How to be less awkward when starting a new job
What I hear people say to me a lot is "How can you change jobs so often?" I can give tips on landing a job, but right now I want to talk about the harder part that no one really talks about.
It is so hard being the new person at work!
It's so awkward, and you feel so annoying with all the questions you have to ask, god forbid you make a mistake.
And when it is an office setting, where there's banter and inside jokes, that feeling left out is enough to make you want to give up the job completely.
Recently, I started my pharmacy internship at a community pharmacy, for 5 weeks. This is what I do everyday to ensure that I'm:
as helpful as possible
making connections
integrated into the workflow
These are the keys to ensuring you thrive in a new work environment.
Use your strengths to be helpful
Usually when you start a new job, the first thing they ask you is 'what's your previous experience?'
You have your resume, so you already know what your strengths are. You might even practice saying it for the interview. But in practice, it's helpful to really sit with yourself and ask, in all my previous work experience, what do I bring to the table?
Your work strengths could be:
speaking a different language
great customer service
great math skills
your attention to detail
your great sense of style
your confidence and persuasion skills
Great handwritting or fast typing
If you're saying, Kelcy, I'm great at everything! Then you need to spend the first couple days on the job finding what the workplace lacks, and fill in that gap.
You also need to offer your help whenever you can, and even better, teach someone something they didn't know (that's one of the best ways to gain someone's respect).
Make connections
Forget your bosses, the scariest people in your workplace can honestly be your coworkers. Fitting in is crucial to your survival in a workplace.
You need to figure out what the vibe is as soon as possible. Is it:
Family business
Corporate and highly professional
Fake-family coworkers
basically high school?
Either way, here's some ways to break the ice and make connections
teach something! (my earlier point)
bring something shareable to lunch (for e.g. cookies)
talk about the weather
talk about the holidays and weekends
if you have something in common with someone, let them know!
Honestly, you are in a position to be an open book and completely vulnerable. Embrace it, and laugh at yourself if you need to. Introduce yourself and act interested in the lives of the people around you.
You also need to know *who* to have friendly relationships with. There are some coworkers that might be jealous or threatened by you, and would like to take any little information they have on you to use against you. Make connections, but in the first few months, be surface level and aware of your image.
Integrate into the workflow
This is the tricky part, and is the determining factor of whether you have a strong future in your workplace. I have the habit of asking many questions when I first start, because my worst fear is to make an irreversible mistake that would lead to a waste of time for everyone in the workplace.
The best way you can integrate into the workflow and not be deadweight is to your team is to *do your homework*.
Think about ways to make your work efficient for everyone, and that could look different based on your field. For e.g. take the last 30 minutes of the day to do an automation that sends a daily update to your boss.
If you learn on the job, spend that extra time practicing the steps of the job. If you have been told how to do something once, it looks good if that's the only time they have to tell you.
If it is not time sensitive, try doing something without asking anyone for help. What that takes is confidence in your skills, and you will be appreciated.
Be communicative! Over communicate on what your tasks are, how much work you've done, the projects your team is on, and what obstacles you face during the day. Many workplace issues happen because of miscommunication or lack of communication, so bridging that gap would make you look and feel more apart of the team faster. Just don't gossip or say anything bad about your coworkers.
Thanks for reading! Let me know other things you can do to shorten that awkward newbie face at a new job.
Good luck!
