New Year, New Job, Start Out Right

"New Year, New Job, Start Out Right

By Sheryl Nance-Nash

First impressions count. That's certainly true in the workplace. Start out on the wrong foot in a new job and your career there can be derailed before you get out of the starting gate.

After landing that perfect gig — you got the money and the perks you wanted, it's up to you to show the boss that yes indeed, you’re the one for the job. There's a right way and a wrong way to turn heads in those early days at a new company. Here's what you need to know.

Before You Start
Even before you show up to work the first day, preparation is required. "Say thank you. Contact all the people who helped you get the position," advises Kate Wendleton, career coach and founder of the New York City-based career counseling group The Five O'Clock Club ( www.fiveoclockclub.com) and author Interviewing and Salary Negotiation (Career Press, $12.99). You might even see if you can schedule a lunch with some of those folks before you start. If by chance you were lucky enough to get the job without doing much research, by all means study up before you get there. "Do your due diligence. You want to know what the issues are facing the company. Read mission statements, what's been in the press, annual reports and others that you can dig up," says Barbara Reinhold, director of the career development office at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Tap into your network of friends who may work for competitors or otherwise might have the skinny on your new company. "People outside the organization may have a more on target view about the company. They can tell you the weak spots and may know about the management style, for example," adds Reinhold.

Groom galore. Get that haircut, shine those shoes, see the dentist, assess your wardrobe. You want to look crisp and professional, points out Dana May Casperson, author of Power Etiquette: What You Don't Know Can Kill Your Career (AMACON, $14.95), (www.mannersplace.com ).

The Early Days
Proceed with caution. Realize that you should be doing far more listening than talking. Despite conventional wisdom, coming on like gang busters can backfire. "One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they start off making decisions about how things should be done, when they don’t know the way things are. You might have great ideas, but you can't shove them down their throats, especially when you're the new kid on the block. Be strategic about how you introduce things," advises Andrea Kay, author of Interview Strategies That Will Get You the Job You Want, (Betterway Books, $12.95).

Wendleton agrees, "You don't want to fix things or do anything big for the first three months. Take the time to learn the system, the people, the culture." After all, there's no way to know the implications of decisions you may make. "You may be criticizing a project that was done by someone really important. Or you could be changing something that will affect someone on the staff in ways in which you aren't aware," she adds.

That's not to say that you should slump off in a corner. By all means, be productive from day one. Don't dismiss the importance of being on time, if not early, and staying a little late, as well as delivering projects on schedule. But be careful though of precedents you set. "If you hated working 10 hours a day on your old job, don't start off working those long hours because once you do, it'll be hard to break that habit," says Eva Wisnik, president, Wisnik Career Strategies in New York City.

Build Relationships
Don't underestimate the importance of relationships. Be friendly to everyone — not just those who you think may help your career. Reach out to those from the bottom to the top. "If you're just friendly to those with power, that word will spread quickly," says Wisnik. You want many allies. "You want to be in a situation where the company wouldn't fire you because you are too popular," says Wendelton. That's not to say that you should spend all your time at the water cooler. But warning: be mindful of people who are too friendly. For one thing, their intentions may not be pure, you can't be too quick to trust.

And by all means, stay out of the office politics. "People will try and drag you in, tell you who to trust, not to trust. Listen if necessary, but don't comment, and don't necessarily believe everything you hear," says Debra Condren, principal, www.humaninvestment.com, a career consulting firm in San Rafael, California. Says Marcy Lerner, director of content at the career web site Vault.com, "It's hard to live down a reputation for being a gossiper, nasty, or not a team player."

Do lunch. You should spend little time eating lunch alone at your desk. Make use of that hour to get to know people. Don't be shy about asking people out. But make sure you don't spout off during lunch or otherwise about how crummy your old job was. Negativity is out, says Casperson. Steer clear too, of getting too personal right away. Your new co-workers don't need to know your life story. Another way to get to know people across departments is by volunteering for committees or task forces.

Find out how your boss likes to work. "Set up an informal meeting to set straight how the boss likes to get information, email, face-to-face, how often, and how detailed," says Kay.

Learn the culture. "The most important things are those that are unwritten," points out Wendleton. Do people work with their doors opened or close, are memos long or short, and so on. "At one company, the tradition was for the sales people to spend money. They went out for lunches. Well the new guy comes on and he eats lunch at his desk. They took offense, they thought his actions made them look bad. They resented that fact and worked against him," says Wendleton.

Don't dismiss the power of your wardrobe. Casperson advises dressing a bit above the norm early on, to distinguish yourself. Says Lerner, "Forget about those tight outfits. Dress conservatively at first."

The Next Phase
Don't think you know everything three-six months into the job. Realistically, it takes a good year before you really should feel confident that you know the way things work.

Three or so months into the gig, it's not too soon to find out how you're doing. "Ask for comments on your performance, not only from your supervisor, but your peers as well. Review your objectives with your supervisor, be clear what's expected of you," says Condren.

Take a reality check. Assess for yourself, what skills you have or need in order to do a better job. Don't wait until you've been in your position for a year before you seek out help. Could you and the company benefit if you took courses, attended professional development workshops or worked with a coach? Talk it over with your boss.

Keep managing your career, says Wendleton. Be proactive in moving toward your goal.

Getting off to a good start is critical to your success. If you remember nothing else, Reinhold offers this advice, "It's a myth that you need to show your stuff real fast. Slowly but surely, over time, is better than fast." "

<Note from JobFairy.com: Excellent advice. For more, go to the Corporate Survival section.>