The First 100 days: A blueprint to success

Posted in Candidates, Communications, Corporate Communications, Financial PR, Jobseeker Advice, Media, PR, Technology PR

As the Conservative – Lib Dem coalition experienced this week, how you perform – or not – in your first 100 days on the job is a yardstick by which you may be measured for years to come.

It’s crucial, therefore, to make the right first impression as soon as possible, not least to ensure you pass the probationary period (!)

Overall, you should have three key aims:

• build good relationships  - with your peers, managers and key stakeholders such as the media and clients. How you integrate into a new company is as important as job performance, particularly in the early days.
• establish ‘brand you’: communicate your past experience, knowledge, skills, strengths, contacts and personality to the people who matter.
• perform well and meet (or even surpass) expectations.

Sounds easy in theory but as we all know, the first few weeks of starting a new job can rank alongside moving house and divorce in the stress stakes.  Here are our top five tips to help ensure your transition to a new job is a smooth one.

Take a break: If it is at all possible, take a break before starting a new job. Whilst new employers are often keen for candidates to start asap, both parties will benefit if your batteries are fully charged and you’re given a small breathing space between debriefing from a former role and anticipating a new one. Not only are the first 100 days extremely challenging and demanding it’s also highly unlikely that you’ll be able to take leave in the first three months of a new role.

Watch and learn: As tempting as it may be to stamp your mark as early as possible, particularly in the competitive world of PR, try and make your first few weeks a ‘watch and learn’ exercise. By observing and learning how this new organisation or agency works, what its culture, methods and standards are, you’ll increase your chances of making the right decisions in your new role – and decrease your chances of ruffling feathers.  Many in-house corporate organisations actually specify that the first three months will predominantly be a learning exercise, although agencies tend to be faster paced, expecting new recruits to hit the ground running. As a way of getting new employees up to speed as quickly as possible, many agencies have a ‘buddy/mentor’ programme, where new recruits are supported and trained by a senior colleague, introduced to key people and given advice on everything from managing tricky clients to understanding internal politics.

Manage expectations: Yours – and your employers’.  Firstly, yours. Nobody puts themselves under more pressure than a new employee. The steep learning curve of the first three months is exhausting, so pacing yourself is important, as is being realistic. Be kind to yourself; nobody, not even your new employer, expects you to perform as well as your colleagues until you know as much about the business as they do.  That said you should be able to understand your new role and what is expected of you in order to satisfy a new employer. We suggest having a minimum of one meeting a month with your boss during the first 100 days to ensure that you are ‘on target’. If not, then at least you’ll have an opportunity to remedy the situation before the probationary period ends.

Do your own PR: Being proactive, actively throwing yourself into getting to know how the organisation works and who the people that matter are (not just the ones with the biggest personality or loudest voice) is the best advice we can offer when it comes to speeding up the integration process. If you don’t have a mentor then help yourself and get known for the skills, knowledge and experience you have.

Trust us: You ARE the right person for the job. As challenging and stressful as a new job is remember that you have been employed after a rigorous recruitment process! We only recommend those candidates who have the right skills, experience and cultural fit for client interview and clients only employ successful candidates.  For four consecutive years we have experienced a 98% success rate of candidates who are still employed not only after the probationary period, but at least 12 months after commencing employment. We’re sure you’ll be one of them!