Tips to Help You Make a Great Impression on Your First Day at a New Job

I'm starting a new job on Monday and I'm very excited. However, with every new beginning, you need to leave your comfort zone and be prepared to be the new kid on the block for awhile. Here are some tips I recommend to anyone starting a new opportunity.

• Ask questions. You're new and it's better to do something right the first time around than have to do it over.
• Take notes. Unless you have a photographic memory, take notes. You'll want to all the systems rules and organization policies.
• Discover everything you can about your new employer. In theory, you should have already done your homework during the interviewing process, but there is always more to learn now that your are going to be on the inside.
• Listen more than talk. Don't always act like a know-it-all right off the bat. The idea is to communicate that you have some very marketable skills and you are here to learn and apply your skills to help the organization achieve success.
• Smile a lot and be friendly. Get to know your co-workers and what their interests are.
• Dress professional/blend in and blend in with your co-workers. You should never underestimate the importance of dressing professionally in your new job, and in the beginning, even if your department has casual days, you should dress professionally because you never known when you'll be called out to meet a top manager or key client.
• Learn about your co-workers. No one expects you to have every one's name down pat by the end of the first day or week, but if you are bad with names, now is the time to research some of the neat memory-aid tricks you can try to use. Also, use your lunch hours to get together with your current co-workers.
• Show your team spirit. You are now part of a work team, and teams work together to solve problems and get the job done. Show loyalty to your co-workers and focus more, initially at least, on sharing any recognition you get with the team. Always give credit to the team.
• Show appreciation. Nothing works like kindness and genuine appreciation. So, show your appreciation to everyone who helps you learn the ropes during the first days on the job.
• Figure out who has the authority to give you work to do and who is just trying to have you do theirs.
• Pay attention to the 'grapevine,' but don't contribute to it. You don't want to gain a reputation as a gossip monger.
• Don't complain about your boss, your office mate, any co-workers, or your previous job.
• Keep personal business on company time to a minimum. Studies show that just about everyone conducts some amount of personal business on company time, checking email, making dinner reservations, buying stuff online. Try your best to just focus on work.
• Continue to arrive early and don't rush out the door at the end of the day.
• Volunteer for projects that will help you get noticed, but don't neglect any assigned work.
• Track accomplishments. No one else will do it for you. Track them for if nothing else but your personal satisfaction, for raise and promotion meetings, and for future job-hunting.
• Keep a positive attitude and an open mind. Your life has changed and it will take getting used to.

Being the newest member of the organization, the rookie, is both challenging and exciting. You'll be faced with both difficulties and opportunities, and your goal should be to make the most of all situations. These tips should help provide you with some insights and direction as you approach that new job, but don't worry if you don't make a perfect impression in those early days on the job. Few of us ever do. Remember to relax, keep your mind open, get to know your team members, be yourself and do your work, and you should go far in making a lasting impression and reputation.