What to Expect in the 1st Week of a New Job

You have successfully landed yourself a new job, the interview went well and your first day is tomorrow. There are some things you can do before you walk through the doors of your new employer that will make the transition smoother.

It will probably not be expected but you can do some more research to back up the knowledge you have already gleaned from your interview. Take another look at their website and those of their competitors or clients if possible. At the interview you may have been given a pack. Re-read this so it is fresh in your mind.  Practise your route to work, clarify details regarding parking, dress codes and facilities available.

The first day of any new job is going to be packed full of information. In the office you will be shown where things are kept and stored and even the kitchen layout (if you're lucky enough to have one) will be new. Don't pressurise yourself into remembering everything. It will come with time.

So how can you manage this influx of information? One of the best ways is to take notes. Most roles will involve you needing to have some kind of notebook to record messages and key bits of information.  Using this process will help you learn and retain key pieces of information. Another good way of remember things is to take photos of maps or information that may be useful. We are increasingly in a visual work environment and even if you don't use the image in the workplace you can always view it at home as a reminder.

It is also important to remember that you will not pick up everything immediately.  Therefore bench-marking your performance against your colleagues, although natural will be unrealistic to begin with.  You should give 110% effort to learning, make notes to help you with this, but also give yourself time to pick up everything.

Be patient, sometimes you may have been recruited into a role that has been vacant for a period of time, meaning the company/team in question may be behind on work and therefore not be able to dedicate 100% of time to train you in your first week.  In this instance pay attention to those around you, listen and try and pick up things where possible which will help you be more effective when you get additional training.  Also use any spare time to practise tasks and processes you have been taught so they will be perfected prior to moving onto the next stage.

Most importantly enjoy your first week, ask questions if you are unsure of anything and build your confidence within your role.