Congratulations on Your New Job! Now Position Yourself for the Future.

By Ford R. Myers
President, Career Potential, LLC

You’ve landed your new job (or soon will). Congratulations! Now you can “put your feet up” and take it easy, right? Wrong! In many ways, your work is just beginning. This is the time start thinking about your future – which starts on the first day of your new job and continues through the rest of your working life.

Ask yourself these questions:

– How will you maximize your chances for success in the new job, and minimize your chances of failure?
– How will you offer the highest level of contribution to the new organization?
– How will you establish a positive and productive relationship with your new boss?
– How will you build strong and effective teams?
– How will you align with the company’s most important goals and priorities?

These questions, and others like them, could “make or break” your next position – so it’s vitally important to follow the tips below while you’re assimilating into your new role:

1) Establish expectations with your new boss

• Start setting expectations during the interview and job acceptance process.
• Set expectations that are realistic, achievable and measurable – including self, job, department and company.
• Establish and schedule timeframes for completion of your initial goals.
• Track progress towards these objectives.
• Communicate early progress to your boss.

2) Diagnose the organization

• Observe organizational dynamics.
• These dynamics include relationships, norms, politics, culture, corporate priorities/objectives and values.
• Identify what works and what doesn’t work along all these dimensions at your new employer.

3) Assess and build your team

• Integrate into your team / workgroup.
• Ask a lot of questions, and solicit feedback.
• Identify skills and talents of your team members.
• Communicate consistently to all stakeholders.
• Delegate responsibility to your team members.
• Celebrate the team’s individual and collective achievements.

4) Recognize vulnerabilities and shore-up your gaps

• Identify missing skill-sets and technical deficiencies.
• Get feedback from colleagues and supervisors about unmet talent needs.
• Take proactive steps to bridge any skill gaps.
• Report progress about closing these gaps to your boss and company management.

5) Identify and score easy wins

• Define readily achievable tasks.
• Commit to your goals and get your boss’s agreement.
• Enroll others into these goals as needed.
• Gather whatever resources you need for support.
• Celebrate your group’s wins and communicate them to others in the company.

6) Accelerate your learning

• Establish goals for professional education and development.
• Participate in learning opportunities for your continual development.
• Implement the new skills and knowledge that you gain.
• Reassess your professional development status periodically and set new learning goals.

7) Prioritize to succeed

• First things first.
• Don’t get overwhelmed.
• Pay most attention to “the basics.”
• Focus on the company’s or boss’s goals.
• Leverage all available support resources.
• Continually reassess your priorities and work-tasks.

8) Develop supportive alliances

• Identify co-workers with similar goals and complementary responsibilities.
• Develop rapport with your team members and build mutually-beneficial relationships.
• Establish communication paths and processes with your group.
• Leverage company relationships, resources and talents to achieve your objectives.

9) Invest continuously in your career

• Avoid the tendency to become “career complacent” (because you now have a job).
• Start exploring future opportunities now (always be looking for a job / open to new opportunities).
• Update your career tools and documented skills continuously.
• Network, network, network (both internally and externally).
• Stay focused on your long-term professional goals and be strategic about career planning.
• Remember that career management never stops.

By paying attention to the concepts above and following these tips, you will not only perform better in your new job – you’ll be much better prepared for the rest of your career!