Walking into a new office with unfamiliar faces starring at you can be intimidating, but now it is your time to shine on the first week of your new job. Once you mastered the first day’s everything will get easier for sure! With our key rules below, you will get comfortable in the new environment very fast.
1. Always be on time on the first week of your new job and forever 🙂
This advice might seem obvious, but it is definitely the key to success. You can show your boss that you are motivated and passionate about your job. All you have to do is arrive early for your interview. Over time you will get to know the work habits of everyone: Are they doing a lot of overtime? Are most of them coming at 7 or 9?
Of course, the “be-on-time” rule also applies for all your meetings, lunch breaks or phone calls. Since people don’t know you so far, being punctual is essential to make a good first impression.
2. Introduce yourself
Always make sure you are present in meetings and not just sitting quietly in one corner, without people knowing you. In order to avoid this just be polite and introduce yourself to everyone. Not only to the people in a meeting, but also to the people in your team or office. It is always nice to prepare some words about yourself to give people a first impression about you.
3. Dress accordingly (Forever)
You should know what the dress code in your new work environment is. More casual or strict business style? Choosing the wrong outfit at your first day of work can create unnecessary attention on you, it doesn’t matter if you are overdressed or underdressed. Most of the time the industry or company culture can say a lot about the dress code, however since you normally passed the interview before you should be familiar with the dressing of the employees.
4. Learn the unwritten rules
In every company or team there are official rules and guidelines you should follow in your daily work life. Most of the time you can find this rule in a handbook or you will learn them through your responsibilities, but there can be always differences in how the rule was written down and how people actually follow them. Use the first week of your new job to learn the usual habits by observing others. Corporate Culture is essential so simply ask if you are not sure about it. Remember you are not the host of the office, so you need to adapt to those rules.
Furthermore, in every team there are some unwritten rules regarding the shared kitchen for instance. Who is washing the dishes? Who is buying the milk, sugar or coffee? By ignoring these things, you will simply make yourself unattractive to your new colleagues. There is nothing wrong with asking someone for information and adapt to those rules.
5. Ask questions
The first week of your new job might be scary because you might feel uncomfortable in a new environment and you are also not familiar with the work processes. It is important to listen so everything carefully, write down notes to remember information and ask for advice. If you want to create value to the team you need to learn how things work first. The more you listen and ask in your first days the faster you will be in adapting to the new work environment and you can help your team to reach their goals.
However, you should follow some rules about when and how you should ask some things. First of all, you should be able to priorities your questions. Do you need a solution urgently or can you also ask the questions later on? Think about what you want to ask and check if you can find the answer in your handbook or company intranet first. Moreover, you should always address the right person! There is no need to run to your boss directly. If you have an IT issue, call the IT department. If you have an HR related question, ask HR. It is absolutely normal to have a several questions in the beginning, you can also write them down to remember and enquire them during a one-to-one meeting with your boss for example.
6. Find a support partner other than your boss
After you introduced yourself you could get a first feeling of the environment and people you are working with. Try to make some deeper connections with someone who works for the company for a long time. As an example, you could simply ask them if they want to have lunch together with you during the break. It can be very helpful to connect with somebody who has a lot of experience and knowledge about the workplace. Most of the time those “veterans” are pleased to help you out and share their knowledge with someone. However, don’t only use this person for your benefit and remember if they use their time to help you out, they cut off their own time to get work done.
7. Update your professional social media accounts
Once you have started your new job make sure to update your social media accounts like LinkedIn. Add the new job title and company in your profile, follow your companies’ profile and subscribe to industry related accounts. As you meet new people feel free to add them on professional social medias, too, but keep in mind that some social networks are not meant for the business use. That is to say, some people don’t want you to follow them on Instagram, Facebook and co. if they don’t know your well. So better don’t get involved in your new colleagues’ private stuff during your first days at work.
8. Focus on work only
Avoid chatting on WhatsApp or other social media as productivity is key. Don’t send personal E-Mails during working hours and don’t leave early to get a manicure or new hairstyle. We have all been there and done it, but never do this kind of stuff in your first week of a new job. During your first week of your new job you should focus on making a good impression, rather than giving people the feeling you are not fully motivated to engage in your work. You can use your breaks for sure to answer your friends how great your new workplace is, but unless you don’t have an emergency, you should strictly separate your personal stuff from your professional ones at work.
Starting a new job can be challenging, but you want to give yourself the opportunity to make a career and find friends at your new workplace, so make sure you impress your colleagues at your first week of work. New place, new people, new opportunities – it is your time to make the best out of it!
Oriental Career presents an innovative opportunity for you to find jobs in China and internships. Read more about How it all works
