Great, you got the job! Some people in this situation might think, “Whew! Now I can relax, cruise a while and rest on my laurels.”
Actually, your work is just beginning, but so is your “glory!”
6 priorities for first 90 days on the job
There are six priorities that you should focus on during the first 90 days of any new job. They are:
1. Establish positive relationships with your new colleagues. Be honest, open, friendly, reliable, and clear. Be outgoing and introduce yourself to co-workers—don’t wait for them to approach you.
2. Develop a reputation for producing tangible results. Immediately start a “success file” and track your accomplishments and contributions. Make note of the positive feedback you get from others such as clients, managers, clients, colleagues, vendors, etc., in conversation and in writing.
Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give lustre, and many more people see than weigh. ~Herodotus
3. Communicate plans and progress to your superiors and to your team. Become known for setting challenging goals and for completing projects on-time, on-budget, and with measurable results.
4. Begin building your own in-house contact network. Cultivate good relationships with everyone including the employees above and below your level. Get to know people’s names. Reach out to the mail guy, the security guard, the IT guru, your manager’s executive assistant…everyone! You want business friends and supporters in a 360-degree arc around you.
The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity. ~Keith Ferrazzi
5. Review and fine-tune your job description with your manager. Make sure to sit down during those first 90 days and create an “individual development plan” for yourself and your role. This plan needs to includes your short-, mid-, and long-term goals. This is critical to ensure that the job you landed becomes the job you love.
6. Maintain a healthy balance between your work life and your private life. Make sure that you don’t “go overboard” with enthusiasm for your new job. Family time, hobbies, and “recharging your batteries” are all part of your long-term professional effectiveness and success.
You must focus on garnering respect, visibility, and credibility during your first 90 days on the job. The precedents you establish during this period will tend to last for your entire tenure at that organization.
This ‘thumbprint period’ is critically important to your long-term success—make the best of it!
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Today’s guest contributor is Ford R. Myers, President of Career Potential, LLC. Ford has been a frequent guest on television and radio programs nationwide and is the author of Get The Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring.
Image source before quote added: Pixabay
