I was recently contacted by a college student who is very dear to me. She was nervous about starting her very first internship in a large corporation. We had a coaching session about how to take her nerves down by envisioning those first steps she needed to take to make sure she was a successful intern and cause a great first impression. I remember my first job too. I had no clue about what it would be like and felt inexperienced, and insecure, but at the same time excited to learn and earn some money. The one thing I do remember is that I never asked myself “What do I want to get out of this internship?” and “What do they expect from me?”. Ironically, I don’t think I asked myself that until further in life.
First impressions are important because they determine the anchor or positioning you have when you first start a job. You want to start high on your counterpart’s likability scale. If on a scale from 1 to 10, you first come in with a great attitude and relevant work, your boss will position you at a 9-10. It is always more difficult to go up than down. The same concept applies to interviews, but that is another blog entry.
I will start with some ideas, the college student and I came up with during our conversation, maybe you have some more ideas to share also:
Prepare for your first meeting with the Boss
If you did not have the chance to grasp all aspects of the job during your interview process, this is the time to clarify expectations and the best way to operate on the job. It is important to prepare for this meeting with your supervisor so we make sure we don’t miss anything, and it will make you look very professional and focused on the common goals:
What are the key success factors of this project, job position, or internship? What would tell you that I succeeded?
What are the deliverables, and milestones (timing)?
What advice can you provide me to be successful on these goals? What is the key to know?
Who do you suggest I meet and build a relationship with inside the company?
How and when is the best time to meet with you to follow up on my progress?
What do you most appreciate, in communication and work dynamics, of the people you work with?
What is your approach to feedback?
This meeting is the contract agreement. You will agree to the terms of your relationship and how you will succeed together in partnership. The more clarity you have, the less insecure you will feel because you know what your goals are and how to achieve them.
Make a plan
After this important meeting, it is time to set up a plan for the first 2-3 months. Main deliverables, milestones, learnings, people to meet or call, etc. Having a plan is the first step to achieving your goals. Then comes prioritization. You can have a conversation about prioritization with the team. If not, ask yourself, what are the first things I can do that would have the greatest impact on everything else in my work or project? Or what is urgent and important, without forgetting what is not urgent but important to your success.
Understand the culture and politics
Observe, learn, and ask those who have been there long enough. What is the tone of the emails? Do people prefer in-person, by phone, or by email? Is the communication and dress code formal, or informal? Is there a coffee break that I must attend? What behaviors are welcome and which are not? Adapting to the culture is important for people to see you as part of their team and not as an outsider.
Identify key mentors and allies
In all positions, some key people can help us succeed, whether with wise advice, experience sharing, help shortcut a process, valuable information, connecting us with a key person, or speaking highly about us, among other things. To give you an example, it is common knowledge that getting along with the Big Boss’s assistant, the IT support genius, and the receptionist is key to anyone’s success in a company. They can help you get out of trouble, gain insider information, and save you when you erase a valuable file and there is a long waitlist in IT support. The same things happen with mentors, those who have walked the road before us and can provide friendly advice that can make our journey easier and even throw a good word for us. I recommend being generous, honest, and humble in these relationships, you will be surprised how much you can learn. Planning a coffee or lunch with a diversity of people in the company is a great time investment.
Quick wins while listening
When starting a new job, some of us think that bringing many ideas, changing many things, and raising our hands in all meetings, will give the impression that we are hitting the road and running; contributing quickly. Well, quick wins are important to shine in your first weeks, but what if those new ideas are not so irrelevant? Or maybe changing many things is going backward or upsetting players we did not take into account? Understanding where you are is crucial to figuring out where you are going. Before we start making decisions or suggesting new plans, it is best to listen and ask as many questions as we can and learn. Colleagues will prefer that you appreciate and learn the context and priorities before you use your “air time.” You will also gain better arguments, more allies, and higher relevance for your plan.
I hope you enjoyed some of these tips and suggestions. I am sure you can come up with more ideas to make that powerful first impression. If you do, I am happy to hear them in the comments below.
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