First days at new jobs are always the longest and hardest. Getting past that first phase of awkwardness can be a bit tedious. Getting to know your colleagues and your boss will take some time. The saying, “First impressions are last impressions” is not always correct. Perspectives changes and so do people’s way of thinking about you. There’s no reason to stress out and put extra pressure on yourself.

Here are a few tips that can help you get past your first day at work:

Dress accordingly:

When it comes to presenting yourself at work, you don’t need to go above and beyond. Your work attire should be a medium of displaying your personality in the best way possible. Don’t be too casual by going to work in joggers and hoodies, also don’t dress as if you’re going to a wedding. Keep you style at moderate levels. Always remember, your office is a place of discipline, you can neither treat it as the gym, nor as a fashion show.

Once you get set with your co-workers and you get to know the place better. A bit of change to your attire is acceptable. For example, many companies don’t object to their employees dressing up in casual wearables (such as jeans and t-shirts).

Figure out who you'll be working with the most:

One of the quickest ways of making an acquaintance at work is to get in touch with the person you will be working the most with. This will help you acquire more knowledge about the functioning and rules of the office. This “relationship” will help you better understand your job and will also be helpful in getting introduced to other co-workers. Building trust and respect at the workplace is very important. if you wish to maintain healthy relations with other employees of the office, you need to set boundaries and limitations. This means that you need to treat others in the same way you wish to be treated.

Remember names:

One of the trickiest tasks on your first day is to remember the names of your co-workers. On your first day, you are likely to meet a ton of new people and you will get a bombardment of new names to memorize. If you are one who struggles to memorize and recall names, here’s one trick; whenever you are introduced to a new face, instead of judging and scrutinizing their fashion and hairstyle, pay more attention to their words. Once you have their name, repeat it several times in your head. It is just like memorizing a person’s phone number (if people still do that). Remembering your co-workers’ names is a very small gesture but it goes a long way in building healthy and respectful relationships.

One cool way to get out of a “I forgot your name” situation is by saying; “Sorry if I forgot your name, I’ve met about a hundred people today!”

Do your homework:

First days are always intense, you need to impress your co-workers with a few laughs (without offending anyone), you have to get into good books with your boss, you need to prove your worth, you need to make a few acquaintances. It’s a lot to process and finding ways to stay on the same page as everyone is going to be tedious. But if you do a bit of fact checking and information hunting about the company, it can help you a great deal. Familiarize yourself with the company’s recent achievements and projects. This way you have a few talking points and you won’t be stuck just listening. If you’re lucky enough, you might just discuss a few ideas with a project manager, these inputs will impress them quickly.

First days at a new workplace can be really stressful and awkward. ‘Lifehack’ has some great advice on how to go about with your first day in their “The ultimate guide to surviving your first day at a new job” blog.

Turacoz Foundation believes that to ace your first day at a new job, you need to take into consideration a few aspects; always dress sharply, but never over do it. Rather than making friends on the first day, get yourself acquainted with the people you are going to be working most closely to, and then maybe move on to full-on friendships. Figure out tricks to remember your co-worker’s names. And always do a bit of homework the previous day.

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