Tips for A Successful First Day at a New Job

“Every single job is a challenge. You are walking into a new set, a new character, creating a world and trying to get comfortable to do your best work.” -Felicia Day

I am an Experienced “New Person”

After having lived in four cities, been to six schools, and worked at three jobs, I have gotten extremely comfortable with being the new person. In the beginning, it might have been nerve-racking, but over time I became used to it. Instead of shying away from new opportunities, I learned to desire them. Every new experience has wisdom to offer, if only you know how to be open to it.

One of my more recent experiences was an internship in Commercial Real Estate. 

Going into it, I had no idea what to expect, but I was hopeful. Now, on the other side, I recognize how deeply it impacted me. 

 

Transferable Lessons I’ve Learned

Take all that I’ve learned, both from being new, and from this internship, and apply it wherever you are. These are the transferable lessons…

 

Adjustment Period

That Monday morning, the elevator doors first parted, and I stepped out, and into a new world. It was my first role in a professional setting, and everyone around me exuded confidence. I imagine you’ve been here before— excited but nervous. 

This was the world of Commercial Real Estate, and it was a world I was eager to get to know. 

In any new role, you can hope for two things: skill acquisition, and personal development/growth. 

You should be introduced to new techniques, technologies, and processes. You should also be challenged personally and professionally. 

New jobs can be difficult, but know that it’s worth it. The struggle yields a great result—it expands your capacity and proves that you are much more capable than you had imagined. 

 

Skills Acquisition 

Any time you’re in a new role, you are going to have to prove yourself and your work ethic.

Ask yourself, “What type of person do you want to be known as?” 

I asked myself that question after I had interviewed, and decided that I wanted to be known as diligent and inquisitive.

I made a conscious effort to infuse that into how I approached my responsibilities. Instead of just accepting the task and automating the steps for myself, I would question “why.” I wanted to know exactly what I was doing, and how that was impacting the company. Then, I would do my best to execute, given my understanding of the impact. Because I understood the end goal, I could add insights on adding different elements as well as simplifying certain processes. 

 

Outline Your Goals Before You Execute

My first responsibility was to create a “multiple-offers spreadsheet” in Excel. — This visual is sent to sellers, and it documents every potential offer. — 

I began by outlining my goals— I wanted the template to be concise and information-packed. It needed to have enough information so a seller could make an informed decision, and it needed to be concise so that it could be read quickly. 

Before you begin a task, outline your goals. If you want your process to be seamless, then you need to have an understanding of your goals. This will direct your approach to the task. 

 

Pay Attention to The Little Things 

I spent a lot of time in Salesforce which allowed me to passively learn about customer relations management. I was attuned to the different tabs, titles, notes, and additional elements. By using the tool, I learned how we kept track of customers, documented relevant information, found information, and the tools we utilized alongside our CRM. 

Within Salesforce, I did two projects – I filtered through contacts, and I filtered through deals. 

I am confident with Salesforce now, not because I used it, but because I was intentionally paying attention to the little things. In business, most things have a purpose. If there was a title I was curious about or something peculiar about a note I read, I asked. 

Be observant both in your tasks and in your environment. Watch how people say things, how they interact with customers, how they interact with each other. You will learn the unspoken rules of the game like this. 

When I paid attention to the people, I learned how Real Estate is built on strong relationships. I saw how brokers handled cold-calling, interacted with potential customers, progressed deals through the pipeline, and maintained relationships. They were attentive in a way that I had never witnessed before. 

Understanding the little things allows you to make connections and gain a real understanding of how the business works. The little things are the most important. They are the things that no one explicitly states because they seem obvious…obvious to the people that have been in the industry for a while. 

When you’re new to an industry, success lies hidden in the little things. 

 

Ask Questions

As I learned the back-end of customer success, and I began to make mental connections, I utilized the expertise of the people around me.

This is vital—ask questions. What you learn from your questions will allow you to do your job better, and it will signal to your managers and higher-ups that you care. Don’t underestimate the power of a good question. 

Here are a couple of questions I asked, and the invaluable information I learned in response:

• What do you pay attention to when you analyze a deal?
  • Location — some people pay attention to the tenant, to the price, the cap rate (rate of return), etc. Everything should be a factor, but more than anything else, you want a good location. If you have a good location and it’s optimized for a lower-risk tenant, you are in a better position.
• What value do you bring to your customers? What is your value proposition?
  • Market Knowledge — We have been learning about the market for so long, and are so attuned to everything going on, that we know what fair prices look like. We can price things well, and we can get our clients fair prices. Our knowledge, database, and resources are hard to beat.
• What do you pay attention to when you’re calling a prospective client?
  • We pay attention to everything. After so many calls, we recognize windows of opportunity. We hear them say something that might open the door to a deal, and we are sure to follow up on that. It’s really about solving problems, and sometimes, people don’t see the potential problems. With our knowledge, we can point things out, advise, and ultimately help them get the best deal. 

 

The Most Important Lesson I Learned

From the moment I stepped out of the elevator to the moment I stepped back into it, everything about my professionalism changed. 

My technical skills had immensely advanced, and I was confident. 

That first day, I was timid and daunted by the environment and the sophistication of the people in my office. When I walked away, I had grown up. 

The secret is this— You don’t have to pretend like you know what you’re doing. Everyone knows you don’t. Embrace your inexperience and use that as a springboard to ask questions and learn more. 

Isaac Newton is famously quoted saying, “stand on the shoulders of giants.”