How to Impress on your First Day

First impressions count. A bad first impression could spell disaster for your future prospects of promotion, the best projects or even your job itself. But impressing the right people early on will make your job more rewarding, more enjoyable and better in general.

So how can you make your boss and the rest of your new team glad you’re on board? Here’s five simple but effective things you should do.

Be Prepared

Ahead of your start date, make sure you know what to expect. Find out who you’ll be working alongside or reporting to and reach out to them on LinkedIn or email.

By connecting ahead of time, even with a courtesy message, you’re showing you’re keen to be part of their team and can start to build up a rapport before you’ve even arrived.

Present Your Best Self

This might sound obvious, but take extra care to dress well, show up on time (or early) and have a positive attitude.

The fact is, your new colleagues will be judging you as soon as you set foot in the door and the first few days are when their perceptions will be mostly formed. A scruffy, careless or anxious demeanour at this crucial time may stick in their minds and be hard to shift.

Listen Carefully

At first, try to listen more than you talk. Listen out for opportunities or information relevant to your own job. Everyone will know you’re in a learning phase and won’t mind you picking their brains, as long as you are inquisitive rather than invasive in your questions.

From here you can get useful information and, in your responses, prove your value to the company and your peers.

Bring Solutions, Not Problems

As you have a fresh perspective on the company, you might see seemingly obvious gaps or issues that aren’t currently being addressed.

Your new boss will greatly appreciate you highlighting these, as long as you are presenting a solution. Otherwise you risk being labelled a complainer or a know-it-all. On the other hand, bringing in new solutions makes you a problem solver and voice of reason.

Establish Trust

All of the above points will go a long way to build trust with your new boss and colleagues, which is absolutely essential early on.

Other things you can do is demonstrate you are organised and productive by establishing your boss’s expectations on how often you should update them on what you’re doing. They’ll be confident that you’re progressing well in your new role without pestering them too often, which will create a better working environment for you as well.

Looking for more tips as an employee? Check out our Help & Advice area.