Much of your success during the first 90 days comes before you report for work on the first day.

Do your homework

Take the time to learn all you can about your new company. Ask for a copy of the company’s most recent annual report and read it thoroughly. Ask for materials about the company, such as information about its products and services and/or business strategies, anything that will allow you to gain a little extra knowledge. Jot down key questions you want to get answered.  

Start with a clean sheet

Just as you research the company, do an in-depth personal inventory of your own skills, behaviours and attitudes. Think about previous jobs and experiences: what worked for you, what didn’t, and why. You’ve got an ideal opportunity to build the new and improved professional you. Write down those personal characteristics that you’d like to improve. Then, develop a strategy to maximize your strengths and minimise your weaknesses. For instance, if you were never prepared for meetings, write down ways to improve your performance. If you were always late on assignments, develop a routine that will keep you on time.

Be aware you may get sick!

The stress of a major change (such as a new job) can lower your immune system.  A new job can mean a new environment of viruses and bacteria your body hasn’t built resistance to.  So eat healthily and get plenty of sleep to help your body.

Don’t expect everything to be perfect

You have asked so many questions.  You think you know exactly how things will go, but then it doesn’t go as you planed. Expect this, and plan to be relaxed and take things as they come. Understand that the reality of any situation rarely lives up to what was reported, or what your expectations were. Expect some things to be better than advertised, some worse, some the same.  That way when you find out, for example, about the need to travel to meetings into the city on a weekly basis or your need to take your turn at looking after your boss’ child when she comes in after school you will be better able to cope.

Expect there to be a crises at home

It’s Murphy’s’ law, you will get toothache or the car will play up or you need to get the washing machine fixed.   What you can do is make sure the house is clean and you are straight on the mending and ironing before you start, and does it matter if you eat convenience food a couple of times a week?

Be on time
Even if it’s a new job in the same company, the location many differ so do a trial run of how long it will take to get there in the rush hour, and allow some contingency time.  

Make sure you know when and where you are to report to on your first day and who you are going to meet.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 11:03 am and is filed under New Job. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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