Starting Your New Job [First impressions count]

Pin It

It’s not only the first day in a new role at work but also the first 100 days that are significant for you, your colleagues and the company you are going to work for. AND It’s not just your first impression, and the impression you make but also your performance during those initial days that can have a major impact on your long-term future and success.

So regardless of whether this is your first job or just a change of role with a new company, it is essential to make a positive impression on your first day at work. Irrespective of the fact that you have been recruited because of your skills, knowledge and experience, you still need to be prepared to do the job and equally prepared to meet your new colleagues.

So what can you do practically?

Once you’ve accepted the new job offer, you would be well advised to research more and get as much information as you can to find out where you’ll be working, who you’ll be working with and what you might need. Make sure you are up to date on any news that’s relevant to the company, sector and job role.

You can make sure you understand the culture, the formalities and perhaps event the idiosyncrasies of the new company. After all, if they have an informal culture and dress down policy you don’t want to turn up looking too smart, all booted and suited.

You could always make contact in advance and get to know one of your future colleagues. Ask a few formal and informal questions, just to get an idea about what’s expected. For example ask questions about policies and procedures, the dress code, refreshments and anything you may be nervous or unclear about.

Plan your journey. Make sure you know how you are going to get to work, where you will park or how you will travel and the worst case scenario for timings. [see below].

Of course you need to prepare the night before.

Prepare some snacks and a bottle of water for your briefcase/handbag just in case you don’t get sufficient time for a meal on your first day – you could be very busy meeting everyone and not have time for an appropriate break.

Make sure you have any paper-work you need [tax forms, etc] and your favourite pen. Get some cash ready in case you need to pay for parking, buy yourself some lunch and any other contingencies. Lay out your clothes and make sure they are appropriate.

Have a reasonably early night, set your alarm, sleep well and wake up refreshed, excited and keen to go to work.

Have a good breakfast.

Leave your home in plenty of time, the last thing you want to do is get yourself stressed. If you are not sure of commuter traffic, train journey times then give yourself additional time to travel. Arriving a little early, calm and relaxed will go along way to creating the right impression and setting yourself in good stead for the future.

As for the next 99 days, think about how you can build credibility and trust as these will be pivotal to your success in the new role. In addition you will need think about how to demonstrate your ability to influence, lead and take decisions and what impact these will have on you settling in.

Suggestions on how to overcome Common Mistakes adapted from Ciampa and Watkins (1999)

• Poor preparation – Failing to plan ahead or prepare fully for a new position is an easy mistake to make. Undertaking as much background research as possible, talking to your contacts and trusted advisors and building up a picture of the new role is essential in order to arrive ready for the task.

• Failing to seek support – It is essential to build relationships throughout any role or career, but in particular during the early stages. People can often seek to work everything out themselves without the input and advice of others. They then seek to speak from a position of authority without having got to know their peers in the first instance.

• Pre-empting the solution – While it is very alluring to be in a position to present a well considered and robust solution to a particular problem, doing so from the outset can often imply arrogance or insecurity. Equally, colleagues and others can be reluctant to share information or attempt to influence you if they perceive that your mind is made up from the outset.

• Not freshening up the team – A sense of justice and giving people the chance to prove themselves is often considered equitable treatment. While this may be true, leaving under performing incumbents in their current role can reduce your own impact and effectiveness no end.

• Doing too much too soon – There is a natural sense of needing to make an impression at the start of a new role. While this means that people seek out quick wins and may experiment in their new environment, doing too much or becoming impatient can quickly backfire.

• Failing to spot talent and allies – As a new arrival, people will often seek to curry favour and influence you. You will need to be aware of this and seek to deal with it as the context and situation demands. It is likely however that your new role will carry with it a sense of a changing of the guard, by others, along with yourself.

• Successor syndrome – A final pitfall that people can fail to spot can be referred to as …Successor Syndrome…. If your role carries with it the expectation of succeeding a particular role or individual and an understanding of this is not shared by your counterpart, the other person may feel unduly threatened and seek to block your progress.

And don’t forget, that if you had a long protracted job search, you should have thanked everyone for their help and let them know that you are now employed. They’ll be pleased to hear your good news and which company you’re working for and what you will be doing. Don’t lose your network contacts, keep them informed.

Good luck! Smile, be friendly and have a great first day on the new job, and enjoy your work.

Lynn

http://assessment4potential.tel/

Related articles by Zemanta

• First Impressions Matter (lifescript.com)
• The Importance of Connecting with Colleagues (businessweek.com)
• What You Need to Do Before Taking Your Next Job (blogs.hbr.org)

Click the book to join us

About Lynn Tulip
Lynn Tulip is a career management and HR professional running her own HR consultancy. Her passion is working with individuals, helping them rekindle their work passion. Read the newly published Get That Job, the art of successful job hunting.. Apart from loving food and fitness, she enjoys her ever growing family. Find her online or follow her @LynnTulip and @A4P_HR
View all posts by Lynn Tulip →