Congratulations! You have successfully found an opportunity, interviewed, negotiated an offer and you’re ready to start a new job.
What happens now?
Take control of how you onboard to a new job in order to ensure success.
Before you start a new job
Update Linked In!
Update your LinkedIn profile, so everyone can share your exciting news!
This also informs people you have networked with that you landed a job.
Some people prefer to wait until after they start the job to update Linked In. That’s fine! Just don’t wait too long.
It’s awkward when you delay updating Linked In and then get a bunch of congratulations messages for a job you have already been doing for awhile.
Create an onboarding plan
Similar to your job search strategy, you should have an onboarding plan.
Your onboarding plan does not need to be complex. Creating a plan forces you to stop and thoughtfully consider how you want to act as you start a new job. There is no history or baggage that you might have had in previous jobs. This is a fresh start for you, so enjoy it!
Some thought starters for your onboarding plan:
- What attitude and energy do I want to bring to this new job?
- What issues or toxic behaviors from previous jobs do I want to leave behind?
- What questions do I have about my role? My team? The company?
- How does this job fit into my bigger career path?
- What am I most concerned about? What actions can I take to minimize my concern?
During your first days on a new job
Enjoy your “newbie” license
Starting a new job give you special license to be curious, ask questions, learn and reach out to colleagues.
Take advantage of it to create a strong first impression and connect to others.
Enthusiasm and friendliness during this time will set you up for success over the long term.
Understand your benefits
Once you start the job you’ll probably have orientation with an HR person or your supervisor. Pay attention to advice, employee handbook rules and benefits.
Now is the best time to ask questions about the offered benefits.
Starting a new job can be overwhelming and you might be tempted to push decisions about benefits aside or make quick choices. Stop. Back up.
These decisions are important and affect the next few years (like healthcare) and even further (like retirement).
Take the time to understand your options and make good choices.
Introduce yourself
Remember your “newbie” license to be enthusiastic and friendly? Well, here is one key place to use it.
Use the fact that you are new to introduce yourself to everyone – other new hires, your team members, people from other teams, and even senior leaders when the opportunity presents itself.
These connections help you settle in quickly, give you resources to reach out to with questions and make you visible.
Set goals with your boss
Have a goal setting meeting with your boss.
Hopefully your boss will set this up and be prepared with a list of goals and training for you. In reality, many leaders forget to plan the details for a new hire. If your boss does not provide that information, you need to ask for it!
You need complete clarity on what your boss expects of you.
In addition to specific goals, clarity also includes expectations around regular meetings to attend, preferred communication style with the boss (text, in person, email, Slack, etc.) and coordination with other team members.
Once you talk, document the goals and timelines and share it back with your boss. Make sure you are on the same page.
Create a training plan
Related to goal setting with your boss, you should also have a training plan.
The training plan can be very formal and involve classes and certifications. More likely it will be very informal and help you understand best way for you to learn your new job – like shadowing an experienced co-worker, watching videos, or acting as an assistant.
Take ownership of your success and follow these steps to successfully onboard to a new job!
Check out the entire Start My Job Search series
For an overview of job searching in 2021, read my article on HBR: 5 Tips to Help You Get Hired Right Now
For tactical tips, read the following articles:
- Checklist for a Successful Job Search
- How to Prep for your Job Search
- Important Strategy Questions for Starting a Job Search
- How to Search and Apply for Jobs
- How to Ace an Interview
- How to Strategically Start a New Job
Additional Resources for Starting a New Job
Understand the full range of compensation with the article Deciphering Corporate Pay: Make More Money by Ann Howell at Science of Working.
At The Muse, Jimmy Okuszka gives a list of articles that answer many questions about company benefit programs. Check out 11 Articles That’ll Help You Understand Your Benefits (Because It’s a Lot of Paperwork).
Indeed provides an overview of things you should do to be successful at a new job. They break it down by your first week, first month and first 90 days. Check out How to Succeed at Your New Job.
At Thrive Global, Hubspot writes Your Guide to Goal Setting at a New Job. They introduce 30-60-90 day plans and provide helpful examples.
A version of this article was originally posted on startmyjobsearch.com which is no longer active.
I’m glad that you’re providing this advice so people can do their best at the start of a new position. I think it’s important to make sure we have all the information before accepting any offer, and it’s also helpful to take some time off before starting, so our minds are clear.