First Impressions Last

by Glen Gardner

The interview went well. You bonded with the interviewers and have a lot in common with your new boss.   Salary negations went smoothly and now you are arriving at your first day of work at your new job. 

You have a great new opportunity to excel – or not.  There are several mistakes that I see new employees make in the critical first few days, weeks, and months of employment.  And, unfortunately, it is this critical time in which opinions are formed of you and your expertise and abilities.   Hopefully, the following suggestions will help you learn from those who learned the hard way and set themselves up early for a miserable relationship with their boss and coworkers:

REMEMBER they hired you for your expertise and ability to contribute and help create sound business solutions.  You proved it in the interview or you would not have been hired.  Be careful not to brag and especially not to criticize how things were done previously or how badly work was done…it may have been executed by one of your new coworkers, or even your boss.  Also, there may have been circumstances you don’t know about that necessitated previous decisions.

ASK QUESTIONS.  Especially if you are critical of how things were done…framing it in a question, instead of a criticism, helps diffuse any potential hard feelings.  Think about the difference in the following:  “This was set up entirely wrong” versus “It’s interesting that this approach was used – any insight on why it was done this way?”

OBSERVE.  You are in a new environment, and you are the outsider. Express your individuality, but don’t be a rogue.  You are not a sell-out if you try to fit in.  This can be anything from how you dress, to your work habits/hours.  Be aware of those coworkers around you and mirror successful behavior and ignore negativity.  You may need to invest in coming in early and staying late at the office during the critical introduction period, but it will be well worth it later, when words like “dedicated” and “committed” are used to describe you.  Even if you were assured in interviews that the job was 9-5, observe those around you and for the first several months, make a concerted effort to go mirror successful behavior… even if that means investing a few late nights or an occasional weekend.

AVOID OFFICE POLITICS.  This is more difficult than most people think, because it is insidious…you may not even know you are caught up in office gossip.  The way to avoid office politics is to be wary of anyone who is negative or critical.  They are probably trying to get you to buy into their negative views or recruit you to support their views on management and how things could be done better.    This is especially difficult for new employees, because you are looking to build your network at work of go to people you can ask questions.  Of course, you should always ask your boss any questions you have, but you may also want to ask him/her who else on the staff would be a good resource for you.  Your boss will identify those that they feel are good employees, therefore aligning you with those they consider successful and good allies for you.

LISTEN.  In meetings or even casual discussions, make sure you do more listening than talking.  Although technically you are an expert in your specialty, you don’t know enough about the history of the company, the culture or the specific business solutions needed.  In time, you will gain all this knowledge, but in the beginning of your new job, you are better off to listen.  Of course, you want to make contributions and are there to be an asset to the team, but make sure you are contributing your knowledge and not your opinion.  There is a fine line between being knowledgeable and being viewed as a “know –it –all”  and you want to make sure you come across as positively.

LIMIT PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS.  Not only is this often viewed as unproductive, but straying from acceptable conversation and making comments you consider benign can spread like wildfire and paint a picture of you that is not realistic.  Of course, you want to be friendly with coworkers, and talking about your family in general terms (for example, how many kids you have, etc.) and hobbies (as long as they can not be considered controversial – for example, hunting) is perfectly acceptable.   Do not talk politics, especially office politics, religion or other topics generally considered socially unacceptable.

Whether your job history includes long periods of time at the same employer or you change jobs frequently, hopefully these tips can help you make your next job transition a successful one.