Easing Anxiety About Starting a New Job

You just got a new job. After the initial wave of euphoria passes, a new emotion takes hold: anxiety. You need to get ready for that stress-inducing first day starting your new job.

It can spark flashbacks to grade school. You’ll be the new kid in the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. The nervousness can undermine what should otherwise be an exciting opportunity.

Luckily, a lot has changed since you were 10 years old. Your first day doesn’t have to inspire sleepless nights and sweaty palms. Instead, you can walk into your new job confident and ready to excel.

Here are a few tips to ease anxiety about starting your new job:

Talk It Out with Your Support System

A new job represents a major source of anxiety. The good news? That knot in your stomach should disappear after the first day.

In the meantime, don’t try to deal with the stress on your own. Talk to the people around you. Let your friends and family give you the support you need to ease your anxiety.

Learn as Much as You Can Before You Start

A key source of the first-day jitters comes from fear of the unknown. You can minimize this through research. By learning as much as you can ahead of your start-date, you shrink the list of mysteries that you have to worry about.

Walk through Your First Day

Find out the schedule for your first day. Get as many details as possible. Then, practice as much as you can ahead of time.

Pick out what you want to wear, drive your route to the office, figure out where you need to park — all the little things that can potentially become obsessive worries as you wait for your tenure to start.

Meet Your Coworkers Ahead of Time

If possible, make contact with your future coworkers ahead of your first day. You’ll likely have ongoing discussions with your new boss or with HR before you start work. See if they can connect you with some of your peers as well.

Even a brief email exchange can break the ice. Then, you go into your initial encounters with some familiarity. This trick eases the social pressure and can give you some friendly support within the office at the outset.

Take Notes

As you make your way through your first shift on the job, take detailed notes. Everything will likely be new on Day One. You could get overwhelmed with information.

By writing down reminders, you create a reference for yourself. Meanwhile, the act of taking notes can help cement the data in your mind.

Remember: You Won’t Be New Forever

First days are hard. But second days are usually better and things tend to improve from there. Within a few weeks, you’ll feel like a grizzled veteran.

Just remember that things will become a routine relatively soon. Don’t sweat the little mistakes you might make — the training and onboarding process is there for that.

Yes, first days can be scary. But they get easier when you know you’re starting the perfect job. Get that confidence by partnering with a top recruiter, like SmartTalent.

Contact SmartTalent today to find the ideal employer for you.