On the first day of your new job,

walk in, scan the room and find the biggest guy there. Walk up to them and knock 'em out. As you look around at the horrified faces of your colleagues, you'll start to notice another emotion creep up in their faces…

That’s a joke but first impressions really are everything

So there’s nothing more important than making sure our first week at a new job sets us up really positively for our future there.

Here’s a few small things you can do every day that I promise you will add up to have outsized benefits in the future.

Interpersonal Things

1. Value EVERYONE’S opinion. Even if you don’t act on their advice, make them feel heard and respect their right to articulate their thoughts. I know you’ve heard this since Kindergarten but I’ve seen so many people that belittle their junior colleagues and they’re not doing themselves any favors.

2. Ask questions, a lot of them. But I want you to show that you’ve put in thought before asking them. For example, instead of asking “how do you do this?”, ask “is this how you do this?”. It’s a very subtle difference but I can guarantee that it’ll set you apart and show your eagerness and ability to learn.

3. Follow up, always. A senior executive might have told you to look into an interesting new topic or a colleague suggested you check out some documentation. Make sure you hit them back telling them what you learned and new thoughts or questions you have.

4. Have one-on-one chats with all your colleagues, whether that’s over lunch or the ping pong table. I very much believe that most jobs are only as fun as the people you do them with so start building those relationships from the get-go.

5. Write down everything. Take meeting notes religiously, record things someone shows you how to do, jot down fleeting thoughts. There’s so many things you learn in the first few weeks that you’re going to have to repeat or do later so make sure you store it all down somewhere.

Personal Things

• Get comfortable with saying ‘no’. This can be especially tough when you’re new but remember that you’re here to be a part of the team, not just an addition. If you get a meeting invite at a time that doesn’t work for you or if someone tries to pass off their grunge work to you, know that you can say ‘no’. Respect is earned so don’t act like the bottom rung even if you are.

• Don't take short cuts, don't compromise. This is probably the hardest but most important thing to do, having integrity. Smart work is good but there’s no replacement for hard work and you have to set yourself to a standard that you don’t dip below.

• Be patient, both with yourself and your team. There’s gonna be a lot of change and new surprises that pop up so make sure to keep a cool head and give yourself the space and time to adjust.

• Build a todo-list and priority management system that works for you. For me, this is a personal Kanban board and 5 mins at the end of each day, looking at what I’ve done and setting up tasks for the following day.

Create Your Own

I hope what I’ve given help you out in fast-tracking feeling like a part of the team/company but there’s going to be a ton more of these little hacks you can do depending on your industry and role.

My tips for finding your own are to look for things that are very low effort but when done consistently, they can have profound effects. You can even use time between meetings to do one of these quick things.

Think about what you can do in the categories of health (talking a walk after lunch), organization (documentation), communication (being active on company channels), and professional development (mentors).

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