Handy Ideas to Help You Thrive in A New Job

While taking the next step up the career ladder is exciting, we could all do with some help to make starting a new job more fun and less stressful. Thankfully, I’ve been surrounded by seasoned colleagues who are more than willing to share tips. These five might help you survive and thrive in a new job:

1 – Build Your Support System

Most companies assign newbies a mentor in the early days, but if you feel bad about constantly leaning on the same person for help, branch out!

Introduce yourself to people across other departments, and ask for their input and insights. Sharing knowledge can help put things in perspective, and prevents you from developing tunnel-vision around your role.

2 – Five-Minute Rule

If a problem is taking you more than five minutes to puzzle through, asking is a great way to start collaborating with new team members. It shows that you’re a) humble enough to ask for help and b) willing to do the work it takes to do your job right.

Which brings us to the next point…

3 – Calendar Discipline

It’s tempting to jump in and say yes to everything in your first weeks. Enthusiasm is great, as long as you make sure to reserve enough time to learn your core job functions. Give yourself a little extra time each day to learn the new processes that are now a part of your everyday life. 

4 – Text Templates

If you find yourself typing up meeting minutes or follow-up emails in the same format, create and save that template either in your email client or using a typing shortcut program like TextExpander. This can give you a few minutes back in your day – it may not sound like much, but five minutes here and there can really add up!

5 –  Recharge Your Batteries

Ever wondered why babies need to sleep so much? 

Babies do a lot of learning; this doesn’t stop when we become adults.

When we take in vast amounts of information during the day, sleep is what enables our brains to sort through all this input and build more efficient pathways to help us to use that knowledge.

Sleep deprivation amplifies stress, suppresses your ability to think critically, and has a negative impact on your creativity – all no-no’s if you’re looking to learn and apply new knowledge rapidly. So power down that laptop and make sure to build in time for some good quality shut-eye!

Every fulfilling career has its share of fresh starts and job transitions. With the average career becoming shorter and shorter, many of us will find ourselves embarking on new professional adventures at least once every few years.

Have you started a new job recently, or are you a seasoned veteran? Share with us some habits, rituals, or ideas that helped you to enjoy and thrive in the early days of a new job in the comments below!