ESL Blogs

First impressions count. For that reason, you want to make sure that you make a good one. But how? That’s a big question that we’re going to answer today. Here is a list of things that you can do to make your bosses and your colleagues like you.

Do note, it’s probably best if you don’t try to do them all as then you might very well end up confused and things can go very wrong. Instead, focus on those that you’re sure you can pull off and make sure you do them well! Then you’ll be in a much better position!

Be positive

The first one that you’ll want to focus on is to be positive. That’s because we like positive people. So, don’t sigh, don’t complain, don’t talk about how bad your last job was, and try to avoid getting on people’s bad sides by trying to be funny at other people’s expense. That rarely goes down well but is particularly dangerous when you don’t understand the office dynamics. 

Be self-confident. Remember, that you successfully graduated the college and created the great custom dissertation. Now you're trying to find the company, which will value your talents. Just do your best!

Dress in a professional manner

It’s better to be overdressed than to be underdressed. And it’s vital that you dress in a manner that befits the place you’re working at. So, in an office environment, you don’t wear clothing that is revealing, you don’t wear super bright colors and you certainly don’t wear clothes that are smelly and wrinkled.

Yes, it’s absolutely ridiculous that people judge each other by the clothes they wear, but that doesn’t make it less true. So make sure that you don’t offend by wearing the wrong garb. Instead, take the time to wear the right one.

Be willing to work with others

Companies consist of teams. That means that you should try to be a team member. So, ask for other people’s suggestions and offer your own in a polite and constructive way. Don’t talk to other people, however good your idea might be and don’t shoot ideas down just because you don’t like them (even if there are good reasons not to).

Share, take a turn and play well with others. That will help you get the respect you need and give you an opportunity to get to reviews.

Learn their names

Yes, there are a lot of names to remember. You should still learn them though. People like it when you remember their names, even if they say they don’t.

A good trick if you’re terrible with names is to write them down or to take the person’s picture with your cellphone and then to add the name to it. Then, in the evening, you can sit down and go through them. Then, by day two, you’ll have them all down.

Even if you don’t, people will be impressed by the effort.

Don’t like that idea? Then check out some other memory techniques and find one that suits you. 

Ask questions and make sure you understand

It’s your first day. You don’t know how things work yet. So ask questions, be interested and try to figure out how things work. People won’t mind. In fact, they might well be impressed with insightful questions.

What people will not be impressed by is if you don’t ask questions and then they find out a week later that you didn’t understand. So don’t let that happen. Instead, be ready to show your ignorance. Really, it’s okay, we all start out ignorant. Only stupid people stay ignorant.

If you finish what you’re doing, be ready to ask for more

Generally, they’re going to start you off slow to make sure that you understand what you’re supposed to do and do it well. So do that first (don’t directly ask for more – you might come to regret that). 

If you finish the assignment, aren’t completely overwhelmed mentally and there is still time in the day, then you can ask for more. This will show that you’re willing to take the initiative. Once people believe that you do that and think that you pull your weight, then they’ll expect you to come to them when you don’t have anything to do.

That’s a luxurious position to be in. And you can create that for yourself by being proactive.

Do note, you don’t want to go overboard as then you might end up with more on your plate than you can actually handle. That is obviously not good, as then all of your work will suffer and before long you’ll suffer an emotional breakdown.

Arrive early. Leave late.

To show how eager you are to do a good job, be there early and leave there late. Do that for the first day and first couple of weeks and people will believe that you always do that. Once they’ve got an idea like that, it will stick around. And so, even if you come in a little later and leave a little earlier, that won’t change their opinion of you.

They’ll still believe you’re a hard worker. That’s the power of held beliefs! Take advantage of that. You can also use this in other places like I mentioned above about the asking for more work when you can.

Last words

Work hard, be eager, look good, be attentive and proactive. If you can do these things then you’re setting yourself up for a bright future. If you don’t, then it might get more difficult. So try with all your heart. Putting in the effort now will pay you serious dividends down the line. And that doesn’t just count for something, that counts for everything in a new job.

So good luck. Set two alarms.