After interviews and nights practicing your answers to potential questions, you finally made it. You are now starting a job and preparing for your first day at work. Starting a new job can be exciting and daunting at the same time. Hopefully you are starting your dream job and there will be many new people to meet. After impressing HR, you now need to impress your coworkers and superiors to prove that they made the right choice. If you’re looking to find ways to crush your first few days at work, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some tips to keep in mind to make sure you kill it on your first day.
1. Sleep
Now that you know you have a job that starts at a specific time and date, getting into a sustainable sleep pattern early is important. First of all, you don’t want to give the wrong impression by staying up late the night before and waking up later than you intended. Coming in late on the first day is not unheard of. It’s just an unimpressive way to start a job. Show everybody you’re not only serious but also reliable by showing up on time. This means sleeping the appropriate number of hours so that you have a sustainable sleep pattern in place even before the job starts. Sleeping at a specified time each night and getting enough sleep will make it easier for you to wake up, get into a routine and come to work on time.
2. Choose Your Wardrobe
Companies have a specific dress code. Companies like Facebook for example are alright with their employees showing up in a hoodie and jeans. However, this is not always the case. Slay during your first few days by dressing to impress especially if you don’t know the company dress code yet. Make sure that you are wearing the right clothes so that you won’t be asked to leave. Showing up in jeans and a t-shirt at a financial institution, for example, is a no-no. It’s better to stick to a business suit or business casual during your first few days or until you figure out the appropriate office attire. If unsure, ask HR for advice.
3. Get Ready To Socialize
Part of working in an office means socializing with colleagues. During training, you get acquainted with how things are done or using equipment needed to do your job. Training does not cover how to interact with co-workers. This is something you need to learn on your own. While interactions online is acceptable for the tech generation, some people expect you to socialize on a face-to-face basis. You need to know how to interact with your co-workers and communicate clearly especially with superiors.
If you’re on the shy side, go to the mall and strike up conversations with strangers. This will help with improving your socializing skills before using them in the office on your first day. Ask advice from friends on how you can be a better communicator.
4. Clean Online Presence
College pictures of you drunk or wasted can be found by your new colleagues. Before starting on new job, clean up any embarrassing pictures of you online. These kinds of pictures need to go because your colleagues are looking up to you like you are to them. You don’t need to hide your social media presence because these can become red flags. Just clean them up so that your online presence has a professional vibe rather than a “college” one.
5. Be Resilient
Even if you passed training and orientation with flying colors, it will take a few weeks before you get the hang of doing things in the office. Don’t worry if you make mistakes. You’re the new guy and you are allowed a certain time frame to learn everything and to adjust to the office culture. If you don’t understand, always ask questions. Be resilient and show that you don’t give up easily.
6. Get Into A Routine
Get into a routine to start your day more effectively. Start by getting to work on time. You can then prioritize tasks according to importance so that everything that needs to get done is accomplished in a timely manner. A routine will also help you get used to your new job and prevent you from forgetting any important steps that you need to do first.
7. List Things You Need To Accomplish
Being the new guy means that you are untested. You basically have a clean slate which means you have the opportunity to impress. List things that you want to accomplish during the day or first few days and try your best to reach these goals. Accomplishing these tasks could impress superiors and colleagues. If you don’t, they can serve as challenges for tomorrow.
