Congrats on landing your new eCommerce job role! It’s now your time to shine! It’s vital to make a good impression and get acquainted with your coworkers to succeed. Here are our top tips in ensuring your first month at your eCommerce job goes as smoothly as possible!
They loved your resume, you aced the interview, and now you’re new to the company and raring to go. It’s tough to emerge yourself into a new company, but you can make it much easier on yourself with the following:
Our General Tips
Take excellent notes
In your first days and weeks of work, you’ll be learning a lot of information about the company. Write it all down and review when you have downtime to be sure you’re absorbing everything.
Reach out on social media
Connecting on social networks primarily includes LinkedIn and Facebook. It’s a great way to continue to connect and relate with your new coworkers.
Meet people like it’s your job
The sooner you can break the ice with your coworkers, the more comfortable, and fun, your work environment will be – Reach out!
Talk to your boss about expectations
You may have some idea about expectations from your job interview, but the actual work environment may have different demands. It’s critical to know what’s expected so you can start meeting (and ideally exceeding) expectations. If your boss doesn’t schedule a 1:1 to review your roles and responsibilities, reach out and ask for one. Find out what your position requires to succeed at the company.
Find a mentor
You may be assigned one, but if not, seek one out. Your mentor will be invaluable to help you understand office politics and the intricacies of the company culture NOT outlined in the employee handbook. Your mentor can also help to introduce you to coworkers.
Ask for help!
Whilst you may be worried that your colleagues are too busy to help or would prefer not to, this is generally not the case! Your new colleagues want you to settle in and understand how the organization works. We suggest you reach out whenever you need help and remind your colleagues your new!
Starting A Remote Job Role
Schedule brief check-ins with colleagues
Each organization has its own culture, and this culture is often generated by unspoken goals, norms and language that members of your new team actively engage in. It is difficult to comprehend a culture and to fit in with a new culture without physically observing it. In a physical office, new employees tend to learn the aspects of the workplace culture through everyday interactions with colleagues, such as hearing how they are tackling a problem at hand or listening to the workplace jargon they use.
Whereas, in a virtual setting, you are not submerged in the workplace culture and therefore need to ensure you can manufacture a situation which means you can!
Reach out to your new colleagues and set up quick regular one-on-one discussions. This will help you to understand how they work, the language they use and how to effectively communicate in your new workplace. We also recommend that you play attention to any implicit statements about what they think is most important, as this tends to be a result of the workplace culture. You can also ask any questions you may have in these meetings, so they are a great idea!
Seek a mentoring team
When starting a job remotely, there are two types of mentors who are particularly useful. The first is someone who understands the procedures within the organization. For example, what to do if you are sick or how to claim for expenses. The second is a person who is well connected throughout the organization and can introduce you to colleagues who you may need.
Let your colleagues know you are new
When you start a job in a physical office, your colleagues will notice you and naturally introduce themselves. Whereas, in a virtual office, your manager will introduce you via email or a virtual meeting. However, in a big and busy team, some colleges may forget they have a new member joining or miss the meeting. That means you need to be more explicit about announcing yourself as the new person in the office. We suggest sending an email to your colleagues introducing who you are and stating that you are new. We also suggest introducing yourself to any teams/group chats you may be virtually included in. This will help to establish relationships with your colleagues which are essential for settling in and your future growth.
Keep a daily schedule
In a physical office, it is easy to tackle problems when they arise, as your colleagues who are needed to help with such problems are sat near you. Whereas, when you are working from home, you will have to email your colleagues and wait for replies. If this problem is small, your email may get lost in the noise of your colleagues’ workload or you may forget to attend to it.
We, therefore, recommend at the end of each day reviewing your day and creating a list of any unresolved issues you may need to chase up. Then when you are next speaking with a supervisor or the colleague in hand, you should raise these unresolved issues and help to complete them. This also will help to demonstrate how proactive you are and what an asset you can be to the organization.
Remember
You’re a great person to know! Even though being new to any company can be awkward, try to be confident and friendly, but not overbearing. Every day, you’ll feel more and more comfortable at your new eCommerce role!