If you’re reading this article, I’d be willing to bet that you’ve aced your interviews, made a great impression with your hiring managers and landed yourself an exciting new job.
So, to start off, I’d like to say congratulations!
But while this is a huge opportunity and hopefully an incredibly exciting time in your career, it’s understandable if you’ve got those all-too-common new-job nerves.
But don’t worry—I’m here to help. Here are five things you can do to make sure your first day runs as smoothly as possible and make the best first impression with your new colleagues.
1. Come Up With a List of Questions in Advance
On your first day, you’re going to be taking in and processing lots of new information on your day-to-day role, your key responsibilities and how your company does things—that’s alongside trying to learn the names of all your new colleagues to avoid any embarrassing mix-ups!
But amidst all the excitement, it can be easy to forget to ask those burning questions you might have about your role and what’s expected of you.
So, it can often be a good idea to write out your questions ahead of your first day. That way, when the opportunity arises, you’ll have your list of questions already prepared and can rattle through them with the appropriate people.
Not to mention, it’ll help you make a great first impression, as your new managers and colleagues will take note of your preparedness and diligence.
Here are some questions you might want to ask:
- Who’s in my immediate team and what do they do?
- Are there any other teams or people outside of my team I’ll be working with?
- Who’s my point of contact for questions and concerns?
- Who do I report to and is there an organizational chart I can take a look at?
- What’s the company policy on [specific topic]?
- What’s the company’s approach to [specific process]?
- What’s the most important thing for me to know as I start this role?
2. Familiarise Yourself With Company Software and Technology
There’s nothing quite worse than your laptop refusing to turn on five minutes before you’re due to start work or being late for a Zoom meeting because you weren’t quite sure how to join.
It goes without saying that technology is a huge part of the way we work today. So, familiarising yourself with the specific technologies and software that your company uses is one of the most beneficial things you can do before your first day. Not to mention, the more you can pick up ahead of time, the less you’ll have to learn on the job.
“Ask them to list out the specific technologies and software you’ll be working with.”
So, shoot your point of contact a quick email ahead of your start date and ask them to list out the specific technologies and software you’ll be working with in your day-to-day role. That way, if there are any you might not be so familiar with, you’ll have enough time to prepare.
For example, if you’re predominantly a Windows user but you’ll be working with a Macbook for your role, you could watch a few YouTube videos on how the macOS operating system works and how to set up and operate the device.
Many software providers also offer free trials or free basic accounts, so you could install software like Slack, Asana, Microsoft Teams or any other software you might not have previously used on your personal device and play around with how it works to familiarise yourself with it.
3. Perfect Your Elevator Pitch
While you’ve aced your interviews and clearly made a great impression on your hiring team, you still need to win over new colleagues and senior managers who don’t yet know who you are, where you’ve come from and what you’ve accomplished professionally.
So, similarly to what you would’ve prepared for your interview stages, it’s worth putting together an elevator pitch to sell yourself and your experience. This will help you make a great impression on your new colleagues and prevent you from accidentally leaving out any impressive details about yourself and your achievements.
If you haven’t written one before, a great elevator pitch should be brief enough for you to deliver it in the time it takes to ride an elevator—hence its name. So, the ideal elevator pitch should last between 30 seconds to a minute. Be sure to cover:
- Your previous role, your responsibilities there and why you left (make sure you speak positively about your previous employer)
- Your industry experience
- Impressive professional achievements (i.e., any big clients you’ve worked with or specific figures on your successes)
- Your strengths, skills and what you can bring to the table in your new role
- Finish by expressing how excited you are to be joining the team
Make the best first impression with our expert advice and guidance. See our blog here.
4. Test Run Everything
Whether you’ll be working remotely, on a hybrid basis or in the office full time, it’s worth performing a few test runs ahead of your first day to make sure everything goes smoothly. The last thing you want is to turn up late because you got lost during your commute or you hadn’t set up your laptop.
If you’re a remote worker, your equipment should arrive a week or so ahead of your first day. It’s a good idea to get everything set up a few days in advance and to check everything is running as it should be—you really don’t want to leave this until the morning of your first day in case anything goes wrong.
Don’t forget to also connect and test headphones, microphones, keyboards and any other peripheral devices you might need to use.
If you’ll be working in the office at any point during your role, it’s also worth performing a test run of your commute (whether you plan to drive or take public transport) to map out your route and check that it’s suitable and sustainable. It’s also a good idea to make sure you know exactly where your office is, as you don’t want to waste time searching for the right building on your first morning.
If you plan to drive, also be sure to locate and familiarise yourself with the company car park or find somewhere suitable to park if there isn’t one. You don’t want to turn up on the day and realise your office is in the middle of a busy city centre with no designated parking.
5. Relax! And Have a Good Night’s Sleep
Lastly, relax! And make sure you get a good night’s sleep. This can feel like it’s easier said than done when you have pre-first-day nerves, but turning up feeling stressed and sleep deprived isn’t going to help anyone.
Firstly, if you’re feeling nervous about your ability to do the role, remember that they hired you because you’re the most competent and capable person for the job.
“All you can do is your best—and that’s all that your future colleagues will ask for.”
If the role is more senior than the one you’ve just left or has higher levels of responsibility, remind yourself that you’ll need to take some time to learn the ropes and not to expect too much of yourself during your first few weeks. All you can do is your best—and that’s all that your future colleagues will ask for.
To help, we’ve written an article on three of the most common self-doubts you might experience when starting your new job and how to combat them—read it here.
Secondly, aim to get between 7–8 hours of sleep the night before your first day. Countless scientific studies have proven that lack of sleep negatively impacts your concentration levels, alertness, productivity, memory and ability to take in and process new information. Instead, you want to feel energised, motivated and ready to leap into your new role feet first.
If you’ll be needing to wake up a little earlier than you’re used to, a good trick is to adjust your sleep schedule a week or so ahead of time. That way, you’ll already be accustomed to the earlier mornings and reduce the likelihood that you’ll wake up feeling groggy on your first day.
Make Your First Day a Smashing Success
After following our five tips, you’ll be ready to take on whatever your first day throws at you. Remember: you can do it. And good luck!
For more expert tips and advice on not only making the best first impression during your first few months at your new job but also how to ahead in your career further down the line, take a look at our blog here.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to level up your skillsets in advance of your first day, take a look at our new Identifi Learning and Development platform, which offers more than 200 industry-recognised courses and qualifications for ambitious learners, like you.
