How to Impress in your First Job
by Ian Foster, ROK Student 
So, your application form was a success, the interview a breeze and you’ve celebrated all weekend getting that well-paid, first graduate job you were after. What next? Well, you’ll most likely want to keep hold of your employed status, here are a few tips how you might go about doing so…
Communication:
Sound communication skills are the name of tha- sorry, the game…
Maintain a clear, clean dialogue with clients and colleagues alike. Save the slang and the blue language for out of office hours. A smile and a “Good Morning,” go a long way also. Consider your telephone manner- an external caller will be presented with your vocal greeting. First impressions last.
Remember: Don’t answer your female colleagues “Alright darling,” nor your male colleagues for that matter.
Respect:
...bringing me appropriately onto the next point- respect. Respect your colleagues. Be aware of sexual equality. This means that girls are as important as boys. Basic manners, which I’m sure you’re all aware of, should be expressed and maintained. Ask, don’t demand. Offer assistance. Similarly, you too should be respected by your colleagues - bear that in mind.
Remember: ‘Ogling’ your boss on the first day is not a desirable feat. Even if she is more attractive than Angelina Jolie.
Be yourself:
Be yourself. Do not put on an act. If you are not yourself, colleague’s will/can see through you. It seems rather obvious a point to make, but some nervous people will try anything in unfamiliar surroundings. If you told a few little white lies about what software you’re up-to-scratch with, you will be found out as your job progresses.
Timekeeping:
Be aware of time. Arrive on time, if not five minutes before your day starts. Arriving early lets you have some time to prepare for the day ahead. It does not leave a bad impression either. Ensure you take your allocated lunch break. Your break time is there for you to re-charge your batteries- eat and get a drink.
Remember: do not go the pub and sink three pints of cider in the July sun during your one-hour lunch break.
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.
