As a new professional, whether directly out of college or grad school, the initial step into Corporate America can be daunting. The years of structure and camaraderie start anew, and you must develop these routines and relationships. You will likely be surrounded by co-workers with years of experience; many of whom are experts in their domain. While it will take time to make your mark in your organization, navigating will be less challenging when you are prepared for the journey.
These strategies will assist in ensuring you are prepared for success!
Be Curious: Learn everything you can about your industry, organization, and the roles and responsibilities of your co-workers. Know what the mission, vision, values, and strategies are and how they shape the goals and key deliverables required for success. This means ask questions. Ask LOTS of questions and then LISTEN. Aim for these to be open-ended questions to solicit the most amount of information you can as some of your meetings will be short and could be drive-by questions.
Be Authentic: Humans are naturally social beings, and we love to share via mutual experiences, stories, and interests. When you show up as your true self, you will feel and present more comfortably and begin to build a rapport and ideally trust with co-workers and leaders. As appropriate, and based on what you have learned, offer input, share your perspective, and genuinely lean in to be helpful based on what you can add to the conversation and team. You will find people appreciate the collaboration.
Be Kind: Positivity, gratitude, and an abundance mindset are contagious. At a time where many of us are isolated in our homes with video calls as our primary means of connecting with others, kindness creates a bond. It is important to appreciate that kindness should not be mistaken for weakness as you can be nice and firm at the same time. When co-workers know you treat them with respect even in a tough situation, it will boost your brand and make you feel good too. Definitely a great space to be seen in a new role!
As you begin to implement these strategies, remember to make them your own. It takes courage to step into a new space, and you wouldn’t be there if you didn’t have talent and determination. The most important part of it all is to enjoy it – you have your entire career ahead to love what you do. Make it so.
Happy International Women’s Day
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