Our 10 Top Tips for Starting a New Job Successfully
Starting a new job is an exciting opportunity to progress your career. After celebrating the great news, it’s time to move on to the next step: preparing yourself for the role to ensure you make an excellent first impression.
Starting a new position can be overwhelming, with lots of fresh information, challenges, and names to remember. No matter the role, or the organisation, starting again with a different company can be nerve-racking.
To give you the best start possible, we’ve come up with 10 top tips to help you feel more confident starting your new role during your first few months.
Contents
What to do in your first week
What to do in your first month
What to do in your first three months
What to do in your first week
During the first week, you may experience information overload and the challenge of adjusting to your new work environment. To find a balance between making a great first impression and managing realistic expectations, consider the following:
Begin by introducing yourself
Possibly the most important piece of advice when starting a new job is to familiarise yourself by getting to know your colleagues. This will help you transition smoothly into your new team and build connections with people who can offer you guidance during your first few months.
Your manager may give you a quick introduction to your new colleagues, but scheduling a short one-to-one meeting will help you get to know them and their positions better.
Remember to communicate in a way that shows your enthusiasm for the job by taking interest in your colleagues and their roles. If you’re up to it, you could even bring in treats for the office to make a wonderful first impression!
Take note of names
Don’t worry if you forget someone’s name. The amount of information you receive during your first week can be overwhelming and most people are understanding of this.
Honesty is the best approach — if you can’t remember someone’s name, ask them politely if they can remind you to show you’re committed to getting to know them. Next time, remember to write a quick note of their name so you don’t forget.
Arrive early
Arriving early on your first day will show you’re prepared and ready to work hard from day one. Your boss will see that you are excited about starting your new role and that they made the right decision to hire you.
During the first month, it’s time to start building a work routine and getting organised. Your focus should be on working out how you will handle your workload, responsibilities, and opportunities that come with the position. Our tips for succeeding during this period include:
Ask questions
Your team will understand you have a lot to learn, so try not to worry about knowing it all straight away. For example, if you work in SEO, don’t stress about not knowing as much as a developer when it comes to technical work. And if you’re unsure about anything, just ask — the more you ask, the easier it will be to develop the essential skills needed for the role.
You could also check in with your manager to ensure they’re happy with your expectations of the role and the quality of your work, which leads us on to the next tip...
Request feedback
Although you may not be an expert when you first start your job, showing you respond well to constructive feedback will let your manager know that you are committed to self-improvement. It also shows you are aiming to perform the best you can at your job, in line with your new company’s expectations.
Establish positive work habits
Starting a new job can be physically and mentally exhausting, so establishing routines early on can help you feel more comfortable.
Giving yourself time in the first couple of weeks to identify the best way to manage your hours will help you to balance your work whilst maintaining your health. Whether that’s visiting the gym before you start work or ensuring you are getting a long enough lunch break.
Get to know your team
During your first month, continue to put in the effort to get to know your colleagues.
If you’re office-based, aim to go into the office as much as possible and do your best to attend any social events so you can get to know your colleagues outside of work. By simply being around your team, you can see how everyone works and collaborates, helping you to fit in seamlessly. To learn more, read our blog on how to start a new job and become part of the team.
But remember — starting a new position can be exhausting. If attending all the group activities feels like too much, focus on the most important events and prioritise those instead.
What to do in the first three months
The focus in the first three months of starting a new job is to claim responsibility and ownership for your role and start thinking about and setting goals you want to achieve. This will help you perform to the best of your ability. Our tips for succeeding during this period are:
Engage in meetings and conversations
Now you’ve had a chance to familiarise yourself with your colleagues and workload, you can begin to give your opinions and insights during conversations. Try to strike a balance between listening, giving your input, and asking questions to make a great impression. This will enable you to show your enthusiasm for your job.
Analyse good performers
After you’ve started to settle into your new role, you can begin to identify excellent performers at your level. For example, if a colleague is praised for their social media ads campaign that’s delivered record CPAs or revenue, you can look at or ask how they have achieved it and follow a similar process.
By working out what has made them excel in their role, you can gain insight into what skills are valued at your company. This will give you an idea of what you need to do to reach their success.
Create a development plan
Most companies provide an evaluation and development plan after three months to ensure new starters are progressing in the role.
If your company doesn’t have this in place, speak to your manager about setting up a meeting to discuss your goals and ambitions. This will help you monitor your development and accomplishments.
Once you understand what your manager expects from you and how to prepare yourself, you’ll be set up for success in your new role. Above all, enjoy your first few months at your new job and embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead!
For more expert tips for starting a new job, read our blog.
