Top Tips to Beat the New Job Jitters and Succeed in Your Role
When you finally make it through the interview stage and accept a new job offer, you may feel a wave of different emotions hit you all at once like a ton of bricks. From relief, excitement, exhaustion, nervousness, or anxiety, it’s perfectly natural to have these new job jitters and it happens to everyone before starting a new job or your first job.
It’s exciting to start a new job with a new boss and colleagues, but it can also feel daunting, and a thousand questions are probably going through your mind. Will my boss and colleagues like me? Will this job be a good fit for me? What happens if I make a mistake? Will I make it through my probation period? How can I succeed? How can I impress my new boss? Where do I start?
Starting off on the right food with your leader at your new job is important and the first month learning the ropes at your job is vital to setting yourself up for success and future promotions. It’s important to spend that first month getting to know the company’s culture, create positive impressions, figuring out what your position involves and taking ownership of your new role.
Make sure you make a good impression from day one by taking a notebook with you to jot down notes (you aren’t expected to know everything at first, but you will be absorbing a lot of information during the first week, so it helps to be prepared), so being able to go back through your notebook afterwards is very helpful. Also don’t forget to be open to learning from your new boss and coworkers.
I’ve heard many stories of new people getting off on the wrong foot with colleagues because they either won’t listen to what the colleague is saying, or they brush off advice or belittle the skills of colleagues who have been with the company for years. So, make sure you’re polite and listen to what your coworker is trying to teach you because they know the ins-and-outs of the business.
So how can you set yourself up for success in your new job within the first month and impress your new boss?
- Get Your Prioritises Straight
From the first day, the first week to the first month there is so much to learn about the ins and outs of your new role, what your new boss expects from you, understanding how to work the printer with different the buttons and the times you can take your lunch breaks. You’ll have lots of questions and you may be at loss as who to go to for answers. So, make sure your priorities are in order by making a list of your responsibilities and sticking to it. If you don’t know or understand something, don’t just dwell on it, speak up and ask questions.
- Understand What Your Boss Expects from You
Every workplace is different, and every boss is different. Make sure you find out in the first month what is expected of you and the importance of your role in the company’s future. What will it take for you to succeed in your new role on a day-to-day basis and in the long run. What are your company’s goals, values, mission and purpose? How are you fitting in with your company’s culture? How does your boss like to communicate to discuss progress, work expectations, updates or results, face-to-face meetings or by email?
- Play to Your Strengths and Identify Your Weakness
We all have strengths and weaknesses, that’s just the way life works. Make sure you play to your strengths, and at the same time identify where your weaknesses may lie. Perhaps you’re reading too much into things or you have a hard time letting go of a project. See how you can improve and continue to make your strengths your biggest asset in your new role as you continue to adapt to your new environment.
- Get to Know the Company Culture and Your Colleagues
Company or business culture is also known as the personality of a company and has fast become an important part of every workplace environment. Everyone has a part to play in the successful day-to-day running of a business and people dynamics can decide how people get hired or promoted. By understanding your company’s culture, you can develop a positive one for your workplace that centers on the businesses’ values, mission, goals, ethics and purpose. So it’s important to take the time to understand.
- Be Kind and Empathetic
Kindness and empathy have become one of the most sought-after qualities in a boss or a leader, especially in 2022 and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But don’t forget to make sure you’re kind and empathetic to your boss, colleagues and the people around you as well. You’ll find that you coworkers will appreciate it, you’ll set the standard for a positive workplace environment and you and your team members will be more productive as a result. It doesn’t take much to be kind or empathetic.
Above all, remember that everyone was once new at their job, even your colleague that works next to you and has been working for the company for 20 years, he or she was once new and, in your shoes, too. You’re learning too, just like everyone else did. Don’t forget to breathe, ask questions, take a breather, relax and get the job done.
Leadership News Wrap Up
If you’re looking to shake up your leadership style and find the right flexibility and balance. Check out this great story by Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2022/01/finding-the-right-balance-and-flexibility-in-your-leadership-style.
If you’re finding it hard to cope with stress and anxiety at a management level. Check out this great piece for ways to solve that problem: Stress and Anxiety Management Skills | Counseling Services | University of Nevada, Reno (unr.edu)
A great piece on The Great Resignation and how to attract, retain and engage employees in 2022: ‘The Great Resignation’ Defined 2021: Here’s How To Attract, Retain And Engage Employees In 2022 (forbes.com)
Women are still unsupported in developing leadership skills. Read more here: Women still unsupported in developing leadership skills | theHRD (thehrdirector.com)
