Here’s how you can become instantly successful in your new job.Gleb Leonov/Strelka Institute/Flickr
Your first three months on the job can lay the groundwork for major achievements down the road.
Successful people know this when they start a new job. When it comes to your first few months in a new workplace, it’s important to set goals, prove the worth you sold in your interviews, and make social ties outside of your own team.
Here’s what else successful people do in their first 90 days on the job:
They say yes to exciting opportunities, even if they’re not quite sure how to execute them
Even if you’re not sure how exactly to complete the task or what its benefit to you might be, if you’re offered with an exciting opportunity, go ahead and say “yes.”
“Say ‘Yes, absolutely’ even though you have no idea what lies ahead and maybe this is the right decision or maybe it’s not but who knows and who cares,” author and speaker Danny Rubin wrote in a Business Insider post.
They make sure they have achievable goals established
Career strategist Miriam Salpeter previously told Business Insider that it’s important to have goals that you can use to measure your success.
Otherwise, you might not know what you’re working towards every day.
Hopefully your boss developed goals for you to accomplish during your first six months or year of work — whether that’s a sales goal, a number of projects to complete, or something else. Those goals should be clearly linked to your job description and the overall goals of the company.
Did your boss not give you any goals at all? Then, Salpeter advises you develop those goals yourself.
Then, they reflect regularly on those goals
It’s easy to set lofty goals, then forget about them. But you should reflect regularly on whether you’re actually achieving what you promised to do in the outset of your job.
“Whatever you sold them on in the interview, make it your mission to demonstrate that you’re going to do it,” Amanda Augustine, a career advice expert for TopResume, told Business Insider.
Examine how your goals have changed and how you can improve your workflow to get more done and become the version of yourself you wanted to be on Day 1.
They find a way to solve problems on their team
When you’ve just joined a new organization, faults in their structure or business model might be instantly clear to you.
But don’t just tell your boss what you think is wrong with your team, or leave the issues for more seasoned employees. Discuss what you’ve noticed, and present a solution.
“I love employees who have a passion for tackling problems versus avoiding them,” Weebly CFO Kim Jabal previously told Business Insider. “I want to be surrounded by employees who want to take the steeper hill because they know there will be a big sense of accomplishment at the top as opposed to those that prefer to coast on the easy road.”
Jabal recommended saying something like this to your boss: “We have a huge opportunity to fix something that has gone wrong. Here are a few ideas. I’d love your input.”
And, be sure you don’t base your analysis on how your old company functions. It can be irksome when a new employee just talks about their old workplace and constantly compares the two.
They reevaluate their social group and branch out
It’s easy to become comfortable with our office neighbors — but once you know them, it’s time to branch out and meet other people in the company. You may want to start by asking for their advice and perspectives.
“People are willing to talk about themselves,” Rachel Bitte, the chief people officer at the software recruiting firm Jobvite, previously told Business Insider. “People are willing to share what they learned being in that field. So don’t be afraid to go leverage that network, just to even learn.”
They sit in on meetings around the company and talk about what they know
Augustine previously told Business Insider that starting in your first week, you should be showing up to meetings and conversations.
Those are great venues to discuss your own experience and insights. During those meetings, you can start to establish where you’re an expert and become the go-to person in the company for those topics.
They continually work on developing good habits
Charles Duhigg, the author of “The Power of Habit,” wrote in his book:
“Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.”
Other positive activities that can improve your work might include meditation, writing, painting, or reading.
They track how they spend their time, so they can lay the groundwork for doing more of what they love
You probably overestimate how much time you have to spend doing those parts of your job you’re not super into, productivity expert Laura Vanderkam told Business Insider.
Start with keeping a log of how you spend your time. Then, see what tasks you spend time on that you don’t really adore. There’s a good chance you don’t have to spend that much time on them, or that you can eliminate them.
“To be sure, it’s not always so easy to eliminate tasks you don’t like, particularly at work,” Business Insider’s Shana Lebowitz wrote on Vanderkam’s research. “But there’s a chance that if you simply identify the tasks that aren’t working for you, you will in fact be able to limit the time you spend on them.”
They seek feedback early on
After a month or two on the job, you can consult with your boss to ensure you’re on the right track to becoming a superstar at your company.
“This is a great opportunity to get some early feedback on what you are doing right, what needs to be done better, and how you can spend your time next week for the greatest benefit of the team,” Natalia Autenrieth wrote on TopResume.
They chat with the CEO
Whether you’re making small talk about the holidays or discussing the company’s business model, successful people chat with the company leadership when they’re new additions to the company.
It can be tricky to find a way to meet your company’s C-suite without being awkward, though. Try setting up a networking coffee with them, and develop a list of questions beforehand to show your interest in the company and their work.
And don’t be afraid to introduce yourself if you happen to bump into them in the elevator.
They take every opportunity to network with coworkers
Networking sounds intimidating, but it’s as simple as grabbing coffee or talking “Game of Thrones” with your coworkers.
Joanna Coles, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmo and Marie Claire, said connecting with your peers is just as important as connecting with your bosses, if not more.
“The thing that I always try and say to young people starting out is your peer group is really the most important influence on your life because you are going to rise and fall together,” she previously told Business Insider. “And I have always got jobs through the loose ties of friendships and someone knowing someone who might know a job.”
