No matter how friendly your colleagues look, how comfortable you are with your manager or how much you are passionate about your work—one has to be always extra-cautious when you are a new employee at your workplace. You are yet to understand the way your new organisation works and how your teammates conduct themselves during the office hours.
In order to develop a rapport with everyone and create a good first impression, here are a few things you should avoid doing in the first month of your new job.
Trying to know everything
You can’t grasp all the information about the work and people around you in a few days. Try not to ask umpteen questions about who’s who, what is his/her work profile and get hold of all the office gossip. You might create the first image of being a pestering sleuth (rather than a hardworking professional!) and your teammates might find this irritating. Have a pro-active approach towards your work, and stick to only work-related questions.
Taking it easy
It might not be a good idea to start taking advantage of flexible working hours from the very first month of your new job. Conduct yourself professionally, and reach and leave office on time. Don’t extend your lunch hour or take frequent coffee breaks. After spending a few weeks, you will have a better idea of how reasonably flexible your work schedule can be.
Judging co-workers
Needless to say, a month is too less time to understand anyone around you at workplace. Like you would expect your teammates to not form any false impression about you, you need to do the same thing for them as well. Stay neutral and do not judge the people around you. Observe, understand and take your time to make a perception about anyone.
Know your inner self
Having know-it-all attitude
Remember: Irrespective of how many years you have spent in the professional world, ‘learning’ should always be a constant in your life. It is good to know your work and excel in what you do, but never have I-know-it-all attitude. It is a secret recipe of stunting your professional growth, and might be an indicator of your over-confident and arrogant attitude.
Limit your sarcasm and jokes
Be friendly while conversing with your colleagues but think before cracking jokes or making sarcastic comments. Your crude sarcasm or not-so-politically-correct jokes might offend your peers and lead to irreparable damage. Again, take your time to understand the people around you and what kind of jokes/sarcasm they appreciate. Trust us, it is not rocket science.
