Lifestyle: Tips For Your First Day at Work
Dear Alice,
Today’s topic will be short, but I hope it will come in handy when your first day at the office comes along.
Here are my tips for your first day at work:
- Be punctual. Be there on time, in best case even 15-20 minutes before the planned arrival time. Being on time shows commitment and motivation. If you are there too early, like one hour before (for instance due to the commute), then you can have a coffee before. It is good practice, to exercise the way to your office at least once before the beginning of your first official work day.
- Dress professionally, but comfortable. Do your best to dress professionally, but comfortable. While dress code is something you will get to learn probably later, it is important that you dress professionally and in the same time comfortable. Combining a white shirt with a pair or black trousers or a black skirt is a possible mixture to take into consideration. As shoes, choose for instance some comfortable black pumps or boots (depending on the season).
- Smile and introduce yourselves to everyone that passes your office. You will get to learn a lot of new colleagues and consequently a lot of new people. Whereas the multitude of new names, can be overwhelming, it is important that you introduce yourselves to everyone that passes your office. You should be able to shortly explain what you will do in your new job position, and what you did before. Be ready to have a short story prepared, explaining your career path leading to the current job. Moreover, you should make sure to note down the role of each new person you meet as soon as you find it out. This will come in handy later when you have to complete tasks involving other departments in the company. If you want, you can even write down the names of your new colleagues. In this way, visual memory can help you remember the new names.
- Listen to what your mentor and to what your colleagues have to say. It is important to listen to what your mentor and to what your colleagues have to say to you. In this way, you will get to learn a lot of new things, which will definitely help you.
- Ask questions, and take notes. It is a very good practice to take notes. You will find out and you will be presented with a lot of new information, so it is important to keep track of all of the input data. In addition, if you get new tasks or small remarks, note them all down. They will help you organize and assimilate all the new information circulating around you. Moreover, as you get more and more tasks, note them down as well and prioritize them so as to finish them in time. You can even make a tasks board on your desk (or next to it) with your tasks, something similar to a Kanban board (I will discuss with you in another post the notion of a “Kanban” board).
- Go to lunch with your mentor and your colleagues. Whether your mentor or your colleagues invite you to lunch, do join them. This is another way to find out the dynamic of your new colleagues. Plus, you can find out a lot of useful organizational things.
I hope this list gives you some helpful points in handling your first day at your job. Make the best out of it and good luck 🙂 !
Sincerely yours,
madalina