20 Tips for Starting a New Job in 2024

You’ve finally left that old job and decided to embark on a new challenge at a new company. If you’ve left your previous company for some negative reasons, you really want to ensure that this next chapter is a good one. Starting a new job can be a great opportunity to grow in your career, develop new skills, and of course, meet some really cool people (while making more money). But, let’s make sure you start this new gig on the right foot, so here’s our mega list of tips for starting a new job in 2024.

20 Tips for Starting a New Job in 2024

1. Schedule calls with your new coworkers

When you meet new people, you need to understand what makes them happy, what makes them tick, how you can support them, and what you can learn from them. Studying your coworkers personalities can help you better interact with them and ensure you get to know them on a positive note. When you’re starting a new job, it’s too early to not give people the benefit of the doubt. You may have some awkward interactions here and there, but if you’re open to truly getting to know people on a deeper or personal level, it’ll be easier for you to accept people as they are while ensuring you have positive relationships with them.

2. Learn as much as you can

One of the most important tips for starting a new job is to learn as much as you can. Soak up knowledge like a sponge. Ask questions and for context. Try to understand how things have been done in the past and how they hope they’ll be done for the future. Look for opportunities and gaps that you can fill in to ensure you provide value to the team. When interacting with people, try to learn as much as possible. Find people on your team who’ve been there a long time and pick their brain to understand everything you need to know. People like sharing what they’re good at, so indulge people and let them tell you everything they know.

3. Set expectations with your new boss

Knowing the expectations your new boss has for you and then working hard to deliver on those expectations is crucial. Having talks with your new boss to align on goals, targets, and more will be crucial so you perform at a high level (and your boss actually notices). Having clear metrics to work towards will give you a simple path or route to follow, so that you can deliver the results you were hired to do. Without a chat about expectations, you’ll be moving aimlessly until your first performance review, which might not turn out the way you hoped. Having chats throughout the year to ensure that as expectations change you’re still in the loop will ensure you can do great work at this new job for years to come.

4. Take notes in meetings

Taking notes in meetings is always a good habit so you don’t forget anything you needed to add on your to do list. And when you’re starting a new job, it becomes crucial to do because people will be telling you all their wild ideas and thoughts in fast-mode in your first couple of months. Often, when a new hire is made, there has been a ton of thought put in about what this person is needed to do. Whenever you have a meeting with someone, you’ll quickly see what everyone’s expectations and needs for you are so you can support your boss and the whole team with the work they need most from you. You might need to do some prioritization to determine importance and urgency levels, but keeping track of everything will help ensure everyone on the team has their needs met from you.

5. Be open to feedback

The easiest time to be open to feedback is in your first few months at a company. You’re still learning your new employer’s methods, strategies, and tactics to help you achieve your goals at the company. Plus, you’re still figuring people out. If someone gives you feedback, be open to change. Avoid being resistant to ideas people give to you or trying to one up someone by showcasing a better way of doing things. You need to build trust with people first. Trust is earned from listening to people’s thoughts and ideas. When someone gives you feedback, take it in. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can I improve myself with this information?” Be open to the idea that you’re changeable and willing to learn and grow.

6. Go deep in the company data

In your first month at a new job spend all your time learning as much context as possible. Go deep in the data. Learn what’s working and what’s not. Can you figure out what the biggest drivers of growth and performance are? Is there a way to tie your work and impact into quantifiable revenue goals? Showcasing how your work ties into the company’s bottom line will help ensure you deliver the results you need even if you don’t have a direct impact on driving revenue growth. If you can prove how your work delivered the company more money, you’ll become an invaluable asset to the company.

7. Ask questions

Most people in leadership roles value and appreciate people who can answer their own questions. But in that first week or two as you’re still unfolding all your information and learning which tool stores what data or where everything is located, you’ll need to ask questions before learning how to independently get your own answers. Instead of pinging people with all your questions as they come, write them down in a doc or notepad and ask all the questions in your next meeting. It might be a tad overwhelming if you have a lot of them, but it’ll be easier for a leader than non-stop pings throughout the day. Remember, the goal is to become resourceful and independent once you’ve got access to everything you need to ensure you don’t bother your lead with things you can figure out yourself.

8. Get all your paperwork in order

When you’re starting a new job, one of the tips to do in your first week or so is to get all your paperwork in order. For example, insurance policies often have to be completed in your first couple of weeks, you might need to complete employment documents, or other paperwork in your first week or so. Trying to get all of that stuff filled out on your first day will help ensure you get everything set up quickly and efficiently.

9. Don’t speak poorly about anyone

When joining a company, you’re the new person. Sometimes, especially in big teams, you’ll quickly notice that the company culture has various cliques. Someone might “warn” you about people to avoid, tainting your first impression of them. Don’t indulge in gossip, especially in the early days. You don’t want to burn bridges with people you don’t actually know yet. You can build trust with everyone on your team, you don’t need to fall into a social group. Without dismissing anyone, avoid speaking poorly about people when people begin gossiping to you about others. Stay polite and friendly to everyone you meet.

10. Organize your workspace

Whether you’re working on-site or remotely, organizing your workspace to optimize your productivity is crucial. In the winter months, you might have a space heater to ensure the temperature doesn’t distract you. You might make a coffee that you keep beside you in your workspace to help you focus. Maybe you invest in a computer monitor instead of a laptop to help you feel more productive. You might have a notepad and a pen beside you to scribble ideas down when they come to you. And keeping a clutter free workspace can help you feel at ease while working instead of distracting you.

11. Show appreciation often

If you asked your coworkers, do you feel appreciated at work? Most of the time the answer results in a chuckle and a no. As a new hire you can shift the culture to showcase appreciation more. Highlighting what you value about people and making comments about the effort they put in will typically result in a better response than simply saying, “wow, you’re smart” or “wow, you’re talented.” Most people achieve results through practice and effort, so commenting on their work ethic often helps people feel appreciated. Because most people would say they do work hard to achieve their results.

12. Ask for the resources you’ll need

In your first couple of weeks, you’ll quickly realize which tools you’ll need to be able to do your job on your own with limited support. Remember, autonomy, resourcefulness, and knowing how to figure things out on your own is one of the most important tips for starting a new job. And the best way to be that independent new hire is by asking for everything you’ll need upfront. Maybe you need access to a specific tool or you need the company credit card to purchase software on your own to be successful in your role. You’ve likely used tools at other companies, so recommending or getting access to those tools will allow you to pump out more work with ease.

13. Document your work and performance

One of the important tips for starting a new job is to keep track of your work and its performance. Every week make a list of all the tasks you’ve accomplished. Then, add all the results of all those tasks if they’re performance based. It’ll help you understand how much more effort you need to do if you’re underperforming, but it’ll also help you understand how well you’re doing if you’re doing great work. Treat your work like a data point to keep track of to help ensure your results and effort are noticed. When it comes time for a performance review, you can open a document you’ve been working on for a year to share the hard work you’ve done and what’s resulted from it.

14. Set goals

Having goals when starting a new job can be hugely motivating. Of course, you’ll want some of your goals to align with team and company goals. But if you have some personal goals you’d like to accomplish at the company, setting those goals will guide your direction. You might set career goals like growing into a leadership role, hitting a personal target, or mastering a specific skill. You can use these goals as a driving force to help you achieve the results you want while still being the team player who supports team goals.

15. Create new habits learned from previous jobs

Sometimes, we leave a job because it was a negative experience for us. If you made some bad calls or burned some bridges at your previous company, it’s time to change your habits to ensure you’ve learned from those setbacks and move forward in a better direction. As long as you’re improving yourself over time, you should find the next role to be better. You have full control over the habits you adopt, how you communicate, and how you choose to learn from mistakes, allowing you to create a positive impression at this new company when you start a new job.

16. Set boundaries

When joining a new company, you’ll want to set boundaries. When it comes to doing this, keep it simple. Maybe you don’t respond to messages after five or on weekends. Alternatively, maybe you only work while at work, and you enjoy downtime when at home. If you struggled with work-life balance in your previous role, you’ll want to ensure you achieve it at this new job. You don’t need to make a sweeping declaration about it, but keep the habits in mind when setting boundaries to prevent overwork and burnout.

17. Dress professionally

Having professional attire at work can help create a positive impression when starting a new job. One of the tips to remember is to dress like the role of the person you want. For example, if the job you want is a director level position, you’d dress in a similar style as your director. If she wears business casual clothing, then you dress in business casual. If it’s more formal, then you’d dress formally. If they wear casual clothing that looks conservative, then you’d dress more conservative. Ultimately, you want to mirror the style of the person with the job you hope to grow into.

18. Dive into execution fast

Your first couple of weeks at a new job are all about context learning. But alongside learning as much as you can about the company and how it works, you should start building the momentum to start getting work produced. Most managers want someone who can roll up their sleeves and get to work. They don’t want someone who overspends their time learning things. So, when starting a new job, try to get involved in the day to day work by the end of your first week or start of the second week to show that you’re serious about driving the results they need from you.

19. Aim for early wins

The early wins you achieve don’t need to be Nobel Prize winner worthy. But having some accomplishments in your first few months of starting a new job can help you prove that you were a great hire. Your early wins can be a milestone target you hit, the completion of a project, or something else that shows you worked hard and got stuff done.

20. Have fun

One of the last and important tips for starting a new job is to have fun. You spend 40 hours a week at work, the last thing you want to do is have Sunday scaries each week dreading the work week. You’re now at a new place with a new culture, it’s about keeping the mood light and positive. You can make work enjoyable for yourself and everyone on your team. Just try to be a supportive team player while being a positive person to be around.

Good luck in your new role

Congrats on receiving an offer so you can officially start a new job! If you’ve been using Huntr to manage your job search, it’s time to put in that offer accepted notification to showcase that you completed your job search. If things don’t work out in your new role or if you’re still searching, you can use Huntr to organize your job search. Sign up for Huntr today.