Meet your new Manager before you start your first day
It can be very beneficial to meet your new Manager before starting your new position. Sometimes weeks, and possibly months, have passed between your last interview and your starting date.
By meeting your manager, you can learn about the company, understand their expectations, agree what work you will be doing on the first day and what work you will be doing in the coming weeks and months. You can also understand what jobs you need to prioritise and by when they will need to be completed.
By having this meeting, it will not only give you a clear understanding of what is required, it should also improve the relationship you have with your new Manager and lay the foundations for a successful start to your career with your new company.
Having this meeting will also help you to feel more confident going into a new place of work for the first time.
From this meeting, try to understand whether any training is required and what preparation you can do to ensure you are successful as quickly as possible.
Do a trial run into the office
Don’t be late on your first day! It will really help if you ascertain how long the journey takes before your first day. Monday mornings are often hectic, so give yourself lots of time.
If you arrive early, maybe call ahead to announce your arrival and offer to get a coffee. Check it is okay to come to reception as your Manager might not be ready for you.
Onboarding Stuff
If you are to report to an HR person, you will probably complete your onboarding at the start of the day. If that is not the case, you may have to organise your own set-up, which can include HR paperwork (e.g. benefits enrolment, tax forms, proof of work authorisation, compliance policy), phone and computer set-up and knowledge of the key company support functions.
Get to know the building
By now, there is a chance this has already happened but if not, get someone to give you a tour of the office. Kitchen, toilet, canteen, other departments etc. Oh, and where is my desk please!
Tip!
We’ve all been there...everyone is busy apart from you and you desperately want to throw yourself into something.
If your manager is busy, or you don’t have any work to do, is there someone else in the team that you can support or shadow?
Meet the team
If you are working closely with a colleague, use this as an opportunity to start to build relationships with this person.
If your manager hasn’t made introductions to the team, ask your colleague to introduce you and start to learn what their positions entail.
They will obviously be busy, but try to strike up a bond – there are a million questions you can ask – so show an interest in them!
Lunch time
Hopefully your Manager, a member of HR, or one of the team, would have helped you by sharing information about lunch time procedures; when to take lunch, where to go and what to do. If this support was given, try and tag along with another member of staff – perhaps there was someone you met earlier in the day who you developed a good rapport with.
Building relationships with colleagues is important as it will help you to understand more about the company culture, the people, their clients, what the job entails and so on.
Hopefully after lunch, you’ll feel a lot better than you did at the start of the day; less nervous, more at ease and ready for a productive afternoon!
Meetings
Make sure you get time with your Manager throughout the week; establish when and how this person prefers to communicate.
Ensure that you are working closely with your manager and that they are happy with your output.
You are probably on probation period and you are most certainly being assessed so, whilst you don’t want to appear to be high maintenance, make sure you are able to project your willingness, professionalism and commitment when possible, without over-egging it!
Home time!
Some managers like to work late and whilst you want to demonstrate that you are keen, you probably have family and friends to get home to ‘at some stage tonight’.
If you can, you want to check that the Manager is happy with your work; the ideal scenario being a meeting towards the end of the day.
Use this to provide feedback, gauge their feedback and plan ahead for the next day.
Before you leave, ensure that they are happy you have completed the jobs required and confirm what time they’d like you to arrive in the morning.
Be mindful that a company culture is already established and relationships are in place. Therefore, before you give all your personality, make sure you understand the office hierarchy and the existing relationships.
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