|
Congratulations on your new job! This information is designed to help you settle into your new role and to give you a realistic overview of what you can expect in your first year.
The first thing to remember is not to expect to love your new job the minute you start! Obviously some people come home skipping on their first day raving about how great their new job is, but on average, it can take up to a year to feel completely settled within your new job once you have built good relationships with your colleagues, managers and possibly clients, depending on your role.
As most of us are creatures of habit, we find it very daunting starting a new job including everything from not knowing where the toilet facilities are, where the local sandwich shop is, how to use the telephones and generally all the cultural habits that makes every company unique.
Sometimes, these apsects of a new environment make us feel initially uncomfortable and it will naturally take you a while to remember everyone’s name and who does what within the company but remember, everyone felt like the ‘new kid at school’ at one time or another so it’s just a matter of taking your time time to bed in.
Don’t panic if you finish your first week thinking ‘I don’t like it and I want to leave!’ most of us feel like that in a new job because we’re in unchartered territory and the easy thing to do is to leave – fight or flight syndrome. What you need to remember is that generally, this feeling will fade with time and by the end of your first month you’ll be beginning to enjoy it. However, in order to really find out if the job and company are worth sticking with, then you need to give it at least 6 months but ideally a year, so that you can prove on your CV that you can stay with something even though it was difficult. This shows real strength of character which will no doubt put you in good stead for the future.
Once your first quarter is under your belt, you should feel more at home, you’ll begin to form good working relationships and your own personality will start to come through. You will have learnt the basics of your new job or if you have stayed within the same industry, then you may have even started to impress your colleagues and bosses with your capabilities.
If you’re still not enjoying it after 3 months then again, don’t panic and don’t do anything rash. Talk to someone who can help, this could be the HR Department who you can talk to with complete confidentiality, or even the recruitment consultant that placed you as they should be able to advise you on the protocols.
Remember it’s also important to be yourself as much as possible, but most of us hold back slightly in the first 3 months while we learn the ropes and get comfortable within our surroundings. It’s important that you’re not too shy, especially if you were confident at the interview stage. At the same time you don’t want to show any arrogance as this can also sway’s people opinion and just because you managed to be successful in the interview, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to prove yourself now.
Some ‘no-no’s’ in a new job include:
Emailing your friends with your new work email address on day one – give it a few weeks
Surfing the Internet
Taking /making personal calls
Openly comparing everything to your old job
Getting drunk with your new colleagues and embarrassing yourself
Dressing inappropriately – if you’re unsure of the dress code just ask
Taking any unauthorised leave
Criticising your new job or company
If you are really despising your new job and you’ve done everything you can to try and make it work, then resign to the appropriate person and give the notice required as per your contract of employment. The worst thing you can do is to walk out and not tell anyone as this will mark your cards for the future. You would be unlikely to get a reference from this company which may cause issues when job hunting again and trying to explain gaps in your CV.
So to summarise, give yourself time to settle in slowly but surely , be conscientious and realistic about your expectations and don’t forget to enjoy yourself as well.
Good Luck
|
