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You do have something to prove if you’re the new kid on the block, says Money Magazine senior editor Sam Grobart.
“You have a critical window of opportunity when you start a new position (to make a good first impression); botch it and you can wind up paying (in loss of effectiveness, resentful co-workers and no lunch buddies) for months, maybe years,” Grobart writes.
To make the best first impressions, Grobart offers four rules to work by:
- Tone down the star quality. Resist the impulse to share all of your ideas immediately, which may alienate others.
- Don’t be Mr. or Ms. Personality. Be pleasant and polite, but don’t make job or spout off at meetings. “Gregariousness in a newcomer can be off-putting.”
- Get the inside scoop by learning the workplace culture and all of your colleagues’ idiosyncrasies.
- Give them something to talk about. Determine who the influential people are and find a reason to work with them. Get on their good side, and you may find that a whole lot more people have started to warm to your presence.
