All beginnings are difficult – this is especially true when changing jobs. After all, we spend the majority of our day at work. To make your start in your new job as pleasant as possible, we would like to guide you through the first three months. In Part 1 of this series, you will learn how to score points in your new job with a willingness to learn and appropriate restraint.
How to get off to the perfect start in your new job?
Don’t be afraid of the new job
There is no reasonable reason to be afraid of a new job. Nevertheless, many newcomers feel a little queasy before their first day at work.
- What is in store for you?
- What to wear?
- How to behave?
- What are the new colleagues like?
These are all questions that can make you nervous. But do not drive yourself crazy. The company will certainly have had good reasons to have chosen you. They trust you with your future tasks and believe that you will fit well into the team. After all, otherwise another applicant would have gotten the nod.
Regarding the dress question Try to remember your job interview: What did the people you met at the company wear?? This will give you a good orientation. If your memory should fail you because of the excitement at the time, the following applies: better too dressy than too casual. You can be a bit more casual than at the job interview. However, it’s better to avoid anything too outlandish. Otherwise, you may still be considered a "janitor" in five years’ time "the one with the purple polka dot shirt." acted.
What the first few weeks in the new job are all about
People who start a new job are usually highly motivated and already have some innovative ideas in mind to impress the new boss. Nevertheless, hold back, because in the first weeks in the new job it comes to other things:
- Settling in
- Listen
- Learning
That’s exactly what the first 30 days in the new job are for. Your new boss and your new colleagues know this, too. If you can actively relieve them of one or the other task, that’s great. But there are three important reasons to acclimate first:
1. You do not know the company yet
Every company is a complex web of relationships, hierarchies, work processes and rituals. Together they form a very individual corporate culture. Only if you know their mechanisms, you can be successful in the new job. And only if you feel comfortable in this corporate culture will you enjoy the new job in the long run. Use the probationary period to evaluate this important factor for yourself.
2. You are a stranger to your colleagues
Your colleagues are probably feeling the same way you are: they don’t know what to make of you yet. Will you upset the balance in the team? Question processes successfully? Or are they even competition for the next promotion? In order for you to get off to a good start at your new workplace, you will need to work well with your colleagues. That’s why it’s important now to lay a good foundation for working together and to settle in slowly instead of jumping right in.
3. The first impression remains
It is an often quoted and true insight: the first impression counts. Correcting a mistake can take a long time. For example, don’t be too quick to trumpet your own ideas and proposed changes that sound great but are completely unsuitable for day-to-day operations. Otherwise you will start the new job with a big embarrassment and a big minus on the sympathy account.
Good preparation for a good first impression
Prepare for your first day in a new job as well as for the job interview. Gather all the information about the company they can find. Particularly if some time has passed since your interview, it may be best for you to important innovations have given.
Many companies send out letters before the contract starts Onboarding documents to your new employees, to make their start easier. Be sure to review these carefully in advance and bring them with you on your first day at your new job. If you ask questions whose answers you should know after reading the documents, you may get on the new colleagues’ nerves on the first day of work.
Another question you should think about: How do you introduce yourself on the first day of work? You don’t have to rehearse a film-like performance, but you should at least think about what you want to tell your new colleagues about yourself in advance. Good cues are previous jobs, but also an unusual hobby arouses interest. But don’t lay it on too thick during introductions and don’t talk too much out of the closet.
Get through the first week and avoid putting your foot in your mouth
Your behavior on the first day of work can determine how you get along with your new colleagues. Remember the old adage about first impressions. It is understandable that you have many questions and want to know everything. And your new colleagues are certainly your best source of information. Nevertheless, don’t stress them too much with your questions. In the first few days, concentrate on reading the intranet and any documents you have been given to start with.
Otherwise, the following applies in the beginning: Listen more than you talk. You do not yet know your new colleagues, their views or their sense of humor. Here’s why you might hit a snag quickly. This does not mean that you should stay out of conversations completely. Show interest, prick up your ears and ask questions. But not for every little thing and certainly not for everything, if colleagues talk about private matters talk.
Once you have gained an initial overview, you can approach your colleagues. Ideally, you will have been assigned a mentor colleague in your new workplace to whom you can turn for help with any questions you may have. Otherwise, talk to colleagues who have been with the company for a long time. Ask calmly whether you come along to lunch with them May. A first day is also a perfect opportunity to get to know each other better and at the same time to learn more about informal structures.
Avoiding pitfalls you best by observing closely:
- Who’s on first name terms, who’s on first name terms?
- Is there a casual or formal interaction?
- What regularities exist in the daily routine?
- How do colleagues and superiors dress??
Especially during the first week in the new position, you can notice a lot as a reserved observer. Also, don’t believe everything you’re told about other colleagues. It is better to form your own opinion.
Dos: This is what is expected of you in the first month
In the initial phase, the following applies to new employees certain puppy protection. This does not mean, however, that you can just sit back and observe. For a good start in your new job, you should meet the following expectations:
- Get to know your area of responsibility and your tasks: Don’t just focus on your new colleagues, but above all on your day-to-day work: define your field of activity, find out about reporting structures and responsibilities. After that, you should know where your responsibilities begin – and end.
- Identify superiors: You should recognize the managing director of the company even if he/she has not yet been introduced to you. Search the company website or intranet for pictures – and if in doubt, ask colleagues.
- Fit in well: Get to know the people you work with on a daily basis. Subordinate yourself at first, if you do not have a leadership position.
- Be proactive and independent: You are missing important access data or work equipment? Don’t wait to be taken care of – find out for yourself where to get the documentation or tools you need.
Don’ts: What you’re better off not doing in the first few weeks
There are a few surefire ways to make yourself really unpopular in your first few weeks at your new job and blow your career opportunities at your new company, and they are:
- Dress more formally than management: How we dress in the workplace has a big impact on the impression colleagues get of us. If you show up in a three-piece suit while the rest of the company is in jeans, you will quickly look overdressed and out of place.
- Being unpunctual and planning your first vacation: Nothing makes as bad an impression as someone who is regularly late even in the first few weeks. It looks almost as lackadaisical if, after a few days in your new job, you’re already loudly looking forward to your next vacation.
- Showing excessive drive: Showing motivation and interest is mandatory. However, those who want to move too much already at the beginning often land rudely on the ground of the facts. Get more comfortable with your environment and your tasks before making big changes. No one expects breakthrough results from them in the first 30 days. Rather, show that you fit into the company, understand the processes, identify with the corporate culture and are willing to learn.
- Set the bar too high: Full commitment is of course welcome by employers. But don’t set a pace in the first 30 days that you can’t maintain in the long term. Your boss will use your initial performance as a benchmark. In the worst case, you can only deliver the performance level later by working a lot of overtime and risk a burnout. The healthy middle ground is appropriate in the first 30 days.
Basic rule of the game: stay patient and keep the ball low
Make a note of all the important information, you receive throughout the day and take time at the end of each week to go over them again. This will give you an overview of the important issues.
Don’t get nervous if things don’t move fast enough for you. You should Do not take on too much And don’t set too high expectations for yourself. Don’t play actively until you know the rules reasonably well – and you have found the right people to play with.
What is important in the second and third month in the new job, you can read in our other blog posts.
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