Tips to a Successful Start in a New Job
by Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs
You've landed a great new job and are about to head in for your first day. Clearly, you wowed your new employers during the interview process. Now, how do you make sure they're still impressed with you a few months into the job?
"The impression you make in the first 90 days is what people remember about you," said Susan W. Miller, owner of California Career Services in Los Angeles.
Experts offer these tips for getting off to the best start:
* Don't neglect the basics. If you're not sure how long the commute will take you, allow plenty of time those first few days so you're not late. Show enthusiasm for your new company and job. Find a good way to organize all the new information you're receiving.
"Show early that you were a good employment decision," said Richard Calo, vice president of global workforce relations for IBM.
* Establish a network. Your most important connections may be informal rather than formal. Go out to lunch with your new colleagues. Take part in conversations around the office. This comes naturally for some people but can take a conscious effort for others.
"Your colleagues are your best safety net," said Susan Terry, director of the Center for Career Services at the University of Washington in Seattle.
* Learn the company's business. Make sure you understand your new employer's key products and services. Calo recommends talking to someone who works in sales, who is likely to understand what the company's customers need. Doing so will give you "a sense of what's important in terms of immediate actions that the company needs to take to meet its business goals," he said.
Even if you've been hired to work in an area -- human resources, for example -- where you're not responsible for selling the company's products, a solid knowledge of the company's goals will create a good first impression and may help you do a better job.
"I think it kind of differentiates you a little bit, and it colors your approach to your work," Calo said.
* Engage your boss. At one of your first meetings, ask your boss what milestones you should reach 30, 60 and 90 days into your new job. Richard Phillips, career coach and owner of Advantage Career Solutions in Palo Alto, California, recommends asking this even during the interview process -- but if you didn't ask then, it's not too late. Sometimes the boss won't know, or won't have thought about your job in terms of specific deliverables. Even if you don't come away from the conversation with a concrete list of goals, though, you should have a good sense of what your priorities are.
* Listen more than you talk. You may be tempted to prove your worth to the company by plunging right in with changes and suggestions for new ways of doing things. And it's good to start out working hard and enthusiastically. But you will likely make a better impression if you listen for a while before taking action.
"Half your first impressions are wrong -- but you won't know which half yet," Phillips said. He said that especially for managers in new positions, not listening is a common mistake. "They don't know what is working and what is broken, so they just come in and start changing things."
by Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs
You've landed a great new job and are about to head in for your first day. Clearly, you wowed your new employers during the interview process. Now, how do you make sure they're still impressed with you a few months into the job?
"The impression you make in the first 90 days is what people remember about you," said Susan W. Miller, owner of California Career Services in Los Angeles.
Experts offer these tips for getting off to the best start:
* Don't neglect the basics. If you're not sure how long the commute will take you, allow plenty of time those first few days so you're not late. Show enthusiasm for your new company and job. Find a good way to organize all the new information you're receiving.
"Show early that you were a good employment decision," said Richard Calo, vice president of global workforce relations for IBM.
* Establish a network. Your most important connections may be informal rather than formal. Go out to lunch with your new colleagues. Take part in conversations around the office. This comes naturally for some people but can take a conscious effort for others.
"Your colleagues are your best safety net," said Susan Terry, director of the Center for Career Services at the University of Washington in Seattle.
* Learn the company's business. Make sure you understand your new employer's key products and services. Calo recommends talking to someone who works in sales, who is likely to understand what the company's customers need. Doing so will give you "a sense of what's important in terms of immediate actions that the company needs to take to meet its business goals," he said.
Even if you've been hired to work in an area -- human resources, for example -- where you're not responsible for selling the company's products, a solid knowledge of the company's goals will create a good first impression and may help you do a better job.
"I think it kind of differentiates you a little bit, and it colors your approach to your work," Calo said.
* Engage your boss. At one of your first meetings, ask your boss what milestones you should reach 30, 60 and 90 days into your new job. Richard Phillips, career coach and owner of Advantage Career Solutions in Palo Alto, California, recommends asking this even during the interview process -- but if you didn't ask then, it's not too late. Sometimes the boss won't know, or won't have thought about your job in terms of specific deliverables. Even if you don't come away from the conversation with a concrete list of goals, though, you should have a good sense of what your priorities are.
* Listen more than you talk. You may be tempted to prove your worth to the company by plunging right in with changes and suggestions for new ways of doing things. And it's good to start out working hard and enthusiastically. But you will likely make a better impression if you listen for a while before taking action.
"Half your first impressions are wrong -- but you won't know which half yet," Phillips said. He said that especially for managers in new positions, not listening is a common mistake. "They don't know what is working and what is broken, so they just come in and start changing things."
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