If your new position
involves relocating to a new town, try to arrive at least two weeks before.
Give yourself time to get settled into your home and acquainted with the place.
·
Familiarize yourself
with offices, especially human resources, IT/technology support. Those are the
people with whom you will undoubtedly interact. It is important that you not
only know where to find them in the building/campus, but also who is
responsible for what in each office. Make an Excel spreadsheet of who’s who
that you can consult as needed, and add to, as you progress through your first
year.
·
Set up your office. Do
what you can to make it a comfortable. Don’t forget to create a list of office
supplies you need and request them in the beginning itself.
Begin networking. Send
an update to your immediate superior about your recent (or impending) arrival
in the area. That’s not only respectful and friendly, it’s also practical. Some
departments plan retreats just before the start of the new year, but if your
colleagues don’t know you are around, you may not be invited to work-related
events.
Here’s how to get
started creating your local network:
·
Speak to people as you
go about your business in your first weeks, it is important that people know
you. That doesn’t mean you have to be friends with all of your new colleagues;
it means you should open the door to professional relationships that may come
in handy later.
·
Look up community
organizations and local businesses that may be related to your new position. Or
they might just be a place to do professional service work (e.g., serving on a
local board). It always looks good when you can bring a new partnership to your
section.
·
Use your social-media
accounts for professional purposes. Join local and national professional
groups, and let them know about your new job. This is a good way to meet other
people who may be starting at your place or who work in the area. Even if they
don’t turn out to be a professional resource, you may make some new friends.
Having someone to eat lunch with on "the first day" can alleviate the
social anxiety that comes with being the new kid.
·
Do a self-assessment.
What professional needs must be met in order for you to be successful? If this
isn’t your first job, why did you leave your previous one? What do you want to
do differently in this job? Make a plan to ensure you start this position the
way you intend to proceed.
·
Check with human
resources about on boarding and orientation. You may need to submit specific
documents. You don’t want to find out two days before your start date — or
worse, after you haven’t been paid — that there were a bunch of things you were
supposed to have done.
·
Visit the IT experts.
It’s summer, and they are much less frantic than usual. Get your ID and your
computer set up and/or ordered. You will get on their good side if you do this
early because it means that now they have one less person to deal with at the
start of the year.
·
Contact the administrative
assistant and inquire about purchasing anything you may have negotiated in your
contract. Often, staff members have no idea what you worked out with your
superior, but they are responsible for making it happen. They’re not going to
do it all for you, though. So send a nice email to inform the staff members of
these terms and inquire about any steps you need to take to order furniture or get reimbursed for
moving expenses.
The only other advice one
can offer to ease your transition into a new job is to maintain professional
ties with your prior colleagues (assuming those relationships are emotionally
healthy). It is not uncommon to return to previous organizations in a new role,
so you don’t want to burn bridges.
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