Newly Promoted? Avoid These Costly Mistakes.
Starting a new job can be nerve racking, especially if it’s a step up in your career and you’re moving to a new company. As you learn about your new environment, your coworkers, staff and superiors will all be sizing you up, so it’s important to avoid some critical mistakes that can have detrimental consequences to your reputation and to your effectiveness in the new role. With so much happening in the first few months of a new job it’s easy to forget some of these issues. But you can prepare in advance and make it easier to fit in to the new organization right from the first day.
Sharing Too Much Information
Building good business relationships fast is one of the first things you will want to focus on but take care not to engage in personal issues or share to much personal information especially of a negative nature. Remember that people are actively trying to assess you and are forming their first opinions. This is the time to be politically correct and strategic. Divulge enough to make people like you and trust you. Take care to present yourself as a reputable person that will fit into their organization and this means that you must not share any polarizing views such as your religious or political leanings. Assume that everything you say will be shared with people all over the organization. Another common pitfall is bad mouthing your previous employer or colleagues. This is always a bad idea and leaves people with a poor impression of you. Remember to be friendly with everyone from the receptionist to the President but not do not be seen to be overly friendly with anyone in particular.
Make the Right Business Connections
Building strong business connections fast is important within your company and with company partners such as suppliers and clients. Just make sure it’s a business relationship. Choosing the right business connections can help you with your job and with your career advancement. If your supervisor turns out to be a poor boss than you should work at making other business connections within the company. You can do this by reaching out in person to people you interact with. Emails alone do not build good business relationships.
Don’t be a “know it all”
When you work in one industry and move around various companies you may be tempted to refer to how you did things at your previous job (either good or bad). Refrain from doing this unless you are specifically asked about it. Your new colleagues will grow resentful of how well things were done at your previous job and soon they will be wishing you had stayed there. Instead, you can suggest new ideas or highlight potential risks that you know about. You don’t need to refer to your previous company. As well, don’t be too quick to point out the extent of your knowledge base. It doesn’t come across well if you vocalize your experience at every meeting. Instead you will want to display your capabilities with excellent work.
Be Mindful of the Company Culture
Company culture equates to how you “fit” into a company. These days organizations like to hire employees that have the right “fit”. This is rather an ambiguous concept because as a new employee you haven’t been exposed to the new culture yet. For your protection take great care to prepare yourself in this area because the subtleties of culture can be easily missed. Here are some quick things to watch out for;
-Wear clothing that is similar to what others in your role are wearing. If, for example, you are used to wearing suit and tie but find that in your new job everyone is in business casual change your wardrobe accordingly. Even your hairstyle may need to be changed in order to better assimilate .
-Watch for the subtle private language of the organization and adopt it quickly. For example, some companies use extensive acronyms to the point that any outsider would have no idea what is being discussed at a meeting. Other companies adapt terminology that implies their particular philosophy such as referring to staff as team members instead of staff. If you don’t adopt the language you will not fit in and soon the consequences will cascade into how you are perceived.
-In addition to the language you must also learn the company philosophies. Subtle differences can be very important in this area. For example some companies believe in using exclusively in-house expertise for their core business and therefore if you propose to outsource a particular project, you may find yourself at odds even if you can show numerous good reasons for outsourcing.
Your Boss Wants You To Succeed –Or do they?
You would assume that the person that hired you and is now your supervisor would have a vested interest in your success and therefore help you to find your way. But such is not always the case. There are many reasons that your boss may not step up to help you and a common one is that they may be an incompetent supervisor who has no clue how to manage people. It takes leadership vision to recognize that the value of investing in your team but not everyone has it. As a new employee you may very well be left in the cold to fend for yourself and this can be dangerous territory. Without that initial support from your supervisor, it becomes very difficult to garner the respect for your position that you need to be successful. For example, if your manager doesn’t take the time to introduce you to your team and you walk into a meeting alone to lead that meeting, you have been set up for failure. This type of scenario happens more often than you might think. Regardless of the difficulties you may experience with your new boss, never bad mouth this person or put them in a bad light. In this case, the best thing to do is seek alliances with the next level up from your manager and with managers of other departments in the organization. Additionally, you may want to revisit your options including starting a new job search.
Treat your support staff well
If you treat your staff poorly or if you use your title to demand respect from them, you may have the short term benefit but you will ultimately suffer damage to your own career. Support staff can literally make it or break it for you. You will need them in order to perform well in your own job and if you build strong relationships, you can greater confidence that they will come through when you need it. Most likely your boss will be asking questions directly and indirectly about you and how your staff portrays you will be noted. You can also bet that they won’t hesitate to talk about you negatively if you don’t treat them fairly and with respect. You need to gain the loyalty and respect of your team by demonstrating that you are capable and competent. Many people have lost their jobs due to the fact that they are condescending or arrogant with their support staff.
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Author: arfandia
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