Settling into a new job quickly

 1 Jun 2022

With the great resignation well underway, swathes of people have been transitioning to a new employer. This can be an exciting but also nerve-wracking time.

So, how can you ensure you settle in quickly and are soon feeling like a fully functioning member of the team?

Preparation

Be proactive. You will no doubt have done your due diligence on the company during the interview process, but go the extra mile and continue your research.  Follow your employer on social media and Google them to see if they’re in the news to ensure you’re keeping up to date with what’s current. Learn everything you can about the company and its culture before you start so you know what to expect and what’s important to them. Advance insights can be invaluable.

Invite the people who interviewed you to connect on LinkedIn, saying how much you’re looking forward to working with them. It will continue the rapport you’ve built with them and further enhance their positive impression of you (they have offered you a job after all!).

Accept any social invitations to meet the team before you join so you can start building relationships as soon as possible.

Be open and friendly

There are myriad ways you can achieve this.  

If appropriate, you could send a “hello” email to your department / relevant stakeholders to introduce yourself, tell them about your role and how you can add value to them. The “what’s in it for me?” is a powerful way to kick off a fruitful working relationship.

Perhaps you could offer to buy your new colleague(s) a coffee individually as a ‘break the ice and get to know you’ session. If you’re remote working, this could be a ‘bring your own coffee’ chat over Teams.

Even if you’re shy, being polite and a smile can go a long way.

Ask questions

Don’t be afraid to do this. How else are you going to find out what you need to know?

In an ideal world you will have a handover period with your predecessor, or at least some handover notes if they’ve already left. However, if that’s not been possible, or it is a new role entirely, you will undoubtedly need to pick the brains of your colleagues to assist you, at least initially.

If you don’t automatically get allocated a buddy, it might be an idea ask for one. They can help you draw up a cheat sheet or help you build your own personal manual of useful information.

Ask for and give feedback

It’s important that you know what is expected of you. Regular meetings with Line should keep you on the right track. It is also an opportunity to raise potential issues straightway so that they can be cut off at the pass and you get any support you need.

You will of course want to go above and beyond expectations where possible, but in order to do that, you’ll need to know what the baseline is. Word of caution: there is a fine line between exceeding expectations and taking on too much such that you can no longer deliver properly, so consider this wisely.

As time goes on, or even in the early days, you may identify areas for potential improvement or efficiencies that you’d like to raise. Whilst this is to be encouraged, it’s a sensible rule of thumb to get the lay of the land first before you start telling your new employer what they could do better. Do be mindful of the team and firm culture. It might be more politic to navigate the issues tactfully and sensitively over time, rather than steaming in and upsetting new colleagues, when with a bit of extra thought, you could have handled things more seamlessly. Sometimes the bigger picture is more effective than the immediate win and can produce better results over the longer term.

Show commitment

You don’t have to work crazy hours to do a fantastic job.  It’s not about being seen in the office or online late at night; rather it’s about being seen during working hours. This is about being inquisitive, getting involved, using your initiative, making a positive contribution, being happy to be there.

Ask if there’s any training you can do, e.g. on any software or internal systems; any functional or soft skills training that will make you better at your job.

Ask if there are any additional initiatives you could get involved in. This has the added benefit of raising your profile and potentially expanding your network. 

It’s well worth putting in the extra time and effort outside office hours to upskill yourself in any way you can, whether that be something company specific or studying for a professional qualification.  This will give you greater confidence both from a business and personal perspective.  

Relationships – for better for worse

Not every new start begins as well as you might have hoped. For example, you arrive on Day 1 and perhaps find there have been internal changes you were unaware of, you may not get set up on the system straightaway, key people might be out of the office leaving you wondering what to do… etc. Be patient and go easy on yourself and your new employer. With the best will in the world, no-one gets things right all the time. The first few weeks can be perplexing at times while you get to know each other and work out how to get the best from each other. Remember that your employer chose you and you chose them for good reason. There’s bags of goodwill on both sides here. Sometimes it can just take a little while to feel fully at ease while you both navigate the path of the new working relationship, and that’s perfectly normal. Just keep communicating with each other – the more you put in, the more you get out.

It's easy to doubt yourself during a time of change. But change can be amazing and lead to fabulous things! So put your best foot forward, smile a lot, be keen and enthusiastic and you will naturally start to feel more confident, reassured and positive. Before long, it will seem as if you have been there for ages…