You’ve made it through the interview process to your first day in your new role, what should you do next?
Often people miss a crucial step in their career development – they fail to clarify their goals and objectives immediately with their new boss.
Sometimes it’s because the boss is too busy or the company expects you to get your feet under the table. This is when you need to show your initiative and plan a meeting that just might put you on the road to career success.
First, do your homework.
Presumably you have your job description, but if it’s not a formal one, request that from HR. The job description will only ever be a guideline to your role. We all know that once we enter a business, depending upon our skill set, we may be asked to do different tasks.
Let’s assume you’ve got a relatively clear job description. Take the time to turn that into clear and measurable goals and objectives. For example, you’ve been asked to create a lead generation programme. You’ll need to understand what the company defines as a lead and where you fit in. You can turn something like this into a specific goal to deliver 2000 leads with a value of X in X timeframe. The more specific you can get, the easier it will be to measure your performance and success when it comes time for your appraisal. Don’t wait until your boss calls you in to discuss your objectives. Review your job description carefully and propose your own.
What happens when you’re ‘newly hired’?
This is the time to build credibility and to register some early wins. You’ll need to map out who you need to influence too. For you to be successful, you first need to do three basic things that may seem obvious, but aren’t.
First, introduce yourself to everyone and when people introduce themselves to you it’s critical that you remember their names and something about them. If that means you need to note that down quickly on your tablet, do so. These simple actions will create a long-term relationship with those that can influence your success in your new role.
The second thing you’ll need to do is to ask questions. You can gain credibility by asking people what they know and then gently and appropriately adding value to the conversations. You’ve been hired into the new role because you are smart and you have the skills to deliver the proposed outcomes. Don’t blow it by cutting off your sources of information by appearing to ‘know it all’.
Finally, take a bit of time to map out who’s who in the new team and who is influential and who isn’t. Mapping stakeholders is an internal task as well as an external one.
For assistance in finding a new marketing role or hiring a new member of your marketing team, contact Melvin Day on mday@marketingmoves.com or call 01932 253 352.
