So you finally made it to your new workplace. Now take a deep breath and walk in with a smile on your face. Keep your head up and remember to make eye contact. Be polite and friendly to everyone you encounter, whether it's the receptionist or the mailroom clerk, your colleagues or your new boss. Introduce yourself to those you meet and remember that it's okay to ask questions. People generally like to help others and it usually makes them feel good about themselves.
While it's okay to hold onto some of things you learned in your previous jobs and use that knowledge in your new job, remember that every workplace has it's own way of doing things. Your first few weeks or even months on a job is not the time to change the way things get done. Do not utter these words: "That's not how we did it at my old company." Your colleagues will just be thinking this: "Well, you're not at your old company and if you liked it so much why didn't you stay there."
Here are a few more tips to consider when starting a new job:
Tone down the star quality
It's natural to want to impress your co-workers by sharing all of your terrific ideas right away. Resist that impulse.
Most colleagues will be threatened by your new ideas and will reflexively shoot them down.
Why? Because a) they're new ideas, and b) they're yours.
Remember, your co-workers thought they were doing pretty well before you showed up.
Instead, win over your new officemates by simply doing the job you've been assigned to do as well as you can. Then pick out some easy wins, small accomplishments that won't ruffle anyone's feathers but will further demonstrate your competence.
Maybe there's a nagging problem that everyone means to fix, but no one ever gets around to doing it.
There's your first job. Get a couple of minor accomplishments under your belt, and you'll earn your office's trust. After that, your ideas will be judged on their merits, not on who's proposing them.
Don't be Mr./Ms. Personality
Start slow when you're developing relationships. At the outset, respect is more important than friendship.
Be pleasant, be polite - but check your ebullience at the door. You don't get to make jokes for a while or spout off at meetings - gregariousness in a newcomer can be off-putting. It smacks of trying too hard.
Let your work speak for you. After a few weeks, you'll have built up enough good will to let your true self shine through. Get the inside scoop
Here's the challenge: You want to learn the culture of your new workplace - how things are supposed to work and how they really work because of the idiosyncrasies of co-workers - as quickly as possible, but you don't want to come across as prying.
Start by figuring out which people seem to be plugged in. Then approach them with simple questions about process ("How does Ms. Jones like to be kept informed about Project XYZ?"), steering clear of questions about personalities ("What's Ms. Jones really like?").
Chances are good that knowledgeable co-workers will pepper their responses with both types of info ("Send updates by e-mail, and keep them short - Jones is a real cut-to-the-chase type").
This way you get the information you need without looking like you were angling for it.
Know your boundaries at work
The border separating professional and personal relationships isn't easy to patrol, especially at smaller, informal offices. But conversational boundaries help to determine the reputation of an employee and staff. Simply put, boundaries preserve integrity.
Whether you're a principal, manager or rank-and-file employee, taking the following advice will help to ensure that conversations with co-workers never distract from a productive, positive workplace.
Beware of feeling informal. There's generally no clear rule about where to draw the line, so a good rule of thumb is to avoid issues that might make someone uncomfortable. Such topics of conversation may include romance, physical appearance, health, race, religion and personal finance.
Refrain from gossip. Remember: Those who talk to you about others will also talk about you to others.
Most gossip and other inappropriate conversations occur in places that feel informal, such as elevators, hallways and bathrooms or off-site like parking lots, restaurants. But co-workers should never get the false sense of security that they're off duty in these locations.
It's better to pretend your personal microphone is always on. Don't say something if you don't want it heard or repeated.
Forge office friendships with care. When you're at the office for around 2,000 hours a year, you're bound to develop friendships with co-workers. Some may become confidants with whom you share personal details.
Make sure you know and completely trust this kind of co-worker friend. It's a risk any time someone has knowledge about details you don't want to make public, particularly if co-worker friendships fizzle.
Expect boundary differences. The workplace not only combines people of different backgrounds, ages, talents and skills but also folks of different boundary types.
People with "overdeveloped" boundaries often are brash and don't notice they're sharing too much information, while people with "underdeveloped" boundaries often believe it's not OK to protest such communication.
Getting along at work is often a matter of being flexible and willing to compromise. It's also important to be tolerant of individual differences."
Employ tact. If you have a problem with a co-worker, address what you can do to solve it. Talk to the offending person directly and privately. If a co-worker says something that offends or upsets you, try to respond instead of react.
Talking behind someone's back makes the situation worse. Choose a neutral place away from your work area, such as over lunch or in a quiet area during a break.
Give 'em something to talk about
You don't have to be on your own for long. Determine who the influential people are (they are usually the ones whose opinions other people quote), and find a reason to work with them.
Get on their good side (by being competent, pleasant and professional), and you may find that a whole lot more people have started to warm to your presence.
Think of it as the workplace equivalent of a force multiplier. Get other people to toot your horn. Buzz created by others is far more valuable than buzz you drum up yourself. Ask for help, then take charge
Ask questions when you need information to complete an assignment. It's much preferred that employees admit not knowing something and show initiative in learning it rather than costing time and money by struggling with it on their own.
But asking repeatedly gets annoying. Most managers say they valued someone who can take orders and execute them well without having to be told repeatedly what to do.
What is welcome, however, is the employee who is proactive about figuring out what needs to be done and then doing it. One of the biggest mistakes new recruits can make is to assume that when they have nothing to do that there is nothing to do.
Know the boss
Whether you love or hate your managers matters less than whether you know what they value and what you can do to make them successful.
You need to take initiative to find out what's important to your boss and organization. Your value as an employee is measured by your showing results valued by your organization.
Few bosses are consistent about giving helpful feedback. And often they won't express their displeasure with your performance until it's too late. So, said Hollander, it's okay to say to your boss early on, "it would really help me if you could tell me when you're happy or unhappy with my work."
Cultivate good relationships
Good performance is just one part of your success at work. How you get along with managers, colleagues and subordinates is another.
Perception of performance is often colored by the quality of your relationships. Act like you're running for office. You'll need a vote from everyone. (But please ... don't act too much like you're running for office. There's nothing worse than glad-handing politicians with visions of poll numbers dancing in their heads.)
Humor is a big plus, but only if you have a good sense of when to use it and when not to.
Showing respect helps, too. A boss who acts friendly and casual does not mean to imply that “anything goes” and that you don't need to treat him or her with the proper respect.
And, don't skip the deodorant. Be well groomed, even if casual.
Don't watch the clock
This is not the time to work 9 to 5. Try 8 to 6. There's plenty of time to slack off later in life and the boss will take note.
If you have to stay a little late to meet a deadline or pull some hours on a weekend without being asked, it shows your commitment. It shouldn't be routine without compensation, but here or there it can get noticed.
It goes without saying, do not arrive late, be absent or ask for time off in the first 100-days of employment.
Listen…are you ringing the cash register?
It is easy to get distracted by a “to do” list filled with B, C and D priority items to “clear the way” to concentrating on the A priorities, like driving revenue. The fact is, all lesser pressing items somehow take care of themselves when revenues are rapidly increasing.
Even if pending A priorities seem insurmountable, tackle each top priority items during prime time work hours and chip away, move the ball downfield and press through every day. Save email, administrative and "catch-up" work for after hours.
Instead, reach for the sales opportunity first and make growing, contributing and developing promising new avenues to drive your new organization’s top-line, PRIORITY ONE.
