Starting A New Job – The Best Tips
Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
This post is all about practical tips for starting a new job. Follow these steps to set yourself up for success!
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Starting a new job can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. You may feel overwhelmed by new responsibilities, unfamiliar colleagues, and a different work environment. However, there are practical steps you can take to make the transition smoother.
25 Tips | New Job Advice
Starting a new job can be overwhelming, but there are practical steps you can take to make the transition smoother.
Here are 25 tips for starting your new role:
1. Get organized before you start your new job.
Plan and review any materials your employer has sent you when starting your new role.
WHAT TO DO:
- Read through any documentation given.
- Examples:
- Employee handbook
- Training Materials
- Company videos such as training.
- Phishing Training
- 401k or Benefits information
- Examples:
- Create a personalized “hub” with all the information they provided to refer to later.
- Example: Create a OneNote doc with a variety of topics
- Write some notes about expectations
- Write a to-do list
- Examples:
- Enroll in the Employee HSA Program
- Look at the website to observe the clients ABC Company works with.
- Check out Company Discounts
- Examples:
- Attend any workshops (especially virtual workshops offered by larger companies).
- Write a list of company recommendations for job-specific gaps.
- The company uses Salesforce —> Look into their AMP script coding learning resources online.
- If the employer offers any extra benefits such as offering to pay for grad school programs, inquire about those offerings.
2. Understand your role and responsibilities when starting a new job.
Prepare for your role by reading the materials provided to understand their expectations:
- Read through your job description
- Look through your employee handbook
- Ask about or note the orientation or training schedule
- Don’t be afraid to ask! Ask around about the job role from your colleagues to get their insights
- Ex. Your colleague mentions that while the job materials expect business professional attire, the office expectations are more business casual.
- Understand your benefits and perks.
- Understand work policies.
3. Be aware of important dates at your new job.
Keeping yourself on task, on time, and organized is critical in establishing yourself as a timely person in your new job.
- Create a work schedule or note the work schedule provided.
- Keep all important dates in one calendar —> Try not to jump around and note important dates in separate places.
- Take note of any deadlines, meetings, or training sessions you need to attend.
- Keep your calendar up to date and organized.
4. Stay organized and focused in your new role.
It’s critical to stay organized, especially when you start because it takes a while to get accustomed to the new expectations.
- Make a running to-do list to stay on track
- Create a mind map to help you visualize where you stand
- Keep all your important work gear in one place such as a work bag, backpack, purse, etc.
- Stock your workspace or bag with mission-critical items to prevent getting sidetracked.
- Examples:
- Stick your medicine in the same spot in your bag to prevent losing it or having an issue
- Spill your drinks a lot? —> Bring a change of clothes to keep in your car in case or tide stick
- Examples:
- Create a “do not forget” reminder sticky note or checklist for when you first start.
- Examples:
- Remind yourself: bring your badge, bring tea bags, bring bandages, bring medicine
- Examples:
- Keep a calendar on your phone with reminders so you can keep track of where you need to be when you need to be there.
5. Create a space that works for you both when starting your new job or WFH.
Set up your workspace to be comfortable and productive when starting a new role.
- In the office set up your workspace with essentials – try not to overdo it though!
- Examples:
- Blanket or sweater if you get cold easily
- Notebooks, pens, sticky notes, etc.
- Minor cleaning supplies such as wipes or sanitizer
- Examples:
- In your home (if you WFH) make sure you have a comfortable workspace where you can be productive.
- Ideas:
- Comfortable chair
- Standing desk
- Computer monitor
- Desk lamp
- Ideas:
6. Build relationships and understand team dynamics in your new job.
Get to know your new coworkers and their roles within the organization.
- If possible, try to start off on a good note by being friendly, asking people questions, and listening.
- Try your best to learn a lot about your colleagues
- Ask your colleagues about how the different teams work and what the expectations are for each
- Ask questions about the various dynamics – the good and the bad
- Develop relationships with colleagues by asking them personal questions (without prying) to get to know them as a person, not just as a colleague (people love talking about themselves).
- Try to find common interests!
- Ask them to join you for lunch, coffee, etc.
- Don’t feel pressured to go to happy hours or events, but if you can it’s definitely a good idea to go to continue to develop relationships.
7. Clarify any doubts and gather advice about your new job.
Ask questions to better understand your new role and responsibilities.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions to clarify.
- Don’t pretend to know the answers — people know you are new and won’t expect you to know everything.
- Write questions down so you don’t forget them — avoid bothering people at inconvenient times. You’ll probably get better answers too 🙂
8. Learn new skills for your new job role or to build your resume.
Take advantage of any training or development opportunities offered by your employer.
- Companies often will provide extended learning programs and discounts on additional learning tools and programs — ask about those offerings
- Ask your colleagues or even people on different teams to teach you new topics or tools — people often really enjoy sharing their info with others.
- Some companies that are larger and have more resources even offer graduate school discounts that might make getting some additional higher education such as degrees easier or even free!
- Examples:
- If you would like to work your way up to a data analystic role you might want to take some courses and assessments to get certifications in tools such as Tableau or SQL.
- Examples:
- There are thousands of resources online to expand your knowledge sets.
Here are some free online courses to try when starting a new job.
- https://www.hubspot.com/resources/courses
- https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/
- https://pll.harvard.edu/catalog/free
- https://online.stanford.edu/free-courses
- https://www.edx.org/school/edx
- https://www.semrush.com/academy/courses/seo-fundamentals-course-with-greg-gifford/
9. Understand the company’s values and expectations.
Learn about your new company’s culture and values.
- Check out the company website to get an overview of the company — check out annual reports, partners, about pages, etc.
- Look at the company-provided materials that go over the company values.
10. Get new job advice — understand the company’s culture.
Observe how your coworkers interact with each other to better understand the workplace dynamics.
- The best way to do this is to ask around — ask when you interview and ask when you start.
11. Learn from your colleagues.
Take note of any successful strategies or tactics your colleagues use and try to implement them in your own work.
- Never be afraid to ask — people are mostly very willing to help. In the rare event they say “no”, respect their decision and ask someone else.
- If your colleagues are happy to help, set up a time on their calendar, come with good questions, and LISTEN.
12. Understand your manager’s expectations for your new job role.
Meet with your manager to discuss your goals and expectations.
- Ask your manager what their expectations are both when you start and as your progress — miscommunications happen all the time — just try your best to mitigate that by asking questions and getting clarity.
- Ask your colleagues respectful questions about their experience is with the manager to get their take and further clarity.
13. Seek feedback to ensure you are meeting expectations.
This is absolutely critical. Continuously improve your performance and always ask.
- It’s very important to always ask rather than assume (you know what they say).
- Consistent feedback on at least an annual basis is critical, but honestly consistently sooner is even better.
- Remember — you cannot read minds so asking is really helpful to prevent worrying or guessing.
14. Show willingness to learn and contribute when starting a new job.
Take initiative and offer to help with projects or tasks outside of your role.
- It’s really important to be willing to jump in and help — taking initiative is really important and it will put you in a good light.
- Be careful of being taken advantage of — lots of people who show they are willing to take on extra work willingly are taken advantage of either intentionally or non-intentionally.
- Intentionally — because people who are lazier are used to leaning on others to do the work for them.
- Unintentionally — because many people might assume that if you volunteer a lot you purely enjoy taking on extra work — which might be the case, but to a certain extent.
15. Keep an open mind and be willing to learn new things.
Be open to new experiences and learning opportunities.
- You don’t know what you don’t know — be patient and willing to learn.
- Be willing to drop your previous expectations or experiences in order to understand a different process.
16. Establish a good reputation from the beginning.
Focus on building a strong work ethic and reputation from the start.
- First impressions are really important and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
- Volunteer and offer to help whenever you can.
- Ask lots of good questions — not just to show that you’re listening (those questions are obvious and often annoying).
- Don’t be fake — don’t put on a facade to make people like you more — be yourself — of course, be friendly, but don’t mask your personality because people will pick up on that and it actually drives a wedge between you and the other person.
17. Don’t be too hard on yourself, learn from your mistakes.
Remember that starting a new job is a learning process, and it’s okay to make mistakes.
- If you make a bad first impression it’s okay, just try to understand why — maybe you were too forward or too shy — just try to make an effort to improve the relationship.
- Some people won’t like you and that’s okay too — don’t worry about people pleasing because, at a certain point, it’s their problem and not yours.
- If you make a mistake — such as asking a silly question, don’t stress — be patient with yourself.
By following these tips, you can set yourself up for success in your new role. Good luck!
This post was all about providing practical tips for starting a new job. By following these steps, you can make the transition smoother and set yourself up for success in your new role.
Remember, starting a new job is a learning process, so it’s okay to make mistakes and ask for help when needed. Good luck in your new job!
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