With many of you starting new roles this month, it’s a good opportunity to talk a bit about the best way to make a good first impression in your new position. It can be difficult settling into a new environment so we’ve put together a simple checklist of five things you should do during your first five days at work.
Ask for help
Accept that you’re going to be starting from scratch and ask for help when you need it. This may be something as complicated as planning for an upcoming strategy meeting or as simple as not knowing where the staples are kept. The worst thing you can do is sit there in silence because you want to impress people (and you don’t want to look like you don’t know what’s going on). The truth is, for the first week or so you probably don’t know what’s going on, so just accept it and ask for help when you need it.
Say ‘Yes’
Part of settling into a new job is accepting that most days will bring a new challenge, quite possibly something that you’ve never had to do before. Don’t shy away from this. In fact, we’d recommend that you actively seek out new projects as a way of getting to understand how things work in your new job and assessing how your colleagues interact and work together. Starting a new project also puts you on the same footing as other more experienced members of the team and gives you a chance to bond together as you take the task from its beginning to its conclusion.
Be curious
Just because you work in one department with one group of people doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be curious about what goes on elsewhere. You’ll find that in a company like Enterprise, no department is an island and that the better you understand what other parts of the business do, the more successfully you’ll be able to work with them to achieve your goals. You can ask to have a structured introduction to another department or just chat with others more informally over a sandwich at lunchtime. People will appreciate your interest in who they are what they do.
Deliver
When you got the job it was probably because you were able to demonstrate certain key skills or an enthusiasm for the role or a willingness to go the extra mile. Make sure you make good on your interview by showing your new colleagues whatever it was that got you the job in the first place. So if you’re a whiz at social media or particularly good with words or figures, start showing it from day one. It’ll help to demonstrate your value from the start and reassure the company that they made the right choice when they hired you.
Be sociable
A healthy working life is a balanced working life, so don’t neglect the social side of things. It’s a good opportunity to relax with your colleagues and perhaps find out a bit more about them and what they like to do outside of work and it’s a chance for them to do the same with you. So if you’re invited out for a welcome drink or get the chance to tag along to an evening that’s already been planned for a while, don’t be shy – accept enthusiastically and join in the fun. (Don’t get too carried away, though – you don’t want to make an impression for the wrong reasons!).
By accomplishing just one of these each day, you’ll ensure that your new job gets off to a great start – and if that’s inspired you to try something new, why not go and check our current vacancies to see if there’s anything there that would help you put these ideas to practical use?