Here I go again, bringing up work in a blog post…

It’s a Friday morning, and I’m giving this a final read through before I click Post, and before I start what I hope will be another productive day at work. I’m three months into a new job that I really enjoy, where I feel I’m improving by miles each day I’ve been here, and despite having more work and facing more difficult problems from day-to-day than my previous job, I couldn’t be happier.

When I look back, I remember how I felt when I started this job: I was a bag full of nerves with what felt like a brain full of useless fluff. Now, I feel more confident, have a much better understanding of how our app works, and feel like I can keep up during meetings with the more experienced members of this project.

It’s taken a while for me to get here, and admittedly I still have a way to go until I really find my feet and feeling like I can confidently contribute my own ideas. But three months in and I think I’ve settled in well, both with my colleagues and into the role itself.

So I thought I’d share my top three tips for settling into a new job:

Say yes (*within reason)

Obviously, take this one with a pinch of salt, depending on your availability, and how comfortable you are with following through with what you’d be agreeing to!

It’s not about saying yes to everything ever, like going out for drinks every night when you’re still feeling tender from the night before, or always taking on extra tasks that leave you working into the night – it’s about being more positive, and being open to new opportunities to bond with your colleagues and to enhance your skills.

* With this in mind, take care not to pressure yourself: if you find yourself faced with a decision that you’re not comfortable making, trust your gut!

Bring a notepad

Taking notes of everything I hear and see since I started my job has helped me more than I can describe.

Each company will have their own way of doing things, and sometimes their way isn’t what you’re used to, so making notes of their way of doing things, all the little quirks that seem so different to your last role, all help when it comes to progressing.

Walking out of a meeting of buzz-words and references to features I’m not even aware of is terrifying, but knowing I have all the details in my hand takes all of that away: especially when I get work that’s been previously discussed weeks before that I know I have notes about already. I can just open up my notebook, flick through and there it all is!

Ask questions

There is no such thing as a stupid question, especially when you’re a newbie in the company.

When starting a new job, people always make the assumption that they have to show how knowledgeable they are, as a way of proving that the company has made the right decision in hiring you. That’s natural (and I believe it’s called Imposter Syndrome).

But don’t let that prevent you from asking questions – no one knows everything in their field, no matter how specialised they are, and asking questions not only shows your employers how invested you are, it also helps you improve a million times faster than you would have if you hadn’t asked at all.

Your colleagues won’t expect you to know everything off the bat. In joining a new company, there’ll be so many unknowns, so expect your first few days, or even months, to be filled with questions, and revel in it!

I hope these tips have helped. I’ve written this with my own recent experience in mind, and I feel like these are the things that have really helped me connect with my colleagues, and improve myself along the way; essentially, I feel like I’ve settled in nicely thanks to doing these.

What has helped you settle into your job?

Photos in post by Nick Morrison, Domenico Loia, Lauren Mancke, Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash, & feature photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash