Friday, January 3, 2020

4 Important Things to Do Before Your First Day at Your New Job

4 Important Things to Do Before Your First Day at Your New Job What should you do in that strange limbo period after youve accepted ajob offer and before you have started your new job apart from congratulating yourself and indulging in a few celebratory drinks, of course? Should you be settling old scores with your boss or coworkers? Should you badmouth your employer on social media? Should you do absolutely nothing but wait? I probably wouldnt advise any of these actions, as they are generally negative and self-defeating, and they dont move you towards your new goals. Instead, I would recommend that you focus on positive actions to maximize the potential future value of your relationships with your old employer and colleagues and toincrease your ability to hit the ground running and excel in your new role.Tothis end, I have outlined four important things to do before your first day at your new j ob1. Preserve, Consolidate, and Use Your Existing RelationshipsYour current colleagues atyour soon-to-be former employer will make up your future network, and theycould help you get jobs in the future, or even make new geschftsleben contracts. Its also likely that some of the people in your network may know people at your new employer, to whom they can refer you. These people may also know a little bit about how that business works, and they may be able to give you some useful pointers to help you acclimate yourself quickly and succeed. Otherwise, they may simply have some tips and advice to help you make a great start in your new role.The point is that you shouldnt take your existing organization for granted it may still be able to serve you well in the final weeks before you leave. Network to the maximum during this period make timewith your existing colleagues in order to bury the hatchet where necessary, exchange contacts, tap them for knowledge and connections, thank them for t heir help, and offer to reciprocate in the future. Actively preserving and priming your existing network is one of the key positive actions to take before you beginyour new job.2. Ask to Join a Social or Team Meeting at Your New Employer Prior to Day OneIts much easier to prepare for day one if you know what to expect in terms of culture, personalities, and go-to people. Youll feel much less like a deerin the headlights. In fact,research shows that new hires who build effective information relationships actually onboard faster and get up to speed more quickly.Contact your new manager and ask whether you would be able to tag along to an after-work happy hour or attend a weekly team meeting to help you meet your new teammates and get into the rhythm of the business.3. departure Building Your Relationship With Your Future BossResearch from Dale Carnegie Training(and others) suggests that yourrelationship with your boss can be one of the most important factors driving your engagement le vel and future success within a business.Start trying to cultivate your relationship with your boss before day one. Contact your future boss and demonstrate your enthusiasm by asking them to recommend any reading material that might help prime you for your new role. Of course, you should consider that your new boss might be pressed for time if so, you cansuggest several pieces of reading material and ask them to recommend the most pertinent one.Alternatively, you could perhaps start sending your new boss a fewlinks to relevant stories ornews pieces that may be beneficial to them as a way to show your value. You could also comment on a tweet or blog post that they have written in order to start building bridges and fostering familiarity.4. Ask for Your Orientation Program in the Week Before You StartIfyou are joining a highly disciplined blue chip, odds are that the company will have a highly orchestrated induction and orientation process, and it may be able to send you some prereadi ng material to help you prep and address your first-day nerves.If you are joining a smaller company, theres a good chance your new employer may not have a very tightly run program. In this case, your advanced contactcan serve as an important reminder that you are coming, triggering the company to start getting your orientation program together and reducing the possibility that your first day will be a chaotic one.Remember, when reaching out and connecting with colleagues at your new business, you are not just trying to build relationships. You are also trying to pinpoint what your key priorities might be and whats currently exciting your boss or keeping them up at night. Identifying these things before you begin a new jobcan help youmake the biggest possible impact on your bosss life in the shortest possible time after joining.