Day One--Your Onboarding Continues

It's the first day of your new job. You probably didn't sleep much last night and checked your alarm clock 30 times to make sure it was set.

Now, you are on your way to the new office with excitement, anticipation and no doubt, a little anxiety. How do you make a good impression? What are the things you should not do to make a bad impression? Do you know enough about the culture of your organization to be able to decide?

If you have planned and prepared appropriately, you will be able to answer these questions for yourself and be way ahead of the learning curve when you hit the door on your first day.

Many new hires sit back and wait for this first day before doing research, asking questions and learning everything possible about their new organizations and the people with whom they will be working.

But let's assume you have done the right prep. (See last post, 12-16-09, below for more "prestart tips.) What are the keys to a great first day?

1. Be flexible and open. Unfortunately, not all organizations are as ready for you as they should be, so you may need to get creative and figure out how to make your "down-time" productive. Set up your office, load your address book, walk around and introduce yourself.

2. Make friends with your manager's assistant. This will be critical to your on-going success and ability to get in to see him or her, link with key people and generally know what's going on.

3. Meet your team. You would be surprised how many new leaders are so focused on meeting those above them, that they forget about their direct reports. You don't need to have in-depth meetings on Day One, but at least have a brief conversation with each one to start to get to know them personally. It will keep them from wondering and making up their own information about you.

4. Meet your peers. Again, you would be amazed as to how many people neglect to look "beside" them on the org chart and see who could help them in their new roles. Peers are usually the people who can be objective and have a much different perspective to offer than your boss or your direct reports.

5. Listen, listen, and listen some more. It is fine to give everyone you talk with a brief overview of your background and some personal information, but use the "60 Second Rule". Don't talk about yourself for more than 60 seconds without asking a question about the other person and then listening to her response. You will be "off the hook" for your opinion of things early in the game, and the information that you will gain will be tremendous. And, everyone will have the impression that you are great listener!

Follow these 5 simple steps during your first day on the job and you will set the tone for the next week and months. It can be overwhelming, but with planning, preparation and careful action, you will hit the ground running!