Succeed at your new job

When you are finally appointed to the position you applied for or are promoted to a new position, it is important for you to work hard and be successful. Starting a new job is exciting but there are usually a lot of expectations from your employers so you need to be very careful about your steps in order to succeed.

Know your expectations
Jenny Epit Okaka, the human resource business partner at KCB Bank, says you need to ask yourself why you applied for the job because usually new jobs present new challenges.
“The challenges are usually positive and they will help you grow in the career. However, if you are not focused, you are likely to make mistakes that will make you fail,” she says.

She adds that it is important that you assess yourself to see what impact and contribution you are likely to make to the company and this should be your driving force.

“You need to sit with your supervisor so that you can know what your job description entails and what they expect from you. Do not wait for your supervisor to come to you,” Okaka says.
Okaka says as a new employee, you need to set your daily, weekly and monthly indicators and goals and ensure to stick to them. Once you do not have a goal, you are likely to lose out and there will be a lot of pressure.

She further advises: “You ask for feedback from the supervisor and be bold to ask if there is anything that you need to change or do better. Supervisors will always give you feedback and are in most times willing to advise you where possible.”

Study the structure
Julia Kushemererwa, a human resource consultant at Success Africa, says it is important to make a good impression to your employer and please ensure to study the organisation structure and understand it.
Equip yourself with the knowledge about the company profile and the wide range of products offered.
“Know what its vision and mission are and what your role or contribution can you make to enable the organisation reach its vision,” says Kushemererwa.

Know your team
Kushemererwa says new employees usually start off with low credibility, save for experts, partly because little is known about them by the rest of the team. This is time to know the people on your team and be friendly to them.
“Get to know what others are doing and how it interlinks with your own work. Build a positive and professional relationship with your supervisor Be willing to sacrifice extra time to build a track record of dependability and high performance,” she adds.
After you have known your team, work harmoniously with them, be observant and pay attention to the things you do not know and therefore need to learn.
Okaka says, “Display a positive can-do attitude since any new job can be challenging. However that doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Learn from your peers and those who have been there longer whether it is within or outside the organisation.”

Be quick to learn
Some of the tasks may require you to be open minded and ready to learn. Even so, ensure you learn as quickly as possible. Some new employees keep giving a reference of what they did in the previous but according to Kushemererwa, what worked in your previous organisation may not work at your new job and that should not worry you. Roll up your sleeves and learn about how things are done here. “It is important to be seen as a quick learner. Listen attentively and take notes to enable you remember even the smallest detail. After some time, you will be asked for results and you cannot say I am still learning the system. Be willing to learn and also to unlearn.”

Get to work
After acquiring new skills, find proper channels to share your ideas that are developmental to the organisation and accept to be advised where possible. By this time, you have done an analysis of how you can contribute to the growth of the organisation.
Kushemererwa says: “If you want to rise through the ranks very quickly, have developmental ideas and please share them with other people on your team. Keeping them to yourself may mean that you are selfish. Innovation rules the 21st century and those who bring great ideas usually rise up in the ranks faster.”

Learn the good things
When you are given a new project or task to manage, ensure you own it. Do not wait for others to do for you what you should be doing.
Okaka also advises that you copy and learn from others what is good but if there is something that is not done the right way, do not copy it.

She says: “The employer chose you for that job or project because they believed you are different. You can copy the good things that you see other employees do but any bad habits like being laid back or gossip should not be copied. Your supervisor should be able to see the difference in you from the other employees. This is your personal brand.”

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