Starting a new job:  The first few weeks in starting a new job are critical. You must establish yourself as a great hire. Moreover, while people are forming impressions of you as a new hire, you are faced with many challenges. To deal with the challenges, the first step is learning what to expect. The second step is learning how to prepare for and handle new situations.

Here are steps for gaining support and respect at your new job.

In your new job seize upon small wins.

You bring with you experience, qualifications, and skills. Use those traits and skills to draw positive attention to you. If there is a task or project that enable you to shine, take on these responsibilities. Some of these small wins can relieve you of the pressure of succeeding in areas where you feel more challenged.

Impress your boss.

Do the job your boss expects you to do. Make your number one priority to do the things that your boss has told you to do and in the order in which your boss directed you. Let your boss know when you complete each task. When you are giving your boss more information than you need to give, your boss will let you know.

Build positive relationships.

Create a chart of the organization. Learn who does what and who reports to which person. Treat everyone with respect. Do not poison a relationship with anyone. You may later learn that the maintenance manager is a scratch golfer who is the golf partner with a board director at the annual company golf tournament. However, do not waste your time listening to everyone who wants to talk with you. Forge relationships with people who can help you with a successful start.

Some of the people who are junior to you will help you understand your job and your new company.

Moreover, turn to others for their experience and intelligence. Often, they will bond with you over your interest in seeking their help.

Write it down.

Make a list of the names, the contact information, the jobs, and the relationships of the people you meet. When your boss tells you to do something, write it down. Write the task and the action date.

Get in step.

The first weeks of the new job are an orientation. You will meet new managers, new co-workers, and, perhaps, new people who work on your team. You will learn the details of your responsibilities. Moreover, you will get a measure of the authority you have in managing your new responsibilities.

Learn the company culture and way of doing things. Do not try to change things until you have established yourself in the job for which your company hired you.

Become a sponge.

Avoid giving your opinion when you can listen and learn. You don’t have to try to prove how smart you are.

Be open to new ideas.

A dangerous pitfall for experienced people is to do things the way they did them at their former employer.

For example, when I entered sales in the consumer products industry, I sold facial tissue, bathroom tissue, and disposable diapers. Except for facial tissue, the products I sold were daily consumer goods. Consumer demand was the same throughout the year.

When I left that company, I went to a company that sold cameras and film. The transition for me required adapting to different selling cycles and new methods of projecting sales. During the holidays, the photography retailers would sell as much in a day they sold in a month during non-holidays. A day of film sales during the holidays was a great as a month of sales the rest of the year.

Job References:  Can You Trust Them?

“Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” ― Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson

Most hiring companies do reference checks on potential employees.  How reliable are these references?  How risky are they to the job seeker and to the people who are acting as references?

Intelligent people are not going to give references who will say bad things about them.  They make of list of people who will say positive things.  Before giving the name of the reference to a prospective employer, intelligent people call the reference.  They reach an understanding that the reference is willing and supportive.

The Set Up

One of the worst placements I made had references from two former clients who gushed about the qualities of the person.  Once the person got the job, his performance was the exact opposite of what the job references said it would be.  The references, both of whom held solid positions with solid companies, were clearly in on a set up.

Smart hiring managers know that job references are a set up.  In a way, reference checks are a test of a person’s ability to find people who can say good things about them.

At best, these references are confirmations of employment dates.

The Risks

Reference checks are risky to the job seeker and to the people serving as references.

The people speaking as references put themselves at risk and their company at risk.  If they say something that hurts the job seeker, a job seeker can (and job seekers have) come back and sued past employers.

The intelligent company policy is to prohibit reference checks.  These companies only give prospective employers the employment dates for past employees.

In a confidential job search, a job seeker puts their current employment at risk by allowing hiring companies to call people about the job seeker’s efforts to find new employment.  Nearly everyone says they can keep a secret.  But do they?  To quote Benjamin Franklin again, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

Nonetheless, companies continue to check job references, and job seekers continue to give references.

So Be Smart.

There are a few simple things to consider about job references.  None of these things takes all the risks out of reference checks but these are ideas that are worth considering.

• Save the references checks until all the details of the offer have been ironed out.  This step reduces the risk to the job seeker of getting exposed without actually getting a job offer.
• On the other hand, if the hiring company withdraws the offer after the reference check, job seekers might very well believe that their references have wronged them.
• Focus on facts: dates of employment, copies of degrees, college transcripts, or letters of certification.
• Consider a background check instead of reference checks.
• If you choose an agency to do a background check, make certain that they are compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  In other words, do a background check of the company doing the background check.

Post-Interview Letter: Follow up the interview with a letter that will get you the job.

Often people pay little attention to sending a thank you note to the person who interview them.  If you are not sending thank you notes and not getting invited back for an interview, there may be a connection between the two.

It is courteous to send a follow-up note to anyone who has spent time helping you with your career or with your career change. I have seen instances in which hiring managers have decided to pass on an applicant who had not followed up with any type of post-interview correspondence.

Some people recommend sending a handwritten letter. I have not seen a handwritten note in a few years. The problem with using paper to send your note is that most hiring managers are set up to use electronic mail and filing.

I see people attaching a letter to an email. Sending a letter as an attachment is kind of like gift-wrapping a gift-wrapped box of fancy candies. The extra gift-wrap is somewhat redundant and a bit inconvenient, since the candy is already in a gift-wrapped box. So trying to create more attractive formatting by using an email attachment for a follow-up letter may just in fact just be inconveniencing the recipient: an email is mail.

Attachments do have their purpose, but I see them more commonly for resumes, contracts, and presentations. The email content serves as the cover letter for the attachments. You might want to consider sending examples of your work as attachments to your thank-you note.

Whatever method you choose for your post-interview correspondence, you want to make four points.

Express your appreciation for the time and interest the person has shown you.
Express your desire to get the job.
Summarize the skills that you have which will enable you to contribute right away.
Create a call to action:  for example, ask when you can reconnect.

SAMPLE FOLLOW-UP LETTER

Your information

Street address
City, state, zip
Phone number
Email address

Date

Contact’s information

Name, titles
Company name
Street address
City, state, zip
Phone number
Email address

Dear Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss

Subject: (optional)

It was fantastic to speak with you on Tuesday about the Name of the Position at Name of the Company.

I really want this job.

You did a great job explaining the responsibilities of Name of Position.  I have attached examples of work that I have done that show my experience in these areas of responsibility.

1. A presentation I gave to XYZ Company from raw data
2. A presentation that I created and have tailored for team members to present to their clients
3. A presentation featuring tables and graphs that show my graphic presentation skills and my ability to give attention to detail

For the past six years I have taken raw data based on product categories and consumer demographics, consumer conversions, repeat sales, new product-introductions, and even raw data from shipments and used the facts to create executive-level presentations for multiple teams in different departments.

As you and I discussed, I will call on Thursday.

Best regards,

Handwritten signature

Typed signature

Is Making a Job Change Your Best Choice? Are you in the wrong job?  Here are some signs that you might be.

1. Every day is a bad day.
2. You feel that you cannot do your job.
3. You do not like your boss.
4. You work around people you do not like.
5. Have you outgrown your job and cannot get greater responsibility to match your increased skills.
6. Your company in trouble or your company is firing people.
7. Your commute is too far or too expensive.
8. You are underpaid.

Some of these problems you can work around or try to ignore.  Some of these problems can change over time.   If you spend the time making your current job better instead of spending that time on a job change, you may find staying in your current job helps you several ways.
Changing jobs is often a case of jumping from one rut to another.  You find the same problems in your new workplace that you tried to escape in your previous job. Changing jobs in this case would be a huge mistake, especially if you are walking away from accumulated benefits and tenure.

Are you mentally prepared to search for a new job? A job change is certainly a lot of work. It takes planning, time, effort, and money.   There are risks of losing your current job while you are looking for a new job. All these factors are stressful.

Once you get a new job, are you mentally ready to commit 100% to doing a great job at your next company? Starting a new job is full of changes.  You will face new routines. You will meet new people.  You will develop new relationships.  You will find a new culture. You will need to adapt to a new routine and culture.  You may need to learn new skills.  You will have a new boss to impress and understand.

Here are some things you can do to help you turn your current job better.

If ever day seems like a bad day and you feel that you cannot do your job, you may have job burnout.

1. Change your routine.
2. Take more breaks.
3. Do not take your work with you to coffee or lunch.
4. Leave your work at your workplace.
5. Do not work on your weekends.
6. Take vacations.
7. Learn methods to relieve stress and develop a positive attitude.

If you do not like your boss or your coworkers, you are not alone.  During college jobs, the military, and my career in consumer products, I had 12 bosses.  I would like to work for only two of these bosses again.  I never quit a job over my boss.  When I did change jobs, I left for a better job
If you have outgrown your job and cannot get greater responsibility to match your increased skills, you may want to consider a job change.  You should work where the things you do are meaningful and fulfilling.  In looking for a new job, look for opportunities that will enable you to use your skills and allow you to continue to grow greater skills.

If your company is firing people, your commute is too far or too expensive, or if you cannot make enough money, you should consider looking for jobs that will help you become financially secure.  As you begin your search, bear in mind the benefits that you have in your current job.  Make sure that you are not gaining in salary and going down in total compensation.

Image: Mic445, Mic445