Over my career, I’ve had a lot of first days. Those first days have been a mix of full-time positions, contractor positions, remote only positions, in person positions and really everything in between.

In this article, you’ll learn about the tips that I’ve used in the past to overcome some general stress about starting a new job.

Remember that you’re not an imposter

You made it through the interview process when you were against all the other candidates. You were the best candidate, and you were hired for your personality, experience and skills. They picked you!

It’s normal to feel Imposter Syndrome, which is the feeling of being an intrusive outsider in a setting where everyone else is inclusive. With these feelings, you may feel inadequate or undeserving of the job (or success) that you’ve recently landed.

Remember: you worked for it! Anyone with a job offer in hand likely did a lot of work to get to that point, whether it was networking, being an all-star interviewee, doing interview presentations, and writing great thank-you notes along the way.

You’re not an imposter: you’re going to be a crucial part of this organization in just a few months when you learn the ropes and feel settled in the day-to-day.

I know that Imposter Syndrome is kind of an old topic but I think it’s still really important to feel accepted to limit any specific type of anxiety that you have in a new job.

It’s ok to not know everything on the first day

Don’t expect to be able to hit the ground running. This simply is not feasible!

Most companies expect you to have a week or two (sometimes longer) of onboarding, to get caught up with policies, meet new coworkers and set up your company laptop or office workspace. It depends on the role, too.

Most jobs will have some type of onboarding predetermined for you when you job. You should also be having early discussions with your manager about performance check-ins. This way, you’ll feel prepared and won’t have to guess where you’re at.

Feeling comfortable and having expectations leveled is a great first steps in preventing the unwanted stress when starting a new role.

Take lots of notes during your first few weeks

There is usually a lot going on during your first few weeks of work at a new job. A good way to stay organized is to keep track of questions you have, and add things you think about and personal reflections.

Once you get a handle on your day-to-day tasks and duties, you can continue your note-taking system, or choose to be a little looser with it!

I found the stack of notes from my first few days and weeks on the job when I started my most recent role. It was funny how I was scribbling things down for myself, and great to see how much had changed, both in product and process.

If you’re a visual learner, or someone who feels the importance of writing things down to remember them, then by all means: take lots of notes about people, meetings, systems and responsibilities. This type of thing will always be beneficial in a professional environment.

AI is a pretty powerful tool these days, so pick your note taking app that has some sort of AI search built-in. Notion is a good place to start. See if your company has tools already enabled. Confluence is what I use at my job and the AI search within it is powerful.

AI search can help parse through the random thoughts you have along the way. AI can potentially even help answer questions as you go, depending on how you have the tools configured.

Stay organized

Aside from notes once you start your job, you may have a lot of things that you need to do before you actually get started.

Wrapping up your old job may be on your list. You can track all of the remaining tasks, so you feel good about leaving on a high note.

Before you actually start your new job, read through all of the documents that the new HR team or your new manager has sent you. If you need to set up your new laptop, make sure to get that done. If you need to create any accounts or 2FA, do it right away!

Leverage lists and various TODO apps if it helps. Creating an actionable plan will really help you not feel so left behind.

In starting my new job, I was sent some early emails about setting up my new email account, and when to expect my work laptop coming by mail. Then, I was sent an onboarding document and a few meeting invites. It was all super organized and made me feel confident.

Try to not procrastinate

With all procrastination, it’s much better to get something done so it’s out of the way, and you’re moving forward.

While you can work forever on fixing a bad procrastination habit, now is the time to sprint to the finish line and make sure you’re accomplishing all of your tasks. Keeping a task list is a great way to stay on track.

Both Becca and I use Notion for this. Becca uses the task list in Gmail. Don’t let the tools be a cause of procrastination, though!

Another hack we use for avoiding procrastination is setting time blocks on our personal Google Calendars. For example, if I have some freelance work to do, I will create an hour-long block for myself so that I make a deadline before midnight.

This helps keep all my workloads in check, and is one of my best productivity tricks, no matter what job I am at.

Schedule time to meet your new coworkers

If your company has a culture of open calendars, add some time on your new coworkers calendar to meet them. If you’re working in-person, swing by their desk. If you’re all remote, try and grab some extra time to make sure you meet everyone, especially if you’ll be working closely with them.

This is important in not feeling transactional about your job, too.

In my mind, this is actually an important step to your onboarding, and a valid way to spend your time for the first week. Having some connection with your coworkers will also help you feel more connected to your role, and lighten the overall anxiety that you might have.

Schedule 1:1 meetings with your manager / direct reports

If it’s not included in your onboarding, schedule time with your manager or direct reports regularly within the first few days or weeks. This is especially important if you work in distributed teams and not everyone’s in the same place.

This time can be structured to give quick feedback about how you’re doing and if there’s something that you need to change. Or, it can be totally social, so that you get to know your colleagues on a personal basis before starting the professional nitty-gritty.

Do a lot of listening

Your first few weeks are all about learning. Do as much listening as you can, to understand how work gets done.

Every company has a “vibe”, and your first few days are the perfect opportunity to learn some of those organizational norms. Listen in on meetings, and offer to join meetings passively, to learn more of the popular terminology and to listen to how colleagues and departments discuss things like clients, projects, progress and goals.

Be curious

Ask questions! When you’re new, there is no better time to ask your coworkers questions about the company and your role. There are no “dumb questions”, because the answers are almost always valuable information that someone would benefit from.

Ask your questions in the beginning, before it’s too late and it seems like you missed something crucial that you neglected to ask about in the early days.

Stay calm

It’s okay to be nervous and anxious when you start a new job. In fact, it would be weird if you weren’t. You know yourself the best.

With the first few days and weeks leading up to your start date, do whatever makes you less stressed.

For me, I like spending time outdoors. Whether it’s a run or a walk, or even roaming around the block listening to a podcast, these things help me feel at ease.

Have a positive attitude

Be conscious about being optimistic and try to have a positive outlook on your new role. In order to start a new job, you had to leave one.

Avoid bringing any of those negative vibes to your new job. This is your opportunity to start fresh and elevate everyone around you with a positive and fresh outlook that you bring!

Helpful Tip

Are you deciding if you should be leaving your current job? See our list of the warning signs you should know.

Make a good first impression

First impressions are everything. If you consider when there were new people joining your old company after you had started, what were the first things you noticed about them?

Was it how they interacted in meetings? Was it how they talked too much and seemed too assertive, or was it how they thoughtfully added to conversations and tried to help solve problems from the get-go?

One of the things to remember in making a good first impression is leaving some of your prior experiences at the door. Well, sort of. Keep your experiences because thats how you grow professionally. But I would personally limit “at my old company, I did xyz”. I think that gets old pretty quickly.

The only thing to think about is nothing. Be yourself.

Picture how comfortable you felt at your last job after 5-6 months in

After five to six months at your old job, did you already feel like a veteran? Were you actually already a veteran because so many new people had joined the company since you were hired, and they just assumed you’d been there since the beginning of time?

You can get very comfortable with your colleagues in a timeframe of three to six months, depending on how you all jive with one another.

When starting your new role, it’s challenging to picture in your mind how the user photos in the Zoom meeting will become your work-friends soon, but it’s inevitable!

When you look back six months from now, you’ll remember how fresh-faced you were and how far you have come in terms of fitting in and becoming an integral part of the team.

Offer to help and get involved

As a new person at a new job when you’re trying to feel settled and included, offer to help plan something, whether an office party or an online event.

The help will always be welcomed, and in the meantime, you’ll be able to make connection with coworkers outside your department.

Ease your mind with an example check list of your first few days

Whether this is your first job or your last job, it’s a good refresher to read through the basics.

Before you start

  • Set up your workspace. If you’re going to be working from home exclusively or some of the time, make sure you’re set up and ready to go.
  • Test all technology. Your job might have set you equipment. Make sure it all works before you start.
  • Review company materials and onboarding docs. Have some questions preloaded if something doesn’t make sense.
  • Plan your outfit for the first day. This seems silly, but it’ll be one less thing off your mind.
  • Get a good night’s sleep. You’ll be excited. Make sure to sleep!

Day 1:

  • Arrive 10-15 minutes early (or log in 5 minutes early for remote). This is another remind to make sure your tech is tested. If you’re remote. test your video and audio settings so you’re not struggling with your first video call.
  • Introduce yourself to at least 3 people. Talking early to people will also give you a quick vibe check to your peers.
  • Take notes on everything. And remember, leverage AI if you can. It’s powerful.
  • Remember to smile. Your nerves will probably be … nerving.

Week 1:

  • Schedule 1:1s with your direct team. 1:1s are important. Use the time if you can.
  • Join relevant Slack channels or communication tools. You can use the meeting time with your coworkers or teammates to ask about the channels that you should be a part of.
  • Ask about company culture and unwritten rules. You’ll likely pick up on these things quickly. However, these unwritten rules are super important to know at first!
  • Offer to help with a small project. Don’t be afraid to say no. Diving right in gives you a lot of good data to get started.