Having successfully completed the interview process, salary negotiations and having signed the contract, your first day at work finally arrives. At last, you can finally start planning what you want to achieve and how you will act at your new job. Unfortunately, if you have only begun thinking about that this stage, you should know that it’s already too late!
If you start a new job or take a new position without determining what you want to achieve and of the challenges and obstacles you’re likely to face, you find yourself hitting the hard wall of reality before your first day is through. By then, it will be too late to plan and you will find yourself at the mercy of circumstance.
Plan in advance what you want to do in the new job. You will have to set aside some time to do this. Because you can rarely devote yourself to this while still working at your old job, it is recommended to take a vacation before starting any new job. Take as long a vacation as you need. If that is not possible, you should at the very least set aside several evenings and a weekend to develop your plan.
Take a walk in the forest or in mountains and talk about your upcoming job with your partner or a trusted friend.
The basis of all good preparation is to get as much information as possible about the company and the position you are stepping into. Obviously, you have learned a lot in preparing for the interview. However, you will have to delve deeper still. Read all the promotional and printed materials you can get your hands on. Find out what people working in the company are like and what the company’s overall image is.
Should you start a new job in a field you do not know much about, study relevant literature. You also can ask your future employer to advise you on what to read or ask to borrow the necessary materials.
Even if your new job is with the same company, take time to prepare yourself for a new and different position. People heading into a managerial position for the first time should understand that managing employees is far different from just being an employee.
Be sure you understand the following:
You may not be able to answer all of the questions listed above, but you should think about them and develop a game plan.
Spend time thinking about the following areas:
When preparing for a new job, don’t forget that you will need a lot of help. Before you start, think about whom you can turn to for guidance. You can find allies among the following people:
You have to plan your first steps in the new company very carefully. Be aware of how you introduce yourself in the new company, what questions you ask, who you meet with and how you spend your day.
Make a plan for the first 100 days of your new job, making clear goals about what you want to achieve and setting simple, measurable targets to monitor your progress. If you do this, your chances for success will increase significantly. If you don’t plan ahead, it will be very difficult to catch up later down the road.