Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

New Job – Longer-Term Strategies

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This week’s posts have offered tips for starting a new job. From first-day jitters to adjusting to company culture – how you manage your transition will shape your impact at your new job.

To top off the week, here are a few more tips to focus on for the longer term.

These are things to consider to help ensure your success in a new company down the road:

Start trying to figure out who is in charge. You may be surprised where the real power is in your new workplace. Maybe the receptionist holds a lot of authority. Who seems to make the decisions? The quicker you learn, the better off you’ll be.

Ask questions, but keep your opinions to yourself. No one expects you to reinvent the wheel in your first week (or month!)

Volunteer to help. Be a hero – offer to do a job no one else wants to do. There’s no better way to win friends and influence people than by stepping up to the plate. An added benefit? If you wind up solving a big problem, your ability to influence the workplace goes way up!

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Even if there are a lot of expectations riding on you, don’t start a new job expecting to make a lot of changes right away. Learn how things are done and why before you start implementing new policies. Demonstrate that you value what has been done before you got there, even if you plan to change everything! You’ll win a lot more friends with honey than with vinegar!

What tips have worked for you in starting a new job successfully?

Wish you were facing new job jitters? Take the plunge and look for a job! Still need a great resume? Some help to write the perfect cover letter? I’m here to help! Write to me.

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photo by decor8

Starting a New Job? Evaluate and Acclimate Before You Try to Revolutionize Your Work Culture

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Yesterday, I blogged about tips to help you in your first day (or week) of a new job. Today, I’d like to share some of my own experiences starting a new job right out of school. Getting started in a new job is always a transition – no matter how many jobs you’ve had. This is the article I contributed to Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Magazine, a publication I help edit…

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My first job out of college was as an analyst on Wall Street. As I recall, from my perspective, our group needed help to become more efficient and comfortable.

Initially, my only suggestion that met with results pertained to our comfort. Our desk chairs looked like they could be props in a 1950’s movie. Our boss ordered new ones when she realized that I was scavenging around the building to find a chair more suitable to a 14-hour day! (This demonstrates that suggesting a change that clearly benefits everyone can be a good starting point.)

I quickly noticed that my other suggestions met resistance. I was too new, inexperienced and unaware of corporate culture to expect changes at my request. I’ll never forget the day my colleague told me that I “asked too many questions.”

Luckily, I realized before it was too late that I needed to slow down, re-evaluate and acclimate before I tried to revolutionize my group.

It is important to learn a thing or two before you can become an effective change agent in an organization not accustomed to transformations.

Make a good first impression. You know that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Work hard! Get there early. Stay late. Don’t complain. Ever. Demonstrate that you care about a job well done. Offer to help your colleagues when appropriate. Volunteer to take on projects that no one else wants to do. You could wind up a hero by solving an “unsolvable” problem. Bonus: a hero’s ideas are usually well received!

Develop relationships. You’ve heard it a thousand times – relationships are key to career success. Before you try to convince your colleagues that you have a great idea, get to know them. Understanding what makes them tick will make it easier for you to persuade them to your way of thinking down the road.

Stop. Listen. Learn. Take it all in. Ask questions (but not too many!) Avoid jumping to conclusions. Learn about the decision makers and what they value. Try to determine why things are done the way they are. What’s the back-story?

Drink company ‘Kool-Aid.’ Adapt to the corporate culture. Show you’re a team player and that you appreciate what everyone has done before you came on board. Don’t arrogantly expect to change something before you’re invested in it. Demonstrate that you value the work, the people and the organization. Once you’re fully on board, know the issues, the why’s and the how’s, you may be surprised by how easy it is to convince your colleagues to consider changes.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more tips to focus on to build good long-term rapport at a new job!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Wish you had a new job to start? Get your resume in gear and start searching in a way that will yield results! I can help: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by Amber Rhea