After a long search, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being offered a job. While this can lift a major weight off your shoulders, it can also come with many questions. You’ll likely already know how well it pays and has a general sense of your duties. However, these are some other questions that should get answered before your first day.
1. Current Ongoings
It takes time to get acclimated to a new job, especially when you don’t know what the business is working on. To avoid looking like you’re just pushing paper around, get up to speed on what the biggest projects at the present moment are. Take notes and refer to your previous training and experience for ways you can help. There might also be things that are your responsibility directly. Get the best possible briefing on these so you can dive into this as soon as possible.
Ask questions where you see fit to, but trust your own judgment as much as you can. You won’t have all the information you need right away, but this can give you something to focus on. It can also help you to put your mark on your time in this position and with this company.
2. Company Culture
You might feel like a fish out of water for the first few weeks. Your coworkers will hopefully be friendly, but there might be some customs and unspoken rules that won’t dawn on your immediately. Company culture can play a big role in how you take to a job, and you don’t want to go in with the wrong idea of how they work.
For some fields, company culture is pretty easy to discern. A psychiatric hospital is likely to have a more-serious environment than a family restaurant. For others, you might need to do some more investigation. Look up the company on job review sites to get a better idea of their culture. Don’t try to be something you’re not, but do your best to adapt to this new environment.
3. Reason For Vacancy
Ideally, this something you’d find out before accepting your new job. However, if you get a chance, ask the person training you why the job was made available. It could be that it’s a new position or that the previous employee left amicably and found a new position.
There’s also the chance that they were let go due to unsatisfactory performance. This can be a little unnerving to hear, and it might make you feel a little nervous about your own future in this role. Remember that however the previous employee performed says nothing about how you’ll do.
4. Industry Terms
All industries have their own terminology and lingo. If you’ve been working in a certain field long enough, it likely doesn’t even strike you as lingo anymore. It’s just how you talk. However, if you’re in a new field, there might be some things getting lost in translation.
Whether you’re working in aerospace manufacturing services or craft beer brewing, it’s worth getting up to speed on the most-used phrasings and concepts. You can help yourself feel more immersed in the culture and interact more smoothly with your coworkers. Keep tabs on industry news as well. Your company can’t afford to let the competition get ahead of them for even a minute.
5. Expectations
Is this position one that’s supposed to determine if you’re management material, or does it have fairly few responsibilities? Have you been hired in hopes that you’ll be able to save the business a certain amount of money each year? A year from now, what differences will they want you to have made?
Talk with your new boss about their expectations for you. Obviously, you’ll need to perform the duties described in the job description and interview, but you should also be thinking long-term. Find out what you can do to meet their greatest expectations, then do your best to surpass them.
Starting a new job can be a lot more relaxing if you have all of the important information handled. You’ll hopefully feel a lot confident and feel part of the new work environment much sooner. These five things are all worth knowing, no matter what industry you work in.
Categories: Tips And Advice Stuff
