When I meet a Hive newbie I gave some advices that I didn't have when I joined.

First look for projects like apis.hive ( well, it didn't existed in my time but if someone joins now is a good idea)
Second do the PUM with 1 hive per day, you get some delegation.
Third, go directly to communities that fit me and usually help a lot, with curation or even with contests (or contests like known as missions in liotes).