Fox New s Fox Business uReport Fox New s Radio Fox New s Latino Fox Nation Fox New
atino Fox Nation Fox New s Insider
Search Stocks & Keywords Search
Home Video Markets Industries Economy & Policy Investing Technology Personal Finance Business Leaders On Air
Small Business
Home & Mortgage Career College Planning Lifestyle & Budget Health Care Retirement Taxes Tools & Calculators Job Search Slideshows
8 Things to Do During Your First Month at a FOLLOW FOX BUSINESS
New Job
By Andrea Murad / Pub lished May 16, 2014 / FOXBusiness
Get Our Free Newsletter
Newsletter Signup
Enter Email Address Sign Up
Follow @foxbusiness
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS
Stocks to watch:
AMP, HAL
What’s the Deal,
Neil: Why the uproar
over the interview
with Rep.
Bachmann?
REUTERS
Time’s top smart
Print Congratulations, you’ve landed your first full-time job after graduation. home gadgets
Em ail
Now comes the hard.
Share
College graduates’ first month on job sets the tone of their career,
MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS
according to experts, which means they need to be proactive and put 6 Ways You're
their best foot forward. Unknowingly
Compromising Your
Identity
“It’s about the approach you take to your job — none of these are
RELATED VIDEO
tasks, but attributes that you take on,” says Lynda Fraser, vice
Dollar General
president of Human Resources Contract Division at Solomon Page
Shares Dive After
Group. “It’s your behavior that will determine, ultimately, how CEO Dreiling
successful you are.” Announces
Retirement
How to ditch technology
and improve your career Setting and executing goals is key to career success at any level, but Hey, Boss! Don’t Be
it’s particularly helpful for new workers. a Soccer Scrooge!
“Don’t wait to shine,” says Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s career expert.
Want to Reboot Your “As soon as you become a new hire, look for every opportunity to
Career? The Time is Now Here's the Biggest
become ingrained in the company DNA. You’ll stand out as a star
Threat to the
right away, and first impressions are so important.” Housing Recovery
RELATED STORIES
Tips for Picking the Right
Don’t worry too much if mistakes happen at the start, just be sure to
College Major
6 Ways Your Job is Losing
rectify the situation quickly. “There’s a bit of latitude and people do
You Future Earnings expect new hires to stumble in the first month — these can become
Career Stagnation
teaching moments for the manager and the new employee,” says
Creeping Up on Workers
Tips for Outsm arting Your Mike Steinerd, director of sales recruiting at career website
FROM OUR SPONSORS
Interview er to Get the Job
Indeed.com.
20 Incredible Cabins
8 Things to Do at Your
Around The World
New Job
Activejunky
Don't Make these 9
Experts offer the following tips to follow during the first month of
Glaring Résum é Mistakes employment to help you shine:
5 Tips for Being
Productive When Working
from Hom e No. 1 Ask Questions and Observe. “You’ve got to learn and listen What's this?
Traits You Need to be a to people who have been there a while,” says Brent Rasmussen,
Fearless Job Hunter Investing ›
president of CareerBuilder North America. “Dig in to understand
Shy? 8 Opening Lines to
Netw ork Like a Pro what’s made people successful there — treat it like a college course.”
Asking questions will help you understand how things work in that
organization and what to expect, as well as how to navigate the
workplace environment. No sign of a slowdown
for the IPO market?
“Every work environment has processes in place that have hopefully
Investing lessons from fantasy football
translated into business success,” says Scott Dobroski, community
Lineup changes for the Grow th and Mom entum
expert at Glassdoor. “Instead of trying to wow your boss with new portfolio
processes, really become familiar with how business is done day-to-
day.”
Learn the general office culture: how and when people email, how
calendars are organized, when people arrive, leave and take breaks,
and how information is shared. “Pay attention to these workplace
nuances and adopt them instead of trying to go against them,”
Dobroski adds.
No. 2 Show Up On Time and Be Present. Experts recommend
setting your work schedule around when people arrive and leave.
“Showing up on time, or even early, shows excitement and
enthusiasm for the role,” says Steinerd.
If you’re late, don’t make excuses, suggests Fraser. “If you are not
bothered about being on time, what does that say about the rest of
your work and what you’ll contribute?”
No.3 Build Your Network. “In real estate, it’s about location,
location, location, and in your career, it’s about people, people,
people,” says Sumita Banerjee, L’Oreal’s vice president for talent
recruitment. Meeting new people will help you learn about the
company beyond your direct role and understand how teams
collaborate, making you better equipped to contribute and thrive in
that culture.
Try to meet one new person or connection at work every day in your
first month, even if that’s introducing yourself to someone in the
kitchen. Building your network will help you understand who fits in
where in the organization.
Also, figure out who’s a great performer and ask him or her to lunch or
coffee so you can learn more about his or her success. Learning
about other people’s career paths will only help you progress in your
career. “It shows people that you care about the company and you
want to do well,” says Rasmussen.
Get to know people by participating in office gatherings and happy
hours (but always stay professional), recommends Steinerd, but avoid
getting involved with office politics or gossip.
No.4 Be Respectful. “There are people who are lower on the food
chain who people ignore, and it’s important to be respectful of
everyone, regardless of their position,” says Fraser. “Assistants and
admins are really important in an organization, and they can be very
influential people.”
During work-related conversations, give that person your full attention
and don’t check emails or take phone calls without excusing yourself
first, she adds.
No.5 Know What’s Expected. “This sounds really simple, but the
same way that you were familiar with due dates and how certain
professors like to be received, get familiar with the expectations and
be a master of this,” advises Dobroksi.
No matter your position, know what your boss expects and do your
best to meet expectations in the beginning. “Ask peers on your team
and your manager what they expect, and every once in a while, check
in if you’re doing the right thing,” says Rasmussen. “It’s an
uncomfortable position to be in if you don’t know whether you’re doing
the right things.”
Once you understand your role, you’ll be better prepared to go above
and beyond in a short amount of time, says Dobroski. “If you can
master this, you’ll come out ahead of your colleagues at the same
level.”
No.6 Go Above and Beyond. If you’re asked for two options and
you provide five, people will learn to be able to rely on you for future
projects.
“A company can train an employee to do the skill, but it can’t teach
work ethic or passion for a job,” says Rasmussen. “I want someone to
show me that they’re excited and positive about the job — they want
to know how they can help the company improve.”
If you finish your work early, instead of checking Facebook or sending
text messages, Fraser suggests finding other projects you can help
with.
No.7 Be Passionate and Enthusiastic. “Be devoted and interested
in the work you do,” says Banerjee. Follow your company and industry
in the press and draw insights from global trends, competitors and
innovation to push the frontiers of knowledge.
During your career, broaden your knowledgebase by learning every
day, even if you’re learning what not to do. “As you work through your
day, take some time to do some extra research so you are constantly
learning more—this will help you be effective in your job,” says Fraser.
No.8 Adopt the Weekly Status Update. Get in the habit of sending
a weekly status update to your boss and anyone relevant to whom
your work touches, suggests Dobroski.
The update should include details on the week’s highlights and
challenges, as well as priorities for the next week. “It helps your
supervisor know if you’re on point or why some projects got backed
up,” he adds.
MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS
Your Landline: Think Tw ice Before Cutting the Cord
Live Off My IRA so I Can Max out Social Security?
Steve Case: Startups Exist Outside Silicon Valley, Too
Toddler tries to defend m om in brutal attack caught on
video
Miss Delaw are stripped of crow n, scholarship because
she's too old
Okla. dem ands answ ers on recent earthquakes
[What's This?]
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
How to find the best last- Signs of confidence return
minute hotel deals
More From
DJIA
Nasdaq
S&P 500
Fox 50
Stocks
TOP STORIES POPULAR VIDEOS
Industries Is
Philips to Merge Leasing
Lighting Units into a Car Right for
Standalone Firm You?
Reuters
Markets
U.S. Equity Futures Global Markets on Rep.
One Puff and Pass
Lower Ahead of Track for Quarterly Rangel:
Closer to Legal
Data Gains No Such Thing
MPP director of federal policies Daniel
U.S. stock-index futures wavered Riffle on the latest on marijuana as a Limited
on Monday as traders awaited Business Leaders legalization. War
two key economic reports.
Steve Case: Startups
Exist Outside Silicon The
Valley, Too Biggest
Threat to the
September
Stock Market
Hole-in-
One
Insurance?
ALSO ON THE WEB
Market Snapshot: U.S. stock market: Futures soften, Chicago Count Friday’s Action as a Technical Success Wall Street This Week: From the REIT Way to the Fast Way
PMI next
Now is the Time to Get Back Into 3D Printing Stocks 4 Things You Didn't Know About Wills - But Should
United flight forced to land after slide opens mid-flight
Facebook (FB) Keeps Pushing Boundaries of ‘Too Far’ With After Market: Late Rally Saves Investors from a Dow n Day
TreeHouse Foods to buy Flagstone Foods for $860 mln Mood Study
The Week's Winners and Losers: GoPro Pops, Aereo Drops
Facebook's New s Feed manipulation touches off firestorm Biggest Movers in Technology Stocks Now – TTEC SATS MR
PLT The 7 Best Things to Buy in July
Paul B. Farrell: 13 w ays to meditate w ithout sitting like a monk
Biggest Movers in Services Stocks Now – AMX SSP HHC PAG
SECTIONS BROWSE SHOWS ABOUT FOLLOW
Home Trending After the Bell About Fox Business Facebook
Video Stock Quotes Cavuto Channel Finder Tw itter
Markets Video Closing Bell Advertise With Us Google+
Industries Anchors & Reporters Imus in the Morning Jobs at Fox Business LinkedIn
Economy & Policy TV Show Schedule Lou Dobbs Tonight Internships RSS
Investing Tools Making Money Terms of Use New sletters
Technology Topics Money w ith Melissa Francis Privacy Statement
Personal Finance Mobile Opening Bell Ad Choices
Business Leaders Apps & Dow nloads Risk & Rew ard FAQ
On Air Alerts Stossel Media Relations
Small Business Varney & Company
The Willis Report
The Independents
Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes. Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Market Data provided by Interactive
Data (Terms & Conditions). Powered and Implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Company fundamental
data provided by Morningstar. Earnings estimates data provided by Zacks. Mutual fund and ETF data provided by Lipper.
Economic data provided by Econoday. Dow Jones & Company Terms & Conditions.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2014 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights
reserved.
