Starting your first job can be a daunting experience.
There will be big things you’ll need to think about, like whether you’re going to get on with the people you going to work with and what you might need to learn to be able to get to grips with your new role. And there will be lots of small things too, like how often you should be meeting your new boss and what to wear on a zoom call.
When we wrote How To Go To Work: The honest advice no one ever tells you at the start of your career, it was with the belief that so much of what you need to know when you’re starting out isn’t actively shared. Vital stuff like how to chair a meeting, how to ask for a pay rise, how to deal with the bad days when your best laid plans fall apart.
So we spoke to over 100 people from a wide range of roles from a brain surgeon, to an ethical supply chain specialist, to a research scientist to find out their top tips for making a flying start in any new job.
Here’s what we learnt:
Take some time to self reflect
There is a wonderful time between hearing that you’ve got the job and Day One.
It’s all too easy in this time to start to inflate your expectations about your new role. And the same can be true if your employer while they wait for you to arrive.
Before you start, decide how you want to present yourself at work. Choosing two or three adjectives can really help with this, for example, do you want to be known as reliable, efficient, and diligent, or does the role need you to be creative and enthusiastic and sociable?
This gives you a great benchmark to reflect back on as you navigate the first few days in your new role.
Make a plan for your first day
In the excitement of a new beginning, don’t forget the basics.
Find out how to log on to your new IT system. Say hello to your boss and your team. And find out where the loos are (unless you’re working from home, in which case you should probably know that already).
If you can cover the basics on Day One then you’re off to a good start.
Start with the end in mind
Most employers have a process called induction.
This can be formal or informal, but broadly it tends to be an opportunity to meet a few people find out about the key things you need to learn about how the organisation operates and set some early objectives.
It can feel like a lot of listening and not much doing. So make sure you have an early conversation with your new boss to find out their expectations and set a few goals that you want to achieve by the end this induction period.
3 to 6 months later there will usually be a Probation Meeting where you and your employer have a chance to work out whether this is it role is a good fit for you.
It’s a good idea to ask your boss what they would like you to have achieved by the end of your probation. This should be a good balance of learning and doing and you should feel like there are a few good examples of work you have completed that you can bring to your Probation Meeting.
Learn the culture
Once you’ve worked out what it is you’re supposed to be doing it’s time to think about how you are going to do it.
Each organisation, and each team within an organisation, has its own culture.
Culture is a lot more than beanbags and football tables. It’s literally: “how things get done around here”.
Workplace culture can be shaped by all sorts of things like the history is that particular industry, how hierarchical the organisation is, the values of the business and even the architecture of the buildings.
You can decode culture by asking some simple questions, like:
- How are decisions made? Some workplaces will have rigorous project management processes and regular meetings to go through lengthy PowerPoint presentations. Others will have quick conversations in a corridor.
- Are there professional standards that need to be adhered to? Some professions like teaching or nursing have structures and standards and you’ll need to get to know these in order to do your role.
- Does the office feel like a doctor’s surgery or a house party? A small creative agency might operate much more informally than the well-planned routines of a hospital or a construction site. And there’s a good reason why a doctor’s surgery doesn’t feel like a house party.
Once you’ve had a chance to learn the culture, think about how you’re doing your work. Are you supposed to be coming up with lots of ideas in informal settings or is it your job to be feeding into PowerPoint presentations ahead of a big meeting?
Face your fears
We all feel a lot of anxiety starting a new job role - and that’s okay.
To help manage that, it’s a good idea to write down all the things that you’re worried about: If I make a mistake will my new boss think I’m not very good at my role? Will I get along with my new colleagues?
Then turn them into a question, for example, if you’re worried about what your boss will think if you make mistake, ask yourself “How you will get regular feedback from my boss?”. If you’re worried about whether you will get along with your new colleagues, ask yourself “How will I build good relationships with my team?”
Once you’ve turned your worries into questions, consider what actions you might take to solve them, for example, could you have a conversation with your boss about how you’ll get regular feedback or could you book some time for an informal conversation with one of new your colleagues?
Put those actions into a list and you’ve now got a great To Do list that you can take into work on that first day. And perhaps some of those anxieties and worries will have calmed too.
Never underestimate the power of enthusiasm
Even when you’re surrounded by lots of very senior sounding job titles and people who have worked for that organisation or in your industry for decades, remember you are there because you were the best person for the job.
One of the best things about being new is you get to bound in with energy, injecting a beneficial buzz into the team.
Enthusiasm is contagious, so don’t be embarrassed to show some. A fresh pair of eyes or legs is a huge advantage to any organisation.
Be engaged, listen carefully, observe closely. And ask for help when you need it. How you show up in those first few weeks will dictate the impression your colleagues have of you for a long time.
Take time to reflect
During your first three months take time to take stock regularly. Ask yourself questions like: what do I know this week that was a mystery last week? What tools do I need to help me fill in the gaps?
Don’t panic if it takes you a while to get up to speed – the first few weeks are a time of relentless learning and there’s no such thing as a stupid question when you’re starting out. Diligently learn your role, interrogate what is expected of you and check in with your colleagues to ensure your expectations and theirs aren’t miles apart. If it’s all a bit vague, ask for clarity – don’t muddle through based on your assumptions.
And finally…
Remember that great organisations are more than bricks and mortar, they’re made up of their people. Have a plan and bring all of your skills, your talent and your energy, and you will make a great impression on your first day and achieve enormous amount in those first three months in your new role.
Written by Steve Haines