Congratulations, your hard work paid off and you landed the job! You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so make it count. It’s normal to be nervous and apprehensive during your first week at a new job — there are a lot of unknowns like whether you’re coworkers will be collaborative or competitive, whether your boss is as nice as she seemed during your interviews, whether you’ll enjoy the work, or whether they’ll be some go-to lunch spots.
Even though it may feel like you never want to search for a job ever again…chances are you’ll end up switching jobs a few more times before retirement. Researchers who worked on The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey interviewed nearly 7,700 millennials worldwide and found that “only 16 percent of Millennials see themselves with their current employers a decade from now” and “two in three Millennials expect to leave by 2020.” So you’ll want to become familiar with these tips for setting yourself up for success at this job (and your future new jobs).
Listen and make observations
Resist the urge to dive right in and start implementing changes. “My best advice for the first week at a new job is to listen and observe first, and act second,” says Jaime Petkanics, founder of the New York City-based job search consultancy, The Prepary. “Use your first week on the job to get the lay of the land, learn, and listen. Once you have a really solid understanding of what’s going on, who your key partners are, and where you can add value, then start moving and making an impact.”
Pay attention to the culture
Every company is different, so you’ll also want to carefully observe and adapt to the company culture. “In addition to everything you’re learning about how to do your new job, you can risk coming across as tone-deaf if you don’t pay attention to all the signals around you about things like what hours people typically work, how long they take for lunch, and how they communicate during the day,” says Alison Green a workplace and management advice columnist and author of the popular career advice blog, Ask a Manager.
Ask questions
Every office has that person who constantly asks questions that could be answered with a quick Google search. Don’t be that person. You should ask questions when you are new but save your questions for those that have to do with company procedures and things that you can’t find out on the Internet. “Try to figure things out on your own, then ask. You should always ask questions if you don’t know the answer or need more information, but make sure it’s not a question that you could have figured out yourself,” says Kate Gremillion founder of Mavenly + Co., a New Orleans-based company that provides in-person workshops, consulting, and online resources for young professional women.
Don’t be the first or last to leave
There is an adage that you should be the first one in and the last one to leave. However overworking can lead to burnout, poor performance, stress, and job dissatisfaction. “At the end of the day, carefully watch what time people in your department leave the office. You should aim to depart at the midpoint,” says Alexandra Levit, a business and workplace consultant and the author of multiple books including They Don’t Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Something’s Guide to the Business World.
“You don’t want to be the first one out the door, but if you’re the last one, you’ll set a precedent that you are willing to work late for the rest of your days at that company,” Levit says.
Set expectations
To meet and exceed expectations, you need to know what they are. Work with your manager to create clear, measurable goals and objectives. “Ask your new manager what a successful first month and first six months would look like. Managers often forget to spell this out, and talking through these questions will give you really useful information about what you need to achieve in order to be performing at the level your boss expects,” says Green.
