How to Impress in your First Job

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Office Attire

• Wear a suit - jacket and trousers, shirt, tie, shoes OR shirt, tie, trousers, and shoes. Tasteful knitted jumpers might be an option in colder circumstances.
• Ensure the design and colour of garments are also with tasteful reason. No novelty ties- these look unprofessional.
• Get your suit dry-cleaned within reason; ensure garments that require ironing are ironed.
• A clean shirt should be worn everyday.
• Shoes should be presentable- perhaps not shined to blind, but not covered in mud.
• Use your common sense! Weather in the UK changes; buy a decent coat/umbrella if rain might soak you through without one.

Remember: A luminous yellow shirt with a South Park tie is NOT acceptable office attire.

What you might think are the little things:

• Personal Hygiene. It might sound patronising to suggest this, but in reality it is not. The smell of some people still hits me, and it’s not pleasant. Personally, even though I might look like Grizzly Adams, I do not smell like a mountain dwelling person- and I maintain a high standard of personal hygiene.
• Shower daily and wash! If you have long hair- a bit of conditioner works wonders also. Remember some Sure for under your arms!
• Trim your fingernails! Unless your new-found position requires talons.
• Brush your teeth, after breakfast! Morning breath= not nice.
• Keep facial hair trimmed within reason. I don’t look like Sasquatch. Yet.
• Hairstyle. Sporting a style that resembles road-kill might be seen as unsuitable, as indeed would having designs shaved into your hair. Again, keep your barnet within reason.

The right stuff:
Keep your mobile silent- unless your job specifies otherwise. And if it does- ring and vibrate setting is suffice. The Crazy Frog tone offender should be punished.
Arrive at work with the correct equipment- stationary, diary or organiser. Show some initiative.

Passwords: remember them or jot them down somewhere secure and memorable.
Ask if you are unsure of anything. Adopting a bull-in-a-china-shop attitude is not always the way to resolve things, particularly during your first few days of a new job. Ensure you have been clearly instructed; if you do not have a clue with what’s on your PC screen for example, ask someone who might.

Cup of tea?:
Apparently, I’m a bit of a tea-making legend. So long as I’m asked to make the drinks before starting my first task- things will be off to a good start! If nothing else goes to plan- I guess official tea-maker is a job I could excel in.