- Dress accordingly: You recall how your interview partners were dressed. Dress accordingly to ensure that your outfit is appropriate for your new job. You’d rather be a bit too dressy than too casual.
- Be there in time: Map out the best route to your new workplace in advance. However long your commute will take you, leave at least 10 minutes early on your 1st real day of work.
- Be open for anything: Before your first day of work, think about what you want to know about your new job and company. Your new company might have an orientation plan ready for the first days/weeks with meetings of important bosses, peers and subordinates. You also might receive lots of orientation materials for you to go through.
- Elevator Pitch: Be ready to give a 30-second summary of who you are and your previous role. Be prepared to describe what you’ll be doing in your new role, since there may be peers who are not familiar with your role or simply want to start a conversation with you.
- Ask a lot of questions and listen carefully: Prepare ahead by writing down questions about your new role and don’t be afraid to ask. No one expects you to know everything about the organization on day 1. Listen and observe! No need to have a strong opinion or to come up with recommendations on day 1. Avoid saying “in my previous company we used to do it like this…”. To be 100% present at work, put your mobile phone on silent.
- Be available to your boss: You can easily get caught up with HR, other managers or peers on your 1st day. Make sure you’re accessible to your new boss despite potential distractions. This is your chance to hear about the big picture, goals and top priorities from your boss and senior management. And be prepared to take lots of notes.
- Be friendly, talk to as many people as possible and remember names: You’ll meet lots of people at your 1st day of work. When you are introduced to someone, write down name and function. Being friendly is a great start to make a good 1st impression at a new job. Ask questions and smile to show your peers that you’re excited to meet them.
- Go for a joint lunch: Most probably, your boss and/or peers will invite you to go to lunch. It’s a great opportunity to talk in a more casual setting, learn more about the people you are eating with, and potentially get some additional insights. Ask lots of questions.
- Find out who you’ll be working with the most: As you meet people, try to identify who will be a key part of your job and who may be less involved in your work. Then, make an extra effort to get to know the former. Ask questions to exactly understand what they do and how they connect with you.