Sandeep Goyal and
Carol Goyal
Authors of the book You're Hired! tell you what you must do
and avoid in your first few days of work. Click here to read an excerpt fromthe book!
(Sandeep Goyal and Carol Goyal recently
co-authored You’re Hired!, a book on simulated interviews for first time job
seekers. Sandeep is Chairman Mogae Media, while Carol his daughter is a law
student at Symbiosis Pune.)
Authors of the book You're Hired!
Sandip Goyal and Carol Goyal tell you all that you must do and everything you
should avoid in your first few days of work.
The first few days at a new job are
always tricky. New colleagues, new work culture and the excitement of the
uncertain. How do you reach out to your colleagues and not come across as being
an eager beaver? What conversations should you engage in and what are the ones
you must totally avoid? What constitutes as gossip and what doesn’t?
Sandip Goyal and Carol Goyal address
all these issues and more in their book You're Hired!
In a guest column, the Goyals write
about the dos and don’ts of the first few days at a new workplace.
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A new job. A new workplace.
A new environment. A new daily routine.
A new set of colleagues. A new boss.
It's a transition, actually
metamorphosis, from student life to work life
If you've recently been hired and are
about to join the organisation, here are just a few things you need to watch
out for.
The most important, never-to-forget
idiom is: Do in Rome as the Romans do.
Just try to blend in -- see what is
the normal, accepted etiquette of your new work place and just do what the
others are doing.
That is the easiest way to settle in.
And, you must be quick at it.
Still anxious? Follow these five DOs
and DON’Ts and ensure that the first few months will turn out to be a breeze.
The
DOs to follow in your first week of work
1.
Be yourself!
Neither too outgoing (talkative) nor
too quiet
Just behave normally.
Don’t put on an accent (very
important!).
Don’t talk too much (either out of
nervousness, or sheer excitement or both).
Speak when spoken to.
Don’t give monosyllabic answers or get
too long winded. Engage in normal conversation.
Also don’t go out of your way to go
and say ‘hullo’ to everyone.
By and by you will meet everyone, get
to know them. There is no hurry.
Barging into cabins of senior
colleagues or randomly shaking everyone’s hands at the cafeteria will not earn
you any brownies.
2.
Be communicative
Have a short intro, a firm handshake
and a smile always ready.
It is best to have a short intro.
"Hi ! I am Rahul Gupta,
Management Trainee in the Marketing department."
A firm handshake, and a smile is all
that is needed.
Avoid stuff like, "I am an MBA
from Jamnalal Bajaj Bombay, and Stephens Delhi before that.”
No need to proffer at first go. Say so
only if asked.
Ditto for, "I am from Indore. Our
family though originally hails from Punjab."
No need to state unnecessary personal
details when not asked for.
3.
Be appropriately dressed
Your student days are over, so are the
sneakers'.
It is time to be dressed right,
groomed right.
After all first impressions count!
No tees, no sneakers, no floaters for
sure (except ad agencies perhaps?!).
No loud shirts too.
In some banks, if everyone is wearing
a jacket and / or tie, then that is the norm: You too wear one.
In most sales jobs and management
jobs, an overnight stubble is frowned at. Avoid.
Tips for ladies : Dress smart.
Westerns don’t mean tees and jeans.
A Punjabi suit is formal enough if you
are comfortable in it. Or else, get yourself a nice set of Western formals.
Greys, dark blue, black, brown are all
formal colours.
Avoid loud reds, or heavy prints.
Also, light make-up please. No chunky jewelry, no jangling bangles!
4.
Be punctual
Buy a watch if you don’t have one. And
an alarm clock too!
One of the worst ways to start on your
career journey is by reporting late to work.
This is the surest way to earn
yourself a black mark.
Structured organisations, especially
those in manufacturing or service domains, mark this out as a sure sign of
indiscipline.
Think of it : Suppose you work at a
bank.
The bank opens to public at 10 am. You
report to work half an hour late.
Customers are already queuing up; what
do you think your boss will have to say?
Coming late is bad enough; making lame
excuses -- too much traffic, the rain, Ganesh processions, VIP movement etc etc
--- only moves you to an even more slippery situation.
5.
Be participative
Raise your hand when asked. Be
counted.
We will repeat here what we said
earlier -- just behave normally.
In a work situation, in a new team,
talk and behave just normally.
Being too quiet or shy won’t help.
You are expected to open up, speak up
and contribute to a discussion. Yes, of course, don’t speak just for the sake
of speaking.
There are no marks here or internal
assessment for class participation. Also, don’t over-reach beyond your station
in the organisation.
Speak when asked. Observe. Listen.
Say your bit wherever necessary. No
more. No less.
Meanwhile,
beware of the following in your first week:
1.
Don’t be smart-alecky
Smart alecs or loud mouths tend to get
into problems, sooner rather than later.
We know of a case where a newcomer
made a wisecrack on someone’s dress sense in the office cafeteria.
The subject of the sneer was the
Technical Director of the company.
He complained to the HR department.
The rest, as they say, is history.
2.
Don’t be pushy
Recently, a new Management Trainee
made six trips in a week to the HR department seeking ‘clarifications’ on his
appointment letter.
He was back every other day wanting to
know where he would be posted after the initial training at the factory.
He was told he would be informed when
everyone else was.
As if that was not enough, he went
scurrying to see the Sales Head almost every other hour with ‘thoughts’ and
‘ideas’.
Word got around very quickly.
Soon every department, every branch
office informed the HR department that they would rather not have the new MT on
their team.
3.
Don’t be nosy
A young lady MBA who joined a
multinational bank soon became good pals with the bevy of secretaries, and
started to gossip with them at lunch, and in the ladies.
She enjoyed the easy banter.
Soon those kind of loose conversations
was initiated with other colleagues: Your boss' salary? Does he have a girl
friend? Why does that lady manager spend so much time with the MD?
The HR head soon summoned our young
lady MBA and read out the riot act to her.
4.
Don’t be negative
Don't take it upon yourself to be the
voice of pessimism or negativism.
"A product similar to this one
failed in the US."
“The dollar will kill our company.”
"Management is not watching the
Sensex."
You may actually be right sometimes
but to look or sound like you are full of negative thoughts is hardly likely to
win you friends in your new work place.
5.
Don’t be absent
You will be surprised at the number of
newcomers who play truant from office!
This new Sales Trainee was absent last
month for six days -- unwell one day; sister had a baby boy -- gone for two
days; uncle passed away another day; friend’s wedding on yet another day;
Ganesh puja at home for one more day of absentations.
Leave-without-pay was a natural
corollary.
More importantly, his boss asked for
him to be transferred or sacked as he had been missing from assigned work for
far too many days.
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