3 Tips to Calm the New Job Jitters

Despite how much experience you may have with it, beginning a new job can be a frightening experience: You may not know anyone, the team dynamics and the specifics of your role.

While you can’t control everything about the situation, you can control how you respond to it. The following tips can help you get through the initial jitters that usually come with a new job.

Remember Why You’re There

When you’re focused on new-job jitters, it can be easy to lose sight of why you are there in the first place.

Start by thinking about why you wanted the position and the fact that you were able to beat out other candidates in order to land the job. Remember that you were hired for your skills, experience and potential. The company clearly has faith in your abilities and thinks you’ll be a great fit. If the company thinks this, you should too.

Also, spend some time reviewing the description of your new role and your job duties. Having a good knowledge of what the job entails can eliminate some unknowns and give you an important sense of purpose. Concentrating on the daily facets of the position and how you will handle them can be a very effective way to distract you from the new job jitters.

Embrace a Know-Nothing Mindset

It is tempting to hold on to the façade of unshakable confidence your projected in the interview, but don’t let a desire to keep up appearances get in the way of learning all you need to know to succeed.

Having secured the position, all you have to do once you’re in the job is project a bit of confidence and competence. Show a true desire to learn, pay attention, follow instructions and ask questions when feeling uncertain. Your supervisor expects you to be uncertain of some things at this point, so don’t hesitate to ask questions. Also, don’t panic if you make a mistake, as people understand that mistakes are part of learning process.

Also, take responsibility for your actions. It’s best to admit to mistakes and start working on a solution than hide from errors. Mistakes are often simpler to fix than you think, and companies rarely put new employees in a position where they must be error-free.

Write Everything Down

Odds are, you’ll be inundated with a great deal of information in your first days and weeks and it’ll be a hopeless undertaking to try to remember everything, especially if you’re feeling a bit nervous.

Writing down as much as possible, including the names of your new colleagues, will give you something to focus on other than nerves. Your notes will also help you stay on track during a period of uncertainty and nervousness.

We Can Provide You with On-the-Job Support

At Career Concepts, we maintain regular contact with our workers have they have been placed into their jobs to ensure that they thrive in their new environment. If you’re looking for a new job and want that kind of support, please contact us today.