Starting a new job can be stressful as well as exciting. But fear not! Grab a cuppa and read my guide to your first 100 days. It’s full of pro tips and advice to help you impress your manager, avoid mistakes and build a great relationship with your colleagues. So what are you waiting for? Set some auto-reminders in your calendar and hit the ground running!

Your first day

• Today is all about absorbing as much information as you can. Make it your goal to listen 90% of the time and talk 10% of the time. Pro tip: most of your 10% should be asking questions!

• It’ll be nearly impossible to remember everything, so take plenty of notes. Important things to jot down include colleagues’ names, job titles, and little nuggets of wisdom you might receive.

• Explore the building, get your computer and phones set up, and make sure you have the right work gear and tools.

• After work, it’s important to reward yourself on a successful first day, so take a real break and do something fun or relaxing!

Your first week

• Arrange introductory meetings with people you’ll be working with. Pro tip: ask others what they think your job entails. You can learn a lot about others’ expectations of you this way!

• Confirm your goals and priorities with your boss. Take time to understand how your team fits into the wider organisation. 

• If you are a manager, set up 1:1s with your direct report team and get up to speed on their issues.

• Your fresh perspective is really valuable, but be quick to acknowledge what’s working well. Avoid talking about your most recent job as much as possible (e.g. “Well, this is how we did it at…”)

Your first month

• Arrange introductory meetings with key external stakeholders, including clients, suppliers and advisers.

• Continue to familiarise yourself with your new organisation by reading newsletters, blogs, websites, social media, annual reports; anything you can find. Set up Google alerts about your company to keep up to date.

• Have a frank discussion with your manager about any unwritten rules or standards. You can also seek clarification on performance metrics and expectations.

• The importance of listening is often undervalued and overlooked. Find out what motivates the people who work for you and what inspires the people you work for. 

Your second month

• Start taking responsibility for your own professional development. Subscribe to relevant blogs, join a professional association and identify training you might need.

• Recognise an opportunity to make a colleague’s day by doing them a favour. You’ll get the immediate satisfaction of helping someone out, and your colleague will remember it later.

• Seek out a mentor within the organisation. It’ll help you improve your job performance, grow your network and advance more quickly.

Your third month

• It’s time to make some improvements. Perhaps you can make a difficult workflow more intuitive or automate a tedious process. Get input from others and let your manager know about the change you made. They’ll be impressed!

• Now that you’ve begun to shine, try to broaden your horizons. Chat to colleagues in other departments about new projects they’re working on. Learn what’s going on, and you’ll make valuable connections across the organisation.

• Request a three month review with your manager. Discuss your accomplishments to date, and new challenges you’d like to take on. Be ready to listen to your manager’s feedback about how you’re doing.

• Update your social networking profiles. Let everyone know about your new role, and any new ways you might want to connect with them.

 

Talent for Change

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