You’ve put in the hard work and landed your dream job (or a job on the way to your dreams!). Take a moment to breathe, smile and congratulate yourself.
Then shift back into motion to keep the momentum of success going. Because even though you got the job, your first day and first few months at your new workplace are your chance to build the best foundation toward a solid team environment, career, and future.
Here are 7 ways you can start building your future, starting from day one.
1. Introduce yourself to EVERYONE
Don’t be a job snob. Get out of your comfort zone and meet everyone you can. This not only builds a sense of community, but also shows that you want to (and can)
be part of the team—whether or not they’re part of
your team. Conversations don’t have to be limited to the water cooler. Elevator conversations, lunchroom conversations and the walk from the parking lot to the office are good opportunities to extend yourself and become part of the broader team.
2. Find a mentor
There are likely plenty of seasoned players on the team that can help you set up the right foundation for your success now and for the future. As you go around making new connections around the office, start to develop a relationship with someone in a senior position. Whether a wise ear to bounce ideas off of, or a mentor to achieving your goals, this relationship can be a
vital step to your professional growth and on-the-job success.
3. Take initiative
Don’t wait to be told what to do. Check in with your boss every now and then, and see if there is anything else you can do. If there’s some downtime between shadowing, tutorials or basic first week tasks, find out if there’s anything you can learn to expand your skills and value. Showing that you’re willing to learn and
go the extra mile is always a positive step in the right direction.
4. Prioritize
It’s often an understatement that there’s a lot to learn. Between learning technology, operations,
names, and preferences, you might find yourself getting buried by a lot of new information. You don’t have to know it all in your first month. Create a list to organize in your mind what is vital to know now, and set dates and goals for everything else.
5. Work lean
Entrepreneurs often breathe the Lean method. That is, they know that if they’re going to fail, they must fail fast. This ensures that they don’t lose precious resources by trying the same thing over and over again. Use your first month as a foundation to figure out how things are done. If failures happen, change course quickly to find something that works. But remember to stay flexible because work is (and should be) a constantly evolving process. It’s the path to improvement. So work lean. Fail fast.
Get creative. Try again. Fail or succeed (and repeat). And stay flexible.
6. Ask for feedback
Every day is an
opportunity to lay vital groundwork for your success, and for how your boss and others perceive you. But after 3 months, your boss has likely gotten a good sense of who you are, and how you are doing. Rather than waiting around for the annual review, or worse yet, receiving the boot for no apparent reason, get some feedback so you can direct yourself in the right ways.
7. How to ask for feedback
Be respectful of your boss’s time. Don’t ask them for feedback on the spot, or at inopportune moments when they’re in the middle of something else. Connect with them either electronically or in person to ask for a meeting to discuss your progress, and what, if anything, you could do differently.
Your progress and success is about more than simply getting work done. Companies are built on cultures. Knowing how you’re fitting in with the team and culture, or what you can do to integrate smoothly is vital to long-term success. Be sure that you prepare yourself for the hard truth too. Your boss will likely not mince words, as he or she has an entire company to think about. So make sure you’re ready to hear and accept if they share something that needs to change.
Following up your meeting with a thank you note and creating your personal plan for incorporating the feedback is a great way to complete your first 90 days and take a positive step toward you future.
