One thing I’d encourage people not to do is compare their first week in a new job with their final year in their old one. At your previous employer, you knew who to ask, where everything was and how to deal with most problems without thinking about it. That knowledge was built over months or years. You can’t reasonably expect to recreate it in a few days.

Ask questions when you’re unsure and make notes if that helps you. Most managers would much rather explain something twice than have somebody stay quiet because they’re worried about appearing inexperienced. Showing that you want to understand how things are done is generally a positive sign, not a weakness.

It’s also worth giving the people around you time to get to know you. Every workplace has its own personalities and relationships, and you won’t necessarily feel part of the team immediately. That doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong decision. Often it simply means you’re new.

Of course, if there are serious problems with the role or it turns out to be fundamentally different from what you were promised, that’s another matter and you should speak to your recruiter or manager. But ordinary first-week nerves are very different from a genuinely bad job.

At ASL Recruitment, we don’t consider our involvement finished simply because somebody has started work. We like hearing how our candidates are getting on, and if you’re unsure about something during those first few weeks, there’s nothing wrong with picking up the phone and having a conversation with us.

Final Thought

You were hired because somebody believed you could do the job. Don’t expect yourself to know everything on day one. Give yourself the same time to settle in that you’d give anyone else.

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