First Impressions The first 6 months of your Job

By: Mekhla Sinha GHRDC

Here comes the beginning of new phase of life which you have been waiting for quite sometime. While education in life is a continuous process but at some point of time you end up with your formal education in the form of a degree/diploma in management / Engineering, or any other subject and begin to look for a job of your choice. The suspense of getting a job of your choice will always be there but finally you will have a job which may or may not be to your choice. The important thing to note here is that you can turn any job to your choice provided you are ready to accept challenges and develop positive thinking... It is natural for anyone to experience happiness together with surprises, nervousness, anxieties when they secure the first job of their career. Guess what- this is just the beginning. Now that you have found the job, you need to be sensitive to learning, adjustments, acceptance in most cases; the first few weeks are full of excitements together with anxieties in a totally new environment in your first job and place of work. You are getting to know system, process, people to work with etc. Sooner and better you know in the beginning, the better it is your future career. So, What is it that you need to know to succeed during the first few weeks and months of your new job? Heres a download on tackling some of these issues and succeeding at it: Your first day at work is a real test. Apart from happiness of starting your new career, you seem to be lost as to what to do or what not to do. You may go back home at the end of the first day with many unanswered questions to the extent that you question yourself whether you are required at all for the job hired by the organization. On the contrary in many cases you get a very warm welcome and go back home with great happiness, satisfaction and hope. These are typical examples of how a first day looks like to most of the fresh starters. Things begin to get a little better in the first week but still not quite there. You may feel non-productive during your first month on the job. There might be a bit of reality to this feeling because, in fact, you are still in the learning phase. However, you may still be wrestling with the larger issues. Some of the typical doubts and anxieties in the mind of the new joiners in the first one week of starting the job maybe the following: ANXIETIES & CONCERNS IN THE 1ST ONE MONTH OF YOUR JOB: Where you fit in the company's big picture: You are likely to have gone through the new staff orientation/ induction program and may have been given a company handbook. However, there still maybe questions in your mind with regard where do you fit in the companys big picture. What is exactly expected of you: Your initial tasks and routines have probably been outlined. Clarifying exactly what is expected of you is important. You may be assigned tasks which you find menial. There maybe some confusion with regard to what is exactly expected of you, since in the beginning you may only be given small jobs/ activities by your employer.

Lack of Work: In majority of the companies, the new joiners find themselves with much less work on the first day/ week of their job enough to keep them occupied for the whole day. The feeling of being lost: This is one of the most common feelings that a new employee goes through as he is both physically and mentally lost in the organization. In terms of physical movement within the company, the new joiner has no knowledge of where the pantry, cafeteria, washroom etc are located and finds himself / herself asking everyone about it. Mentally as well, the new employee feels lost in the new environment and job profile as everything is completely new to him/ her. How to familiarize yourself with the company and shorten the settling-in period: The first step in succeeding at a new job is to accept that you are the new person and that the first few initial months is a wonderful opportunity given to comfortably settle in the new job and overall environment. Everyone else already knows each other, and they know how to do their work. You cannot expect to feel as relaxed and comfortable as your co-workers do. This process will take time. You will get along with everyone better if you take your new job seriously, arrive on time, show others that you are eager to learn, and avoid complaining. However, it is also important to realize that this honeymoon period will soon be over and then you will be expected to perform at the same level as your other team mates. It is important to use this period most productively so that when the final transition takes place from being a new employee to being a old employee, it is without any hitch. Here are a few steps that you can take to familiarize yourself better with the company and shorten the settling-in period.

1. Referring the employee handbook & other important reading material regarding organization: Once you have gotten through your first day at work, take the time to thoroughly read the employee handbook and any other printed material that you have been given. It is considered to be one of the most important documentation for an employee which helps in understanding all the major rules/ regulations and important policies relating to every aspect of the companys work and ultimately helps in the overall settling process. 2. One step at a time: Take the time to learn your job as thoroughly as possible. It takes time to learn new skills. Asking questions, and writing down the answers is another great way to resolve queries and remembering them at a later point when needed, for example, you may be asked to perform some tasks only occasionally, however If the instructions have been written down in the notebook, you will have to ask fewer questions the next time the task needs to be done. Take advantage of any extra training, or on-the-job training that is offered. If you are having difficulty in a particular area, such as using Excel spreadsheets to perform your job, find out if the local community of the organization holds any such training sessions that will give you additional instructions. Your co-workers will eventually lose patience if your skills never seem to improve. 3. Developing good work habits: Once you have learned what is expected of you, and begun to perform your job, it is essential that you continue to build good work habits. This is not the time to slack off. Make it a priority in your life to be on time for work every day. Things such as getting organized, filing important documents in the right place, making a things to do list right in the beginning of the day according to their priority are all steps that will help you become smart worker. If this is not natural for you, work harder at it. These may look like baby steps but they go a long way in not just utilizing this period most productively but also helps the individual to learn and grow within the role much faster. You may even be considered for raises and promotions, based on how well you continue to perform your job. By applying the good work habits that you established from the beginning, your employer will begin to see that you are a valuable employee that you can count on, and you will both be happy with the job you are doing! Simple things such as minding ones meeting manners and paying attention

to how meetings are organised, scheduled and run (with a formal agenda or as a free-for-all); and how vocal participants are expected to be etc. are considered to be healthy work habits.

4. No Work is Small or Big: When a new joiner joins a company for the first time, the individual has perceptions and vision about the kind of job they should ideally be performing. But the important thing to note is that there is no such small or big job in a company. Its is all in the mind of the person. All jobs no matter how small or petty they may seem to be such as simply photocopying a sheet of paper has a significance and purpose. When ones attitude and approach towards doing even menial tasks becomes positive, there is no stopping. Those menial tasks then become the stepping stone to learning much more complex roles within the profile. 5. Clarify expectations: It is important that the new employee meets with their concerned manager on a regular basis to discuss their duties and responsibilities, immediate priorities and how ones role fits into the company as a whole. Also, ask how performance will be evaluated and request feedback several weeks into the role. 6. Observe other co-workers: Watch how people work. Study when employees generally arrive and leave the office, their preferred communication styles and how they collaborate. Is emailing the norm or are conversations/ important discussions generally face-to-face? 7. Make friends: While you want to get to know everyone on your team, pay particular attention to those you'll need to rely on heavily. Reach out to project leaders, key influencers, colleagues with whom you'll frequently collaborate, as well as potential mentors. 8. A Healthy Attitude: Nobody expects a new employee to know everything and do the job perfectly first time. But demonstrating a good attitude is essential. Impress your boss with words and actions to show youre trying your hardest during your first few working months, and theyll be more likely to remember you as a very good employee even if you have a few off days further down the line. This is part and parcel of doing ones own Personal Branding in first three months of the job. It does not matter if it is your first or tenth job; the principal of three months remains same in every situation. People fail to realize the importance of first three-six crucial months and believe this to be part of their honeymoon period. By the time their honeymoon gets over sometimes it is too late for them to prove themselves First three months can make the journey ahead as smooth and comfortable as you aspire it to be. The first 3-6 months is the best time to utilize as there are many factors in favour of the new employee such as the overall acceptability of the employee from the management is high and conditions are favourable as there is no past history or pre-conceived notion about the new joiners work, attitude etc.
CONCLUSION: As they say First impression is the last impression. For a new joiner, it definitely holds true to a great extent as majority of his credibility as a worker is established in the first 3-6 months. The more well settled an employee will be in his current role, the faster and better will he/ she be able to perform.