Tips For Setting Yourself Up For Success In A New Role
Your job search is over, and you’re starting your new role. It’s your first day. You’re excited, nervous, and feeling some impostor syndrome starting to creep into your mind. You have a blank slate in front of you, which is invigorating and also intimidating. What can you do to make sure you succeed? Of course, the answer is going to vary from person to person and role to role, but this list provides a strong foundation to build upon.
1) Set clear expectations. Setting expectations is critical when you start a new role. At the beginning, you have a blank slate, which is a valuable opportunity to define your preferences and boundaries. Ask your colleagues how they prefer to work and communicate. Addressing any ambiguity early on will help you avoid difficult/awkward/uncomfortable situations down the line.
2) Establish goals. After you feel confident about your alignment with your team in terms of expectations, it’s a great idea to talk to your manager about goals for your performance. Some managers will have this clearly laid out ahead of time. Others may prefer to work together to come up with a plan. This 30–60–90 day plan is a great template to use if you find yourself taking the reins in the conversation.
3) Get organized. The first several weeks of any new role are intense, and a lot of information is coming at you. Don’t try to memorize it all. Create lists and cheat sheets to document what you’re learning, where you can access certain information, questions you need to ask, and point people for different topics or teams. These notes and resources will make you more efficient and minimize the need to search for information or re-learn things.
4) Find mentorship. Mentorship will help you hone your craft, perform well in your role, and develop in your career, all of which will build your professional confidence and capacity. Once you feel like you’ve found your footing in your role, start seeking out possible mentors. These should be internal (i.e. other employees of your company/organization) as well as external (e.g. professionals in your field who you meet through networking).
5) Keep learning. There’s a lot to learn about any role, especially if you haven’t worked in that capacity before. This can be intimidating, but the best way forward is to gradually — but consistently — add to your knowledge and strengthen your skill set. Slow and steady wins the race. Set realistic goals (like reading one article per day or one book per month), and stick to them. If you’re not sure what to focus on, ask your manager or mentor.
6) Network at your company/organization. Your success will be partially dependent on how others work with you, and that’s dependent on how much they trust and respect you. The best way to build trust and respect is simply to get to know people through 1:1 conversations. Your manager may have arranged for you to meet with people from other teams. If not, take it upon yourself to do so (and let your manager know). Talk to at least one person from every team at the company/organization and learn about their role, pain points, wants, and needs. Cultivating and maintaining these relationships will pay significant dividends over time.
7) Ask questions. When starting a new role, you need to learn a great deal in a relatively short time frame. Asking questions is one of the best ways to collect and clarify information. You may feel uncomfortable, uninformed, or even embarrassed, but do your best to push through those feelings and ask your questions anyway. Even seemingly simple questions are totally normal and expected. A strong and supportive team will always encourage you to ask questions.
8) Do your homework. (This is the corollary to #7.) Have you made an attempt to answer your own question before asking it? If not, do some research first (when applicable). The best way to ask a question is to say something like this: “I looked through the guide to our design system and didn’t see a section on interactions. Do we have any documentation I can refer to?” This shows that you have already taken some initiative but now need guidance (as opposed to being perceived as lazy or not resourceful). This same principle applies to preparing for meetings. Coming to a meeting prepared (i.e. having done the pre-work or pre-reading) will demonstrate your commitment to your work and your team.
9) Be honest, authentic, and vulnerable (if possible). The happiest and most satisfied employees feel like they can be themselves at work and are allowed to “be human” (i.e. making mistakes, having emotions, and taking time for their mental and physical wellbeing). Your personal and professional identities will never be exactly the same, but creating more overlap between the two will enable you to feel more seen and understood while also empowering your colleagues to support the real you. When you present your true self to your colleagues, they’re likely to appreciate your vulnerability and reciprocate. If you find that this isn’t the case, it may be worth exploring frameworks like nonviolent communication to help ensure that your message, intent, and needs are expressed as clearly as possible. If you make a good faith effort and don’t feel safe, supported, or seen, it may be time to start looking for a new employer. The major caveat here is that some circumstances and workplaces may not allow for honesty, authenticity, and vulnerability. If you are in a position where you don’t feel comfortable revealing your true self or feelings at work, start by discussing this dynamic with a trusted member of your network.
10) Be assertive and confident in what you have to offer. (This is the corollary to #9.) You were hired for this role for a reason: the people who decided to bring you on believe you have what it takes to succeed and deliver value. Remind yourself of this whenever you feel the impostor syndrome creeping back in. When participating in a meeting or decision making process, speak up. State your perspective or make your case, and lay out your rationale. It’s often helpful to point to some form of data that supports your position. This doesn’t mean that everyone will always agree with you or that you’ll always be right. However, it’s imperative that you believe in yourself. This belief is contagious and will also help you become comfortable with the idea that you deserve to be in the room or have a seat at the decision-making table. This element of your professional growth will open up new doors and unlock your potential. If you feel yourself struggling with assertiveness or confidence, consult with your mentor, manager, or another trusted member of your network.
11) Build a community. It’s incredibly valuable to get to know other people in your field and related fields. You’ll benefit immensely from their perspectives and knowledge and also find opportunities to contribute valuable insights of your own. This process of connecting with people and exchanging ideas creates a mutually beneficial upward career spiral. Right now, it may seem like you’ll be in this new role forever, but that’s unlikely. Most people in tech stay in a role for a couple years and then move elsewhere. Having a strong community you can rely on and use as a sounding board will help you future-proof your career and also provide opportunities to give back.
12) Pay it forward. This may seem like a distant future right now, but, before you know it, you’ll be in a mid to senior level role. By then you’ll be sitting on a wealth of knowledge and experience. Hopefully you’ll have built a community that has supported and sustained you over the course of your career. When people early in their career reach out for guidance or mentorship, help them out however you can (while maintaining healthy boundaries). You’ll find that this work is very rewarding and also helps continue to build your own confidence, credibility, and reputation. This concept can be summarized as “stay humble; stay helpful.” (Shout-out to Arlindo Pacheco for coining that phrase!)
13) Learn from your failures. Failure is inevitable; your challenge is to use it as a tool for transformation. Approach failures as opportunities to learn and grow (as opposed to reasons to doubt yourself or excuses to blame others). As many motivational figures and stories remind us, failure is only a first stop on the road to success. Embracing this truth is liberating and empowering because it enables you to take ownership of your failures (without judging yourself), analyze them, and turn them into insights that drive future improvement.
14) Celebrate and document your achievements. The initial phase of any new role is challenging and intimidating, so be sure to counterbalance any difficulties you encounter by celebrating early contributions, breakthroughs, and milestones. In the moment, it may seem like you’ll remember all the work you’re doing and projects you’re completing because you are so immersed in them. However, your memory will fade over time. (Think about the difference between trying to recall specifics from your teenage years and reading a journal or watching a video from that time.) Capture and catalog your achievements and processes so you can refer back to them and also incorporate them into future projects and job search materials. Acting as your own record-keeper or historian will ensure that your accomplishments and insights are preserved for yourself and others as you continue to progress in your career.
Hopefully this list sparked some ideas to explore as you begin this new chapter of your life! If you have any comments, critiques, or suggestions, I’d love to hear them. My goal is to update this piece over time as I come across new ideas, perspectives, and information. The best way to reach me is to connect on LinkedIn.
