5 tips for getting a great start
and succeeding in a new job

You’ve started in a new job, and your mind is focused on delivering from the start and becoming a huge success. But it starts impacting your performance because you’re way too obsessed with the possibility that you might fail in the job. How can you start in a new position and instil a mindset that allows you to learn, make mistakes and develop your skills while keeping an excellent performance level and delivering reliable results?

Be social while breathing and living the company culture!

It doesn’t surprise anyone that if you don’t make an effort in communicating and engaging with your team members, you probably won’t be there for long. Not because you’re not good enough skill-wise but because social interactions and good chemistry are essential aspects of building and maintaining a great and competent team that delivers high-quality products and results. Therefore, you must be a good fit for the team to achieve great results.

We’re not asking you to eat dinner with them once a week, but engage with your coworkers and be social with them in the workplace. A strong team with a great team spirit is more likely to produce great projects and results than a group with sulking or unengaged team members. IT and Tech companies move fast, and work can be stressful at times, so working in a great team can benefit all parties. Having a great time at work also increases your productivity!

Becoming an integral part of the company and the team is central to succeeding in a new job. You must engage with all parts of the organisation to get a better understanding of the culture and the internal mechanisms. When you’re ingrained in a team and organisation, you’re playing an active part in the working environment, thus making you a key player in the company culture.

You’ll make mistakes but don’t sweat it

It’s perfectly normal to make mistakes in a new job, both coworkers and managers more or less expect it. Nobody expects you to be an expert on all the technologies you’re working with, so there’s no pressure on you to deliver a perfect product within the first week of work. There’s room for learning, and you’ll soon become an expert in all the software and technologies.

The worst thing you can to do yourself is to start stressing out because of a couple of minor mistakes or if there’s something you don’t know how to do. Talk to your coworkers in the team and let them help you out if you need their expertise - there’s no shame in that, and you’re going to lose your job because of it!

Never stop learning and developing your skills

Never stop wanting to learn new skills and technologies and never stop being curious. Curiosity and ambition is the key to success in a new job. Most tech and IT companies love recruiting developers who are curious and interested in learning new technologies. If you show that you want to keep developing your skills and keep focusing on delivering exceptional results and reliable products, you’re on the right path. 

Striving to succeed and wanting to improve are the two main factors that can make or break a new employee. If you’re in a highly energetic and competitive environment, you’re not likely to last very long if you don’t want to develop your skills and keep getting better at what you do. Match your expectations with your coworkers and your manager to find the expected levels of performance, curiosity and ambition.

Job description versus expectations

A job description can be a clog in your learning curve in a new job. Job descriptions are often stringent sets up tasks, expectations and KPIs that must be met to “be a success” in the role. Job descriptions are more often than not general guidelines than what happens in reality. How can you sort all the information and get a reality check of what is needed and expected of you from the first day?

Don’t be afraid to discuss the realistic expectations in regards to results and KPIs within the first year. Aligning your expectations with your team or manager will help you adjust and prioritise the tasks and projects at hand and also help you understand what is needed of you.

Create a feedback loop with your manager

If you want to know how you’re doing, we suggest you set-up a feedback loop with your manager. There’s likely an established feedback loop during the onboarding process but make sure you keep getting feedback from your manager. Feedback can be a great confidence booster and a useful guidepost if you get frequent feedback on your performance and the results you deliver. Working without getting feedback can make you feel like you’re fumbling in the dark and ultimately it worsens your daily performance and in turn, the projects and the work you deliver to other teams or the customers.

Getting a great start during the first days and weeks on the new job is one of the keys to success. Of course, many factors impact how successful or happy you are in a new position. Still, a good onboarding process and being open to learning on the go while accepting that mistakes will happen, are all ingredients to successful employment. Professional curiosity and ambition reflect in your end-product, so by striving to improve and playing an active part in a team or an organisation you’re more likely to deliver outstanding results and developing terrific products and services!