1. Define a reasonable approach
At a new place of work, it is important to strike a balance between confidence in one's competence and need for knowledge. Overconfidence can look like arrogance and cause a deterioration in relationships with colleagues.
Excessive modesty, on the other hand, will allow people to doubt your abilities. Establish a reasonable balance: demonstrate faith in your own strength and at the same time your willingness to listen and learn.
2. Begin to enter the work role
First, you must understand the work that you have been assigned and understand what is expected of you.
Make sure your responsibilities, accountability and authority are clear to you.
Learn about current systems, structures, processes, and procedures.
Discuss with your line manager and revise your work goals and objectives if necessary.
Use all the features of the introduction program for your new position intended for you.
Feel free to ask questions if you need to clarify something or get more information.
Begin to get acquainted with the daily activities of the team (department).
3. Use the new role for change
Thanks to the new role, you have the opportunity to implement changes and improvements - within reasonable limits, of course. Do not rush to properly study the situation.
However, try to define from the very beginning a vision of your role, goals for yourself and for the team. Having prioritized the planned changes, decide who you should consult with. And before moving forward, discuss your ideas with these people.
4. Build relationships
Your success to a large extent depends on building relationships in the organization. It is necessary to strike a balance between getting additional tasks and good relations with colleagues.
The main attention should be paid, of course, to interaction with the team and the immediate boss, but do not ignore contacts and communications at other levels of the organization. Do not forget: relationships require patience and time. Do not refuse to participate in social events. This will allow you to better know the people in the organization, and colleagues to understand you.
5. Get on key contacts
First of all, identify key people, that is, those who need to be influenced in order to solve their problems and get the maximum benefit for themselves and the organization. One-on-one meetings with such people are extremely useful. You will begin to understand their role and priorities, which means that it will be easier to get support from your initiatives and planned changes.
Consider finding a suitable mentor in your organization. Such help is never superfluous, especially for a beginner. Thanks to the mentor, you can learn about the real principles of the company’s functioning - management style, internal culture and relationships.
6. Learn Organizational Culture
The functioning of each organization has its own characteristics. If you continue to act in the usual manner for you, there will be a risk of not getting along with colleagues, which may result in a confrontation. Keep this in mind and carefully watch how "everything is arranged here." It is important to understand that the principles and values declared by the organization do not always coincide with the real ones. If you have any doubts, seek the advice of your colleagues.
Be flexible, think about how to adapt your personal or work style to new conditions. As a result, you will be able to achieve recognition and become a full member of the team. But this does not mean that we must break our character. The main thing is to find the right balance in order to remain yourself and at the same time adapt to the new environment.
7. Explore informal organization structures
In any organization, there are informal power structures that operate independently of official structures and communication channels. Closely monitor the functioning of formal and informal structures in your new company. Establishing contacts and establishing contacts will allow you to better understand how and when you can most effectively use official or unofficial channels.
8. Think of principles
If you agreed with the proposed work, you must share the goals and objectives of the organization. But it will be useful to evaluate how your personal position coincides with them. The real and declared values of companies often diverge.
By carefully observing the behavior of people, it is possible to identify the degree of such a discrepancy. Determine for yourself to what extent you are ready to accept the real principles of the organization’s functioning without sacrificing your own. Build your position and relationships with colleagues according to this decision.
9. Suggest design changes
The ability to build relationships with colleagues is very important. However, they did not take you to a new job for this, but for the skill, knowledge and experience that you offered. Therefore, do not think that you should become “like everyone else” in the organization, another “clone”. You are able to see the picture with a fresh look and make a significant contribution to the matter. The main thing is to act correctly.
But first you need to understand why the work was carried out before you this way, and not otherwise. There are always reasons for this - legal or technical in nature.
On the other hand, as a rule, there are more effective ways to solve the same problems. Start with your questions. Do not just deny or criticize, but try to make your approach constructive.
10. Show your abilities
Do not try to immediately convince the employer that by hiring you he was not mistaken. Outline a simple task or small improvement, the implementation of which in the next few weeks will be a relatively easy victory and bring success. This will allow colleagues to verify your abilities, and you - to build self-confidence. In addition, you will gain extra time to solve more complex problems and tasks.
11. Agree on feedback and analyze success.
Feedback can be obtained through the analytical reports of the organization or through the management system. But real help in adapting to the new situation will be provided by frequent and regular feedback with the immediate supervisor and colleagues.
Ask them about your impressions of your work, try to arrange periodic meetings to discuss your progress. Take time to evaluate your accomplishments and set your priorities. Do not torture yourself with guilty feelings for your mistakes, consider them a natural part of the learning process. Do everything as possible correctly, gain experience and move on. But keep in mind: over time, you will no longer forgive mistakes. It is expected of you that you will quickly get used to it and begin to effectively carry out your duties.
12. Make the most of training and developmental programs.
After you adapt to a new role, you need to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and think about what can be improved. Find out how the organization provides training and continuing education. Is there an annual company needs assessment process? Are trainings and / or curatorial programs available?
Use the opportunities of formal and non-formal learning - it should not be time-consuming or expensive.
13. Look at things wider.
Look at your work from the point of view of the organization and evaluate how accurately the tasks of your department or project are consistent with the overall plans and goals.
Talk with colleagues to stay current on what and how they are doing. Explore the environment within which the company operates, especially if you work in an industry that is unfamiliar to you.
Who is most interested in the enterprise? Customers or, for example, suppliers? Who is the main competitor? What local, national and international factors influence the organization? Do everything to find out more: talk with competent people both inside and outside the company, read departmental newspapers, visit web portals by industry, subscribe to the newsletter you need online, and join the relevant online communities.
14. Take care of yourself
The beginning of a new job is a stressful situation. Adaptation to strangers, unfamiliar surroundings is very tiring. Until you fully enter the work role, be sure to set aside time on your schedule for classes to strengthen your physical and spiritual health. The desire to work hard and make an impression is understandable, but do not allow yourself to work all day and night for wear. Where feats are not expected from you, act in the usual rhythm. Eat well, take time to rest and relax.
Be sure to try to avoid:
flagrantly violate established orders and norms of behavior;
Compare the new organization with the previous place of work;
make statements like: “When I worked at X, we did it this way and that”;
build yourself a know-it-all;
act like a majority, contrary to their principles;
bogged down in everyday routine;
pay too much attention to the benefits provided by the organization, such as an official car or mobile communications;
fixate on trifles;
forget to learn from mistakes.