are
Then the other guide starts
This guide ends the day you report. What is on the other side of the door — cars, the unwritten rules, debt, working with staff, and how the days actually run — is its own guide. Read it before you go, because you cannot read it after.
Where this comes from
Most of what follows is either documented policy or something I lived. Where a claim rests on secondhand information, or where a number moves around and you should confirm it yourself, it is marked.
Policy citations point to
These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.
I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.
If this helped, it'll help someone else too.