Your first day at work starts tomorrow, and you have been highly anticipating this ever since your acceptance letter. Although you might be feeling like a ball of nerves, there’s a lot you can do to feel and act confidently in your new workplace.
Luckily for you, this article lists everything you need to make for a successful first day at work, so relax, sit back, and keep reading.
1. Study up on Your Company and Its Employees’ Profiles
Get the scoop on how things are and have been done at your workplace. Even if you have done this during the recruitment process, we urge you to refresh your memory again. Doing this ensures you can confidently go about work on your first day.
You can also go through your company and your co-workers’ social media accounts to get more information. The latter will prevent you from being confused when flooded by a barrage of new names to remember.
Familiarizing yourself with names and faces beforehand makes the process easier.
2. Prepare Questions to Ask Your New Boss and Colleagues
Between choosing a passive or pro-active mode on your first day, go for the latter. Taking on a more active role by asking questions will make you stand out positively. Prepare some questions to get a grasp of how your boss and workmates function.
Use the following sample questions as reference:
- Ask your supervisor: What are the criteria you will use to evaluate my job performance? How often are these evaluations done?
- Ask your colleagues: What are the greatest challenges that the team has been facing as of now?
- Ask your boss: What skills am I expected to accomplish by the end of this week?
3. Plan Some Interesting Small Talk
You will be meeting and talking to a lot of people on your first day, so making a rough list of appropriate topics should help you fuel your conversation long after the initial “Hellos” and “Nice to meet you.” This tip is especially important if you are socially awkward.
Do not, under any circumstances, talk about the weather or politics. The first will bore your co-workers to sleep, and the second might just start a war.
4. Do a Test Commute during Rush Hour
Being a good fifteen minutes early will demonstrate your dedication to your new boss and help you calm yourself before your co-workers arrive. Do a timed test commute during rush hour to see how long it takes for you to arrive, so you can plan on what time to leave.
Make a mental map of the place during your commute, focusing on the restaurants and the drugstore just in case there’s an emergency.
5. Keep Your Work Bag Well-Stocked With Essential Items
You don’t know how well your office is stocked up on basic supplies. Therefore, make things easier for yourself and bring your own stationery and notepads.
If possible, ask your contact if there are specific things you need to bring from home. Remember to bring your phone charger to save yourself the embarrassment of borrowing from a co-worker.
6. Pack Yourself Some Lunch
Some offices throw parties to celebrate hiring new recruits, while some get the food flowing in their well-stocked cafeterias. Because you might not know, be on the safe side and make yourself a light sandwich just in case.
However, if you are offered to come to lunch with your co-workers, never say no. This is a great opportunity to bond with them.
Don’t forget to bring a water bottle to drink your anxiety away when your mouth has turned dry as a desert and stay hydrated.
7. Come Up With a Clever Elevator Pitch to Wow Your New Workplace
You might begin your first day being flooded with questions about yourself, your current role, your previous work experience, etc. Prepare concise and informative answers to these questions so you can answer in one go wherever you are asked.
Make the answers convincing and interesting to really create a good impression.
8. Recheck Any Finished Paperwork Due on Your First Day
Companies might sometimes give out paperwork to be filled out and submitted on your first day. Once you are done, give those papers another once over just to be sure you got them right.
Trust us; you will feel a lot more in control if you see you are doing things right.
9. Pick out Appropriate Attire before You Go to Bed
Nothing gives us a confidence boost more than wearing the right kind of outfit and maybe smelling like the citrusy scent from our favorite perfume. Given how stressful the first day is, you will need all the confidence you can get.
Faveable is a website with a huge collection of detailed product guides to keep you informed about all kinds of personal grooming and styling products so you can look sharp and feel great.
To save yourself the time and indecision of picking your outfit in the morning, set out your clothes before you go to sleep.
Additionally, layer your clothing so you can choose to remove and re-wear pieces whenever you are feeling hot or cold.
10. Set up Multiple Alarms to Ensure You Wake up Early
If you have already taken the pains to do a test commute, you might want to go the extra mile and put multiple alarms on your phone just so you wake up on time.
Practice extra caution by keeping your phone or clock out of reach so you don’t turn the alarm off when you are in a haze.
Prevent the nightmare situation of setting an alarm in your almost battery-dead phone. Charge the phone beforehand so it can handle a long day of use.
11. Banish Pre-First Day Jitters by Doing a Relaxing Activity
It can be nerve-wracking to anticipate what the coming day has in store for you, and worrying never did anyone any good. Here’s a list of things you can do to calm down and drift off:
- Bedtime reading
- A nice, warm bath
- Talking to a loved one
- Listening to your favorite podcast
- Munching on a delicious chocolate bar (followed by some water and thorough brushing)
Conclusion
Remember, don’t be so hard on yourself for not having the perfect first day. It’s not possible and will only drain your energy. Focus on being the best you and putting your all into your new job.
You are going to do amazing. Good luck!
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