Starting at a new job can be daunting. Whether it’s a change in career or perhaps you have moved to a different company you are all of a sudden the new kid. While you want to get stuck in to the work and succeed professionally, it’s also important that you build relationships with your new colleagues and senior staff. This can be very overwhelming it can even be intimidating as you can feel pressure to do well and for people to like you straight away. You should keep in mind that your first three months are usually the time to find your feet and get used to the way things are run. Here are some tips on how to settle in well.

Adjust Your Daily Routine Accordingly

Now that you are working somewhere new you will have to adjust your daily routines. You may have to take different means of transport. Your commute may be longer, or shorter than it was previously. If you had mid-week activities such as a sports club or visiting friends you may have to reschedule these to suit your new work schedule. On your first few weeks try different options until you find what is best for you. Then stick to it. Once your body is used to getting up at the same time every day, and travelling the same route you will feel more settled. Allow yourself time to get used to your new schedule, and don’t feel you have to attend every social event until you are comfortable.

Think Positively

Changing job is bound to fill you with different emotions. Although you could be 100% certain that this move is right for you, you still may have feelings of anxiety for what is to come or even nostalgia of what has been. You could also come across some obstacles early on in your career change. Whether it is with the job itself or with your new colleagues, try not to let that get you down. Remain positive and remember why you wanted to move to this role. The likelihood is that things will settle down and you may even see people differently once you are more comfortable and confident in this new position. Also if you remain positive and enthusiastic it will invite your employees to interact with you and allow you to make friends a lot easier.

Take Notes

Observation is key when starting a new job. This is great for learning a new role, you can observe others who have the same role as you. You can also observe the way people interact with each other. This is a great way to learn how to fit in at your new company. It could help avoid some of those little awkward moments that we all experience when starting at a new job. For example how your boss reacts to certain things. Try to observe the best approach to asking for a favour or asking for help.

Get involved

You should try to immerse yourself in company culture as much as possible. If there are little rituals that the company take part in such as lunch at a local café on a Friday then you should try to attend. This shows that you are keen to get to know your colleagues. It also gives your colleagues a chance to get to know you.

Build Relationships

In the first few months you should make a keen effort to get to know some of your colleagues as well as possible. Pay attention when they are talking about their personal lives. Ask a question to show you have been listening to conversations that go on at lunch time or coffee breaks. This seems obvious and you may be a person who naturally makes friends easily. However when starting a new job it is easy to feel overwhelmed by everything you have to think about and remember. Sometimes your personality can be overshadowed by your focus on getting the job done right. Also if there is an opportunity where you can help someone with their workload you should offer to help. Showing you’re a team player in the early stages is good for building relationships.