How to Fit Into a New Job Successfully
Home › Free Advice › Recruitment and Redundancy › How To Fit Into A New Job Successfully
After you have written the CV, survived a grueling interview process, and won the job, you need to integrate yourself into the company’s culture and work environment. You need to prove that you are genuinely interested in the job and are eager to become a valuable member of the team. How well you fit into your new job will greatly determine the amount of success you can achieve.
Getting to Know the Job
Asking questions when you start a new job causes a large amount of anxiety. You don’t want to seem inadequate for the job, but at the same time, learning the job and doing the work correctly is very important. Keep in mind that some of the things you don’t know are second nature to the people who have been there for awhile and were simply overlooked.
Get to know who to approach when you need guidance. This will include your supervisors as well as other knowledgeable employees in case the supervisors are busy. Unless it absolutely can’t wait, ask questions when the other person is not busy and try to ask all of them at once. To avoid having to ask the same question repeatedly, be sure to write down the information you collect as you go so that you have a reference to refer to later on. Lastly, be sure to ask for clarification if you need it.
Get To Know the Team
As soon as you arrive at the new job, new faces, names, and jobs fly at you. It will be virtually impossible to learn them all in the first day, but you want to be sure to learn them as soon as possible. This should include all of your co-workers, management and anyone else that you meet to demonstrate respect. When meeting someone, you want to be sure to use manners and basic etiquette such as ‘hello’, ‘good-bye’, and ‘nice to meet you’. Smiling also makes a significant difference; you will appear friendly and approachable.
Making friends and getting to know the people you work with helps to fit into the office culture as well. Dig a little beyond the surface to learn what others take interest in and let others get to know you without becoming too personal. Attending after hour functions easily moves you into the circle of acceptance. This does not mean you need to make best friends, but be sure to get to know the others enough that you can work together comfortably.
Understand Office Politics
Understanding the ins and outs of the many relationships at work is a necessary part of fitting in, but it requires some delicate work. The idea is that you want to know where the sore spots are so you can avoid them and learn how the team works together best. Becoming directly involved creates nothing but trouble that can quickly end your new job, or at least eliminate any chance you have at advancement.
Rather than asking colleagues what they think of one another, make a mental note of how each person interacts with each other. Where do you notice tension? Where do the tightest bonds appear? This allows you to react according to the situation and make sure that you remain a positive member of the team.
Learn the Finer Points
Once you have learned the basics of the job, learn the personal preferences of your supervisors as well as the company. Find out what the company defines as a success, what you need to achieve in the future, and what the company dislikes. This allows you to set your own goals and gives you a pre-warning of pitfalls to avoid.
Fitting in at a new job involves paying attention to the small details of the work environment. When it comes to relating, think of your fellow employees as customers because, in a way, they are. If you treat everyone with respect while demonstrating a genuine interest in your job, the transition period will go smoothly for everyone and increase your chances at a successful future with the company.
