Prepare for a three-month reputation-building process. Consider the first three months as if you’re trying to get into the best physical form possible. In general, you’ll be doing things that are uncomfortable in the short term, but after you acquire the body you want, you can cut back on anything that isn’t sustainable. A solid reputation takes time to set up, but three months is usually enough if you are consistent.
- Be clear about the responsibilities of your job.
- Managers are notorious for not setting realistic expectations for their employees. The following is an example of a typical conversation:
- “What do you expect of me?” you say.
- “What do you expect of yourself?” says the lead.
- “To perform the best job I can,” you say, “but I’d like to know what your expectations are of me.”
To put it another way, you’ll almost never get a clear response to the issue of what you’ll need to do to succeed at your new work. Ask this question to a waffling boss:
“What are the top three things I should always be doing to be successful?”
- Seek out Subject Matter Experts to learn from them.
When you first start working for any company, you have no idea what you don’t know. If you add a big dosage of the Dunning-Krueger effect to your ignorance, you’ll believe you know everything. To counteract this natural tendency, seek out specialists within the company and ask them what you should know. Finding experts might be challenging because a job title does not always signify ability; nonetheless, find the people who know what they’re talking about regardless of their work title. Otherwise, you risk being told to learn the wrong things by people who have no idea what they’re talking about.
- Always refrain from criticizing anything.
Every company has issues, and no one wants a new employee to remind them of what they’re up against. The faults you perceive in other people are usually issues that other people see as well, and these problems have persisted for whatever reason. Even the most innocent and well-intentioned criticisms can lead you into serious difficulty, so it’s best to stay silent about what you think could be addressed.
- Never become frustrated or emotional, always remain calm and professional.
Never, ever, venting your frustrations to even one person will convey the impression that you don’t handle stress properly. No matter how agitated you are, cultivate and convey a calm demeanor. Always be the consummate professional, no matter how unprofessional your coworkers are or how unfair a situation may be.
- Don’t overextend or underextend yourself.
Every organization has its own definition of what constitutes cooperation and how much collaboration is proper. In general, proceed with caution and try to understand the social conventions. People may believe you’re incompetent if you seek help too often. They can believe you’re arrogant if you don’t ask for help often enough. It’s difficult to strike the correct balance, especially in the first three months, when you’ll need to ask for support but want to project competence.
- Always follow through on your commitments.
Prepare to make sacrifices within your first three months since you must keep every commitment you make. You must never be late for anything if you want to develop the reputation of being responsible and dependable. Plan to work overtime if you know you’re prone to missing deadlines. If you have trouble getting to meetings on time, arrive 10 minutes early. If you say you’re going to do something, make sure you do it.
- Show enthusiasm for whatever assignment you’re given.
New developers aren’t always given the most enjoyable projects to work on. Work that is trivial, dull, tiresome, or insignificant may be distributed to you. You can feel as if you’re being patronized, that people don’t appreciate your genuine worth, or that you’re being treated unfairly. Put all of those emotions aside and show great excitement for the activity you’re working on. Patience is a virtue because you won’t be assigned the most influential and glamorous tasks when you initially join a company.
- Don’t allow yourself to become overly social and be on guard when you do.
People will want to get to know you, therefore your coworkers will most likely invite you to lunch or social events. While some people are inherently kind and good-natured, others, unfortunately, can be deceptive and vindictive. Unfortunately, when you initially start working for a company, you have no idea who everyone is or what their motives are. Good individuals will inquire about your past in order to discover shared interests; bad ones will seek facts that they may use against you. Always be courteous and nice but keep your guard up. Above all, never put yourself in a Welcome to humans and our chimp-like brains sign. Yes, there will be haters, but keep in mind that it isn’t personal; it’s just a natural byproduct of social groups. Ignore your critics and never fight back.
Congratulations! You make it in three months. If you followed all of the recommendations above, you should have a great reputation and have impressed everyone with your work ethic and attitude.
