New Job Alert
Congratulations! You’ve just landed a new role. How exciting—well, at least for now. Starting a new job can be downright scary. Here are six things to look out for as you find your way in your new position.
There are some great benefits to be had when you first start a new role. Here are a few.
You’re the golden child—at least for now. Those new to the organization have the keys to the castle—that is, before the next new hire shows up. Take advantage of this time to push through requests for changes and gather additional resources, including staff and equipment.
Staff changes are more readily accepted. Make evaluating the staff you’ve been given a priority. If you wait too long to suggest changes, you’ll receive much more pushback than if you propose these changes early on.
Establish work/life balance. The biggest gift you can give yourself is the ability to leave work at a decent hour and to leave work behind. The time to establish boundaries is when you’re in a new role. You haven’t set any expectations regarding your availability and how quickly you’ll respond to requests.
Tread carefully here. Think through your moves before setting a standard that may throw you off balance.
Some situations can mess up a new hire in any role. Here’s a sampling.
Bait and switch. Sometimes the job you’re hired for turns out to be completely different than the job you are doing. This realization can be frightening. Don’t despair.
Give yourself time to settle into your new role. By doing so, you’ll have a better sense if the unexpected duties you’ve been assigned are temporary or longer lasting. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to meet with your boss to review expectations—both the bosses and yours.
This conversation is a two-way street. You want to be happy in your new role, and your boss wants this as well, especially given how difficult it is to fill positions. When meeting, present your case. Point out what’s different than what you expected. Give examples so your boss knows exactly what you’re getting at.
Hopefully, adjustments will be made, and you’ll be satisfied with the outcome. If not, you’ll need to consider whether you wish to remain with your employer or find another position more aligned with the work you thought you’d be doing.
Unmasking your boss. We’re usually on our best behavior when meeting someone for the first time, especially when we’re interviewing someone or being interviewed, which is why sometimes the boss you thought you were getting shows up as an entirely different version of themselves.
If this happens to you, step back and quickly evaluate the type of boss you’ve been given. Is your boss more bureaucratic than you expected? If so, you will want to fall in line and do things by the book. If your boss is laisser-faire, then be sure to keep thorough notes so you can remind your boss of your achievements before review time.
Meet the new boss. The boss who hired you is gone, and you’re assigned to a new boss whom you don’t care for. So, what do you do? Start by giving the new boss a chance. They may turn out to be the best boss you ever had.
However, if your newly assigned boss is not your cup of tea, see if you can get reassigned. If that doesn’t work, try to get your boss promoted, so you’re no longer under this manager’s direct supervision. If all else fails, fire up your job search.
