At some point in life, we will all experience what it feels like to start a new job -- the fear; the excitement; and the hope that your new workplace is all you dream it will be! Whether you're working remotely, for yourself, or in a corporate or government setting; no matter where you start, someday everyone has to go through the first-day jitters.
Before all of that excitement and nervousness begins, we want to share some brief tips we've learned along the way that pertains to starting a new job.
We believe that everything we've listed is crucial to total success, so let's dive right in!
1) Read the contract
Sometimes you can be so excited about an offer that you just agree to anything. After some "contractual" experience, our greatest piece of advice is to remain calm and wait to give your final answer on the offer. Sometimes offer letters will give you a specific time period to respond, and quite frankly, we suggest you take all the time allotted. They offered you the position over everyone else so, the ball is in your court!
By taking the time to respond, you give yourself the privilege to ask every question that may have otherwise been forgotten in your excitement about the initial offer. Be sure to inquire about hard dates, salary, insurance, what's expected of you, vacation time, etc. **None of us wants to start a job and be surprised by what we don't have the privilege of doing halfway through the year.** On the same note, when you thoroughly look over your letter, you're also able to determine if you want or need to negotiate your salary and JUSTIFY your reasons why.
P.S.>>> If your job consists of travel, be sure to ask who will cover the expenses up front; and, if the answer is not "the company," make sure you know the time period by which "the company" will reimburse you for coming out of pocket.
2) Get to know your coworkers
So, we generally do a lot of research whenever we start something new - just to be able to get a true idea of what we're walking into.
If your new place of employment has social media pages, we suggest you check them out to see what their image of company culture is like. Maybe you'll find some employees through your searching, and as creepy as it sounds, you should check their pages as well. Sometimes, if people really love their jobs - they'll post about it. If not, you'll have a good idea of everyone (names and faces ) before you get into the office. If you have your manager's email, we also suggest sending a quick note about your arrival prior to your start date - everyone loves a pre-introduction as it tends to break the ice!
3) Prepare yourself mentally
After being out of a job for a while, or transitioning from another occupation or company, you have to re-adjust. Taking time to make sure you have all your ducks in a row is important. You want to feel well-rested and always put your best foot forward for your first day; but, you can't do that if you're not mentally prepared.
We invite you to do a few exercises to loosen both your muscles and your brain cells. Make sure you drink a lot of water and get a full 8 hours of sleep the night before your big day. Not only will you feel refreshed; but, you'll look radiant!
4) Plan your routine
With a new job comes a new schedule. The best thing to do is to allocate time for driving to and from work. If you don't bring lunch, you might also have to locate restaurants around the area or run errands on a particular day to accommodate your new schedule.
If you have kids, you also should take into account the timing for picking them up from school. Depending on your new work schedule and location, things may be out of whack for a while; but, if you plan ahead and maybe do a few test runs of your weekly schedule prior to the start of the new job, you'll be in great shape!
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