Starting a new job can stir up various emotions, from excitement to anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. You may also have lots of questions swirling around your head, such as:
Will I fit into the team and organisation?
Have I made the right move?
Will people like me?
Am I capable of doing a good job?
It’s completely natural to experience this as you move onto the next chapter in your career, and you’re certainly not alone.
There’s a lot of information, routines and cultural norms to absorb and process in the first few months of a new job, all whilst trying to make a lasting impression.
To help make this transition as pain-free as possible, I’ve pulled together 10 ways to be successful in your new job. I hope you find them helpful.
1. Make a good first impression
Engaging conversations make great first impressions! So, a fantastic way to be noticed early on is to share your passion and motivations with your new coworkers. You could talk about why you’re excited to have made the move, what you hope to bring to the role, and how you want to be successful.
There are also the more obvious ways to make a good impression, such as showing up on time, being positive, working well in a team and communicating effectively.
Finally, you could work on your personal brand so you’re able to hit the ground running on your first day. To find out more about this, visit my previous blog.
2. Onboarding
A good onboarding programme helps new starters to settle in quicker and ensures they have all the necessary tools to complete their work efficiently. This may include timely completion of HR paperwork, sourcing IT equipment, creating account login details, a tour around the premises, meeting key staff members and knowing who to go to with questions or issues.
If you feel your onboarding isn’t as thorough as it needs to be, don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Indeed has this simple checklist to help you out
3. Understand your metrics
A job description will give you a good idea about all your responsibilities. But make sure you understand what your manager expects of you and what metrics you’ll be judged on. This will help you know where to focus your precious time and attention and which tasks are value-adding.
4. Ask questions… but not too many
A great way to learn is to ask lots of questions. Introducing a fresh pair of eyes into an organisation can be extremely valuable to find wasted efforts, fine-tune processes, and do things more smartly.
Be mindful of bombarding your new coworkers with too many questions, ideas or suggestions though. Instead, why not create a list of things you want to learn more about or improvements you think could work?
5. Understand the organisational structure
If you aren’t provided with one as part of your onboarding, ask for an organisational structure to help you learn about the different departments and the main players!
6. Learn as much as you can about the organisation
Visit as many different departments as possible and arrange meetings to introduce yourself to the key stakeholders you’ll work with.
If you’re customer-facing, having a solid understanding of the various areas of the organisation and its stakeholders will help with your ‘pitch’.
7. Learn about the stakeholders
Along with internal stakeholders, find out about the customers, suppliers, contractors or regulators you may encounter as part of your new role. Many organisations create stakeholder maps that capture all the vital relationships, their relationships with each other, and their expectations.
If there isn’t one, why not create one to help others entering the organisation?
8. Learn about the culture
An organisational culture is how things are done and the unwritten ‘rules’ that influence how individuals and groups behave and interact.
You’ll probably get a gut feeling for the culture in the first few weeks. If there are plenty of positive values, beliefs and attitudes, ensure you also try to embody them in everything you do.
If you find negative aspects of the culture, such as role confusion, excessive stress, exclusion or gossiping, try to avoid being ‘sucked’ into it. Create healthy boundaries for yourself, such as time management and a good work-life balance, to ensure it doesn’t affect your morale and productivity.
After you’ve been there a while and are more comfortable, you may feel secure enough to share some of your observations and concerns with an employee group, HR or your line manager.
9. Find out what your boss really cares about
Finding out what your manager is measured on can be a great way to help and support them and build a solid working relationship between yourselves. It can also be a fantastic way to show leadership potential if you want to progress in the organisation.
It never hurts to do a little ‘managing your manager’!
10. Enjoy it!
The first few weeks in a new role can be daunting, and you may be left feeling like you’ve made a wrong decision. Again, it’s normal to feel like this when faced with the unknown and pushed out of your comfort zone.
Be patient and give yourself time to settle in and learn. As part of your onboarding, you should receive dates for regular reviews. For example, at 3, 6 and 12 months. Use these reviews to clarify aspects of your role you may be unsure of, ensure your metrics are correct, and constructively voice any worries or issues you may have.
Good luck in your new job!
Are you ready to be successful in your new job?
If you want to build your workplace confidence but need a helping hand to make this happen, let’s have a virtual coffee and chat.
It would also be great to connect with you on LinkedIn and Facebook!
