By Vincent Malunga | 01 April 2022

Starting a new job can be both exciting and nerve-racking all at once and for good reasons. It is exciting because often it entails new and bigger responsibilities, new colleagues, new environment and higher pay. However, it can also be nerve racking because your previous reputation may have landed you the new job, but now is the time to start proving yourself all over again to new peers and superiors. A good start is important as it is a good boost to one’s confidence and rapid establishment of reputation. A bad start on the other hand, can spell a short stint in a new organisation with the death of confidence.

It is important to plan your first 90 days or 3 months to be able to demonstrate key achievements that will build and cement your reputation in the organisation. The first key thing to do is to make sure you sign your first performance contract on arrival. This will ensure that your focus will be on what your boss and the organisation consider key priorities and not just what you would like to be doing. It must be understood that the objectives and deliverables must be smart and time bound. This will ensure that your points of departure have proper alignment.

Secondly, ensure that you identify all the key people at all levels, who are critical to support your achievement of objectives. Your immediate boss is bound to be useful in this exercise. Make sure you meet with them and explicitly ask for their support. Most professionals feel good about someone asking them for their support, especially new people. Building good rapport secures support for delivery.

Third, make sure you have all the tools and resources without which you would not be able to deliver. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) objectives go nowhere without the necessary tools and resources to do the job.

Fourth, get on with the job without being a stranger; get your hands dirty by digging in. Already start seeing how you can go beyond the call of duty and how you can support others who may not already know your special talents and skills.

Fifth and just as important, is securing three-dimensional ongoing formal and informal feedback about your performance on your deliverables. Superiors, peers and subordinates are all important sources of honest feedback not empty praises. Use them well and regularly as sounding boards for what you are doing.

Sixth, make friends! It never hurts. There are dynamics and pieces of information that you can never get through official channels. If you make friends early, they share valuable insights to help you navigate the office politics and know who is who in the zoo. Unfortunately, corporate politics are very much a part of the work landscape and one must learn the specific politics of one’s organisation fast.

Finally, do not be shy about asking for support or assistance to remove roadblocks from all concerned. If you take this kind of approach, you are unlikely to have a torrid entry into the organisation and you are bound to settle into the super performer that you have always been. So if you have or are changing jobs, a happy first 90 days to you! Subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly publications on career related topics delivered directly to your email inbox.

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This article is also published in the GFI Newsletter on LinkedIn