First Corporate Job – How to Crush your First Week

Bybygracev

This post has the top tips for preparing for your first corporate job.

Your first corporate job is a HUGE accomplishment. Congratulations! You have worked hard to get here, now it’s time to show them what you got! Your first few weeks in a new job are overwhelming, filled with anxiousness and excitement.

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I was so excited when I accepted my first job offer, it is like Christmas morning full of excitement. Obviously it is the job offer itself that is so exciting: big girl title, cute outfits, a nice paycheck!! There are so many firsts that are about to happen,

I know work is hard and some people do not get as giddy as me, but I was proud and ready to started when it was my first week in the office.

If you are a recent college graduate, you know how hard you have worked to get your diploma. Assignments, projects, quizzes, tests, discussion boards, internship, etc, etc, etc. As my dad has always said: “college is teaching you how to learn”. And boy was he right.

You deserve to celebrate/treat yourself before your first day because you survived the application process, interview questions, and negotiations where you felt like you had no idea what you were doing.

A lot of information and details will be thrown your way the first week on the job, but sit back and take it all in. This is the time to be patient with yourself and not rush into anything. Get to know the space, your coworkers, the business, and TAKE NOTES!

If you take away any of the tips or advice from this post, let it be to take detailed notes!

Your first couple weeks will not be held to any standard, this is the opportunity to be the new person and take in all the information you can to be prepared for the real stuff!

There is no reason to stress, you have worked hard and have earned your position on the team. Follow these 6 tips and you will be set for the first couple weeks of your job!

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Follow these Top Tips & You Will Crush Your First Corporate Job Work Week

1. Do NOT go buy a million “corporate” outfits.

I know you want to go out and buy all new clothes in preparation for your first week. Your first corporate job is very exciting but do NOT do that!

Work/professional clothing is very expensive and you don’t want to spend all your money on clothing you might not even need or end up wearing.

Often times after signing your new contract and seeing your new paycheck, you get super excited and go “treat” yourself. Trust me and just wait a week or two after you start to go out and shop.

Every company is different, every division/department/team is different. Have two to three outfits that are business professional or casual to wear the first week or two then decide what to buy.

2. Bring a notebook & pens on your first day.

There is going to be a million things thrown at you on your first week. Login info, HR contacts, first week to do list, it never ends.

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You want to show you are eager to learn and are going to work to do everything to remember your job responsibilities.

Whether you write down your basic information from HR, your boss, or you are already taking on responsibilities, you have enough going on in your head, the last thing you want is to forget an instruction or information.

3. Ask questions to anyone and everyone.

The first couple weeks is your opportunity to be dumb. You are not impressing anyone, you already got the job.

I know you don’t want to be seen as the “new person”, but it is the ideal opportunity for you to show that you are inquisitive and want to learn.

This is your chance to ask anything and everything about the job:

  • Systems: Email, Portal, Softwares, Report Access
  • Administrative Tasks: Hour, Vacation, Benefits
  • Where are Office Supplies?
  • What are the Expectations?

4. Set up time with your new manager.

You want to have a first week or two week touch base with your manager to understand the expectations.

Ask to have one on one time and if there will be a cadence for your time to meet in regards to personal and work matters. It is important to show you value time with your boss and you want to support the team as best you can.

Also, being your first job, I assume you want to move up in the company so bring that up early so they know you want to grow in the role. 

5. Establish Boundaries First Week on the Job.

If you work late your first week, your peers and boss will take a mental note and expect that every week. With a low workload the first couple weeks, take advantage: work normal hours, take your lunch break, etc. 

Obviously hard work does not come easy, so stay late if needed of course or say yes to that extra project. Understand your own self boundaries and don’t overstretch yourself.

6. Make friends with coworkers.

Because you do not have a crazy workload or high expectations of you yet, this is your chance to network.

Set up 15-30 minutes with your peer set to get to know everyone on your team. Meet with someone in your role, they can give you the lay of the land.

This blog post was exactly how to crush your first week in your first corporate job.

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