Finally, day X has arrived - you started a new job. It's quite possible that this is the moment you've been waiting for the last few weeks or even months. The adaptation process is always exciting, and you want to please absolutely everyone around you. The main thing here is not to overdo it. To unobtrusively win your place in the sun, follow a few simple recommendations.
Positive weapon
When you first walk into the office you plan to work in, leave any bad feelings, worries, or insecurities about how your suit fits at the door. Your main task is to show others that they can and should work with you. Prepare for the fact that the first couple of hours in a new team will be quite difficult. You will be evaluated. The process is not a pleasant one, but if you show your best side, relationships with colleagues will begin to develop on their own.
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What to do if you grew up within a team
This scenario is more complicated. If you are a manager who just yesterday was drinking with colleagues and discussing the boss, then you become their enemy No. 1. In addition, some of them were probably counting on this position: some have worked longer than you, and others will decide that you have surpassed them and gone over your head.
You know your company, top executives and executives. You don't need to get to know the team again. All you need is to urgently change your behavior pattern.
Prepare for personnel changes
Accept the fact that you will have to fire some of your former colleagues. The people who believed in you and wanted you to take the leadership chair will stay and do even better, because now the boss is a friend. Those who negatively perceived your appointment will work for the time being. Leave them as long as you need them, and then say goodbye. They will either leave on their own or be fired.
Get rid of past familiarity
Adequate colleagues will understand that it will not be the same as before. Your environment will change, and that's okay. But there will definitely be those who want to take advantage of old friendly relations in hopes of getting preferences.
At Vestel Corporation I started in the regions. I became friends with a colleague, a regional manager: we walked together, laughed and drank. When I became its leader, nothing changed. But one day we went out until six in the morning on a weekday. Three hours later I was already at work, and he decided that he could come at 11. Then I called him and said: “If you’re late again, I’ll fire you.”
He was shocked: “How? We are friends". Yes, friends, but after working hours. Boundaries must be maintained. It's tough but fair. Using an old friendship in the hope that you will turn a blind eye to an employee’s mistakes is undignified. And the first dismissal is a bloody lesson that will be immediately remembered.
Allow yourself to be tough
Tough leaders are respected more than soft ones. He always knows what to do in a difficult situation, and you can learn from him. However, tough does not mean cruel. If an employee does not complete a task, a tough manager will give a master class and teach. It will show that his tasks are real and achievable. And he fires only after another mistake, when the employee again fails to do the same thing.
The cruel person cannot explain - he is a hysteric who gives impossible orders and unfairly fires.
I once shared an office with another leader, more gentle than me. When the company carried out optimization, top management didn’t even have a question about which of us to keep - me or him. In difficult times, they leave behind the tough and effective. Suppress your complaisance, at least for the duration of your work, and then a worthy career, respect and growth awaits you.
Don't forget that you are no longer an ordinary employee and should not work with your hands. No operating work! The leader thinks, analyzes, makes plans and controls the team. Anyone who cannot delegate responsibilities and does the work for employees is not a leader, but an overgrown manager. Don’t redo it, but rather teach your employees to do it the way you want it to.
Know your limits
If you want to build friendly relationships with colleagues seriously and for a long time, then carefully think through every step and word. Do not highlight your merits or education, put away the edifying tone and desire to advise until better times. Of course, you'll want to show off your professionalism, but do it in a way that won't give you the reputation of being arrogant or boring.
Don't expect instant results
No one will immediately respect a newcomer to the team. Certain social relationships are born not from external signs, but from the results of interaction. Accept this as a fact and take your time. In the first month, take an observant position, study, thank, ask. Conduct yourself with dignity, do not give personal preferences to anyone, but communicate equally with everyone.
And it’s also very important: don’t bring a lot of negativity on yourself by trying to meddle in someone else’s monastery with your decree, even if you know what’s best and can do more than “all these half-educated people.” You will have time, show up and sparkle. And now your task is to take a closer look, study, give advantageous structured information about yourself and demonstrate normal, even professionalism. In a month, when you are already part of the system, and not a foreign body, you can begin the process of introducing innovations and gaining everyone's respect. If you deserve it, you will receive it.
I'll stand here
The first time in the new office, listen carefully to the conversations of your colleagues and try to determine who the informal leader is. His opinion is listened to, he is respected and valued a little more than everyone else. And also, never take part in disputes, much less open conflicts. At least until you understand how the work process works, how colleagues behave and who is, in fact, in charge here. If a controversial situation concerns you, control yourself and reduce the conflict to nothing at any cost.
How to behave correctly during a job interview
If the first stage was successful, and you saw approval in the eyes of the recruiter, mental praise for your appearance, get ready for the next step: conversation.
How to behave correctly during an interview to please the employer? It depends on what position you want to take. But there are also general principles.
How to sit
Your pose should be as natural as possible. This does not mean that you can relax in a chair and ask for a cup of coffee. Sit up straight. Do not cross your legs, do not hide them under a chair, do not stretch them lengthwise.
There is no need to cross your legs, even if you are a pretty young lady, and your interlocutor and potential boss is an impressive man in the prime of his life. He will, of course, have an interest in you, but, alas, not in a professional way.
There is no need to demonstratively occupy the entire chair, as if you are already sure that you have been given a place here. But it is also undesirable to sit alone on the edge: timidity is not welcome these days.
Place your hands on your knees. You can hold your purse in front of you if it is small. It’s better to hang or put the larger one somewhere, if possible.
A large bag will visually create an obstacle, as if blocking you from your interlocutor, and this will cause him discomfort.
Do not take “closed” poses:
- do not cross your arms over your chest;
- do not remove your hands;
- Do not rest your chin on your palms.
All these poses reveal a person’s subconscious disposition towards rejection of the interlocutor, wariness and reluctance to open up to him.
An observant employer will definitely note these points and may evaluate you as a secretive, incomprehensible person, a “man in a case.” Agree, having such an employee is not always pleasant.
You can try “mirroring” techniques: almost copying some of the recruiter’s gestures. This technique helps to win over a person.
But to use it correctly, you need long-term practical experience, otherwise it will look like “monkeying.”
Your gaze should not be too fast and “running”. Look at the bridge of the interlocutor’s nose, periodically look directly into the eyes. The look should radiate confidence, calmness and goodwill.
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What should I say
The main thing is not to say too much. If you are asked to talk about yourself, focus only on those points that are relevant to your work:
- acquired specialty;
- additional skills;
- ability (and willingness) to work outside normal hours;
- learning abilities;
- reasons why you want to join this company.
Take a moment to emphasize your desire to learn and master new things - this is welcome in any position.
How to answer questions correctly
The employer has the right to ask any questions – that’s true. But it is also true that you have the right not to respond to those that seem incorrect to you. Try to give clear, understandable, concise answers.
Among the employer’s favorite “tricks” are questions about the desired salary and why you left your previous job (or why you haven’t worked for a long time).
State your desired salary as the regional average for similar positions, having first looked through the information. Numbers that are too small will make you doubt your competence, and numbers that are too high will cast doubt on the adequacy of your self-esteem.
Never point out the constant nagging of an evil boss and the monstrous number of responsibilities assigned to you as reasons for leaving your previous job (even if this was the case).
A recruiter who doesn’t know you personally will decide that you are a conflicted person and also lazy. Why does the company need this? It’s better to say that you are not satisfied with the salary (without giving specific numbers) - the answer is neutral and usually satisfies the employer.
It’s more difficult to answer why you haven’t worked for a long time. Don’t say that you were looking for yourself: the personnel officer can provide you with the opportunity to continue to do this, because he does not know at what moment it will occur to you again to “go on a free voyage.”
Instead, you can mention the need to care for some family member (for example, a child), but add that by now this need no longer exists and will not exist.
During an online conversation
Skype conversations are becoming increasingly popular. They are convenient for both parties, as they save time (and for you this also saves money on travel).
You should prepare for such a conversation no less carefully than in a “live” conversation.
Clean the room, ask your family to leave so as not to disturb you during the interview. Send your pets to the next room. Wear a suit that is a little looser than for an offline interview, but still not a casual one.
Place all your “orders and medals” next to you:
- diplomas;
- work book;
- certificates;
- Thanksgiving letters.
Photo: online interview
Be as collected and focused as possible. Your home environment can play a cruel joke on you: you will find yourself in a relaxed state and will not be able to quickly respond to questions asked. Therefore, you need to take all measures to create the illusion of being in the office.
I won't tell anyone anything
Communicate with colleagues at your new job, share news, but do not start gossiping or discussing the personal life of the secretary, chief accountant, or that red-haired girl at the next table. Sooner or later everyone will find out that you are the one spreading the rumors. And this is a big blow to the reputation.
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How to calmly adapt to a team
Ask for help and say thank you, this is very important. Give information about yourself that would later support your image. If this is a women's team, tell us about your husband, children, where you live, etc. But don't share intimate or controversial details.
Take your work as responsibly as possible, keep all your promises, and feel free to refuse what you cannot fulfill. But make a reservation that over time you will study, understand and be able to. Demonstrate a professional approach. Only in this way can a higher hierarchical distribution be achieved.
First thing's first - work
In an effort to gain the support of a new team, it is very easy to completely forget about why you came to a new job - your job responsibilities. If you do not diligently carry out your instructions, you risk not only becoming the object of dissatisfaction with your superiors, but also losing your job. Limit your networking to your lunch break and a couple of breaks during the day.
Beginning of labor adaptation: possible scenarios
If the organization has properly organized and streamlined the work of all structures, the only thing a new employee needs to do is watch and learn, adopting the experience and skills of more experienced employees. In this state of affairs, adaptation is quite simple and does not take too much time.
Otherwise, a person experiences real stress, due to the fact that he simply does not have a mentor, a friend who would be able to explain what is unclear and answer the question. In such a situation, the newcomer has to adapt to new circumstances.
According to statistics, in an organization where the principle of mutual assistance and mutual support operates, the likelihood that an employee will not be able to adapt is reduced by almost half (30% - 60%).
Unfortunately, many employers hire people according to the principle: “If this one doesn’t suit you, we’ll find a new one.” As a result, a person finds himself “thrown overboard”, i.e. in a situation where he can only rely on himself.
But even in cases where the psychological climate in the company is healthy, a new employee must have knowledge of how to properly adapt to a new place of work.
