Congratulations. You've secured the job of your dreams. Yet, starting a new job can be very daunting especially if you have been with your last company for a while. You will have to meet new people, learn the ropes, get accustomed to new processes and procedures, and learn how to excel in a brand-new environment. Below the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, outline some key points to keep in mind to start your new job off on the right foot.
Read up on the company beforehand and make sure you are well-versed in the products, competition, and company culture and direction. Ask your new boss if there are materials you can read before you join and try to meet some of the people you will be working with beforehand so the terrain is not completely unfamiliar.
Make sure you are not late to the job the first weeks and that you put in all the hours required. Taking long lunch breaks and leaving before everyone else will set a bad tone and will not earn you the goodwill of your new colleagues.
Make sure you are dressed for the role and that you appear polished, well-groomed, cool, confident, happy, and in control. Project positive energy. First impressions are important and you need to ensure that you make a good one.
Ask questions and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. It will take you a while to get used to the company’s policies and procedures and asking the right people the right questions is the best way to avoid potentially costly mistakes.
A good idea in your first days on the job is to listen more and talk less. You have a lot to learn and you don’t want to alienate people or rub them the wrong way by being over-ebullient or over-aggressive before you are familiar with office politics and the new dynamics and know the different players.
Offer to pitch in with projects that need work and don’t shy from taking on added responsibilities providing these do not interfere with your basic deliverables. Your work ethic is being gauged from the first day you join and you need to show that you are keen, enthusiastic, and not afraid of hard work.
Show that you are interested in your colleagues and happy to be working with them by smiling, being considerate, asking questions, and offering to lend a hand. You will be spending a lot of time with your new work colleagues and it is essential that you have good relationships with them.
Earn the respect of your colleagues by treating them as you would like to be treated and showing common courtesy and respect in all your interactions. Gaining their respect is crucial to your ability to work with them effectively over the long term.
Start as you mean to carry on and do not bite more than you can chew. Make sure you do not make promises you cannot keep as these will be remembered and will diminish your future credibility in the workplace. Keep the promises you make manageable and aim for a few easy early wins with projects that have buy-in and support from upper management.
Set expectations early. Make sure you are very clear as to what is expected of you, what the immediate priorities are, how your performance will be appraised, and how frequently you need to update your boss on projects and deliverables.
Identify who the key players are and try to emulate them as well as learn how they get things done. If you can get put on projects with them, even better.
Do not participate in office gossip no matter how endemic it is. You can listen to what is being said in the office grapevine to avoid making the same mistakes but do not offer your own opinions or encourage the gossip in any way.
Your first weeks on the job should be used to learn the ropes, ask questions and formulate lasting impressions with bosses, clients, and co-workers, not to affect drastic change. You need the counsel, support, perspective, and buy-in of others in the firm in order to make lasting change, and attempting any drastic measures before you have earned their trust and buy-in and done the necessary groundwork is usually unadvisable and costly.
Don’t start off your new job bragging about past wins and successes as this will only alienate those around you. No matter how successful your career has been to date and how hard the company hunted you down before you accepted the offer, you need to check the “star” quality at the door and project humility and modesty during your first weeks on the job. You still have to earn the respect and admiration of your new colleagues and will do so only by excelling in your new role through hard work, skill, and perseverance.
