How to make a good impression on your first day

Whether you’re a graduate, manager, or CEO, the first day in a new job can be daunting. No doubt you want to make the right impression quickly, and a new job success strategy will help you do that.

We offer these seven easy tips to help you make a quick and lasting impression on your first day:

1. Personal stock take

A new job is an opportunity to review your habits and personal attributes to keep those that serve you and toss out those that don’t. Take action to break bad habits such as poor time management or punctuality.

2. Memorise peoples’ names

Sketch a seating plan of your pod and put peoples’ names in the various positions. Also, note the name of anyone you will have regular contact with, such as the receptionist. Greet people by name and use their names when conversing to help embed this information. You will be rapport-building at the same time – a bonus.

3. Stay focused on what’s important

Keep your job description handy and review it as you get up to speed. Reflect on how what you are learning ties to what is expected of you and how you will succeed. Any new job changes over time, but we all must guard against spending energy on tasks irrelevant to achieving our goals.

4. Ask questions

You are in a learning phase, so you are expected to ask questions or for an instruction to be repeated. Your manager has a busy job, so don’t expect them to remember to tell you everything you need to know. Please take responsibility for getting up to speed and making the most of your meetings by asking quality questions about what is expected but also about your manager’s work style and how they prefer to be communicated with. This is also a great time to talk to other key people in the business – when appropriate - about the bigger picture, what they do, and how success is achieved in their areas.

5. Listen, listen, listen

In the early stages, you should listen more than talk. Make good quality notes but check the workplace protocol before taking any handheld device into meetings. An old fashion notepad will also do the job if need be.

6. Be quick to observe, slow to judge

Don’t make snap judgments about people or situations. In the early part of your job tenure, you are best placed to observe the workplace culture, connections, and rituals.

Steer clear of any politics and walk away from any conversation that sounds like gossip.

7. You are a success

For those that get very nervous about starting a new job, keep your farewell card from your former workplace handy at home to re-read the positive message from people who were once strangers to you too. Remind yourself of past successes and that you were hired because you are the best person for the job and have lots to offer.

You only get one shot at a first impression, so make sure yours has positive and lasting effects with these seven tips.