Making The Best First Impression Employment

Congratulations! You got the job and now you’re getting ready for that first day. A lot of people feel nervous at this stage. They start to wonder whether it was a good idea to go back to work and question whether they can juggle their other responsibilities. It’s a perfectly normal thing to go through, and you’re not alone.

The truth is that people from all walks of life go through this feeling. It’s what psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne A. Imes called Impostor Syndrome – the feeling that you’re impersonating someone more suited to your new role. Psychologists believe this feeling is related to anxiety — which we all deal with at some point in our lives.

There’s no short answer to this problem. For a lot of people, they’ll deal with Impostor Syndrome throughout their professional lives. But there are coping strategies we can use to work through these feelings.

Talk About Your Feelings

By talking through your feelings, you’ll find yourself becoming far more comfortable with them. Eventually, you’ll be able to cope with them without noticing. You could reach out to anyone — a friend, a family member, or a professional to talk to — just as long as you feel comfortable talking to them.

What’s really great, though, is that you don’t even have to speak to another person. If you want, you can engage in self-talk. This is where you work through your feelings by talking about them to yourself. By doing this, you can frame your feelings in a way that feels natural to you without having to worry about speaking to another person about them. This can be really handy if you’re feeling anxious the night before starting your new job.

Tell Your Friends and Family About Your Success

If you haven’t told your friends and family about your brand new job just yet, you should. Your friends and family are an important part of your support system. They can offer praise and encouragement when you’re feeling nervous about your new role and help prop you up when you’re feeling down. It’s that kind of positive reinforcement that helps to support you through periods of anxiety and stress.

Dress to Impress Yourself

There’s nothing quite like wearing your best clothes. By wearing clothes you feel comfortable in, you’ll feel better, and wearing your best clothes on your first day can really help you feel better and more confident.

Depending on your industry, this could mean different things. For example, if you’re working in an office, you might want to wear that really nice tie or blouse that you’ve been saving for a special occasion. Or, if you’re going into something like construction, your empowering clothing could be that great pair of jeans you’ve had since 2008.

It might take a while to find comforting clothes that suit your new role, but it’s worth the effort.

Do Your Research On Your New Job

First days are stressful for a lot of reasons. Maybe it’s because you’ve never done this kind of thing before. Or maybe it’s because you’re meeting new people for the first time. Whatever the case, it’s important to remember that just because you’re going into a new situation, it doesn’t mean that you have to go in blind.

Before starting your new job, take some time to go over the research you did before the interview. Become familiar with the company — learn what they do, how long they’ve done it, and who specifically is doing it. You can do the latter by taking a look at the company’s LinkedIn page and looking through the staff’s profiles. Try to find people who you know you’ll be working with and see if you can find something in common with them.

Even if you can’t find any specific information about your new co-workers, by taking a look at your new company and colleagues, you’ll become familiar with them. You’ll start to see your new company as a group of people — people just like you — and not as something to be worried about.

Remember: They Picked You

It’s very important to remember that your new manager picked you. Out of all the people who applied, they decided that you are the best person for the role. During that first day, when you’re feeling stressed out, it’s important to remember that you have your new boss’s full support and confidence in your abilities. It’s also important to remember that you have that by doing an excellent job during the interview and in your past roles. They believe in you — you should too.

Contact us for friendly support & guidance

By keeping this advice in mind, you’ll be able to tackle your new job confidently and without any issues. If you’d like more information or support in getting back to work, get in touch with us today or fill in the form below to book a one-to one appointment with our friendly team.