The starting week
In order to be successful in this first week, you need to focus on balance. This means making a good first impression and don’t try to immediately be perfect and do everything correctly. Hanover suggests that you should instead focus on learning more about the company and figure out where you fit in.
During the initial week, you should do the following:
1. Introduce yourself as often as possible
There are many studies that indicate that a great deal of anxiety occurs when you don’t know exactly how to go about introducing yourself. This is completely natural, especially when you’re in a new company since you don’t want to draw too much attention. However, when you now start a job, it is important that you show enthusiasm in your first few days. Therefore, be sure to feel out the best times to confidently introduce yourself to new persons.
If you want to meet new people, then you can do so by getting assistance from others. Simply let your manger know that you want to be introduced to others in the company and ask them to create a list of persons that are very important for you to meet and get familiar with. Whenever you have to attend meetings, be sure to talk to the organizer before the meeting and ask them to introduce you or allow you to introduce yourself before the meeting goes into full swing.
We will now look at a couple of ways to prepare for introducing yourself:
Get prepared before you need to meet new people. You can start by figuring out what opening lines you want to use as well as a short script so you know exactly what to say to new people.
Keep aware of your surroundings as well as other persons. You should avoid interrupting any meetings just so that you can introduce yourself and you should pay attention to the volume of your voice so that you don’t mistakenly speak too loudly. When you do introduce yourself, pay attention to how the other persons react to your introduction. If they appear to be uninterested, then only spend a short time introducing themselves. On the other hand, if they appear to seem interested, then this is a great opportunity to talk to them and learn more about them. You can easily make a good initial impression by doing this.
Always strive to remember the names of everyone you’ve met. A good way to cement a person’s name in your mind is to write it down as well as refer to them by name whenever you talk to them. However, try to avoid overwhelm by attempting to remember the names of everyone you’ve met. In the event that you do forget a person’s name, you should be honest about it. For example, simply indicate your apologies and that you’ve had to meet a lot of new people and learn a lot of new things in the last couple of days and ask if they could tell you their name again.
2. Ask good questions which are properly timed
According to research, new employees have been found to do better the more questions they ask. When you regularly ask other employees and leaders in the company for information, this helps you to quickly learn and get up to speed. However, when you now start and you’re in your first week, you should figure out the best time to pose your questions. We’ll now look at a couple of guidelines to do just that.
Consider exactly what you’d like to know. There are cases where you may require advice, validation and permission. So, it is best that you figure out exactly what you need to know so you can ask the best questions and avoid wasting anyone’s time.
Prioritize. A good example of a high priority is if your access badge isn’t working on your computer. This is something that you need assistance with as quickly as possible. Also, if you’re unclear about what you should be doing or what your goals are for the quarter, then be sure to talk about this with your manager for clarity asap.
Record questions on paper or electronically to avoid forgetting them. Then, you can ask these questions when you have a meeting with your supervisor or manager. Additionally, you should take the time to figure out what your manager prefers. For example, if they would rather you ask your questions in person, on the phone or via email. In the event that you have any questions that you need answers to, then it may be better to organize a meeting with all the parties as opposed to simply talking to them by their office or desk. You can even indicate the questions you have on the meeting invite so that they can properly prepare their responses.
3. Make friends or at least one friend
After you’ve introduced yourself and you have some idea of the people you are now working with, you should select one or two people and ask them out for coffee or lunch. For example, this can easily be the employee that is next to you or even another person who has just started at the company. When you create this type of relationship, it will go a long way in helping you feel more at ease at this new company. Also, there is research that shows when you have social relationships at work, it actually improves overall productivity and reduces stress levels.
In the initial week, you’ll likely not create any strong or deep relationships as yet. However, you will still be able to find someone to talk to and relate with which will give you much-needed comfort and stability.
4. Figure out how to handle your new workplace and even enjoy working there
To start with, you should figure out where the restrooms are as well as the kitchen, elevator and stairs are located. You should also find out where you can eat lunch or enjoy breaks throughout the day. Be sure to find out all of the amenities that are available to you. In the event that you haven’t been taken for a tour of the entire building, be sure to ask another employee to show you around.
Also, you should figure out how you’ll commute to and from work every day. You should experiment and figure out the best times to leave home for work, different routes and even experiment with different types of transportation. Doing this will give you a great deal of peace.
It is highly likely that your job became available due to excess work. So, you should certainly get as much information as you can about the job as well as figure out ways that you can add value to the company. We’ll now look at a couple of ways you can do that.
Figure out how to make coffee the way everyone likes. In most cases, this is the job of the person who drinks the last cup of coffee from the coffee pot. So, make sure that you know how to make a fresh pot if you happen to be the last one to drink from it.
Talk to your manager and learn their biggest problems. When you have the answer to this question, you should spend time thinking about ways that help address those problems.
Review your interview. If certain issues came up during the interview, then think about creating a proposal on how you can help address it.
