Four Ways to Prepare for Your First Day on the Job

Congratulations! You’ve landed the job you worked so hard to get!

But now, the real work begins, and it all starts with the first day.

To be honest, the first day on the job isn’t going to make or break you – but it does set the tone for your onboarding into the company. A few simple steps can help you prepare for that first day of work and maximize the odds of making it a successful one.

Pick out your first-day outfit

There are a lot of things that are out of your control on day one. Your personal appearance isn’t one of them.

Even if you’ll be working in a production environment and covered from head to toe in personal protective equipment – picking out a good outfit can still make you feel confident in an unfamiliar environment.

You may be so excited, confident and ready to start making a decent buck that you think buying a brand new outfit to wear on your first day is a good idea. However, with so much newness set to be put on your plate, the last thing you should do is heap one more unfamiliar thing onto the pile.

Pick an outfit you already own, you feel confident wearing and is not your flashiest outfit. You’ll want to project easy confidence, not a desire for attention.

Pack snacks, not a lunch

You’re first day should be spent trying to connect with your new co-workers, and packing your own lunch can set you up to be that lonely new guy or gal eating all by themselves.

Instead, make it a point to buy lunch with your co-workers on your first day. If it’s common for everyone to pack a lunch, ask your closest co-worker or supervisor if they’d like to grab lunch with you.

It is a good idea to pack a few snacks as opposed to a lunch. First days are often packed with paper work, employee handbook sessions, training and so on. You should have a few snacks on hand to help keep your blood sugar up during all that onboarding.

Prepare a story or two

In Public Speaking 101 classes, one of the first things they teach you is: Telling a story about yourself can help put you at ease in front of a group of people. The same trick can also apply to your first day, which is typically filled with awkward silences.

If you walk in with a few appropriate anecdotes about your weekend or recent family activities, it can help to put both you and your new co-workers at ease.

Plan to get there early

Something always goes awry on the first day. Maybe there was an accident that held up traffic or the computer training program kept crashing. By leaving early, you’ll be there on time and give yourself a bit of a cushion should some part of your onboarding get messed up.

At Career Concepts, we have years of experience coaching our contract employees through their first day. If you’re looking to find work through a staffing company that offers comprehensive support, please contact us today.