Professionalism.guideA practical framework for working well with others

Your career

How to make a strong start in a new job

You are joining a new team, and the first weeks will shape how people see you for a long time. This guide helps you arrive well, learn before you act, build working relationships, and show you can be relied on.

16 topics · 91 min · Press play to listen in order, or read any topic.

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Phase 1 · 4 topics · 24 min

Arrive well

People form a view of a new colleague quickly. Take care of the things they notice first.

  1. Understand how much is decided in the first meeting, and what people are reading from you before you have said anything of substance.

    5:52 Read

  2. Learn the norms of this workplace and match them. There is no universal professional look, only the one this team expects.

    5:21 Read

  3. Be where you said you would be, when you said. In the first weeks it is the easiest way to show you can be trusted.

    5:41 Read

  4. Watch for the unwritten rules: how meetings start, who speaks when, how people are greeted. Following them shows respect before you have earned any standing.

    6:56 Read

Your taskBefore continuing, find out the norms of your new workplace for dress, hours, and how people address one another.

Phase 2 · 7 topics · 39 min

Listen and build relationships

You were hired for what you know, but you do not yet know this place or its people. Spend the early weeks learning both.

  1. Find something to be curious about in every introduction, including the parts of the business that seem dull. Interest is what makes the details stick.

    5:30 Read

  2. Ask questions whose answers are not obvious. Good questions show you were listening and get you information you could not have found alone.

    5:24 Read

  3. Take notes on names, systems, and decisions without letting the writing pull you out of the conversation.

    5:12 Read

  4. Learn the history behind how things are done. A practice that looks wrong to a newcomer often has a reason you have not yet been told.

    6:03 Read

  5. Be easy to approach. A friendly manner in the first weeks decides whether colleagues bring you their questions and their help.

    6:04 Read

  6. Invest in getting to know the people you will work with. Agreements come much more easily between people who already have a rapport.

    5:30 Read

  7. Begin on the formal side and relax as you learn what this team is comfortable with. It is easier to loosen up than to recover from overfamiliarity.

    5:42 Read

Your taskBefore continuing, write down three things you have learned about how this team works, and introduce yourself to two people outside it.

Phase 3 · 5 topics · 28 min

Show you can be relied on

Reputation is built from small commitments kept. Give people early evidence.

  1. Learn the terms and acronyms your new colleagues use, and ask when you do not know one. Guessing is how misunderstandings start.

    5:31 Read

  2. Tell people where your work stands without being asked: what is done, what is under way, and what is in your way.

    5:46 Read

  3. Respect the experience of those who were here before you, including when you think you know a better way.

    5:20 Read

  4. Stay positive while you find your feet. Early frustration is remembered longer than early mistakes.

    5:45 Read

  5. Show that you can do the job without overstating what you know. In a new place, confidence and humility have to arrive together.

    5:33 Read

Your taskFinish by agreeing with your manager what you will deliver in your first month and how you will report on it.