Working World

I just got offered what I think is my dream job, starting the week after I graduate college. Amazing as it sounds, I've never worked in an office before. I've done things like waiting tables and caddying, but never had to learn my way around a business that takes up four separate floors of a high-rise. Do you have any tips for leaving my collegiate cocoon and entering reality?

You’ve probably had the dream in which you go to school naked and realize it only once you're there. If you’re like the rest of us, you’ll approach your first day at a new job with the same sense of vulnerability. There are ways to make the process less scary and begin to create the safety zones and survival systems you'll need to succeed, prosper and to feel like you fit in.

Dress the part. Avoid looking like the new kid on the block, with price tags hanging from your shiny, new, first-day clothes. Feel and look comfortable so that you'll more easily blend in. Think chameleon, not flamingo. No matter what else is on your body, you’ll also be wearing invisible New Guy (or Gal) labels pinned fore and aft, but you might as well look as though you've been there forever.

Concentrate on learning your way around. Even if it takes skipping into the bathroom to sketch a map or write yourself directions, keep track of what’s where, from the bathrooms themselves to the coffee room, copier, supply closet and especially your own department and work station. Nothing will remind people that you’re new, and irritate them more, than having to interrupt their own productive time to show you the way to the coffee machine. You may make new friends along the way, but better to meet folks over work and have them think you’re competent than when you’re lost. [Note: The malingerers who spend their time waiting around the water cooler, offering to be helpful, may not be the folks you want to be seen hanging with. Carry a notepad and pen, keep track of everyone's name and title, and stay hydrated and alert. Congrats and good luck.

1 COMMENTS

• Catherine Rhodes

  I can always tell on the very first day whether someone is going to work out. It is very important to try to fit into the new culture by listening and learning. Nobody expects miracles on your first day. Be friendly. Try to remember everyone's name. Take notes if you need to. Don't try to rearrange your office too quickly or make big changes on your first day. You will have plenty of time to put your stamp on things, but do it gradually and carefully after you get to know the people in the office and the become familiar with the culture.

  Apr 05, 2009