The new job feelout
There’s a level of uncertainty when you start a new job. Outside of the obvious nervousness of change (the process of changing jobs is one of the most stressful things that can happen to you), there are other factors to consider:
- Will I mesh with the other employees? Generally, your personality at work is an adaptation to the people you work around. If you’ve been working in an office for several years, you generally know how to act around people in the office. Some people may be more serious, while others you might consider sexual harassment claims against if you didn’t know it was all in jest. This knowledge is gained over time, and when you switch to a new job, you have to start all over again. The coworker who seems like a stick in the mud may actually be one of the most easy-going people you’ll meet in the company. But it takes time to learn that, and while you’re waiting to fiugure that out you find yourself acting differently than you normally would to “feel out” that coworker. Of course, acting differently than you normally would is a cause of stress. But don’t feel too bad; there’s a good possibility that the coworker you’re trying to hard to impress is actually as stressed out as you are, trying to be something that he/she isn’t as well, and doesn’t want to “set a bad example” by making jokes or not working hard enough for beads of sweat to drip down their forehead.
- What is expected of me? One of the other issues with starting a new job is actually figuring out what you’re going to do. You may have gotten a list of “duties” in the job description, but a lot of these are placed there “just in case”. You may only do inventory once a year, and it might just be the closet in the back of your office, but in that job description it might say “does inventory on an ‘as-needed’ basis.” So going into a job within the first few days, you might find yourself with a lot less work than you expected. Think of it this way: if your boss came to you and asked you to describe your job, would you write a few things that you do all the time, or would you make sure to put every single thing down to show how much you work and how valuable you are to the team? News flash: many of the job descriptions you read in classified ads are written by the employees that formally filled them.
On the flipside, you’ll also run into jobs that don’t necessarily have accurate job descriptions. You’ll generally find these in smaller companies. While you may have been hired to be the accounts receivable person, don’t be surprised to find yourself acting as the receptionist, working sales, running out to buy office supplies, and various other odd jobs around the office. The words “everyone helps out here” during an interview should raise a flag. While it generally is innocent, it can be the calling card of a boss who wants to cut corners and use the employees he has for everything instead of hiring one more person or spending an extra few bucks on delivery charges. - Will I like it here? As mentioned before, changing jobs can be one of the most stressful things you can do. Even in an ideal job changing situation (smaller commute, more money, less stressful work conditions), there’s still the uncertainity and feeling in process mentioned above. So early on in the process, you’re going to have to take a look around you and ask yourself “do I want to be here in two years?” Obviously, if you’re working a contract position this doesn’t apply, but if you’re hired for a full time job, you have to figure out within the first few months whether you’re going to be happy there or not. Within the first few weeks it’s too early to tell. There’s going to be an initial resistance to your new job because it is new, and as we all know change is bad. Plus, companies can have a bad week or month. Things that are completely out of your control (and out of your superior’s control) might be happening within the company, and the “mountain of shit” theory says that if someone high up in the company is catching hell, it’s going to get passed down the heirarchy until it eventually hits you. There’s also the possibility that your hire wasn’t necessarily looked upon as favorable by your coworkers. By bringing in someone new, people tend to fear for their own job security whether it be because the new person might potentially be your replacement, or the new person might do such a high level of work that it makes the rest of the employees look bad. It’s a fine line to walk, but once you spend a little time with the company, you can generally get people to open up about the place and get to the truth. From there, you have to make a decision, because the longer you spend with a company, the harder it is to leave.
It’s a lot of things to consider, but bear in mind you’re already considering them whether you know it or not every day you go to a new job. You’re adapting to your environment, and more than likely after a few months, you’ll know what to do.