🛠 7 most important things you should do on your first day at your new job! 😎
Tags: beginners, career, webdev, javascript
Published: 2019-11-10 15:48:57

You aced your job interview, and after three days you got a call from the company that they would be happy if you would join their development team. Excellent, you just got a new job! 🎉

You will start your new job in one week! It will be a Monday. Suddenly you feel the stress coming up. 

You are asking yourself: "Will my new colleagues like me? What should you wear on your first day?" and many have so much more thoughts in your head!

The following tips and tricks should help you to have a fantastic start at your new job!

#### What you should wear

These days it is not clear how dressed up you should go to work. Companies know that only relaxed workers are good works, so they don't have such strict dress codes. Also, usually, development teams are not facing the customer. So don't dress up like you would meet the president but also don't go in your old pullover that had its best time ten years ago at school. In general, it better to be overdressed than underdressed.

Here is your plan! On the first day go a little overdressed and then check out how other colleagues are dressed. So you are on the safe side.

#### Working hours

Have you ever been in an office where it is okay for one colleague to come at 9 and go at 17 and for another colleague that would always sit at his desk when you arrive and still sit there when you leave and when he once wants to leave on the same time when everybody goes to be asked questions why he is doing that?

So why is it okay for one person to work his 8 hours and from the other person it is expected to do extra hours? It comes down to expectations!

The company or your colleagues do not set these expectations! They are set by you! When you join a company, you are an unwritten page, and the only person who can write on that page is you! 

On your first day, decide what kind of guy you want to be? The 9 to 17 guy or the one who is staying longer.

#### Speak to all your colleagues

I know, I know. You are a developer, why should you talk to that woman from the sales team? You are doing the real worker, and she is just selling things. So why should you care about anyone else then your dev team?

First, you don't know maybe she is super funny, or she perhaps is your future wife? You don't know. Besides that, you can learn from here. Not just about sales but also what is happening in other parts of the company. This, in the end, can lead to a better product. Besides that, you don't want to eat alone lunch, right?

There is also one hack if you don't want to start the conversation. Put a bowl of sweets next to you and write free candy on it. People will come to you!

So get out there and just speak to random people!

#### Be humble

I often see new developers coming in and just bashing the whole thing. Starting from the software to the git commits to the architectural choices to the frameworks and libraries used.

Don't do that! By doing this, you will not earn the respect of your team. First, observe and if you don't understand why things are like they are then asked why and don't assume that they are just bad developers. You don't have the full picture. Maybe they only head 2 weeks to finish this feature, or it grows over time. 

So don't think you know everything and everything better. Be humble and ask if you don't understand something.

#### Ask for help and advice

I have seen this more than once. You are new, and you get a small task to start with, and you work on it, but at some point, you get stuck, and you can not figure out what is going wrong! You are getting annoyed and frustrated. This happens to all of us!

You should have asked long ago for help and advice. There is nothing wrong with asking your colleagues a question or for help. 

Asking a colleague for advice can also be an excellent way to build a relationship with that person. It shows them that you value there opinion and want to learn from them.

#### Be a team player

You will work in a team. The team can be 3 people, but it also can be 50 people. In any case, play for the team not against the team!

Learn the rituals and the systems of your team. Don't try to change it from the start. Observe and learn all the routines. Are you going together for a coffee? Is there one guy/girl that is loud in the office but everybody is okay with that.

If you want to change things around, then you must say why and how you would change it and what would be better if this one thing changed.

#### Relax

I know everything is new and you have to get used to it. Being stressed and under tension, all the time will not help you or your colleagues. I know it is a new step in your career path, and you want to do your best. Believe me, you are at your best when your calm and relaxed!

With these tips, your first day at your new work should be fantastic!

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