Tips for Landing a Job Straight out of College

In an April 2014 study, 83% of graduating seniors said that they didn’t have a job lined up for after college. 

This is after 73% said they were actively looking for one. Yikes!

Why is the job market for college graduates so difficult, and how do we beat it? I think it’s partly due to the fact that millennials have more college degrees than any previous generation. So when everyone around you has their bachelor’s degree, it’s more important than ever to stand out.

I want to take a minute and go back in time to last fall, when I was starting to explore my options for after graduation. A prequel, if you will, like Star Wars Episode I but without the awful child acting.

College students get a lot of advice from their professors on how to network to find a job. I think they’re just as eager to lower the statistic of jobless graduates as we graduates are. I can’t say definitively all the things that do and don’t work, but in this post I’m going to talk about what worked for me, and I hope it helps!

Tips for Landing a Job out of College:

DO

1- Use LinkedIn. I didn’t find my job through LinkedIn, but there were a few opportunities that found me through there. The timing was never right, but it taught me what employers are looking for and where they’re looking. (I actually had one company reach out to me because they thought I already had my degree. I had to let them know I wasn’t as qualified as they thought.)

My motivation for being active on LinkedIn was my part-time job; I was doing a little recruiting for a company, so I needed my profile to be up-to-date. It ended up helping me out and I have quite a few connections in and out of the university. Whatever your motivation, be active on LinkedIn so you can start building up those connections.

2- Be relentlessly involved in activities that are relevant to your career. There are thousands of activities you could choose to be involved in. Do you ever feel like, if you said yes to everything, you could be involved in two dozen on-campus activities by the second week of the semester?

Sure, join intramural tennis and the university choir, you’ll make great memories. Also leave time for activities that will build your resume. If you’re going into marketing, for example, get involved with your university’s Marketing Society. If you attend regularly, get involved with projects or as an officer, and stay involved over multiple semesters, it’s a great asset to your resume. Plus, there’s often guest speakers at student societies, so it’s another way to network.

3- Put yourself in the path of recruiters. Societies, career fairs, LinkedIn, and info sessions are all good ways to meet recruiters. I went to a career fair my senior year and that’s how I found the job I have now. I’d been to career fairs before, but a lot of students go unprepared, more curious to see what’s out there than serious about landing a job. I didn’t know what would come of it. But just to be prepared, I dressed up, updated my resume, and went by myself so that I could spend as much time as I wanted at each booth. I pushed myself to talk to people even when it was uncomfortable. I looked into booths I normally would have looked over. And it paid off!

The keys to being successful at a career fair are be prepared, go by yourself and talk to everyone. It’s easier for a candidate to stand out if they don’t come with all their friends.

DON’T

Don’t become a better interviewer than employee. Let me explain what I mean.  Practicing your interview skills is so important, but working in HR, I’ve found that some people are amazing interviewers and poor employees. In the interview they know all the right answers, and they seem dedicated, confident, outgoing, and competent. I met one girl who did a total 180 degree flip after she was hired from the person I thought she was in the interview. If you tend to be entitled or a little lazy, be honest with yourself and work on that now. You might land a job if you don’t, but that landing won’t stick unless you really are as good as you say you are.

 

Tips for Talking with Intimidating People

 

I’d like to think I can hold my own in a conversation. Wouldn’t most people? I have my moments where I say something dorky, of course, but most of the time, I’m pretty much able to be myself, ask questions, listen, and provide the occasional witty comeback. I enjoy talking to people, and I thrive on the feeling I get when I make a new friend.

And then somebody impressive like a VP or an executive walks into the room, and I’m looking under my desk for my social skills.

Am I the only one that ever feels that way? Like, “Why did I just turn into a potato with a mouth?” What is it that happens psychologically when we’re in the presence of someone who we find intimidating or awe-inspiring? They’re just people, after all.

As I was talking with a group of coworkers at lunch, I noticed something new about one of our fearless leaders who was eating lunch with us. As he was telling a story, I realized I could totally imagine him, twenty years younger, a gangly, funny, sporty teen, who hadn’t done anything too impressive with his life yet, with just enough quirkiness to be endearing.  With this image in mind, he was so much easier to talk to, relate with, and be myself around.

Understanding that acting awkward around our bosses is a common entry-level failing, here are three steps to talking with people who intimidate you.

Step one- De-intimidate them.

The mental image of the gangly teen totally broke through some communication barriers for me. People are literally just people.

Any mental trick that helps you remember that fact will do the trick. Some people will say “imagine everyone in their underwear,” frankly I find that idea disturbing, but hey, to each his own. For me, it works to imagine people as their younger, newer, more naive, or more at home selves.

A person isn’t intimidating until you tell yourself they are. De-intimidate them, and the power goes away.

Step two- Repeat after me: “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

When I was going through the interview process with Alma Lace, I met with a senior recruiter, a senior manager, a director, and a vice president. Looking back, it’s interesting that the same people I was so relaxed around during interviews are people that I sometimes act stiff around now that I work with them. I wasn’t desperate for the job when I interviewed; I was just curious. I thought, “If they like me, great; if not, no worries.” My mindset was that I had nothing to lose.

Now that I work there, I do have something to lose, of course. But the only person who can change that perception is myself. Sometimes we can take the “every day is an interview” idea a little too seriously, and it can get in the way of forming relationships. Be your best self, of course, but be your best SELF.

Step three- Think of what you would say to your favorite coworker, and say that.

I think one of the first mistakes we make when talking with someone older or higher-ranking is that we overthink our response. Chances are very good that your boss likes a lot of the same things you do– pizza, football, weekends, The Office, free stuff, sleep, Christmas. It’s really not that hard.

It gets complicated when we start thinking that because they seem impressive, you must need to act impressive. Drop the formal vernacular and stiff posture, and ask them how they’re doing. Everyone will feel more comfortable.

 

How I Diffused the Responsibility Bomb

If you recall, about a month ago I wrote a post about a new tidal wave of responsibility coming my way. Namely, my boss would be taking a leave of absence and I would be sitting at her desk, fielding anything that might come her way. Sort of like a live, auto-reply email that can actually help you in person. After just four days on the job, you can imagine how nervous I was!

Now that the tidal wave has come, hit, and passed, I am happy to report that I landed on my feet. Since my boss is the HR business partner for a large department, I had a lot of people coming my way with issues I didn’t always have the answer to. But even if I didn’t know everything about the business, I found that I could always listen- really listen, empathize, understand, solve what I could, and research what I couldn’t.

There was one attempt in particular, one of the times I was trying to help an employee with an unfamiliar-ish issue, where I thought, “Surely I blew that one. I can’t have helped that person with anything they didn’t already know.” But I was surprised to find a note in my inbox from that employee the next day: “Thank you so much for your help, Megan. You made this process so much easier for me.” 

When my boss came back to work, she left a thank you note and a gift card on my desk for taking care of things during her time off. I would do it ten times over for the turbo-charge to my learning and the feeling of knowing I was appreciated.

 

Diffusing the Responsibility Bomb:

DO

1-  Run toward that tidal wave, not away. If you’re in a position where you feel like you’re about to take on more than you’re ready for, my advice is to ride it as best you can, knowing that you’ll make mistakes. Take ownership of your mistakes, and then take notes so you know what to do differently next time.

2- Remember that on the other side of this stress is capability and competence on a whole new level. As Wendell Phillips said, “Responsibility educates.” I learned so much more about how HR at Alma Lace works by being thrown into the deep end than I ever would have otherwise. And now, nearly a month after my boss has resumed her post, it’s hard to remember what I was stressed out about! Trust me, as a new employee and a college senior scrambling to finish all my classes, I know that a new challenge can feel insurmountable sometimes. And trust me when I say that on the other side, you’ll forget how stressful it was. 

3- Follow this pattern: Listen, LISTEN, ask, repeat. Assuming that you’ll be able to wing it without the help of others is both egocentric and naive. The people you work with can teach you so much, as can the people you’re serving. “Listen” is both step one and two because active, conscious, restate-what-they-just-said listening can help reduce the learning curve in amazing ways.

 

“Responsibility is the thing people dread most of all. Yet it is the one thing in the world that develops us, gives us manhood or womanhood fiber.” Dr. Frank Crane

Proving You’re Not the Typical Millennial

 

If you were born between the years of 1980 and 2000, you’re probably used to being lumped into a group of characteristics, mostly negative, that are meant to describe you and 83 million other people. You’ve probably been called entitled, flighty, impulsive, lazy, impatient, overly sensitive, and socially inept- not “you” specifically, but “you” as a part of the whole group.

When it comes to landing a job and shining in it, this can be an obstacle: You might have to swim upstream against preconceived ideas and opinions about you just because of your age. Ideally, you’ll choose a job with a company where management understands that people of all ages have value to contribute. But because this is the real world, you should be prepared that at least one person will expect less of you than you have the potential to give.

I definitely have been lucky to find myself in a company where management holds me to the high expectations I have for myself, and sometimes it even raises them. While I haven’t ever felt that I’m disrespected as a millennial, I don’t want to ever let that be the case.

Working in HR, I’ve had the chance to meet with and coach a lot of millennials. I see some of these stereotypes in them, and I see some of them in myself. Other times, I see millennials completely crush the reputation we have collectively been saddled with, and it blows me away. There are some definite “do’s” and “don’ts” for setting yourself apart and gaining management respect. Based on what I’ve observed so far, these are my recommendations for how to prove that you don’t fit the typical millennial mold.

Proving You’re Not the Typical Millennial:

DO

1- Challenge the stereotype through your actions. Stereotypes might not be true, but they originate from somewhere. Combat them by working extra hard to send the message that the shoe just does not fit. Millennials are lazy? Show up early, every day. Millennials need constant reassurance? Work consistently whether you get feedback or not. Millennials are impulsive? Show that you know how to make a strategic plan and stick to it.

 

And for Pete’s sake, be tactful about when you request vacation time. Taking a week off in the first two months might be a possibility, depending on your employer’s benefits, but does it send the message you’re trying to send about your work ethic and priorities? And could asking for vacation during your department’s busiest times reinforce the “entitled” idea? Sure, it’s yours to use, but showing a little consideration goes a long way.

2- Impress them with your interpersonal skills. The rise of the digital age does not have to be the death of face-to-face social skills. Practice the art of small talk, and make sure your conversations with others aren’t all about you.

Become an expert at the hard conversations too. Learn the right way to ask questions when you feel stupid, express an unpopular or new idea, own up to your own mistakes, and occasionally call others out on theirs.  I highly recommend reading the book Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson and Joseph Grenny. It’s transformative when it comes to navigating tricky conversations successfully.

3- When you’re at work, work. One news contributed who proclaimed he would “never hire another millennial” cited this reason:

“I’m convinced these people want to have jobs — they just don’t want to work. … The problem is that when they get to the office, nothing happens.”

Volunteer for projects, and dig deep on them. Come up with solutions when it’s easier to come up with questions. Go the extra mile. And whatever you do, don’t count the time; make the time count.

4- Wait patiently. According to research, patience is the biggest characteristic that we need to prove we have. If feedback, raises, promotions, new responsibilities, or recognition doesn’t come immediately, please don’t freak out. One of the biggest prices we pay for success is time.

Sometimes we think of patience as sitting around passively, but it’s more. The best definition of patience I’ve ever heard is “actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort.”

DON’T

1- Become someone you’re not just to please management.

Although the reputation that millennials carry is heavy on the headaches for management, there are positive things about our generation that companies look forward to having on their teams. They like our confidence, willingness to say yes, and our digital nativity, to name a few. What positive characteristics are unique to you? Figure out what you can bring to the table and then bring it.

You don’t have to act like a Baby Boomer or a Gen X to be a valuable employee. Remember, their generations carried their own stereotypes too, positive and negative. The best version of yourself is the one you should tap into, because that’s the one you can be consistently throughout your career.

2- Don’t fall into the trap of stereotyping others.

If you want people to refrain from labeling you, the last thing you should do is label others. Our generation seems to be really good at inclusion and diversity, but do we extend it to older members of the team and of management? Are we ever guilty of ageism?

When you can learn from others in their 40’s and 50’s and 60’s who might have had decades of experience in your desired field, why in the world would you throw out that amazing opportunity? That is one of the quickest ways to reinforce a bad reputation– to assume less value in others, we inadvertently de-value ourselves.

Great book to read from this blog post:

Three Things You Shouldn’t Do With Your First Paycheck

It’s no secret that we millennials manage money differently than our parents (a little more skeptical and a little more app-driven, for example.) You probably have a system in place, or at least in the works, for how you like to manage your money. And then BAM, you finally get a degree, a new job and a new paycheck come into the picture. You’ve got a bit more income than you did waiting tables through college. How does your financial strategy change now?

I’m coming up on my third paycheck at my new job, and I’ve been thinking, what is the best thing to do with your first paycheck? After researching what the financial experts say, I’m finding that it’s not so much a matter of what you have to do with your first check, and more of what you definitely shouldn’t do. Here it is:

3 Things You SHOULDN’T Do With Your First Paycheck:

1. Celebrate too hard.

Your first paycheck is something to celebrate, for sure, but taking it on a shopping spree probably wouldn’t be the best idea. It’s fine to treat yourself, but be careful not to live beyond your means. Just because your income has increased doesn’t mean that your lifestyle should instantly increase. Take it slow, pay the bills, celebrate a little, and then save what you can. Remember, there will be more in the future!

2. Forego the 401k for more take-home pay.

You’ve heard the advice that it’s essential to start saving for retirement when you’re young. If your employer handed you the enrollment form and you put it off for later, not sure of what you want to contribute, I’d recommend going back and filling it out now! Find out what the employer match is, and how much you need to contribute to get the full match. Experts agree that you should contribute enough to meet your match. 

That said, be careful not to sign up for benefits that you don’t need or that don’t help your current situation. Only you can determine that for sure.

3. Be too vocal about your hard-earned cash.

Have you heard the phrase “cheap talk?” Don’t engage in it. Your first paycheck is exciting, and it can be tempting to talk about it with people who, honestly, don’t need to know about it. Whether the temptation is to croon about the high salary you’ve landed or  to vent about the low rate you’ve started at, it’s really not anyone’s business.

When people ask, “How’s the new job?” You can say, “It’s great! My coworkers are a lot of fun,” or, “I love the projects I’m working on,” and leave it at that. Sharing specifics can start the comparison-judgement game from both sides of the table, and you just don’t need that in your life.

 

Why You Should Make A Ton of Mistakes at Work

 

Yesterday felt like one string of of air-headed moment after air-headed moment.

Picture this: It’s around 12:30 and I’m ready for lunch. I stroll down to the office’s cafeteria and load my plate up with food from the hot bar. I pay, sit down, and realize that I never clocked out! So I leave my food alone at a table and dash back to my office- several solid minutes from the cafeteria, when you’re walking fast. I clock out, make it back to my food, some coworkers join me and I’m feeling great. Food’s a little cold, but that’s alright. As I’m looking around, I notice the screen in the corner with names and numbers on it. To make conversation, I ask, “what does the screen mean?”

“It’s people’s orders,” one coworker replies.

I’m still puzzled by the two-digit number after each name. “Oh, so the numbers are like… ‘75% ready, 17% ready’?”

Right as it leaves my mouth, it hits me. Duh. An order number, like any other restaurant that’s ever existed.

We all laugh, and as the conversation shifts, I take a sip of water– Dang it. It’s soda water. My poker face doesn’t give anything away. And out of pride, I drink that flavorless carbonated water for the rest of my lunch.

 

 

It’s easy to laugh at yourself when the mistake is just a blonde moment, but the real trick is learning how to move on–and even celebrate– real on-the-job mistakes.

We’ve grown up in the 90’s hearing things like Ms. Frizzle’s immortal words, “Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy!” But when we start our careers and the stakes are higher, the thought of messing up what your boss asked you to do can feel almost paralyzing. We start to fall into the “snowball effect” of thinking: If I do this wrong, then this other thing won’t get done, then I won’t live up to my boss’s expectations, and then I won’t get a raise, so I’d better not try. 

 

Think about it this way: What happens if you don’t try?

How would the world be different if Thomas Edison had given up after 1,000 unsuccessful attempts to invent the lightbulb?

How about if Steve Jobs had given up after he was fired from his own company? 

And what would have happened if J.K. Rowling didn’t try a 13th time to have a publisher accept her first Harry Potter novel?

 

 

So my point is, no one is immune from making mistakes- large ones or small ones. As much as we’d like to be experts in our field right now, making mistakes is the price we pay for the ticket to success.

As golfer Bobby Jones put it, “I never learned anything from a match that I won.”

I sat at my desk yesterday morning around 9:00, grappling with a recruiting project I’d been asked to complete, not sure all the steps it would take to complete it. I knew I had three choices:

A) Ask some stupid questions that probably have obvious answers, and then move forward.

B) Wing it, knowing that I might totally botch it, but at least I didn’t have to ask the questions.

or

C) Do nothing and continue to sit there.

I went with a mix of A and B. Since I chose not to be paralyzed by perfectionism, I was able to stumble forward, ask my questions, get out of my comfort zone, and get some results. My recruiting project for the day ended in some excellent interviews that are going to produce some high-quality hires for the company.

Too often, we start out in our careers thinking that we need to be like this:

 

 

When really, how ridiculous is it to think that anyone can get through life without making mistakes? I’m not saying we should run around haphazardly with no caution or ownership of our own choices, but I am saying that we should cut ourselves a break and not expect immediate perfection. We should learn to celebrate the mistakes that teach us something and help us become more.

 

The only mistake you can really make is to not ask and to not try.

Go get ’em!

 

 

 

Month 1 Down, Millennials!

So much change happens in the first month of a new job. With one month at my new job under my belt, I think it’s time to celebrate! It’s the weekend, and I’m celebrating by spending some much-needed quality time with my in-laws. Here’s one month by the numbers:

• 15 work days

• Two weeks of sitting in my boss’s office, running HR for the call center while my boss was away

• 4 staff meetings

• 3 cross-training opportunities

•  Countless interviews, roundtable discussions and one-on-ones with staff members

• At least 30 sticky notes used up by notes

• 1 hairnet worn (long story)

• Dozens of new stories and experiences

 

And here’s a recap of the do’s and dont’s that I’d recommend to you for the first month in your new job:

• Be prepared.

• Be a sponge.

• Be ready to speak.

• Make a conscious effort to remember names.

• Don’t apologize for the fact that you’re new.

• Don’t be afraid to apply outside knowledge to new tasks.

• Don’t worry that you don’t know everything right now.

• Take close notes.

• Be motivated, not debilitated, by how much you don’t know.

• Know that it’s okay to accept help.

• Don’t commit to more than you can actually do.

• Remember that nervousness and excitement are the same emotion with a different attitude.

• Assume that people will like you.

• Ask questions.

• Be genuine.

• Don’t worry so much about performing well that you forfeit friendships.

• Don’t forget to respect others’ work time.

• Keep track of your questions in a notebook.

• Use a sticky note for a daily to-do-list.

• Get some tools to sort all your paper goods.

• Take ferocious notes.

• Type a summary of what you did at the end of the day.

• Lead from behind.

• Lead by example.

• Lead through service.

• Don’t complain or blame.

• Don’t wait for others to tell you what to do.

• Don’t adopt a skewed identity.

• And one more that I’m adding today: have FUN with it!

Day 11: How to Be a Leader When You’re Not the One in Charge

Isn’t it bizarre, when you’ve been at something hard for a certain amount of time, to think that just a little while ago you didn’t know any of the stuff you know now?

Let’s take school, for example. A week before your first semester of freshman year, you wondered what your roommates would be like, what campus would be like, how strict your teachers would be, and what it would be like to be a college student, living on your own. A month into the semester, you are familiar with a lot of things that were so recently a mystery– more than you can count. And the little corner of campus that you’re familiar with barely scratches the surfaces of what you’ll know in 4 years when you graduate.

About a month into my new job at Alma Lace, I can’t believe how much information is floating in my brain that simply wasn’t there a month ago– names, faces, processes, products, departments, assignments, projects, stories. I’ve learned enough to be able to add some kind of value, but at 1 month old, I’m still in the phase where the training I’m receiving is much more valuable than anything I can give back.

As I’ve observed my supervisor and the department director, I’ve come to realize that they’ve mastered tools of leadership that help others to trust you, bring their problems to you, and collaborate with you. Some of those skills might come from being in a leadership position, but I think it’s like the chicken and the egg: Already having those characteristics is what launched them to their current roles.

But I believe that you can be new at something and still be a leader, because real leaders recognize the value of lifelong learning. If you don’t have authority, you do have influence, and you can use what you do know to help yourself and others succeed.

 

How to Be A Leader When You’re Not the One In Charge:

DO’S

1. Lead from behind. You don’t have to be at the head of the charge on a project to lead out in it – you lead as you facilitate and support positive change from wherever you are in the pack.
2. Lead by example. As you act with integrity and consistency in your job, you lead by example. The way you dress up, show up, communicate and work is consistent with what you think you should do at your very best. Even the simple act of taking and applying feedback sets an example that a leader would set.
3. Lead through service. We often think of leaders as people who have the authority to tell others what to do. But any manager or CEO will tell you that leadership more often looks like serving the people below them on the org chart. Practice thinking about others  now by looking for opportunities to lighten their loads.

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” -Jack Welch

DONT’S

1. Don’t complain or blame. “Leaders don’t sit back and point fingers. Leaders lead with the authority of leadership . . . or without it. If you are a leader, you will lead when you are needed.” When something could be improved, leaders find a way to solve problems without dragging others down, blaming, complaining or criticizing.
2. Don’t wait for others to tell you what to do. Informal leaders take initiative to fill needs when they see them. They go the extra mile, and they help others. They are willing to take care of tasks even if they fall outside of their job description.
3. Don’t adopt a skewed identity. Before you can be effective as a leader, you have to know who you are. And its important that your core belief about yourself be positive, so that you can have the confidence to act when action is needed.

 

“Each of us has a unique opportunity to create something right where we are. It doesn’t require special authority or a fancy title or having the corner office.”

-Clay Scroggins

 

Check out these great books on leadership that I quoted in this post:

 

Day 9: How to Get Organized at a New Job

The average person loses an hour a day to disorganization. 

During the past few days at Alma Lace, I’ve been sitting at my boss’s desk, fielding the issues that would normally come her way, keeping house, and filling in for her in meetings. She’s an HR Business Partner, which means she takes care of the HR needs for a specific department within the company. I’ve wondered how much more time I’m losing to disorganization simply because I’m new.

Nothing makes you feel the urgency to get organized like trying to do your boss’s job. But I feel confident that, in 3 or 4 months, work will feel as organized in my brain as I try to make it on paper.

If you’ve just started your first job out of college, or if, like me, you’ve found yourself in a situation where you need to take on a lot of responsibility, here are the most helpful things I’ve learned about learning quickly and getting organized quickly!

 

Tip 1: Keep track of Q&A’s in a notebook.

Tip 2: Write a daily to-do list.

Tip 3: Get some tools to sort all your paper goods.

Tip 4: Take ferocious notes.

Tip 5: Type a 5 p.m. summary.

Tip 1: Keep track of your questions in a notebook.

Each day between days 1 and 4, my boss would ask me, “what questions do you have for me?”

I thought her timing was awful – every time she asked, I didn’t have anything to say!

Now, I know this isn’t because I don’t have any questions. I have so many questions that I don’t even know what my questions are. So now I write down questions as soon as they come to me so that I’m always prepared and I know what I’m trying to learn.

Tip 1: Keep track of Q&A’s in a notebook.

Any spiral bound, lined notebook will do. I carry mine with me into every meeting. When someone mentions something I haven’t heard of– an acronym the department uses, for example, I write it down with a check box next to it and some space for the answer, when I find the right moment to ask about it.

 

Tip 2: Use a sticky note for a daily to-do list.

Every day I have a new lined sticky note pasted inside my notebook (right next to my Q&A’s) with a running list of to-do’s. The nice thing about this is it eliminates the need for a pricey day planner. As cute as day planners may be, one plain notebook will do the trick for updating your to-do’s and questions at the same time. Around 4:00 pm I always start a new sticky note so I can hit the ground running the next day.

Tip 2: Write a daily to-do list.

And while we’re on the subject of sticky notes, you should just stock up on these right now. Lined, unlined, small, large. You’ll use a lot of them.

 

Tip 3: Get some tools to sort all your paper goods.

Unless your company has gone paperless, you will get handed a lot of informational-type papers: That’s why they’re called hand-outs. Calendars, standard operating procedures, agendas, action items, forms, requests, policies, and the list goes on. Avoid drowning in an unnecessary pile on your desk by putting up a bulletin board and creating some files. Right now, you might not how to label your files simply because you don’t know what is going to typically come your way. Write on your files in pencil until you feel confident that this is a label you’ll keep for all time.

For the calendars and lists you’ll refer to often, I find it helpful to use a bulletin board.

Tip 3: Get some tools to sort all your paper goods.

Tip 4: Take ferocious notes.

In a staff meeting yesterday morning, we were discussing ways to improve the building security. As I looked around the conference table I realized that I was writing down a lot more notes than anyone else. I felt a little self-conscious, but then I realized that I was the only person in the room who had worked for Alma Lace for less than 6 months. For every note that the senior team members take, I should probably be taking two.

Tip 4: Take ferocious notes.

It’s all about the balance. Contribute, listen, and put down the pencil. But when your brain flags something that you’ll probably need later, remember: You’re the new guy. Write it down.

 

Tip 5: Type a summary of what you did at the end of every day.

 

Tip 5: Type a 5 p.m. summary.

I did this for the first time yesterday, because I wanted to give my boss an update without interrupting her away-time. I typed a list of the major things that came up during the day, the action I took, the result, and any follow-up questions. I originally did this for my boss, but it was so helpful to me that I think I might continue doing it after she comes back. Typing up the day, almost like keeping a journal, helps solidify what happened and helps you fast-track the learning process.

Day 7: How to Make Friends at Work When You’re the New Guy

While I was busy learning my new HR job as quickly as possible, I almost forgot the reason why I chose HR in the first place: I love people. 

It hit me when I was walking back from the break room alone, after welcoming a new group of recruits to Alma Lace. I had been lost in thought until I noticed my colleagues up ahead, laughing and chatting as they walked back together in a group. It made me think about the people I used to work with and how the relationships you form are one of the most rewarding parts of any job. Not to mention one of the most motivating, supporting, and teaching components that keeps you going on rough days. If I learned how to recruit and retain perfectly but missed the chance to form friendships with the people who are already here, I’ve missed the mark completely.

I learned today that the average person spends 90 thousand hours at work in his or her lifetime. That’s 90 thousand hours with people who, if you’re not careful, you could never know anything beyond surface level about. Since I’m still in the friend-forming stage, my advice today is a mix of my own experiences and research; heavy on the research. I hope it will help you to form friends in your new workplace.

 

How to Make Friends at Work: DO’S

1. Assume that people will like you. At my interview, I was able to make a good impression because I was relaxed. I had a job, I had awhile until graduation, and while I wanted the new job, I didn’t feel the pressure that I had to get it. Once the job started, I started putting more pressure on myself and worrying about if I was liked. If you assume that people like you, they will! It’s a mind-behavior trick that works because people will respond to your confidence.
2. Ask questions. Of course, coworkers are a great source of answers to your job-related questions, and they’ll be more than happy to help. But asking them about how long they’ve been there, or what they like to do outside of work, will help them know you’re really interested in them.
3. Be genuine. Most people can spot a fake from a mile away. They can tell by your interactions with them whether you’re thinking about yourself or whether you genuinely care about them. One of the main reasons that people feel comfortable around genuine people is that they know they’re not being judged. When you’re being yourself, you invite others to be themselves as well.

How to Make Friends at Work: DONT’S

1. Don’t worry so much about performing well that you forfeit friendships. Being the top performer in your department will mean nothing in the end if you haven’t built others up along the way. In fact, as you make friends and work hard, you can win while bringing others with you. Truly successful people want others to succeed. 
2. Don’t forget to respect others’ work time. If you try too hard to be funny, liked or in-the-know, it will come at the expense of precious time that your coworkers need to get projects done. Don’t be a pest. Be courteous and look for the right time to strike up a chat.