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NEW JOB: Tips For The First Days
19/07/2019
Fischer & Partners Executive Search | Outsourcing Company | Recruitment Agency in Thailand
New job, a new challenge. Hardly any employment is meant for eternity. On average, employees change to a new job every two to three years and have to prove themselves there again. Not easy! Already the first few months decide whether a new job becomes a success or a failure. In the first time, the expectations are particularly high. Personnel want to see that you were the right choice and you want to make a good impression. We show you how to use the first days and months in a new job and start successfully ...
New job: do not panic at the new beginning
Even the first day in the new job is like the first day of school, only without a school bag. The company building is foreign; the new colleagues and new tasks anyway. As a new member of the company, you have a difficult time for the time being: You must first find your place in the team and the colleagues must get used to you.
In fact, it is not the case that every newcomer is greeted with flowers or open arms in a team. If there is a lot to do right now, a job starter is a burden, because he or she has to be trained. This costs time and nerves. Many a well-rehearsed team also reacts skeptically to new colleagues. The group structure is confused and in the worst case, newcomers are even considered a major accident.
If a new job is waiting for you, nevertheless: Do not panic. Do not be intimidated or worried by the exciting first time. The good news: Everyone started this way. Therefore, you can also assume that colleagues give you the following starting point:
You bring a lot of expertise with you (they have set you).
You are nervous and insecure.
You do not know the corporate culture yet.
You hardly know anything about operational processes and hierarchies.
You hardly have any contacts in the company.
You do not know the unwritten laws.
You will make mistakes and have many questions.
You are highly motivated.
You are unbiased (unspoiled) and have fresh ideas.
With these conditions, it is easier to get started. However, you should not rest on it. Really successful are the first days in a new job only if you work hard and use the time and shape.
Tips: To start successfully in the new job
It does not matter if you change your job or start your professional life the first days and months are always a hurdle, especially because you are under special observation during this time. Do not see this as external pressure, but as your chance.
For the first three months, there are a few basic rules that everyone should keep in mind. Of course, of course, punctuality and appropriate clothing. In the latter case, the rule of thumb applies: in case of doubt, prefer to be too chic in the beginning rather than too casual. After all, that's what makes the first impression - and it resonates for a long time. Stupid, if his strength then has to spend it to move back straight.
Otherwise, for the first time in the new job above all a convincing balance to find from profiling on the one hand and adaptation on the other. Even if you have been hired as a specialist - you also have to fit into the existing team.
The following tips will help:
Prepare in detail
Anyone who clarifies the external conditions in advance is more relaxed on the first working day and goes into the new job with a good feeling. Talk to your future boss about the first few days: Find out how the training will be done and ask for material to get familiar with. Familiarize yourself with the formalities: Need access permissions? Where is parking?
Clarify tasks
When you start the position, you naturally have a good idea of what your field of activity is. Nevertheless, you should again clarify exactly the roles and responsibilities. In practice, there are almost always overlaps with colleagues. You do not want to forget tasks for which you are responsible, nor should you unsolicited colleagues from tasks and projects that are beyond your responsibility.
Analyze the starting situation
Many hopefuls have already been offered a "challenging" task, where others have previously lost their teeth. Stupid, if you realize that too late. Therefore, ask yourself some self-critical questions beforehand: Where are my particular strengths? Which are essential for this task? What are the special strengths of the team? What is the fastest way to achieve success together? And above all, what is the most urgent and important task that I have to solve now?
Ask questions
You should not be afraid to ask for organizational things. Your first week will help you get to know the company and familiarize yourself with the workflow. It's better to ask first how something is handled before you act on your own and make a mistake. However, before you ask a colleague for help, you should have already searched for a solution yourself, for example on the Internet or on the company intranet.
Use feedback
Speaking of questions, ask colleagues and supervisors for feedback. A new job rarely works perfectly right away. To get better, you need to know what is already going well and where mistakes may be made. Do not be afraid to ask openly for feedback. Especially at the beginning this is normal and shows that you want to get better.
Promise nothing
Many colleagues often have an idea of what the newcomer should do. These are often wishes, hopes or ideas - sometimes even irrational - but they are not tasks that have to be solved immediately. It would, therefore, be unwise to make equal promises when assuming office, which later, due to the previously perhaps unknown corporate policy and culture, can not be kept. This only causes disappointment and provokes your own image loss - without ado.
Develop relationships
Nobody can do it all on the spot. In addition, some job changers even have to reckon with resistance, for example, from past competitors. Be it the legacy of the predecessor, disappointed competitors or informal leaders - almost always too young newcomers stumble over the fact that they did not build up a personal network of relationships in good time - before they really get going. That's why you should, for example, use a lunch together for a chat and openly show interest in your new colleague.
Show motivations
Of course, all the tasks assigned to you should be dealt with as swiftly as carefully. But it may also happen that you are faster than expected or have less to do than you hoped for. In such periods of idling, just do not turn your thumb! Often this is an (unofficial) test of how committed and motivated you really are. In that case, offer your help where possible. So you come out as a prudent team player and self-employed co-worker in the literal sense.
Bring in ideas
But carefully and together. Especially if you have been hired as a manager. Especially strategy changes are often addressed insensitive and inappropriate: either too fast, too one-sided or too pejorative, because the newcomers want to change everything at once. But also for all other new colleagues applies: Do not try your own, possibly revolutionary ideas in a record speed to push things through. This is not interpreted as a commitment, but arrogance and presses on mood and image. In order to protect oneself and one's colleagues from overburdening and displeasure, one has to find the right balance between stability and change. Ideally only by listening.
Note the time
A successful job change is not a sprint, but an endurance run. You want to do the job for more than a few months. So it is also important to properly divide and prioritize your powers. Do not try to do everything at once, not every change and adjustment needs to happen in no time. Go step by step in a new job.
Use rituals
Be an interested observer. In this way, you can familiarize yourself with the unwritten laws and hierarchies in the new job. Pay attention to how colleagues treat each other, whether there are certain rituals and how to use them for themselves. As a new team leader, for example, you could greet each colleague immediately by name at meetings (Wow, who already knows us!) Or even take on unpleasant tasks in person (he's not a pity!). Such symbolic actions not only convey the basic values of the new, they are also registered emotionally and thus seem much stronger than words.
Overview: The first three months in the new job
A new job is always different. Teams are different, employers represent different cultures, the working atmosphere is better or worse. Roughly speaking, this first time in a new job can be divided into a rough grid of the first three months:
First month
Ask questions, listen, observe and get involved where possible. The first 30 days were designed primarily to internalize the company, its culture, organization, names, and hierarchies.
Second month
Now is the time to build relationships and find their place in the company and in individual social groups and teams. Be sure to know who you make friends with. Often the notorious complainers and brakemen are those who are too open-minded to new colleagues. They are rarely good guides or role models for careers.
Third month
After gaining enough confidence, you can show what you can do with it. Demonstrate creativity and problem-solving skills, but so tactfully, without duping your colleagues.
Special case: The first days as a boss
Not infrequently, job changes mean a rise at the same time: one is internally promoted or rises with a new employer a step up the career ladder. Many of the newcomers simultaneously (or for the first time) slip into the role of supervisor and boss.
However, this role change requires special preparation and recommendations for action, because the expectations are usually even greater. Therefore, and therefore here are five typical chief roles and how to master them:
The climber
Situation: From colleague to boss. The grown "you" becomes a formal "you". The reactions range from envy to skepticism. Despite all the ambivalence, the ex-colleagues have the hope for continuity and the preservation of the status quo. The problem is that newcomers are both insiders, know the strengths and weaknesses of the team only too well. Consequently, they are either too harsh because they want to be fair or too soft because they do not want to be authoritarian.
Solution: A clear commitment to old friendships and the new role helps to reduce tensions. Do not continue as before, but learn to name and delegate tasks! In a short time, clear guidelines should be set: What is left? What will be different? Individual discussions help - especially with past competitors.
The high-flyer
Situation: The rumor mill is cooking - those who rise so fast have either good relationships or bad character. The subsequent cycle: employees distance themselves; the Highflyer sticks more closely to supervisors and thus looks even more arrogant - a vicious circle of isolation.
Solution: Despite reservations and skepticism, working consistently on key relationships. Explore the strengths of your employees and include them in your decisions. Make it clear: It's not about my career, but about the team.
The successor
Situation: If the predecessor was popular, one meets the new one now with particular skepticism or even rejection. If he was not, all hopes are directed to the successor. Newcomers from the shadow of the boss to step out: they often have the reputation of the Eternal Second.
Solution: Be sure to honor your predecessor, but make it clear: you are a completely different person. Emphasize achievements that the department is proud of, focus on your own strengths and create your own clear goals.
The newcomer
Situation: Newcomers come because the respective know-how in the company is missing. The result: competitors feel reset, colleagues threatened by the expertise of external professionals. The climate is reserved until explosive. The pressure of expectation on the top talent is correspondingly large.
Solution: Because a network of relationships is missing in the company, upcoming tasks and the development of an internal network should be pursued equally. Do not start too fast, but explore the internal rules and seek partners. Always involve the board.
The renovator
Situation: Because the company is in the existential crisis, fast, radical cuts are inevitable. Time and money are in short supply. Proponents unfortunately too. Resistance, uncertainty, and fear of job loss characterize the climate. Added to this is external pressure from politics and the media.
Solution: Provide an overview, set the tone and consistently pursue the new strategy. Crisis managers should not shy away from personnel changes in strategic locations. However, the concept must always remain transparent for everyone - especially for the press. It is important to motivate employees of all levels and to develop a new self-image together.