There’s more to preparing for day one than shining your shoes, donning the perfect outfit and reviewing the company website. Consider this a golden opportunity to reflect on your ‘work self’ – how you’ve been perceived by superiors, peers and subordinates in the past, and how you’d like to be viewed in your new work environment.
At FindMyWhy we recognise the significance of your first 100 days in a new job, and our psychometric tools are designed to enable you to present yourself during this crucial phase with purpose, confidence and credibility. So, first and foremost, congratulations on your new role. You deserve to feel proud about your achievement, and excited about the opportunity that lies ahead of you. At FindMyWhy we know that this might naturally come hand in hand with some nerves, too. They say you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and maybe that’s what lies largely behind those first day jitters. Will my colleagues like me? Will my stakeholders view me as credible? Will my team respect me, and my superiors value me? All these questions, and more, will be sending the butterflies in your stomach into overdrive as you approach the threshold of your new workplace on day one. Alongside the anxiety over whether you’ll fit in, sits a layer of uncertainty about how you’ll be labelled, in the short and long term, by those around you.
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are? We don’t mean that sarcastically. It’s a genuine question, and an important one to ask yourself ahead of starting a new job. You’re faced with an opportunity to shape and mould how you’re perceived by a whole new set of superiors, peers and subordinates, who’ve never worked with you before. What kind of manager, colleague or team member do you aspire to be (and be seen as)? It may be that you’re stepping up to a leadership role for the first time and need to define and convey a management style that you’re comfortable with. Perhaps you’re glad of the opportunity to shake off a particular persona which has held you back in the past; goodbye ‘Matey Mike’, hello ‘Managerial Michael’. Now’s your chance … but it’ll require some reflection, introspection and preparation if you’re to achieve this whilst remaining authentic and true to your own values and traits.
Audit your personal presence
So, before you start your new job, we invite you to conduct a presence audit. Take the time to find out more about your ‘work self’ – how you are perceived by others, what motivates and drives you, the values that matter most to you, and the aspects of your personality that manifest themselves most and least commonly when you’re at work. Whether or not you consider yourself to be an ‘open book’, we’ll encourage you to really consider the impact your work environment has on you, and in turn, that you have within it. FindMyWhy enables you to look at yourself through a new and sharply focussed lens, so that you can enter your new workplace mindful of the impressions you tend to create (and the way in which you have become labelled as a result), how to draw upon your strengths and how to recognise and avoid those tendencies that can occasionally let you down. We want to make sure that the first – and ongoing – impression you create in your new working environment is designed to make its mark, memorably, and for the right reasons, whilst purposefully and positively shaping the impact of your presence and the way in which you are viewed by others.
How FindMyWhy works
FindMyWhy is a thought provoking, personal experience developed by a team of professional psychologists. Having spent the last 30 years using our expertise to help global organisations measure people, we’ve an unparalleled insight into how personalities interact with and impact the workplace. Our free personal purpose project now offers that same insight to individuals, not just employers, offering tailored support and guidance to help you love the life you live, and be the person you aspire to be, both on a personal and professional basis. Created by our expert team of psychologists, FindMyWhy starts as a simple online psychometric test and produces complementary and bespoke reports offering deep-dive analysis of you as an individual, your personality and how you are seen by others, helping you to better understand your own motivating factors and the impact you have on those around you. The insight provided by FindMyWhy will ensure that the perceptions you create and the labels you acquire in your first 100 days are entirely intentional and purposeful, rather than accidental. Most importantly, we’ll enable you to stand out – authentically and confidently – for all the right reasons and in all the right ways.
Getting started is simple, accessible and won’t cost a penny. Simply sign up via your desktop or handheld device; all you’ll need to provide is your name and email address to create an account and you’ll have immediate access to our psychometric questionnaire and the resulting reports, as well as a library of additional resources to guide you in your career and life journey.
For more information on FindMyWhy and the resources we provide, visit our website.