“Damn, I’m good!”
If you’ve been hunting for a job, and finally, finally, all that blood, sweat and tears paid off, and you’ve got an offer you love, and a start date: yes, indeed, you are awesomesauce, as my Midwestern friends say. (They also order “pop” instead of “soft drinks,” which I find adorable.) But before you start, take some time to prepare yourself to have a killer first week. (Because yes: killer first weeks, lead to killer second weeks, and months, and most importantly, to a growing sense of confidence in yourself, and when you’re confident, you can relax, and mature as an employee, and start growing up the ladder. #hinthint)
Listen, you got hired, in large part, because you convinced the people in charge that you’re smart, resilient and valuable. You convinced the hiring manager(s) that you have a great attitude, that you’ll be one of those employees that people look forward to seeing walking in the door in the mornings. True story: at one network, the person who was supposed to train me was out my first day, so I just did his job. It was fine; I had worked as an assignment editor before. At the end of the day, my manager was so thrilled with me, he gave me that employee’s shift. So yes, that’s the power of a great first day. #boom
And a great deal of that is your attitude, and a large part of that attitude will depend on how you think about yourself. Starting a new job, you need to give yourself the ability to succeed. You need to be honest with yourself about your fears and doubts so you can out-think them, and go on in that first Monday and shine, b*tch!
You’re going to make mistakes those first few days and weeks, and even months: you’re human. Such is life. But there’s a difference between admitting your mistakes, and learning from them, and deciding that your (perfectly normal) mistakes are proof that you’re a horrible failure, and freaking out, or lying about your mistakes, or starting to melt down in the office. From my own experience, and that of my friends and clients, I think most bosses can handle mistakes, but they can’t handle people who are determined to not learn from mistakes, or new employees who deny their mistakes, or blame them on others, or start weeping and rocking back and forth under their desk. Yipes.
If you’re about to start a new job, be proud of yourself, you worked hard to get this far, Kid! Now, get your mind right in order to enable yourself to do your best. Do you have an up-to-date professional wardrobe that is appropriate to your company and industry? This is probably a great time to get a haircut and/or a manicure, but perhaps not the ideal time to get that tattoo of Chinese characters, or that nose ring. Do you know how long it takes to get to the office? Might want to ride the subway, or drive there, under rush hour conditions,before you officially start, so that on your first day, you don’t show up 45 minutes late, because you had no idea the subway station would be so packed, and you were unable to access the damn train. Let’s face it, if you show up late, flustered and anxious, umm, you’re kind of not going to present at your best. You want people to be positively impressed by you, and that’s hard to achieve if you show up an hour late, pouring sweat, apologizing for the subway running local on your very first day. Oy vey.
If you like to exercise or meditate in the morning, make sure you set your alarm extra early to give you the time to get focused. Do your laundry in advance. Get some groceries in, so you can have breakfast and bring your lunch as you’re getting to know people, and figure out where the good places to eat are located. (Yes, starting a new job is, in many ways, exactly like your first day at a new school.)
You can roll your eyes at all this, but first impressions are lasting impressions. And more important than impressing other people, is impressing ourselves. The more you help yourself to shine, the better chance you have of a first day that ends with you thinking, “…damn, I killed it today!” (Damn, I’m good!)
You know I already think you’re golden, Pony Boy, so now it’s up to you…go get ’em!
