Yesterday, a new person started working in my department.  The person is a recent college grad, and this is probably her first real job.  The manager in charge started giving a rundown of job responsibilities and guidelines that made even my head spin.  I heard at least a dozen acronyms, which I’m sure she wasn’t familiar with.  I’m not sure if this force-feeding is the best approach when breaking in a new employee.

The other thing that usually occurs on your first day at a new job is the round of introductions.  I’m terrible at remembering peoples’ names, and the initial meet-and-greet is no exception.  Everyone knows who the new guy is, but the new guy may have to remember a dozen new names right from the start.  I’ve tried using a mnemonic, but I always wind up excusing myself and my bad memory.  Not the way you want to kick off a new job.

I’ve been the new guy at many jobs over the years.  The new guy has to remember that it’s going to take time to feel comfortable at their new job, both professionally and socially:

Professionally

• The new hire has to learn new procedures
• Training may be needed to learn new software
• Follow the structure of the chain of command

Socially

• You may find yourself alone amongst a group of cliques
• You can choose to either fit in by partaking in group lunches, kaffeeklatches, Super Bowl pools, or softball teams
• Choose to remain an outsider

I would recommend trying to join something.  After all, you’ve joined the organization professionally, and you’ll be spending most of your waking hours at work.  Why not make a few new friends?  I’m sure that she’ll get all the help and encouragement that she needs from my coworkers; we’re all pretty helpful here.

Whether you choose to be one of the gang, or remain aloof, or you could decide that the job isn’t right for you.  I think that you should give the decision at least a few months before deciding to move on.

You can read a guest post on Brazen Careerist from someone who quit her new job after just two weeks.  The comments are particularly interesting, ranging from bashing to applauding her decision.  I’ll let you be the judge.

• 5 Financial "Widow Makers" e³°°° I was driving to the store with my son the other day, when I narrowly missed a large tree branch that was lying in the street.  "I hope nobody was under that widow maker when it fell", I said.  My son asked "why do they call it a......
• Dashing Through the Snow... Photo by jronaldlee ...or should I say, sloshing through the snow.  Another Friday, another snowstorm.  Nothing quite like waking up to a morning of snow shoveling before heading off to work.  I must be getting old; I used to live for days like today, when I picked up extra......
• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants jurvetson I'm the office Excel guru, but I wasn't always comfortable with computers.  When I first starting working, we only had terminals that were hooked to a mainframe.  The only software we used was the mainframe program.  There was one PC, which was located in a small side office. ......

• Make Smart Money Moves This College Semester Good Morning Green Panda Friends!  I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I hope that Hurricane Irene wasn’t too harsh on our East Coast friends and your families.  If you have been affected by Hurricane Irene my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.  It’s time......
• The Art of Learning By Josh Waitzkin Although this is a book by a chess expert, don’t let that fool you. There is some hard hitting advice here that can help you in many different areas of your life. If you are trying to learn more about managing your money and becoming a success, this book is......
• 5 Tips to Make a Resume Successful Having just sifted through over 40 resumes for an entry level finance position I came away with two distinct thoughts. One is that Human Resources needs to learn how to weed out candidates and two is that people need to learn how to put together an effective resume. So after......

The dress code at my office is business casual. There’s no strict definition of what that means. Rather, my company lists the things that you shouldn’t wear to work, liked ripped or revealing clothes. But there are some people who push the envelope, and I think it’s going to hurt all of us. Read the rest of this entry »

• 7 No-Nos When Dressing for Work Forbes.com recently presented 7 tips about dressing for work for the ladies.  You can view the pictorial here.  I figured we could have some fun with this. 1. Too Much Cleavage - the experts say if you want to get ahead, ditch the low-cut top.  Studies show that women who......
• Don't Be a Weasel! 5 Rules for Accepting Blame Photo by law_keven Yesterday, we had our monthly program review with our director.  One program manager had bad news about one of their projects.  Let's call him Larry.  He did a good job explaining, in great detail, about where they went wrong, and the steps that his team needed......
• Shark Tank Photo by Kecko I started watching the TV show Shark Tank a few weeks ago.  It consists of an entrepreneur pitching his or her business model to five "sharks", rich investors that can buy a piece of the entrepreneur's company.  While there are some viable ideas, most of the......

• Pine Mountain Lake Golf Course, Groveland, CA Phone Number: 209-962- 8620 Website: http://www.pinemountainlake.com Course History: This gorgeous course was designed by William Bell and has been rated as a top course by Golf Digest. One look and you'll know why it has received so many accolades. The area has more than 300 days of sun every year......
• Local SEO Is Vital To Your Business For Many Reasons Having a business means that you have to have customers in order to make money and be successful. When you need local customers, getting them is not always easy, but with local seo it is. You need to understand why this is so vital for your business. Knowing why it......
• Leverage From Your Skills And Make More Profits Today When I was working the slaughterhouse, butchering hogs for $5 an hour or so, I envied the management guys who got a normal salary. Oh, to be able to consider a sick day, or come within late, and not get my spend docked! Those guys had it made - approximately......