5 Tips to Ensure You are Well Received by Your New Employer.
Although you’re throwing off the cap and gown and heading
off to a corporate environment it doesn’t mean you will no
longer have to impress the ‘instructor’ – so to speak. Now
it’s your boss you’ll need to impress…wait a minute, not
just the boss, but also a whole plethora of people in your
new company.
Pretty soon you’ll be dreaming about the days you used to
crawl out of the sack, throw on a sack and slip in to class
just as things were starting to roll. As long as you did
the reading, tossed in some good essays and passed the
exams you were fine.
So, now that you’re not a student anymore, what’s next?
1st – show up! Yes, I mean show up for your job search.Â
Maybe you were lucky enough to land a job while still in
college, but if not this is the time that you need to put
your research skills to the road. Get involved, highly
involved in all things job related. Make sure you’ve got a
well-written, up to date (fast reading layout) resume. If
you’re not sure about your resume have it reviewed by a
professional resume writer. It is worth it. Pick several
organizations to join and begin networking. Go to their
meetings, volunteer to contribute your time and energy –
meet people. These connections are valuable and may be the
inroad to your new job.
2nd – make a positive impression! I know you won’t go to
your interview dressed like you would for a college class,
or even show up for your job that way (I can count on that,
right?). My point here is, be sure that you always keep
your appearance one level above the current level you are
in. Dress for success. Whether you’re interviewing or
ready to start your new job, always give the impression
that you are ready to be promoted to the next level.
3rd – bone up on your writing skills! School is one thing;
corporate America is another when it comes to whom you
communicate with through writing. Be professional in all
your job-related email correspondence. Do not use short
‘text’ type messaging phrases or spelling (such as ‘R’ for
are, or ‘biz’ for business, or ‘U’ for you). And always
think about your audience before you write. Are you
sending something to a coworker you know well and have
lunch with everyday? Or, are you sending something to the
Vice President of Engineering who you’ve only had a few
business interactions with, if any. In either case, your
writing style will be much different. Remember that your
email (or memo) may be forwarded to other individuals
higher than you or even outside the organization. The best
practice, when it comes to your career, is to always take a
professional approach with all business correspondence.
Written correspondence is another area that will give
people an ‘impression’ of Y-O-U. Just as you speak
differently to different audiences, equally you must write
differently too. Take time to research best practices and
tips for business writing and you will be glad you did.
4th – get with the organization’s culture! This means that
you need to pay attention to how things are happening in
the work environment. Is it a casual, friendly environment
where people come and go as needed/desired? Or, are people
working through lunch and staying late and not socializing
much? Is it more ‘nose to the grindstone’ oriented, or a
‘let’s decide as a team’ type atmosphere? How do people
present themselves? How does the company view personal
calls, or use of the Internet? What do they think about
eating in the work area? What are their safety policies
and job performance policies?   In other words, how does
the company operate and what are the tastes and preferences
of the organization? Know these and make an effort to
adapt and blend with the cultural norms of the organization.
5th – Dig What You Do! This is a key element to keep in
mind throughout your career. It is one of the most
important phrases to keep in the forefront of your mind
regarding how you think and feel about your career. Since
your career can pollute your personal life (and vice
versa!), it is important to work in an environment you love
and perform a job that makes you feel proud and happy to
get out of bed every day. Not to say you won’t have bad
days. You will. But, if the majority of them are bad, or
you do not fit the culture, or you loathe showing up for
your job, then you need to reassess and possibly make a
change. Don’t stay in a bad job simply because the
discomfort of it is familiar. Everyone deserves to Dig
What They Do! And that includes Y-O-U.
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Robin Ogden has contributed her expertise in HR management,
recruiting and coaching in Silicon Valley for over 20
years. She is co-founder of FiredUP Careers, a career
counseling company for professionals who want to stay
aligned with their careers, achieve success without
compromising their life and truly dig what they do! Learn
more here => http://www.FiredUPCareers.com and
http://www.careeradvicetalk.com
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