Cheat Sheet: Starting a new job
With summer fully underway, many athletic trainers will begin the process of starting a new job. New grads will be getting their first job and those who have been in the field for some time will be changing roles for a variety of reasons: better fits, moving up, moving away, etc.
If you’re looking for the take home message first, here you go:
Easy action items in a new job: be patient with yourself, do your job as best you can, don’t be afraid to be an idiot, be a certified nice person, look the part, build relationships, and have fun.
I realize this is very generic advice so let me expand my thoughts.
It’s stressful starting a new job
Starting a new job is a commonly identified major life stressor; moving is too. I can attest to this. When I began my time at Fordham University, I had had 3 different jobs in 3 different states all within 1 year, no thanks to the Covid pandemic. In total I’ve had 6 total jobs in 7 years so I’ve had my share of change in my life; I’ve moved 8 times since I graduated college if anyone was curious. My only piece of advice there is learn how to save space when packing; one car load moves are ideal.
Here are some tips and pieces of advice I would have given myself when I look back in hindsight.
You won’t prove your value all in one day:
You were hired for a reason. Fight the urge to prove your worth in the first day, first month, or first year. Showing worth is a lot like building trust. It takes time, it’s hard, it’s hard to quantify, and you know when it happens, but not a moment sooner.
You also won’t build trust with others all in one day either:
Trust is a funny thing. There are no metrics that I can think for trust. Simon Sinek has a great quote relating trust to marriage. When talking to a friend he says “you didn’t fall in love with your wife sooner than 7 days, but it also didn’t take you 7 years to fall in love with your wife. Trust in many ways is the same. It takes longer than 7 days, but short than 7 years.” I’m paraphrasing his words there, but the point remains: it will take time.
How do you build trust?
reprinted from: https://pinnacleperformancechampions.org/tag/bill-belichick/
Even if you aren’t a Patriots fan, take Bill Belichick’s advice: DO YOUR JOB. If you show up everyday and do what you’re supposed to do, it really goes a long way. “Last one in first one out.” While that’s a tired cliché, it does go noticed when you’re starting a job. If you’re early and are prepared for the day, it only makes you look more professional. Last thing that can help build trust: build relationships. Don’t be a brownnoser while doing this. But, your main objective when you start a job is get the social dynamic of your colleagues down first, everything else comes with time.
Be an idiot
Luckily for me, this comes naturally.
Do not be afraid of looking like an idiot. I know that’s hard to do. We all have a reputation and ego driving our emotions. It’s okay if you make a mistake, ask what seems like a ‘stupid question,’ or flat out don’t know what you’re doing. Learn from mistakes. Take ownership of your shortcomings. Try to get better everyday. You weren’t born and were then walking the next day, so you can’t expect the same level of instant mastery when you start a new job. Imposter phenomenon is very common, especially if you’re starting a new job, regardless of how much experience you have. As I said before, you were hired for a reason.
Be a CNP
Mike Boyle coined the phrase CNP: Certified Nice Person. Be one.
Look the part
I’m not here to give people fashion advice. I’m also not going to get into the ‘what should athletic trainers wear’ debate. Whatever you wear to work, just look neat and professional. Regardless of how ‘inclusive,’ ‘open minded,’ or ‘judgement free’ you or your new place of work claims to be, you’re being judged on how you look and act. Now, we hope people aren’t holding judgement, but you’re being judged. If you look neat and professional, that helps with 1st impressions.
You have to fit in with the team and be yourself
Being on a team is a dichotomy of being an individual contributor and team player. Find your way to be both. We all have strengths and growth areas. Those with “big personalities” should work on raining that in when possible. Shy folks should work on the extraverted dimension. We’re multi-dimensional, just own your strengths and recognize when and/or where they can go too far.
Default to saying yes and learn to say no
image credit: https://martech.org/easy-button/
My default mode of thinking in a new job is “yes, how can I get that done.” This is a great mindset for showing value and work ethic. Where it can go wrong is becoming the ‘easy button.’ It’s great to default to saying yes, but there are limits to what we can do as individuals. Set boundaries and absolutely learn how to say “no.”
Build relationships with everyone possible
You never know who is going to be able to help you. It’s always a good idea to have a good relationship with somebody. Teams at work can become very siloed quickly. If you build relationships well across multiple teams, it can only help you, especially if there’s a major problem. Plus, people are cool.
Have fun
Take your work seriously. But have a little fun. I hope this helps you as you begin a new job. I hope you’ll take the time to forward this to someone starting a new job.
Good luck!
