Starting a new job often indicates a measure
of success. Everyone's version of success is quite rightly different, but a new
job is an important life chapter. Maybe you get to see employees start a new
role, you play a part in the on-boarding process or you've recently started a
new job. I was coaching a client as part of a corporate contract, and we were
speaking about the need to be intentional with our careers. We often have well
wishes for our first year, and then our efforts fade out. Gartner's research shows 37%
of the skills employees use today were learned in the past year, and 57%
develop new skills through interactions with colleagues. Every day in your
first year and every team interaction counts.
Let's think about your 30-day, 60-day, three
month and 1-year plan from the four perspectives below. I tend to refer to them
as the four keys to continued job success:
1. Relationships
2. Accomplishments
3. Mindset and Self-care
4. Intentional Learning
Your first 30 days
1. Stay away from what annoys your coworkers to
build solid relationships. Based on a study with over
20,000 employees, these are the top three things that irritate your coworkers:
a negative personality, poor work ethic and entitlement or arrogance.
2. Immerse yourself in the company culture by
writing a list of office norms and incorporate them into your daily habits
where possible.
3. Ask for and save an organizational chart.
4. Make sure you understand what's expected of
you in the first few days and find ways to go above and beyond. Staying on top
of your job expectations will assist with preventing stress and burnout and
ensuring you're performing at your best.
5. Achieve a goal and document feedback. Bill
Gates so rightly says, "We all need people who will give us feedback.
That's how we improve." Keeping track of the things you do will help add
to your collection of accomplishments.
60 days into your new job
1. Find a work mentor.
2. Start on the journey of becoming a go-to
expert in one area of your role.
3. Be mindful of the tasks that drain your
energy. Also, ask yourself: what tasks use your top three strengths?
4. Use the start of your new job to continue
building your LinkedIn network by connecting with people across the
company.
5. McKinsey suggests figuring out the types of
innovation that help meet objectives and drive growth and then setting your
performance metrics and goals for innovation. More than 70% of senior
executives in their survey say
innovation will be one of the top three drivers of company growth in the next
three to five years.
Three months into your new job
1. This is an excellent time to get a feel for
how you've performed. Feedback from coworkers as well as those senior to you can
also be insightful.
2. Ask to help out on a project of interest - the
project should relate to your go-to-expert area of development.
3. Get a feel of what you need to do for internal
mobility – this will help you set clear goals and get an idea of further skills
to develop.
4. Look for ways to improve the job. Try to focus
on corporate culture, saving time and saving resources.
From months four to twelve
1. By this point, you want to have three
trustworthy professional allies. These are people that will vouch for your
knowledge, accomplishments and ability to nurture relationships.
2. Be a training resource for individuals in your
previous role.
3. Ask a colleague to endorse you on LinkedIn.
Don't wait until you need a recommendation or endorsement before you ask.
4. Continue to develop your personal brand by
updating your résumé, LinkedIn profile, polishing your elevator pitch, and
networking.
5. Fill in key technical skills, soft skills and
learning gaps with in-house training opportunities and external professional
development. Many leading companies now subside or offer some form of career
development coaching.
Rachel Montañez is a career coach and career
development speaker. Find out more about her coaching here.
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