If you’re preparing to start working your first “office job”, we’re willing to bet that you have a lot of questions. Don’t worry – you’re not alone! Everyone goes through something of an adjustment period when they’re entering into their first office-based working environment. While it’s true that starting your first office job can be daunting, there are lots of tips and tricks which can help you to quickly adapt and thrive in your new role. By having an idea of what to expect, what to prepare for, and mistakes to avoid, you’ll be sure to come across as a seasoned office pro in no time.
Here are four things to keep in mind as you prepare to start at your first office job:
Make it a priority to be punctual.
Your ability to consistently make it into the office in the morning and to daily meetings on-time will speak volumes about your competence as a coworker and as an employee. Regularly arriving late, on the other hand, is sure to demonstrate to your colleagues that you’re likely to be as sloppy with your work as you are with your timing.
Always get it down in writing.
Invariable, working in an office means having to navigate at least some degree of bureaucracy. In other words, there will be a chain of command, with many different individuals passing instructions up and down the ladder. To avoid confusion and to protect yourself if any miscommunications occur (which, believe us, they eventually will), it’s always wise to request instructions for a particular task in writing.
Choose and watch your words carefully when writing emails.
Emails are written in permanent ink, and word can travel very fast in an office environment. If you include a joke at a coworker’s expense in an email – even if it’s meant to be harmless and funny – it could spread to where you didn’t intend it to and result in you having to deal with serious social consequences. As a general rule, you should avoid writing anything digitally about someone that you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying to that person directly.
Invest in noise-canceling headphones.
The open workspace plan that has recently been in vogue has no doubt produced many wonderful benefits for managers and employees alike. It has also made offices a much noisier place to work, however. It’s great to be able to easily look over at a colleague and ask a question, but sometimes you just need to put up some audio walls and get down to work. Thankfully, there are tons of high-quality noise-canceling headphones out there that will help you to achieve the peace you need to focus on the task at hand.
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