The first impression you make at a company is often a lasting impression so make sure you impress your colleagues from day one. Follow this career advice to endear you to your colleagues, fit into the workplace culture and build a good rapport with your managers.
Be on time
Make sure you have allocated enough time to travel to your new office to make sure you are not late on your first day or during your first week. This has to take into account factors like peak hour traffic, parking availability and transport delays. It is preferable to arrive early but arriving more than ten minutes early can be just as bad as arriving late. Establish a good attendance record from the start and try not to take any days off, come in early and arrive late and don’t take extended lunch breaks.
Make small talk
Smile at your colleagues and make small talk at the photocopier or in the kitchen to try and bond with your team and find common ground. They may live in the same neighbourhood as you, watch the same television shows or follow the same football team. It is important however not to over share about your personal life and its best to wait a few weeks until you add them to your Facebook account or share intimate details about your private life.
Blend in with the crowd
While retaining your individuality is important, it is also important to fit into the corporate culture. Take note of whether people in your department at your level are dressed casually or in corporate dress and mirror their style of dressing for the few months. Once you have proven yourself as an employee and established your capabilities, you can start to test the waters and experiment with different forms of dressing.
Keep work and play separate
Make sure you keep personal emails or phones to a minimum and only check your Facebook, Twitter or personal email account during lunch time. Some companies do not allow their employees to look at certain websites like Facebook or send personal emails through the corporate email system so check your Internet policy before you start surfing the web or sending email jokes to everyone in your team. Put your mobile phone on silent and only check your messages during your breaks.
Be positive
Make sure you bring your positive attitude in the morning along with your briefcase and work documents. Work is not the platform to air your gripes about public transport, the ageing photocopying machine or difficult filing system. Be courteous and polite to everyone that you meet regardless of whether they are the receptionist or the head of the company. Try to avoid gossiping and talking about your colleagues. It’s also important to volunteer for projects or tasks, show enthusiasm and show your team spirit.
Every organisation has a specific workplace culture. When you work for an organisation for a period of time, you will start to get a feel for what is and isn’t appropriate etiquette within your own specific corporate environment. This will ultimately determine your success or failure within a company.