Succeeding in Your First 90 Days in a New Job
28 February 2014
Read by 2517 persons
Congratulations! You've just started a new job. You've left the comfort and security of your old job. You've survived the emotions and shocks of the recruitment process. Now, with the confidence you've built, you arrive for your first day of work, certain that among all the candidates, you are the one identified as having the right combination of skills and behavior suited to the position. But in a corner of your brain, doubts remain with inevitable questions such as "Did I make the right choice in changing jobs, will my contribution be appreciated, will the reality of this new job meet my expectations?"
The way you manage to channel these hopes, dreams and doubts in the first 90 days will set the tone and harmony of your work within the company. You have a limited number of opportunities to create the lasting advantage of being "noticed".
There is no magic formula guaranteeing you a perfect honeymoon. No genetic code governing internal relationships within a company. But the following steps will help you make the most of this new opportunity.
Prepare at Home A large part of your success during the first 90 days comes from your preparation at home before you show up for your first day of work. Take the time to learn everything you can about your new employer. Ask for company documentation, such as information on its products and services and/or business strategies, and anything that allows you to learn a little more. Note down the main questions you want answered.
Start with a Blank Sheet While researching the company, take a detailed inventory of your own skills, behaviors and attitudes. Review your past jobs and experiences. What worked for you and what didn't? Why? You have a golden opportunity to build your improved new professional profile. Write down the personal traits you would like to improve. Then, develop a strategy to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. For example, if you've never felt prepared for a meeting, write down how you could improve your performance. If you are always late for appointments, find the necessary organization that will allow you to always be on time. Build a reputation for honesty and integrity. This is a reputation you must build over time. Live up to this reputation at all times, at work and everywhere else.
Find Your Way Around As part of your orientation, your company will probably have done a number of things to encourage you to move quickly and integrate as quickly as possible. But you can't count on the company to take these initiatives for you. Unfortunately, few companies recognize the need to prioritize orientation. Don't worry. Remember this maxim: "Become the person you dream of being." Create and implement your own orientation program. Schedule meetings with the key people you interact with. Remember their names. Find out which departments you will be working with. Find the resources you need or can draw on.
Get the Message Across Dress in a classic way. Don't let your outfit attract more attention than your ideas. Watch out for any behavior that could be considered offensive to others: alcohol consumption during lunch, at professional evenings or client events, swearing, or any other inappropriate behavior.
Stay Realistic The purpose of a company is to serve customers. Find out everything you can about your new company's customers. What do they like about your company? Why do they stay? Why do they leave? Base all your decisions on what the customer wants. Be the voice of the customer. Even if you have to be diplomatic, you work for the customer, not the company.
Cultivate Yourself One of the most important ingredients for success in a new position is not the skills you bring to the table when you arrive. They are already well recognized. What is more important is how these skills blend with the company culture. Look for clues to better understand how the company works. How does your boss want to be informed: in the form of an impromptu face-to-face interview? Memo? Email? Is it an open environment or rather focused on formal meetings? How are they conducted? Who needs to be involved? Who do you need to keep in the loop and when? How flexible is your new company when it comes to lunch hours, breaks, and professional appointments? There is little you can do to fight company culture. But the more you know and understand the unwritten rules, the more effective you will be. An empirical method: whatever the company culture, always be on time for appointments and meetings. It's a sign of respect.
Listen Your short-term and long-term success also depends on others. The team you are joining was already in place before you arrived and will still be there after you leave. Find out how you can integrate, create a friendly atmosphere and be considered an integral part of the team. Don't try to do it alone. You need to work together with those around you. This means understanding the personalities and skills of your superiors, subordinates and colleagues. What matters most at the start is not what you do, but how you do it. People like to work with people they have things in common with. Find out what they like and dislike, their expectations, their goals, their disappointments and their concerns. One word of advice, however: be careful who you develop friendly relationships with. Often, a disgruntled employee will try to charm you into taking on tasks that are originally theirs. Treat everyone equally, adopt an open but reserved attitude (no intimacy) and don't align yourself too quickly with certain individuals.
Keep Your Distance The allure of a new job can be intoxicating. It's easy to get attached to the people, processes and goals of your new company. You'll be tempted to overlook imperfections and ignore warning signs because you want this job to be better. But is it really better or just new? All novelty fades with time. Always keep your distance. While these imperfections may seem insignificant, they can be a sign of deeper problems in both the personal and company areas that you need to address along the way.
Avoid Politics Keep your hands clean and work tirelessly. Hard work will be recognized and rewarded. If you get involved in internal politics or turf wars, it's not a success. Avoid building your own personal power base or fiefdom. Understand what the company does and help it in this mission.
Speak Up You hear and you forget. You see and you remember. You do and you understand. Find out what your company does and how it does it. Talk about it with your friends and family. Be prepared to give a thirty-second presentation to anyone who asks, from your friends to your grandmother to the neighbor next door. The more you talk about your professional goals and objectives, the clearer they become in your mind and the sooner you can start living them.
Earn Your Stripes You arrived on your first day in your new job with a list of questions and ideas from your previous job that you want to import. You want to hit the ground running. Build a reputation. Prove that the company made the right decision in choosing you. Unfortunately, the line is thin. If you act too aggressively, you may come across as a threat to what is already established and immutable, and an aggression against company culture. Remember that the company hired you to try to fill a gap. They didn't hire you to put things right. They want you in their ship rowing in the same direction as them. And not in your own speedboat making waves. Wait your turn, be patient, and opportunities to initiate change will eventually arise. Remember that races are always run over the long distance. Before you start sprinting, you need to at least walk some distance in their shoes and stop to breathe so you don't exhaust yourself too early.
Start Small From the outside, you will see a lot of things that you will question and be tempted to change. Like a hunter with his loaded rifle and a large target, you can eventually aim for your goals from time to time. Before celebrating anything, set your sights and get to work. In other words: stay calm, listen to what's happening and base your perspectives on small, achievable wins.
Share the Credit One of the quickest ways to be recognized for who you are and for your contributions is to involve other people. Involve them from the start and they will help you avoid the pitfalls of internal politics, enrich your ideas and make an even more effective contribution. If you get good results, give them all the credit. If the mines explode, take responsibility. When you make mistakes, admit them immediately. If you don't, you'll only intensify malicious intentions. And never make the same mistake twice. Replace the "I" and "Me" in your language with "We" and "Us". You will quickly generate an influx of support and goodwill. The goal is to build trust and generate loyalty and involvement.
Do Your Daily Work One of the most effective ways to learn about a company is to roll up your sleeves and perform the most thankless tasks that are necessary in every job. How do you answer the phone? How does the printer work? The mail service? Even the coffee machine. By showing goodwill in performing these tasks, you improve the opinion others have of you and gain a better understanding of what it takes to get the job done.
Be Tactful Don't judge too quickly. That strategy you constantly criticize may be someone's flagship project. Turn your back on your own preconceived ideas and try to understand why this strategy was developed and how it was implemented. You might learn something. And even if you don't, by showing understanding and support, you will be able to make a profound improvement.
Lay the Right Foundations In your enthusiasm to please immediately, you will be inclined to do more than the required workload, work long hours or get involved in areas outside your sphere of influence. Be careful, because it is difficult to go back to basics once they are established. When you eventually reduce your workload or slow down, it will be perceived as a decrease in commitment or motivation.
Maintain Balance Similarly, don't forget the other priorities in your life: your family, your health, your hobbies and your friends. If all aspects of your life are not in the same alignment, there is little chance that you will be able to flourish in a job. And never forget that we work to live, but we don't live only to work.
Mykelly.eu
Posted online February 28, 2014.
The way you manage to channel these hopes, dreams and doubts in the first 90 days will set the tone and harmony of your work within the company. You have a limited number of opportunities to create the lasting advantage of being "noticed".
There is no magic formula guaranteeing you a perfect honeymoon. No genetic code governing internal relationships within a company. But the following steps will help you make the most of this new opportunity.
Prepare at Home A large part of your success during the first 90 days comes from your preparation at home before you show up for your first day of work. Take the time to learn everything you can about your new employer. Ask for company documentation, such as information on its products and services and/or business strategies, and anything that allows you to learn a little more. Note down the main questions you want answered.
Start with a Blank Sheet While researching the company, take a detailed inventory of your own skills, behaviors and attitudes. Review your past jobs and experiences. What worked for you and what didn't? Why? You have a golden opportunity to build your improved new professional profile. Write down the personal traits you would like to improve. Then, develop a strategy to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. For example, if you've never felt prepared for a meeting, write down how you could improve your performance. If you are always late for appointments, find the necessary organization that will allow you to always be on time. Build a reputation for honesty and integrity. This is a reputation you must build over time. Live up to this reputation at all times, at work and everywhere else.
Find Your Way Around As part of your orientation, your company will probably have done a number of things to encourage you to move quickly and integrate as quickly as possible. But you can't count on the company to take these initiatives for you. Unfortunately, few companies recognize the need to prioritize orientation. Don't worry. Remember this maxim: "Become the person you dream of being." Create and implement your own orientation program. Schedule meetings with the key people you interact with. Remember their names. Find out which departments you will be working with. Find the resources you need or can draw on.
Get the Message Across Dress in a classic way. Don't let your outfit attract more attention than your ideas. Watch out for any behavior that could be considered offensive to others: alcohol consumption during lunch, at professional evenings or client events, swearing, or any other inappropriate behavior.
Stay Realistic The purpose of a company is to serve customers. Find out everything you can about your new company's customers. What do they like about your company? Why do they stay? Why do they leave? Base all your decisions on what the customer wants. Be the voice of the customer. Even if you have to be diplomatic, you work for the customer, not the company.
Cultivate Yourself One of the most important ingredients for success in a new position is not the skills you bring to the table when you arrive. They are already well recognized. What is more important is how these skills blend with the company culture. Look for clues to better understand how the company works. How does your boss want to be informed: in the form of an impromptu face-to-face interview? Memo? Email? Is it an open environment or rather focused on formal meetings? How are they conducted? Who needs to be involved? Who do you need to keep in the loop and when? How flexible is your new company when it comes to lunch hours, breaks, and professional appointments? There is little you can do to fight company culture. But the more you know and understand the unwritten rules, the more effective you will be. An empirical method: whatever the company culture, always be on time for appointments and meetings. It's a sign of respect.
Listen Your short-term and long-term success also depends on others. The team you are joining was already in place before you arrived and will still be there after you leave. Find out how you can integrate, create a friendly atmosphere and be considered an integral part of the team. Don't try to do it alone. You need to work together with those around you. This means understanding the personalities and skills of your superiors, subordinates and colleagues. What matters most at the start is not what you do, but how you do it. People like to work with people they have things in common with. Find out what they like and dislike, their expectations, their goals, their disappointments and their concerns. One word of advice, however: be careful who you develop friendly relationships with. Often, a disgruntled employee will try to charm you into taking on tasks that are originally theirs. Treat everyone equally, adopt an open but reserved attitude (no intimacy) and don't align yourself too quickly with certain individuals.
Keep Your Distance The allure of a new job can be intoxicating. It's easy to get attached to the people, processes and goals of your new company. You'll be tempted to overlook imperfections and ignore warning signs because you want this job to be better. But is it really better or just new? All novelty fades with time. Always keep your distance. While these imperfections may seem insignificant, they can be a sign of deeper problems in both the personal and company areas that you need to address along the way.
Avoid Politics Keep your hands clean and work tirelessly. Hard work will be recognized and rewarded. If you get involved in internal politics or turf wars, it's not a success. Avoid building your own personal power base or fiefdom. Understand what the company does and help it in this mission.
Speak Up You hear and you forget. You see and you remember. You do and you understand. Find out what your company does and how it does it. Talk about it with your friends and family. Be prepared to give a thirty-second presentation to anyone who asks, from your friends to your grandmother to the neighbor next door. The more you talk about your professional goals and objectives, the clearer they become in your mind and the sooner you can start living them.
Earn Your Stripes You arrived on your first day in your new job with a list of questions and ideas from your previous job that you want to import. You want to hit the ground running. Build a reputation. Prove that the company made the right decision in choosing you. Unfortunately, the line is thin. If you act too aggressively, you may come across as a threat to what is already established and immutable, and an aggression against company culture. Remember that the company hired you to try to fill a gap. They didn't hire you to put things right. They want you in their ship rowing in the same direction as them. And not in your own speedboat making waves. Wait your turn, be patient, and opportunities to initiate change will eventually arise. Remember that races are always run over the long distance. Before you start sprinting, you need to at least walk some distance in their shoes and stop to breathe so you don't exhaust yourself too early.
Start Small From the outside, you will see a lot of things that you will question and be tempted to change. Like a hunter with his loaded rifle and a large target, you can eventually aim for your goals from time to time. Before celebrating anything, set your sights and get to work. In other words: stay calm, listen to what's happening and base your perspectives on small, achievable wins.
Share the Credit One of the quickest ways to be recognized for who you are and for your contributions is to involve other people. Involve them from the start and they will help you avoid the pitfalls of internal politics, enrich your ideas and make an even more effective contribution. If you get good results, give them all the credit. If the mines explode, take responsibility. When you make mistakes, admit them immediately. If you don't, you'll only intensify malicious intentions. And never make the same mistake twice. Replace the "I" and "Me" in your language with "We" and "Us". You will quickly generate an influx of support and goodwill. The goal is to build trust and generate loyalty and involvement.
Do Your Daily Work One of the most effective ways to learn about a company is to roll up your sleeves and perform the most thankless tasks that are necessary in every job. How do you answer the phone? How does the printer work? The mail service? Even the coffee machine. By showing goodwill in performing these tasks, you improve the opinion others have of you and gain a better understanding of what it takes to get the job done.
Be Tactful Don't judge too quickly. That strategy you constantly criticize may be someone's flagship project. Turn your back on your own preconceived ideas and try to understand why this strategy was developed and how it was implemented. You might learn something. And even if you don't, by showing understanding and support, you will be able to make a profound improvement.
Lay the Right Foundations In your enthusiasm to please immediately, you will be inclined to do more than the required workload, work long hours or get involved in areas outside your sphere of influence. Be careful, because it is difficult to go back to basics once they are established. When you eventually reduce your workload or slow down, it will be perceived as a decrease in commitment or motivation.
Maintain Balance Similarly, don't forget the other priorities in your life: your family, your health, your hobbies and your friends. If all aspects of your life are not in the same alignment, there is little chance that you will be able to flourish in a job. And never forget that we work to live, but we don't live only to work.
Mykelly.eu
Posted online February 28, 2014.
