As I’ve said before, it’s great when you land that new job you’ve been after, and you’re entitled to enjoy at least a brief celebration. However–and this is critical–you cannot rest on your laurels. You need to turn your successful job search into on-the-job success.
Some things are fairly obvious in that regard. You need to show up at work every day, on time and ready to go. You need to pay attention to what’s going on around you and what’s expected from you. You need to avoid the “out the door” sprint at 5:00 p.m. (Does anyone actually get to leave work at 5:00 anymore?) Other factors for on-the-job success might be commonsense at their core but might not always occur to you as soon as they should.
So I’ve put together a short list of tips to help you get your new job off to a great start–and keep it that way.
As the saying goes, “The best laid plans….” When you find you’ve landed yourself in a job that is (a) not what it was described as being or (b) not the good fit you thought it was going to be, what next? Do you walk around with a bad attitude until you can snag the first possible opportunity to jump ship and go somewhere else?
The impulse to do that might be strong, but it’s probably a really bad idea. That’s at least partly because your long-term career success–as opposed to on-the-job success in one situation–could depend a lot on the overall pattern of performance and commitment you establish. It needs to be one that you can point to with pride.
In a bad job situation, you should be looking for ways to contribute as much value as possible while you’re also considering when and how to take action on pursuing other potential opportunities. When you’re participating in job interviews to secure a new position, you’ll be in a stronger spot if you can point to one or more actions you’ve taken that have benefited the company you’re currently in.