Tomorrow is the first day at a new job. First day at work: useful tips

The most difficult period in a new workplace is the first days. How to behave during this period in order to organically integrate into the existing team and prove yourself well from the first days? According to psychologists, the first impression of a person is extremely important and it is this that lays the foundation for future relationships. How to behave with new colleagues?

Coming to a new place, you find yourself in an established community with its own values, laws and rules. Most of these rules exist in an unspoken and unwritten form, and it will take you time to absorb them. Therefore, at first, your main task is to remain neutral and observe. Be polite, restrained, open. At the same time, use every opportunity to look at new colleagues, learn the rules of the game, understand the boundaries that should not be crossed.

Each work team is a rich set of roles and masks. Try to understand who is who, and then it will be easier for you to find a place for yourself.

The style of relationships in the company is most often dictated from above and fluctuates depending on the degree of formality adopted. The informal environment develops in young, as well as in small companies. In large corporations, the degree of openness and freedom is much less. State institutions in our country are famous for a very specific atmosphere. Different degrees of formality have their pros and cons, but you should stick to the accepted rules: "white crows" do not survive long.

Here are a few rules, following which, you will more easily adapt to a new workplace.

What not to do in a new team:

1. Don't make a revolution. At least in the first weeks of work. Take a closer look, orient yourself, you will still have the opportunity to prove yourself.

2. No need to hide behind, hide in a corner and hide your eyes in documents. Sooner or later, you still have to communicate, but then it will be more difficult to do. No need to lay out your soul in front of new acquaintances, just follow the rules of politeness and good manners.

3. Don't be arrogant. Often this is a way to hide the excitement, but such an attitude will alienate co-workers from you.

4. Do not give in to provocations. For employees, you are like a new toy for a child: it is interesting to check how it behaves in different situations. Don't let them use you as entertainment. Gently but confidently show that you are a business person and came here to work, turn the provocation into a joke.

5. Do not try to please everyone at once, give new colleagues time to take a closer look at you.

6. Keep your sense of proportion. Even if it is customary here to celebrate the arrival of a new employee, you should not overdo it with alcohol on the first day.

What to do in a new job:

1. Follow the rules of interaction accepted in this working environment. This applies to the manner of communication, style of clothing, nuances of the work process (smoke breaks, tea drinking, being late). By adapting, it will be easier for you to understand how to express your personality without compromising your career.

2. Keep a friendly and open attitude. Remember that not only are new colleagues studying you, but you are also looking at them. It happens that it is the acquaintance with new colleagues that makes a person understand that he did not get where he wanted to, and helps to make a decision to change jobs.

3. Find an informal leader - a person who enjoys undeniable authority. Having established a trusting relationship with him, it will be easier for you to integrate into the team at his suggestion.

4. Arrange a new workplace so that you feel comfortable and convenient, bring sincere and useful little things. This will give you confidence.

5. Think about your talents - what you are especially good at, what you feel competent in - and do it first of all.

6. Use the secrets of non-verbal communication. Keep your palms open, do not pinch, do not cross your legs - this signals to the interlocutor that you are confident and ready to make contact. However, do not hope that these measures will be enough: it is important to really feel like this, otherwise you risk looking ridiculous.

7. Learn to refuse. Show colleagues that you know what you're worth. Otherwise, they will sit on your neck on the first day. It will be very difficult to get rid of this later.

8. Remember that you came here to work! The authorities will evaluate your results, not your communication skills.

All these rules will help you only if you do not forget the main thing - to be yourself. Even ideally built behavior will not help much if you are insincere: any deception will be revealed sooner or later.

Feeling nervous about a new team is normal. It will be easier for you if you perceive this experience as a unique opportunity for self-realization. Strangers did not know you until this moment and are ready to see and support you as you are at the moment, while the familiar environment often unwittingly slows down development. The main thing is to remember that you came here to work, to improve your professionalism. Good relationships with colleagues is a secondary goal that is designed to ensure the comfort of your career growth.

Beginner Tips

I don't have much experience of joining new teams, but I managed to meet two completely different options. In the first, the entire work team was a real single team, although the duties and occupations of people did not intersect. Everyone is ready to help, if anything, the shoulder of a person is felt nearby. It is easy and pleasant to join such a team and become a part of it. In the second case, it seems that everyone communicates, but at the same time there is no cohesion, everyone does strictly his own area of ​​​​work, helping his neighbor is wildness (let him deal with his problems himself, the main thing is that his work is done). In such a team, you feel constrained and lonely for a very long time. I myself am a non-confrontational person. In a new environment, I usually adapt, so there are no major problems. True, there is one minus: everyone perceives such behavior as a manifestation of weakness for some reason and tries to sit on the neck. - Alexey, coordinator in an Internet company

Personally, when I come to a new team, I try to establish friendly relations - joint tea breaks help a lot. There you can learn about the relationship in the team, identify the leader, etc. Be sure to bring delicious treats for tea. A fail-safe way to establish friendly contact and win over colleagues. But the main thing is your confidence as a professional. Treats will not make you more professional in the eyes of your colleagues and boss. - Valeria, printing house employee

Expert opinion

Anna Dadeko
psychologist, director of the Career Counseling Center "Reference Point"

Coming to a new place, most people seek to quickly join the team and win the favor of others. The first impression of a person is really important and can be controlled. If tomorrow is your first day at work in a new place, remember the following:

- Appearance. At the interview, pay attention to the dress code that exists in the company. On the first working day, it is worth choosing clothes of the appropriate style.

- Come on time. Take care of your itinerary in advance and allow for extra travel time. Being late can be perceived as disorganized and irresponsible.

- Smile. Smiling has the interlocutor and reduces the distance in communication. At the same time, refrain from insincere, "stretched" smile.

- Listen and watch. Tune in to collecting information and its accumulation. This will help you navigate the situation.

- Find similarities. People tend to bond faster with others if they have something in common. In a conversation, note any details that bring you closer to your colleagues.

- Ask. Feel free to contact the old-timers with questions about the company's traditions, procedures, or for help (at a convenient time for them). In this way, you will show respect for their knowledge and experience.

- refrain from promises, statements about changes and innovations. Even if you are a crisis manager and your plans include changing something in the future, impose a moratorium on innovation until you assess the situation and orient yourself in the environment.
Having felt the corporate culture and the rules of the game, start acting. But this is the next step.

The first day at a new job is always stressful. It’s scary to look the wrong way, to smile at the wrong person, to misunderstand the first task. Yes, it's just scary. And stress, as you know, often entails not quite adequate behavior. Office Life has compiled the top 5 behaviors that should not be resorted to on the first day of work.

You can make a mistake before you even cross the threshold of your new office. Be careful when approaching a working parking lot. You never know who is riding in a car that you need to cut urgently. “One guy, driving up to a new job, cut off another car and made an obscene gesture towards the driver. And he turned out to be his new boss,” says Aleksey, manager of an accounting company. In the end, the poor young man had to make amends with hard work. By the way, excessive hard work can also be a mistake.

hardworking bee

Relax. No one expects you to start doing miracles from day one. Don't create too much stress for yourself. Let things take their course. Extra initiative can annoy your new colleagues. And proposals for innovations can tritely cause laughter behind your back. "It can take up to three months to fully settle in. Don't try to fit them into one work day," Donna Miller, head of HR for the car company, advises readers of The Times.

inappropriate questions

It's okay to ask questions about a company, but be careful what impression you make. Here are some unfortunate questions from a new employee from the practice of the head of a consulting company, Elena. “Can I take indefinite leave at my own expense?”, “How quickly can I get a promotion?”, “How long is sick leave?”, or “Why do you need to apply so far in advance?”

"Is he already planning to quit?!?" Elena is surprised. In such a situation, only one thing can be advised: do not ask questions that indicate your lack of interest in the work.

Judgment Day

Employers especially do not like it when a new employee compares everything he meets in a new place with his old job. In general, you should not say all the time: "In my former job, they did this and that." Especially if your former job is a dairy and your new job is an engineering company. :)

Sissy

And finally, the funniest thing: one day, a new sales manager at a telecommunications company showed up for work ... with his mother! She accompanied him to the door of the office, and at lunch she brought hot soup. The giggles of colleagues behind their backs and the nickname "sissy" were stopped only when the mother's apron stopped appearing near the son's office. And the son himself began to excel in sales. But this is already a story from the series "impossible, but it was."

But they did not mention the fear that almost all people experience when entering a new job. It is unlikely that he has any scientific name, but this fact does not prevent the beginner from worrying and being afraid to tremble in the knees, sorting through the possible scenarios in his mind and presenting chilling pictures: either the team does not accept him and builds all sorts of intrigues, then the boss turns out to be a tyrant, distributing stupid orders. Not surprisingly, the first day at a new job, as well as its anticipation, is a serious test for any of us. About how to overcome it with the least mental loss - in the reasoning of the author of "Cleo".

Maybe it's me who is especially impressionable, or maybe it happens to almost everyone, but the first day at a new job is always difficult for me, and even waiting for it is completely exhausting. It begins, as a rule, in a couple of days, bringing a lot of unanswered questions and activating a rather rich imagination. The latter does not spare me at all: I imagine how my colleagues arrogantly laugh at any of my awkward actions, do not want to help in anything, and at dinner they pretend that I do not exist at all. Do I need to say that the day before I go to work, I almost hate her? The fear of the unknown kills absolutely all the positive emotions that I experienced until recently, and all I feel is a lump in my throat. I am afraid to misunderstand the first task, I am afraid of becoming the subject of ridicule and jokes in an already established team, I am afraid, in the end, that this team will not accept me into their “family” and I will, weeping bitterly, dine alone in the toilet cubicle, as they show in American teen comedies. Of course, the latter is nothing more than irony, and schoolchildren rather than adults experience such fear, but we are not alien to feelings about forced communication with new colleagues. Even the most self-confident person worries when they find themselves in an unusual environment.

Even the most self-confident person worries when they find themselves in an unusual environment.

Since I have already changed jobs more than once, I went crazy with fear on the eve of the first working day more than once. And at some point I decided that it was impossible: it was stupid to be afraid in advance of what might not happen. Such “empty” emotions become only a source of stress and certainly do not help us to work productively and win over people. If you, too, are losing your appetite at the thought of heading to a new office tomorrow with new colleagues and a new boss, then try to pull yourself together with the tips below. For me they really work.

Separate the wheat from the chaff

When you are afraid of something, you feel uncomfortable. When you are afraid of something that is not clear, it is even more uncomfortable. Based on this, I decided that from now on I will always determine whether my fears have any basis. This helps a lot to get rid of far-fetched fears that are exhausting no less than real ones. To understand if there is a real threat, I write out all my fears on a piece of paper and critically evaluate what can actually happen from this, and what is the fruit of my rich imagination. When there are half as many “enemies”, it becomes much easier to fight.

When you are afraid of something, you feel uncomfortable. When you are afraid of something that is not clear, it is even more uncomfortable.

Win mentally

So, we understood what situations really should be feared. But we also know that there is no guarantee that events will develop exactly according to this negative scenario, perhaps everything will work out in the best way. What does "best" mean to you? Imagine how you come to work and see that it is a real dream. Colleagues are friendly, the boss is understanding and tactful, your workplace is comfortable and modern. What more could you want? Set yourself up in a positive mood today, mentally conquer all your fears so that tomorrow you can come to work in a good mood and not expect a dirty trick from everywhere.

Needle-tailored suit

Prepare your clothes for the first day of work in advance. Firstly, the people around will obviously not be delighted with a new colleague who will come to the office in a wrinkled skirt and a washed-out blouse. Secondly, you yourself will feel more confident knowing that you are dressed to the nines. Of great importance is the same and what kind of clothes you choose. Of course, if the company has a dress code, then everything is quite simple: comply with it, and there will be no problems. But if there are no clear rules, you should be careful: no mini-skirts, children's T-shirts and jeans with a low waist. Think about it: you yourself would be wary of a new girl who showed up for work in what she most likely went to the club yesterday.

Smile but don't bother

Show that you are interested in this work and really want to understand what is here and why.

Now let's talk about the first working day. Your behavior is just as important as your appearance. You know that a smile is disarming, and excessive helpfulness is alarming, so be friendly with new colleagues, but do not go too far: you should not intentionally try to please someone and go out of your way, if only the new boss notices you today. Perhaps he will notice, thinking: “Who did I hire?”, But this one is not at all what you need. Therefore, do not take on everything at once (no one expects that on the first working day you will grab the stars from the sky), do not brag about your successes and knowledge, but rather absorb new information like a sponge. Show that you are interested in this work and really want to understand what is here and why.

Joining a team is hard. When entering a new job, some people experience the greatest anxiety not before new responsibilities, but before meeting colleagues. How to behave in a new job to get comfortable with work tasks, get to know colleagues and make you start to be taken seriously?

First day

Traditionally, a manager introduces a new employee to colleagues. It is good if the company is small or regular general meetings are held. Then acquaintance with others will happen faster. If you go to work in a corporation, be prepared to learn about new colleagues within a few weeks, not only through the head, but also in the process of solving problems.

On the first day, the main thing is to be introduced to your closest colleagues with whom you will have to work closely. Try to remember them. Even better - briefly write down who is called and who is responsible for what.

If you forget someone's name, ask again on the same day. It's perfectly normal to forget someone if you've been introduced to twenty people in a few hours.

If it is customary for the company to communicate in a general work chat or in a group on a social network, make sure that you are added there. Ask your manager about it. Ask to see the documents that regulate the work of the department or you personally, if any. For example, editorial offices usually have a red policy, and design studios have clear standards and life hacks.

Ask colleagues if the office has a canteen or kitchen and where they have lunch. It is best to go to lunch with them on the first day, even if you do not plan to do this in the future. During lunch, discuss general topics: who lives where, how long it takes to get to work, and other neutral issues.

First week

Your main task for the first week in communicating with colleagues is to finally remember everyone, understand who is who and how you interact with them. Colleagues should also remember you and understand what questions they can contact you about.

Don't brag and don't be smart. You should not stick out your talents if you consider yourself more experienced than your new colleagues in some way. Even if you really want to demonstrate your professionalism, at first take the position of an observer more and express your opinion within reasonable limits, especially if no one asked about it. It is much more important to prove that you are interested in work tasks, that you do not hack, but observe the processes and learn new things - these are the most important signs of a true professional in any position.

Ask questions. The main communication rule for the first week: "If you don't know, ask." Ask about everything that makes you even the slightest doubt. Even if it seems to you that these are stupid questions, remember that you have an indulgence - you are new here! It is better to figure out how to do it right than to do it at random. Everyone around is well aware that you are a new employee, and they expect these questions from you.

If you have come to work in a new field for you and do not yet understand the details of the business, ask one of your colleagues to explain the process to you step by step. It doesn't have to be your manager or someone senior. It may be more helpful to talk to subordinates or peers. After such meetings, you will immediately understand the processes: how everything happens, how much it costs, how much time it takes to implement. If you are a manager, only such conversations will help you optimize the processes that you lead.

Ruslan Lobachev, content producer: “From television, I came to work in an online cinema. The sphere is adjacent, but there are a lot of its own details. For the first week, I didn't understand why it took so long to post a movie on the app. It turned out that this is one of the sore spots in the company, and the marketing and content promotion department could not understand why video engineers constantly miss deadlines. In order to understand the production process, I asked the chief video engineer to meet with me and explain the details. After an hour-long lecture, I learned that one movie weighs hundreds of gigabytes, takes a long time to download from the server of the owner company, then archives it to the cinema server, then encodes, then goes through the final stage of preparation, such as subtitles. It is impossible to do all this in one day. From the very first week, I made advance planning a priority in my work. I had to move the release dates of several films and justify this to the marketing department. But within a month, we were able to set up the release process, upload films on time and prepare them ahead of schedule.”

Look for feedback. Every day, you don’t need to approach your boss with a request to comment on your work, this is annoying. Come back after the first week (you can write a letter or ask in the chat). Next time ask for feedback after the first month, and again after three months. It is good when the company organizes such meetings with each employee, for example, at the end of the trial period. This is usually done by the HR department. At such meetings, they discuss your impressions of the work, give you an objective assessment, and together outline possible development paths and goals for the coming year. But even if there are no such meetings, ask the leader to meet with you yourself. An adequate boss will never dismiss a newcomer and will find time for him.

First month

Watch your colleagues. Watch how they behave, how they solve work tasks, what is accepted in the team and what is not accepted.

Separate responsibility. Don't do tasks that others should be doing. There are teams where employees try to push their business to a newcomer. Learn to say a firm no if you are sure that this is not your task. If you are not sure, solve the issue systematically: at meetings where tasks are set, ask to do this as clearly as possible. For example:

Editor-in-Chief: “We need to call this guest on the air. For Thursday."
You: "Let's talk about who exactly does this."

In order not to perform other people's tasks, you need to know what is your responsibility and what your colleagues are responsible for. It’s also a good idea to evaluate which of your colleagues likes to miss deadlines and set others up.

In no case do not try to behave differently than usual. If you do not smoke, do not start going to the smoking room with colleagues. If it seems to you that they are discussing work issues, bring up this topic in a work chat, in mail, or at a meeting. In a healthy working team, news in the smoking room is not recognized.

Behave naturally. Don't try to make jokes if you usually prefer to listen to other people's jokes.

Be polite. Observe the rituals established in the team. If you see that colleagues are collecting for a gift to someone in the department, offer to participate. Don't come up with revolutionary ideas. This is called "with your charter in a strange monastery" - and is not welcome in any established team.

Less emotions. Try to think rationally at work, not emotionally. Something happened? Turn off the emotional reaction and think about how to solve the problem.

Stay neutral. You don't have to please everyone, it's impossible. Most likely, after some time you will find friends and allies here, as well as opponents. All in good time, first keep a neutral position.

When communicating with colleagues, do not meddle in their personal lives. Don't go into too much detail about yours either. Do not participate in office intrigues and do not be interested in gossip, especially if you work in a women's team. It is better to offer to discuss plans for the weekend or a new movie at the cinema.

First three months

It's usually only by the end of the probationary period that you realize who's who in the office. For the first three months you are a beginner. It also works in the opposite direction: colleagues understand what kind of employee you are, whether they can trust you with tasks and rely on you. Usually only after three months (and sometimes after six months) you begin to be taken seriously, especially if you are a young specialist.

Remember that others do not know how to read minds and so far do not understand you perfectly. While you are not yet on the same wavelength with your colleagues, try to convey your thoughts to colleagues as thoroughly and calmly as possible. Remember, if you are not understood, they are not fools, but you did not explain well enough. Be pedantic and explain yourself as thoroughly as possible. Jokes, by the way, can also be misunderstood.

False consensus effect

This is one of the biggest mistakes that can happen to a newcomer to a team. Our brains tend to project their way of thinking onto others. We automatically assume that others think the same way we do. Therefore, there are misunderstandings in the transmission of information - both oral and written.

When communicating with colleagues in a new team, explain the context of your messages. "Check your watch" to make sure you're talking about the same thing. Everyone has their own quality standards, working tools, habits.

Remember that your colleagues may think very differently. For example, you think that after each meeting, the manager who led the meeting should write a short summary letter to everyone who participated in the meeting. And no one in the company has done this before you. To avoid misunderstandings, discuss the benefits of such letters with colleagues.

Well, the most important thing. You came to this company to work, not to make new friends, demonstrate the ability to tell jokes and please others. Your manager will primarily evaluate the results of your work. Do not try to seem like someone you are not, be natural and calm, be interested in what is happening, but do not overstep personal boundaries. This is the best way to put yourself in your place in any team.

How to behave on the first day at a new job

Do you think getting a new job is easy? Especially to you: ambitious, erudite and self-confident? Of course, this approach is worthy of praise, but, of course, you should not relax. Brilliantly pass the first interview - this is only the first task that you have to solve on the way of your career growth. Well, ahead of you is the very first day in a new place. Actually, further relations with colleagues and employees largely depend on him.

As statistics show, about 40% of newly minted employees decide to change their place of professional activity after the first day, which was not entirely successful. Therefore, of course, a lot depends on how you can express yourself on your first day in the company. The tips below will certainly be useful for both applicants with no special experience, and "advanced" workers.

Eliminate panic

Of course, the first day is a real test that will require remarkable strength and genuine courage from you. It is most reasonable to make a definite plan for the whole working day, as well as briefly formulate a list of the main tasks.

At your own request and on your own initiative, get to know your colleagues, as well as the head of the department. Do not think that their curiosity will exceed your modesty and timidity. Still, it's you - a beginner, respectively, and the cards in your hands.

Upon arrival, pay attention to the workplace. Rationally divide the free space. Of course, you are not in a very advantageous position, but it is better to take care of this issue in advance, because otherwise you may be perceived as a lazy, careless and sloppy employee.

Immediately study the daily routine, strictly follow it and get used to the new schedule for yourself.

Ideally, you should master the specifics of your activity as quickly as possible, this will recommend you from the best side.

And, of course, don't panic! The extra stress will only hurt, so pull yourself together and just do your job well.

Mindfulness and vigilance

Of course, having an idea about the motivation, as well as the psychology of your boss, colleagues or employees, it is quite easy to join any new team. For example, who is the employer seeking to hire? Of course, a responsible, active and diligent worker. You just need to become one. Always remember that the director does not take you on out of a sense of duty or, for example, any higher motives. First of all, he noticed in you those virtues and traits that will help improve the work of his company.

In order to make a favorable impression on your boss, you need to forget about idle conversations. At least for the first time, you should reduce or completely abandon personal calls and conversations, visiting social networks, communicating via ICQ, etc. Try to show with all your appearance and actions and, most importantly, prove that you are very attentive to your projects and are as focused as possible at work. Complete all assignments and tasks as soon as possible, but remember the high level and quality of the result. Clearly show how much you strive for new knowledge, professional experience, and self-improvement. Even if you keep maternity leave in your plans for the next year (which, of course, not a word about), you need to transparently hint at career growth. Remember that bosses are well aware that a motivated employee works twice as hard.

At the same time, on your first day in a new place, you should not promise everyone and everything golden mountains and honey rivers. Who knows, maybe the employer will really believe that you are able to cope with a weekly load in a day. And heaven forbid you really complete your task! Indeed, in this case, you will be loaded with work beyond your physical and moral strength. It is wiser to take on a fairly simple task first, which you will complete relatively quickly and competently.

As for your new colleagues, you should not show your obstinate character traits here. As practice shows, in any team, especially a large one, there are existing groupings and circles. Observe and evaluate which union is closer to you. It may be best to stay out of the way and maintain a certain neutrality. Of course, at the first meeting with colleagues, you need to show some initiative and introduce yourself. Try to be fairly open and honest. This best contributes to the establishment of benevolent relations, including professional ones.

Away with constraint

A new task is, of course, a great chance to prove yourself and show your best qualities. But one should not be naive to believe that it will be easy, insignificant and simple. Of course, bosses like to test and test the strength, stress resistance, knowledge and skills of their employees, which is quite understandable. Managers in this case want to be sure that they made the right decision by taking you to them.

Remember that each company has its own unspoken rules and unwritten laws, which at the moment are a secret behind seven locks for you. Do not be shy to directly address questions to employees, as well as to the boss. Be sure that there will always be someone who will not refuse to help you in solving this or that issue.

So, forget about:

• be afraid to ask questions and ask for help;
• personally try to resolve any conflict situations;
• try to remain silent in case of a mistake.