4 First Day Tips

Count on Barracuda Staffing as your partner in achieving a successful first day! Explore these vital first day tips to ease those initial jitters.

First off, congratulations on landing your job! It’s thrilling and feels like a weight is lifted off your shoulders when you hear “you’re hired.” But then comes the first day, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably feeling nervous right now. Let me offer you some first day tips to make sure your day goes as smoothly as mine went.

Plan the Night Before

I’m big on planning. Between meals, days, vacations, I’ve got it all planned out. It’s one thing I’ve been able to use to my advantage, and it has really helped me when I feel nervous or stressed. Know what you need to bring with you to work, what you are going to wear, and what you are going to eat. This way, when you wake up you know exactly what you are doing, where things are, and you don’t panic before you go in to work. I made sure that I had my clothes laid out, my lunch made, and my bag packed – complete with a lint roller. It helps to have things go to plan when you first start somewhere, it just eases some of the nervousness that you may be feeling.

Early, Early, Early!

Wake up early, leave early, get there early. It’s as simple as that. The worst things you can do are oversleep, leave late, and/or get to work late. You will feel panicked that you have a lot less time to get ready or maybe you were already supposed to be there, and that will wear on you throughout your day – if your boss even lets you work that day. Leaving late will do the same thing to you, and you will be bound to hit traffic or catch every red light – every single time. Getting to work late on your first day is a nightmare. It starts you off on the wrong side with your employer, and it doesn’t look good to your coworkers either. Getting to work early will show your employer that you care and want to be there.

Keep Your Head Up and Ears Open

You will learn a lot on your first day. You’ll have documents to sign and process, you’ll have training to start, you’ll be meeting everyone in your department – maybe even outside of your department, and you’ll be taking in as much information as you can handle. This can be overwhelming and you’ll likely feel like you can’t remember anything from your first day. I recommend keeping your head up when you feel overwhelmed, and take a minute to reset yourself. Listening on your first day will be key and it’s important to take notes where appropriate so that you can remember exactly what it was that you learned on your first day.

Decompress

At the end of your day you may be feeling relief, your first day is done and you never have to repeat that day again. Once you go home, I recommend doing something that typically relaxes you. For me, that’s shopping and watching some Netflix. It’s important to get ready for your second day, but this time equally as important to allow yourself to digest the day and get ready for another action packed day.

Your first day is important, but so is your first week, month, or year. Don’t let these things go by the wayside just because your first day is over. Make it a habit, and make sure you’re being the best employee you can be.

Barracuda Staffing is your First Day Success Partner! We hope these essential first day tips will help to conquer those first-day jitters.